It is still warm outside, but the out laps are treacherous on these tires that are still low on pressure, and we have yet another yellow. Fluid on the road and could it be from the #40 Dex Imaging Acura. #40 went a lap down with a power steering problem. Jordan Taylor just got in and spun out trying to play catch up. All the GTP cars are refilled on fuel and energy for this stint. The #40 Acura it should be said, has still dealt with power steering trouble. We have had six yellows so far and at this time in 2023 there were just three. The Daytona yellows take a long time. 59 cars started the race of course. We saw the long yellows at Le Mans last year, too. Yellows breed yellows. Tom Blomqvist is trying for the hat trick. Blomqvist says the Cadillac feels similar to the Acura.
He is still worried about restarts against the other GTP's. We are going to have to watch. It is dinner time. A pasta bar for one thing, freshly made, at Magnus Racing. There you go. Magnus Racing are doing an Indiana Jones theme. With the Ford Mustang factory cars, they are taping the decklid closed via the rear window. We have Dillon Welch and Parker Kligerman taking care of things in the pit lane. Now, the drafting situation for the Mustang boys is that it affects the decklids. We have many automotive leaders and CEOs here. Porsche, Ford, Lamborghini, BMW, Cadillac, Acura, everyone is here.
We will be going back to racing in a wee while. Back to green we go as Matt Campbell passes Maxime Martin. Cadillac, BMW, Porsche. Blomqvist, Martin, Campbell. Matty Campbell has just made a move. Matt Campbell wants to go after Tom Blomqvist. Campbell around the outside for the lead! Blomqvist is going to try going back at him. Romain Dumas and Brendon Hartley are fourth and fifth. Proton Competition Porsche #5 and the WTR Andretti Acura. Brendon Hartley has driven ten types of prototype race cars in his career.
Maxime Martin chasing Tom Blomqvist. BMW turning it on. BMW are headed for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans when they last won there in 1999. WRT from Belgium will run their team in WEC. The BMW CEO is here to watch. Listen to the traction control on the BMW. It is very refined compared to some of the other GTP cars. We have all four GTP manufacturers in a fair fight currently with almost six and a half hours gone in the race this evening. In GTD Pro, "Rexy", the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R with Laurin Heinrich now driving. He started in karting and Formula open wheel cars.
Heinrich sharing with Sebastian Priaulx, and Michael Christensen. Heinrich is an IMSA eSports champion. The transition from the simulator to the track is amazing because drivers recognize where they are. Simulation is great for that. I need to double check the GTD Pro running order, and I shall give you an update on that soon. United Autosports and CrowdStrike are scrapping for the LMP2 lead right now, too. This is amazing. Ben Hanley vs. Malthe Jakobsen!
Oh my heavens! Both made it to the International Horseshoe without bunching into each other. Fair, professional, clean racing. Hanley sends it through turn six. Hanley along with Nico Pino, Pato O'Ward, and Ben Keating. Jakobsen shares with George Kurtz, Toby Sowery, and Colin Braun. Hanley drove the CrowdStrike car here last year. These cars have a 4.2-liter Gibson Technologies V8. A ;ot of drivers have been racing these LMP2 cars for a number of years. The two United Autosport cars were the only cars hitting the rev limiter into turn one. At Le Mans, last summer, we talked about the same thing with the LMP2 cars with the long straight, the Mulsanne, on that circuit.
Five and a half hours in and now, the #7 Porsche 963 of Matt Campbell leads the #31 Whelen Cadillac V Series R by four and a half seconds. In the mid 1960s, in Proto 2000 and Sports 2000, Porsche won. In GT, Penske were victorious. Porsche and Penske are still together. In the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 it is Maxime Martin driving currently alongside Rene Rast, Nick Yelloly, and Connor De Philippi. Rene Rast will be getting into the car for the next stint. From the GT Daytona lead, Roman De Angelis has just finished his stint. The lead is swapping in the class and I have to check. Kenton Koch in the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo is in the lead of the class over the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Italian Antonio Fuoco.
Ollie Milroy in the #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S is third in class. It is pretty comfortable weather for the race this year, truthfully. Alex Palou is hassling Brendon Hartley, currently. This is for fourth place. Matt Campbell working on changing two tires while Action Express are double stinting full sets of tires. Last weekend at the Roar test the ambient temperatures were only in the mid 50s. Frankie Montecalvo in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus has passed Kenton Koch in the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Eleven brands in GT Daytona alone. Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren, Lexus, BMW, Acura, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, my goodness. Antonio Fuoco in the #47 Cetilar Ferrari 296 GT3, he was the overall pole man at Le Mans for the centenary race.
When you come out of NASCAR turn four, how does that work? Are you laser focused? On the long night stints, alone, braking into the turn, what if I did a full lap wide open? Maybe these are just wild imaginations of the drivers. My goodness. Calvin Fish ended his career only doing the endurance races and had a lot of fun racing at places like Daytona and Sebring. Tatiana Calderon is now in the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3. She is sharing with Tatiana Calderon and at the Peacock Pit Box now.
It would be carnage with a GTD race on the oval. A lot like the Mazda MX5 Cup cars. The #66 J.G. Wentworth Acura NSX GT3 is fast. They aim to keep things clean. Sharing, Katherine Legge is, with Tatiana Calderon, Stevan McAleer, and Sheena Monk. My heavens. This race is going down at a tremendous clip as we are getting close to the end of another hour. Nine ladies in the Rolex 24 this year. It is not a gimmick anymore. Both men and women can race. We have seen people like Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James and many more, but we would like to see more gals in the realm of motor racing. Desiree Wilson also comes to mind along with Kathy Rude who raced in IMSA in the early '80s.
Turbocharged cars suffer in the heat compared to the normally aspirated cars. Matt Campbell is still the leader. GTP pit stops. Tom Blomqvist out of the Whelen Cadillac and now, Pipo Derani into the #31. The drivers get more track time but get less sleep. Next year, every team in every category is going to require four drivers. Pipo Derani is fast, aggressive, a champion, and a real racer. Next year we will see four drivers for everyone on the grid. Racing drivers are selfish people. Now we are getting to the end of another hour. There is also less compromise fitting four driver rather than three. Antonio Fuoco around the outside of Kenton Koch and he is way wide! Blimey! Fuoco wants the GTD lead! Oh my word! This is massive! The Mercedes takes the lead back.
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