Our next update will be after 9 hours (12:30 a.m. ET).
We’re one-fourth of the way through the 56th annual Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
After six hours, the leaders are:
PROTOTYPE:
- No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing, Cadillac Dpi, Mike Conway
- No. 7 Acura Team Penske, Acura Dpi, Helio Castroneves
- No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing, Cadillac Dpi, Christian Fittipaldi
GTLM:
- No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, Ford GT, Sebastien Bourdais
- No. 911 Porsche GT Team, Porsche 911-RSR, Patrick Pilet
- No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, Ford GT, Scott Dixon
GTD:
- No. 29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3, Kelvin van der Linde
- No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports, Mercedes-AMG GT3, Jeroen Bleekemolen
- No. 93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian, Acura NSX GT3, Mario Farnbacher
We're a quarter through the #Rolex24. Here are your leaders:
— #IMSA (@IMSA) January 28, 2018
P: @Mikeconway26
GTLM: @BourdaisOnTrack
GTD: @KelvinvdLinde pic.twitter.com/Cn1W5m7WqL
There’s still another 18 hours remaining in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.
Since our last report after the first two hours, a number of things have transpired. Here are some of the most notable events:
RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY:
Rain wasn’t expected to impact the race until the overnight hours heading into Sunday’s early-morning hours.
But everyone was caught off-guard when a light rain began to fall around 7:15 p.m. ET, followed by a heavy downpour around 7:30 p.m. ET.
So… It’s raining… And it’s coming down pretty good. Cars like the @3GT_Racing No. 14 going off track in the slick conditions. #Rolex24 pic.twitter.com/wGsHKpe1ft
— #IMSA (@IMSA) January 28, 2018
Several cars spun out in the rain, including the No. 48 GTD Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Paul Miller Racing, as well as the No. 14 GTD Lexus RC F GT3 of 3GT Racing.
The weather also impacted the No. 63 GTD Ferrari 486 GT3, which suffered shifting problems as the rain. Repairs were made, but the car got back on-track 8 laps down.
Also, just about the same time, the No. 25 GTLM BMW M8 of BMW Team RLL, blew a right front tire and suffered significant suspension damage. The team took the car to the garage for repairs, but it appeared it could be a lengthy fix time.
A big moment for the @BMWMotorsport No 25 of @Billauberlen as the right front tire expires on the banking! pic.twitter.com/H4BWnV2pbz
— #IMSA (@IMSA) January 28, 2018
Thankfully, the rain stopped after about 40 minutes of both light and heavy downfalls.
And the No. 25 team was able to repair its damage and brought the car back out on-track.
Round of applause for the No. 25 heading back out on track!👏 pic.twitter.com/bVawQwB6ga
— #IMSA (@IMSA) January 28, 2018
FUEL ISSUE BRINGS OUT FIRST FULL-FIELD CAUTION
The first full-field caution of the race came out with 21:30:37 left in the 24-hour event.
The No. 38 Oreca LMP2 appeared to have a fuel issue heading into Turn 1 on Daytona’s high banks, bringing out the yellow.
The caution lasted nearly 16 minutes until racing went back to green flag conditions with 21:14:54 remaining.
WHAT’S UP WITH DOOR LATCHES?
It’s rare when teams have door latching issues, yet two teams had issues early on.
First, Ricky Taylor had just taken over from Helio Castroneves when the door would not shut on the No. 7 Acura Team Penske prototype, prompting Taylor to take the car back to pit road for repairs.
The car dropped a lap down as a result, but Graham Rahal was able to get the car back on the lead lap during his stint behind the wheel.
Then the No. 62 GTLM Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE suffered a door latch issue that caused it to drop off the lead lap in the race’s third hour, as well.
TEQUILA PATRON STRUGGLES WITH TIRE ISSUES
Something appeared out of whack on the No. 22 Tequila Patron ESM. It suffered a punctured tire early in the race and then again in the third hour.
The second incident was worse, as the car had to limp much of the front stretch before being able to get to pit road for repairs.
The car suffered significant damage to the right rear firewall as the tire continued to fall apart, taking much of the fender with it.
The car fell three laps down as a result.
Even worse, the radiator suffered some damage, prompting team engineers to be concerned whether the car will be able to make it to the finish.
“It blew up in the kink in the middle of the track before Turn 5,” driver Pipo Derani told FS2. “Unfortunately, the tire is completely destroyed and I had to come back in.
“It’s a real pity because I’m not sure if the car is okay. The tire was hitting the radiator so we’re just hoping we can fight back.”
RICKY TAYLOR FEELING BETTER
After three days in bed with a bad case of the flu, Ricky Taylor was back and in much better health as the race kicked off.
“I think the race car is the best medicine,” Taylor told FS2. “I feel great. Helio (Castroneves) and Graham (Rahal) did all the work and let me rest for three days to get healthy.”
As for the door latch issue on the No. 7 Acura Team Penske prototype, Taylor was disappointed but took it in stride.
“It’s so awkward when everything is going good and you’re in a rhythm and then the door opens,” Taylor told FS2. “You hear all different noises coming out of the exhaust and it throws you off.
“I wish the series would have let us run because I was just getting used to it. I was pulling on it as much as I could, but unfortunately we had to pit for it. The good news is Graham (relief driver Graham Rahal) is back on the lead lap. I think we’re P8 and we’ll try to hold on to the lead lap till about 4-5 hours to go.”
NOTES:
* Scott Pruett, competing in the last race of his career and hoping to become the Rolex 24 all-time winner (he currently is tied for first with five wins), is preparing to go out in the No. 15 3GT Racing GTD in
Hour No. 7. He’s expected to run three segments in the remaining part of the race.
* The lights at both Daytona International Speedway and on most of the cars came on around 5:25 p.m. ET and will likely remain on until Hour 17 of the race.
* The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTLM of Corvette Racing went roughly the first three hours of the race with radio and telemetry issues.
Drivers and team engineers could not communicate with each other, leaving the drivers to run the race by their own devices.
Finally, after a pit stop near the end of the third hour, the team was able to repair the radio and telemetry issues and things were back to normal.
* Stewart Middleton got aggressive and spun Simon Pagenaud in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske prototype late in the third hour.
Middleton was forced to take a stop-and-go penalty.