DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As the Rolex 24 at Daytona reaches the halfway point, the Acuras continue to strut their stuff. The ARX-06 has a top speed advantage over the Cadillacs and Porsche and they have been using it to run down foes.
Of course, the race hasn’t been all great. Helio Castroneves spun on a restart after running against Action Express Racing’s Pipo Derani. The car was not damaged in the incident.
Later on, Tom Blomqvist was able to charge all the way up to the front and dispatch Renger van der Zande with literal ease for the lead.
At halfway, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian’s Simon Pagenaud was leading under caution over Action Express Racing’s Alexander Sims. Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport’s Louis Deletraz was third, then Porsche Penske Motorsports’ Dane Cameron and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon.
Unfortunately, oiling problems are striking the Acuras right at halfway. The Meyer Shank Acura appeared to be leaking oil, while the WTR Acura went to the garage right after the halfway point with deal with a broken oil filler neck.
In LMP2, the strong run for TDS Racing fell apart almost as soon as we posted the six hour update. Steven Thomas was leading in the seventh hour when he was hit from behind under braking for the Le Mans chicane. Thomas spun and hit the inside SAFER Barrier.
After repairs in the garage, the team did get the No. 11 back on-track. However, they chose to retire the car at the nine-hour mark.
Proton Competition’s James Allen was leading at halfway, followed by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports’ Alex Quinn, AF Corse’s Nicklas Nielsen, Crowdstrike Racing by APR’s Esteban Gutierrez and Giedo van der Garde in the sole remaining TDS Racing entry.
In LMP3, Andretti Autosport and Sean Creech Motorsports have swapped the lead back and forth for the past few hours, depending on who is where on their pit strategy.
At halfway, Joao Barbosa was leading in the Sean Creech No. 33, followed by Andrew Wojteczko Autosport’s No. 17 for Thomas Merrill. Andretti Autosport’s Dakota Dickerson was a lap down in third, then FastMD Racing’s James Vance. The MRS GT-Racing No. 43 of Danial Frost was fifth, but that car came to a stop on-course shortly before halfway and brought out the caution.
In GTD Pro, The Heart of Racing’s Ross Gunn was leading at halfway over WeatherTech Racing’s Maro Engel, VasserSullivan’s Ben Barnicoat, Iron Lynx’s Andrea Caldarelli and Pfaff Motorsports’ Patrick Pilet. Six teams are currently on the lead lap.
GTD was led by Team Korthoff Motorsports’ Maximilian Goetz, then Inception Racing’s Marvin Kirchhoefer and Marco Sorensen in The Heart of Racing’s No. 27 Aston Martin. Winward Racing’s Daniel Morad, who has done all of his driving to this point at night, was fourth, while VasserSullivan’s Aaron Telitz was fifth.
IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA RUNNING ORDER AFTER 12 HOURS
There are now six teams that have retired from the race. In addition to TDS Racing’s No. 11, the Risi Competizione No. 62 has dropped out due to floor damage on their Ferrari 296 GT3.
Kelly-Moss Road & Race’s No. 92 Porsche suffered an apparent engine failure and had a small fire while Andrew Davis was in the car, while SunEnergy1 Racing’s Mercedes dropped out after touring at a reduced pace with power issues. These teams are in addition to Cetilar Racing and Riley Motorsports that dropped out in the first quarter of the race.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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