After an hour of racing, it’s a Cadillac 1-2-3 in the 2017 Rolex 24 Hours, with the #31 Action Express Cadillac leading the race after Dane Cameron charged to the front at the end of the hour. Ricky Taylor sits second in the WTR Caddy, with pole-sitting Joao Barbosa down to third.
Fastest of the non Cadillacs is the Rebellion Racing Oreca which started third and slipped to fourth in the opening laps. In GTLM the #68 Ford leads, the pack, with the #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari atop GTD after vaulting to the front during the first round of stops.
Back at 2:30 it was a clean start for the front runners but the #81 Dragonspeed Oreca lost momentum on the opening lap and dropped into the GTLM pack leaving Nico Lapierre to pick his way back forwards carefully.
Straight into the pits at the end of Lap 1 was the #52 PR1/ Mathiasen Ligier in the hands of Tom Kimber Smith, Mike Guasch reporting to IMSA Radio’s Shea Adam that the team has been fighting a shift mechanism issue, the system losing air, an overnight fix not successful.
Lap 2 and the #70 Mazda was on pitlane too with Joel Miller topping up with fuel after having a plastic bag removed from an air intake!
The #18 Lamborghini did take the start after DAC Motorsports got it to the grid at the last possible moment
Very early trouble though for another Huracan as the #16 Change Racing car, in the hands of Jeroen Mul was off track with the car against the tyre wall with left frontal damage at the West Horseshoe. That brought out the first full course caution of the 24 Hours after just eight minutes.
The race then went back to green after seven minutes under caution but the #52, back on track, was very slow on track, being overtaken by the GT field.
Back onto pitlane came Nico Lapierre in the #81 for a drive through after coming in when pits were closed.
In contrast Joel Miller was making rapid progress back up the order, rapidly dealing with the GTDs and getting to grips with the GTLM runners as the 20 minute mark passed by.
Barbosa though had the hammer down, a 1:37.150 was the fastest lap of the race and just 2 tenths off his pole setting pace. Resppnding next time around though was the second placed man, Dane cameron with a 1:37.145 – the gap just three tenths with Ricky Taylor a similar (lets call it a) gap back in third!
Dropping down the order too was the #911 Porsche, though it seemed likely, with no on track issue having been observed, that a timing glitch had robbed the RSR of a logged lap (confirmed – the car running seventh on class).
Another Lamborghini in trouble was the #21 Konrad Huracan, Lee Willsey taking the car behind the wall after 27 minutes.
Marc Goossens in the #90 Visit Florida Riley was an early, but apparently, routine, pit stop.
John Edwards, at around the same moment, pitted the #24 BMW, but then stopped, dead stick, in the fast lane, the team powerless to assist.
PC leader Johnny Mowlem pitted next in the #26 BAR1 Oreca, James french to the led off PC in the #38.
New Leader, Dane Cameron to the lead ahead of Barbosa and pulling away rapidly. IMSA officials released the BMW mechanics to assist the #24 behind the wall but the car appeared to be stuck in gear.
38 minutes and the first truly routine stops for the Prototypes began, Ryan Dalziel first to pit, the ESM Nissan DPi taking a long time to get back up to speed on cold rubber, before that though Ricky Taylor put in the fastest lap of the race, 1:36.909.
Back where he should be on the timesheets, but not for long, was Patrick Pilet, the #911 straightlining the chicane but pitting immediately with a right front puncture.
The top two pitted together, plus Hartley in the #22 ESM and Jani in the #13 Rebellion Oreca, Ricky Taylor to the lead in the #10 WTR Cadillac DPi, all three Caddys having led in the first 40 minutes.
Joel Miller then inherited the lead as Taylor pits, the #70 having had the early stop on Lap 2 before pitting just as the Leading Cadillacs stormed around the #31 back to the lead. His time at the front didn’t even last a lap however.
The leading PC car also pitted leaving the GTLM cars in the midst off the Prototype pack and yet to pit, still Joey Hand leading Toni Vilander, 4 seconds the lead gap in class.
The GTLM routine stops started at around the 50 minute mark – the way in which the fuel-window balance works out will be interesting to keep track of across the classes this season it seems!
In GTD the final cars to pit, from a 1,2 in class as others ahead pitted earlier, were the Acuras after 29 laps, 57 minutes. Barbosa was down to third, between Taylor, up to second.
Another Lamborghini drama was a fuelling fire for the #27 Dream Racing Huracan – the blaze contained and extinguished rapidly but a substantial clear up required.
23 hours left to run in this one.
Starts pics Copyright and courtesy of Marshall Pruett
