Rolex 24 Hour 9: #48 Cadillac Back on Top

It has been another steady three hours at the Rolex 24 at Daytona with more green flag running interrupted only once by a short Full Course Yellow for a one-car incident. Kamui Kobayashi and the #48 Ally Cadillac Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R. are out front. It was a remarkable stint for Kobayashi who battled with Scott Dixon for control of the race. Jimmie Johnson is in the car now holding onto a lead of just 0.924 seconds over Renger Van Der Zande.

The #5 Mustang Sampling/JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R. has dropped down the order after Loic Duval was penalized for jumping the restart. He needed to serve a drive-through penalty. They are currently fifth in class, over one minute behind the leading-#48 Cadillac.

The Full Course Yellow came out for the #1 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo. The engine of the car expired on the exit of the bus stop, leaving Franck Perera searching for a lift back to the paddock. The car was retired shortly after being delivered back to the garage. That was only the race’s fourth retirement. We have seen a few stumbles and mechanical gremlins, but after nine hours, the attrition rate has been low.

Another emerging storyline has been the #6 Muehlner Motorsports Duqueine D08 who recovered from a crash in the race’s first fifteen minutes and have moved into the lead of LMP3. The LMP3 cars still need to make their mandatory eight-minute pit stops, a factor that could shake things up as we move into the early hours of Sunday morning.

The battle in GTD has been one for the ages with yet more new faces moving into the conversation. There are some favorites like the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, the #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, and the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 have been regulars at the top of the running order, though. Others are knocking on the door – with still fifteen hours to go, it’s anyone’s guess at this stage of the race in GTD.

Kamui Kobayashi’s mega effort has vaulted the #48 Cadillac into a strong position at the front of the field.

1. The #48 Ally Cadillac Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R.
2. The #01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R.
3. The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05c
4. The #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R.
5. The #5 Mustang Sampling/JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R.

Corvette has still been untouchable in GTLM, behind them, the #62 Ferrari has moved past the two BMW M8s.

1. The #3 Corvette Racing C8.R
2. The #4 Corvette Racing C8.R
3. The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE
4. The #24 BMW M8 GTE
5. The #25 BMW M8 GTE
6. The #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR

The #11 WIN ORECA still has the lead in LMP2 with the #47 Dallara moving up the running order.

1. The #11 WIN Autosport ORECA 07
2. The #8 Tower Motorsports ORECA 07
3. The #47 Cetilar Racing Dallara P217
4. The #18 Era Motorsport ORECA 07
5. The #82 DragonSpeed ORECA 07

Muehlner Motorsport’s remarkable recovery drive is complete as they control the field in LMP3.

1. The #6 Muehlner Motorsports Duqueine D08
2. The #33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier JS P320
3. The #74 Riley-Robinson Ligier JS P320
4. The #54 CORE Autosport Ligier JS P320
5. The #91 Riley-Cox Ligier JS P320

The #21 Ferrari moves to the front as the #9 Pfaff begins rising up the order. The #14 Lexus moves back into the top five.

1. The #21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3
2. The #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo
3. The #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
4. The #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC-F GT3
5. The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
6. The #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3

Official Retirements

P46: The #19 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo (Engine)

P47: The #29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA 07 (Gearbox)

P48: The #20 High Class Racing ORECA 07 (Gearbox)

P49: The #81 DragonSpeed ORECA 07 (Crash/Engine)