The sun has fully set over Daytona International Speedway on the Rolex 24, now lit by the glow of artificial lights.
Cadillac still holds the lead, but after a Full Course Yellow, the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing V-Series.R is now leading the way with Tom Blomqvist at the wheel.
The latest mishap in an increasingly-troubled race for the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier JS P217 is a likely battery issue that caused Lance Willsey to come to a stop coming onto the banking near Speedway turn one.
The GTP field pitted in and now the two Cadillacs are back on the same pit sequence, but the #01 Cadillac has lost significant track position, and dropped to sixth.
The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Maxime Martin runs second, followed by the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Matt Campbell.
However, the #6 Penske Porsche has had its issues. First the car was assessed a penalty for a powertrain parameters infringement; and it’s believed that the car came in to serve its penalty just after the pit lane closed for the stranded Ligier.
In LMP2, the #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA now leads with Malthe Jakobsen behind the wheel.
Ben Hanley runs second in the #2 United Autosports USA ORECA, and Felipe Fraga is third in the #74 Riley ORECA.
Two cars in each GTD sub-class have stayed out under this latest Full Course Yellow – the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in GTD Pro, and the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in GTD. They’re scored as the leaders in their respective classes.
Leading those that made pit stops last time by were the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Ross Gunn in GTD Pro, and the #32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Kenton Koch in GTD.
The #9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 EVO has re-emerged after its wheel bearing problems, though is now 21 laps down.
Feature image © Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com
