By Holly Cain
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As expected, the tight match for the overall lead of the Rolex 24 At Daytona 12 hours was so excited about the famous IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship season as it was on the decline of the green flag. And at the center of the race, a familiar name points the way.
Filipe Albuquerque has the no. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing / Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 DPi before, which is the no. 48 Action Express / Ally Racing Cadillac DPi-VR and Mike Rockenfeller held off with less than a second with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kevin Magnussen of Chip Ganassi. and the reigning champion of the NASCAR Cup, Chase Elliott, in pole vault no. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac, which is racing. The five best Daytona Prototype international (DPi) were still on the top shot – within 40 seconds of the lead in one of the most competitive runs in Rolex 24 history.
The centerpiece of the Rolex 24 was also the second point for awarding points for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, which rewards the best performers in the designated stages of the four endurance rides on the WeatherTech Championship Scheme. The leaders after 12 hours were: the Konica Minolta Acura no. 10 in the DPi class; the no. 47 Cetilar Racing Dallara in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2); the no. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 in the new Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class; the no. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in GT Le Mans (GTLM); and the no. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in GT Daytona (GTD).
Flag-to-flag coverage of the iconic Rolex 24 lasts through the night on NBC Sports platforms. Tune in to the NBC Sports App until 6 p.m. As daylight breaks in Daytona Beach, live coverage shifts to NBCSN from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., before the dramatic 14-16-hour closing hours air on NBC. The checkered flag will be flying around 3:40 p.m. The entire race streams on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.
After a wave of early full track warnings – four in the opening of the race three hours – the riders stepped in and there were only two yellow flags over the next nine hours. Only three of the 49 entries – all in LMP2 – withdrew from the race.
The following are other highlight notes per hour 6-12, per class:
Daytona International Prototype: Johnson’s Midnight Special
Jimmie Johnson drew a double tournament in the number 48 Ally Racing Cadillac just after midnight. The car that was taken over after driver Kamui Kobayashi drove it into the overall lead retained the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series point over his first fuel run, but behind Renger van der Zande in number 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac his second turn.
No.5 Cadillac’s Night Turns Dark
The Mustang sample no. 5 / JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac, with Tristan Vautier on board, fell out of contention after colliding with Patrick Long in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R GTD. The collision occurred when the cars were about to go to the infield section of the roadway.
The number 5 was on the front lap for the entire race. Vautier immediately pulls the car behind the wall and into the garage, where it stays for almost 90 minutes while the crew recovers. Then it was 47 laps off the pace.
Castroneves Savoring Short Championship Moment
It took Helio Castroneves more than two decades of professional racing to win his first season title, which came with Ricky Taylor in the 2020 WeatherTech Championship. But now that he only wants to ride in one series race, the Rolex 24, this year, the Brazilian intends to enjoy the moment – no matter how short it takes.
“This is the first time I have returned as a defending champion,” Castroneves said after his first race in the Konica Minolta Acura no. 10 which he shares with Taylor, Albuquerque and Alexander Rossi. “It was really cool. I talked to Ricky about it. It’s a pretty good feeling. ‘
Taylor will hold that honor all year as he is a full season rider in the number 10. He has been the only opportunity for Castroneves since returning to the IndyCar series in April.
Le Mans prototype 2: Cetilar Racing sneaks into the classroom
Cetilar Racing, which offered the only Dallara chassis in the LMP2 field, took the lead after a restart of a full track warning with 13.5 hours left. The Cetilar entry no. 47, with four Italian drivers, had been in the shadows for hours until he passed the leading No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 and No. 11 WIN Autosport shot ORECA which had dominated up to that point.
Le Mans Prototype 3: no. 6 Muehlner Motorsports America asks for lead
The comeback story of the first half of the race was the no. 6 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine M30-D08. After suffering less than 20 minutes in the race with apparent suspension, the number 6 who started first in LMP3 dropped to four laps of pace in the class.
Co-drivers Moritz Kranz, Laurents Hoerr, Kenton Koch and Stevan McAleer moved the number 6 back in a methodical way by taking the LMP3 lead by the seventh hour and with the Ligier JS P320 no. 74 to contest the class lead. After 12 hours, the no. 74 Ligier holds the mark over the No. 6 Muehlner Motorsports America entry.
GT Le Mans: Corvettes Continue to set the pace
Five GTLM cars remained on the front lap after 12 hours, but it was the Corvette Racing duo that took the lead. The team is trying to return to Victory Lane for the first time since 2016 at the Rolex 24 and the Corvette C8.R to win its first endurance.
At the center of the race, the no. 4 Corvette driven by Nick Tandy took a lead of 5,894 seconds on the number 3 Corvette driven by Jordan Taylor.
“It’s been going pretty well so far, I would say,” said Alexander Sims, co-manager of the no. 4 Corvettes that led the most laps. “I had my first two stints in the Corvette at Daytona, and I feel like I’m still learning a lot. It was the first two complete stints I did, and I learned a lot about the evolution of the car over there.
“So we are at the front of the field. It may seem like everything is under control, but we are pushing hard and not leaving much on the table. We are in the right position at the moment.”
GT Daytona: Night Time is the right time for Mercedes-AMG
The long periods of green flag proved to be the most advantageous for the Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari runners in GTD. The no. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 held the lead of the class for a long time until the full track was careful with another 13.5 hours.
At the restart, however, Maro Engel in the no. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Mikael Grenier in the no. 75 Sun Energy 1 Mercedes quickly pulled ahead of the Ferrari and came in the top two GTD spots. The battle for the position was still fierce between the two brands and Ferrari driver Daniel Serra was able to split the two Mercedes and move into second place just before the center of the race.