It’s Cadillac vs. Acura, Ganassi vs. Meyer Shank as the 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona hits five hours to go after an hour with little drama. Scott Dixon in the No. 01 Cadillac leads Colin Braun in the No. 60 Acura by around 40s, Earl Bamber in the second CGR car, the No. 02, another 40s back. With both CGR cars in the fight, it’s a far cry from last year’s Rolex 24 when neither of the team’s cars was running at this point.
Wayne Taylor Racing and the No. 6 Porsche are a lap and three laps down respectively. They’re not completely out of the fight, but will need some luck to get back in it. The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 was back in the garage, possibly for another battery change.
It’s a fight between Corvette Racing and WeatherTech Racing in GTD PRO as the No. 3 Corvette with Jordan Taylor and the No. 79 Mercedes-AMG with Daniel Juncadella battle back and forth. Taylor had the lead heading into the 20th hour.
“I had a good stint into the morning,” said Jules Gounon, who was in the No. 79 as daylight broke. “We are all about fuel saving and managing the gap to P2. We are still in the lead. We scored the endurance points at the 18-hour mark, so that is good. Fingers crossed for the rest of the six hours.”
5 hours to go at @DAYTONA!#IMSA | @Rolex24Hours pic.twitter.com/AADuEI1RkC
— #IMSA (@IMSA) January 29, 2023
The Winward Racing Cinderella story continues, Daniel Morad leading GTD in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG until pitting shortly before the hour ticked over. Heart of Racing took the lead back when Morad pitted, although Marco Sorensen lost a bit of time with a momentary electrical issue in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage.
CrowdStrike Racing with APR leads LMP2 in its debut in the class, Ben Hanley at the wheel with a narrow lead over Josh Pierson in the No. 35 TDS Racing ORECA. PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports continues to battle back from its penalty, but Nicolas Lapierre is still a lap down in the No. 52. Sean Creech Motorsports is on its own lap in LMP3, Nolan Siegel at the wheel in the No. 33 Ligier.
Class leaders after the 19th hour:
GTP: Scott Dixon, No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh
LMP2: Ben Hanley, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing with APR ORECA
LMP3: Nolan Siegel, No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier
GTD PRO: Jordan Taylor, No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette
GTD: Marco Sorensen, No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage
Notes:
• Team Korthoff Motorsports was felled from the front of the GTD field by a brake issue. The No. 32 Mercedes-AMG had been battling at the front for the duration of the event, but has now fallen 15 laps behind after fixing the issue.
• The LMP2 No. 18 Era Motorsports ORECA has retired from the race with an engine issue.
• The LMP3 No. 87 FastMD Racing Duqueine has been in the pits for a long time with an apparent gearbox issue.
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