Richard Dole/Motorsport Images
Rolex 24 Hour 15: Whelen Engineering Cadillac takes charge
A mysteriously slow lap from Kavin Magnussen has promoted Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. to the lead of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Magnussen had put the No. 02 Cadillac into the lead of the race in the previous hour.
The reason for the slow lap is unknown, but the car seemed problem-free in the second half of the hour as Magnussen moved back into fourth ahead of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05c.
On the other side of the Cadillac Chip Ganassi garage is the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R., which has rejoined the race following an electrical issue. The team lost 43 laps while replacing a wiring loom.
The hour ended under a full course yellow after a fire in turn one. Cameras revealed thick smoke that billowed out from behind the timing pylon that initially obscured the view of the car., but it was the later revealed to be the No. 7 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine D08.
Loic Duval in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R. passed Will Stevens in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05c late in the hour. Those two are battling while Pipo Derani looks to pull away from the pack.
In GT Daytona, Mikael Grenier has moved the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 into the lead of the race after passing Jan Heylen in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
On the LMP2 side, DragonSpeed’s No. 81 ORECA 07 was handed a drive-through penalty for spinning the wheels on the jack while Pato O’Ward was handing the car to Colton Herta. The No. 81 ORECA was in the lead when the penalty occurred. The car was back up to second when the hour ended.
Notes
* The No. 71 T3 Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan, which came to a stop on the backstretch a handful of hours ago, is back on track after the car ran out of fuel. It is currently 12th in class, 17 laps behind the class leader.
* The No. 63 TR3 Lamborghini Huracan has retired from GTD Pro after being squeezed against the wall by another car. The contact resulted in a broken tie rod.
* Fifteen hours into the race, bitterly cold air, darkness, and little sleep will all combine for mistakes – and not just for the drivers. The mechanics on the No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 only changed three of the four tires on the car during its last pit stop.
Ryan Kish
Ryan began his motorsports career working as a sportscar reporter with DailySportsCar.com. He has covered the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship for five years. He is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento with a degree in Political Science and Journalism
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