DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – At the end of the day at Daytona, it looks like Action Express Racing will have to fight the Porsches alone.
The Chip Ganassi Racing team was forced to retire from the race at 2 p. m. after the car broke down at Renger van der Zande. Electronics were to blame.
Both BMWs also had problems. Dries Vanthoor holed No. 24 and showed a yellow card. The No. 25 also finished an eight-lap stint in the garage.
The upheavals more or less reduced the contenders for victory to just three teams, while six were on the leader’s lap. Jack Aitken spent hours chasing Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Mathieu Jaminet. Matt Campbell wasn’t too far behind the two of them.
Jaminet was able to eventually take the lead away and drove into the distance. However, trouble was not far away.
After six hours, Aitken took the lead again, followed by the No. 7 Porsche of Matt Campbell, 1,432 moments behind. Jaminet in the second Porsche was third, but served a pit stop and a 10-minute penalty for violating fuel parameters. 3rd penalty of the race for the team.
JDC-Miller MotorSports’ Neel Jani finished fourth in his visiting Porsche. Andretti Global’s Wayne Taylor Racing and Louis Deletraz, fifth.
The LMP2 class saw an exciting battle for the lead between CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s Malthe Jakobsen and Era Motorsport’s Connor Zilisch. The two drivers battled hard for the lead with Zilisch setting picks that allowed him to keep the advantage.
The war only ended when either pilot stopped at the same time. Zilisch leaves No. 18 in favor of Ryan Dalziel while Jakobsen remains in his car. Jakobsen won the race from the pits and took the lead in his category. Despite this, Zilisch is very satisfied with his stage.
Jakobsen led at the 18-hour mark by 5.070 seconds over Dalziel. Inter Europol Competition with PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports’ Pietro Fittipaldi was third, then Riley Motorsports’ Josh Burdon and United Autosports’ Nico Pino.
In GTD Pro, the No. 3 Corvette was very fast and seemed to control the race from the front. Its main rival was the Risi Competizione Ferrari driven by Davide Rigon. Then the Risi team made a mistake in a pit stop. The guy with the chimney extinguisher wasn’t in his correct position, resulting in a driving penalty that made No. 62 to back off.
As the race continued, the No. 3 Corvette sustained damage to the right rear corner. The right taillight fell into the frame and the car began to smoke. Flashes of fire were seen. Slowly but surely, Alexander Sims has once again fallen into the clutches of Paul Miller Racing’s Neil Verhagen. Once Verhagen took the lead, he drove away in the No. 1.
Verhagen continued to hold the lead in Corvette Racing with Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nicky Catsburg with six hours remaining. Rigon third, followed by Sims at the time smoking Corvette. AO Racing’s Laurin Heinrich fifth.
In GTD, Inception Racing spent the first part of the race fighting for the win. However, mechanical issues occurred at the 16th hour, forcing the team into the wall.
They were left in 15th place in their class, 15 laps behind.
New contenders have risen to the front like Triarsi Competizione and Lone Star Racing. Neither squad has ever won a race in WeatherTech competition.
With six hours to go, Triarsi Competizione’s Alessio Rovera led by 48.849 seconds over Lone Star Racing’s Scott Andrews in the middle of a round of stops. Winward Racing’s Daniel Morad was third, then Iron Dames’ Michelle Gatting was a lap down in fourth. Wright Motorsports’ Jan Heylen was fifth.
In 18 hours there were 12 official casualties. Only the aforementioned Ganassi Cadillac in GTP, but four other LMP2 teams. The troubled No. 20 High Class Racing car joined the three retirements in the first six hours.
In GTD Pro, the No. 60 Iron Lynx was retired, as was the SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes. The No. 14 Lexus Vasser Sullivan is missing after others evolved after his previous crash.
In GTD, Magnus Racing is absent after being hit by the No. 20 High Class Racing, while Gradient Racing retired its speedy Acura. Proton Competition recalled its privately owned Ford Mustang GT3, while the No. 27 of The Heart of Racing also suffered. Mechanical problems.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He’s the manager of the site’s FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site’s Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press secretary for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, New York. It covers all the on-track action, from regular DIRTcar Modified races to occasional visits from roving series, such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
Thanks for the update, Phil! I haven’t had the chance to watch much of the racing so appreciate the recap.