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Rolex 24: After three hours, Ganassi still in control

We've already had a number of cars go to the garage, three hours into the race.

Early race action

Early race action

Art Fleischmann

Start: #60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Ligier JS P2 Honda: John Pew, Oswaldo Negri, A.J. Allmendinger, Matt McMurry leads the field
#64 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia: Francisco Longo, Daniel Serra, Marcos Gomes, Andrea Bertolini
PC start: #16 BAR1 Motorsports Oreca FLM09: Johnny Mowlem, Tom Papadopoulos, Tomy Drissi, Brian Alder, Martin Plowman
#63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia: Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell, Anthony Lazzaro, Jeff Segal, Jeff Westphal, #58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America: Madison Snow, Jan Heylen, Patrick Dempsey, Philipp Eng
GTLM start: #4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Simon Pagenaud
#25 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE: Bill Auberlen, Dirk Werner, Augusto Farfus, Bruno Spengler, #911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR: Nick Tandy, Marc Lieb, Patrick Pilet
GTD start
#44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America: John Potter, Andy Lally, Marco Seefried, Martin Ragginger, #49 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia: Pasin Lathouras, Michele Rugolo, Rui Aguas, Matt Griffin
#02 Chip Ganassi Ford/Riley: Scott Dixon, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Tony Kanaan

Daytona Beach, Fla - The No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche was handed a three minute and 34 second time penalty for an improper pass around. 

Attrition was high in the second hour with the No. 31 DP going into the garage with engine issues, later followed by the No. 97 Turner BMW, which is suffering from a gearbox problem. The BMW returned to the track, only to be sent back into the garage soon after.

Second full-course caution

As the second full-course caution flew, a lot happened at once. The No. 52 PC Oreca dropped fluid and pulled off the track. The No. 81 GTD Porsche then spun, damaging the left rear and taking out some signage. As the field slowed, the DeltaWing pulled up alongside the stopped PC car and joined it with gearbox gremlins once again biting that team after a strong start. 

The DeltaWing is now out of the race and more on its issues can be seen HERE.

While running tenth, the No. 2 ESM slowed and limped back to the pits, retiring from the race. The Corvettes surprised as they started battling for the lead, making slight contact in the first corner, costing them their 1-2 running order. Later, the No. 911 Porsche of Tandy blew the backstretch chicane while battling with the Corvettes.

Into the third hour

In the third hour, there were a number of minor spins and incidents. Among the casualties was the AMR No. 98, which spun and suffered a failure in the driveline as he tried to get the Aston back going. The once-leading No. 16 'Spongebob' PC spun, but received no damage.

The No. 07 Mazda prototype was smoking with an apparent fuel line issue, which has since been resolved. The No. 93 GTD Viper and No. 25 GTLM BMW suffered rear tire failures, and Bill Auberlen was furious with Nick Tandy, who caused the puncture. You can see what he had to say HERE.

Wayne Taylor Racing was forced to reset the electronics, which now has the Corvette DP running full song once again. The pole-sitting Michael Shank Racing Ligier has fallen back, which Ozz Negri says are due to refueling issues causing slow pit stops. As the hour ended, a GTD Porsche was trying to rejoin after a spin and forced the class leading Viper off the track.

So far, the No.2 ESM entry and the DeltaWing are the only retirements.

Class Leaders

P - No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing Corvette DP

PC - No. 11 RSR Racing ORECA FLM09

GTLM - No. 62 Risi Competizion Ferrari 458 Italia

GTD - No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper SRT 

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