IMSA Rolex 24 Hour 3: #7 Penske Porsche assumes lead
The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, driven by Julien Andlauer, now leads the 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona overall, but the race entered its fourth full-course yellow of the day just minutes into the hour.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
The caution was triggered by a collision between Dylan Murry in the No. 83 AF Corse USA ORECA LMP2 and Adam Adelson in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Murry spun approaching the West Horseshoe (Turn 5), creating a massive smokescreen that blinded Adelson, leading to a heavy impact. Both drivers exited their cars unaided.
In GTP, it’s no longer a Porsche 1-2 after the No. 6 Porsche 963 suffered damage from minor contact with an LMP2 car exiting the pits. Laurens Vanthoor brought the car in for repairs to the right side, dropping to the rear of the GTP field but remaining on the lead lap. His co-driver, Kévin Estre, explained: “I had a very small contact on the right side with a P2 coming out of the pit. I thought I left enough room, but I don’t know. We had a contact, and we have small damage on the right side.” Estre also had a close call earlier, brushing the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 while overtaking below the double yellow line out of NASCAR Turn 4.
At the time of the caution, Andlauer led ahead of Álex Palou in the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, with AJ Allmendinger holding third in the No. 60 MSR Acura. The Cadillac duo of Ricky Taylor (No. 10 WTR) and Earl Bamber (No. 31 Whelen) ran fourth and fifth, while Vanthoor had recovered to ninth after restarting from 11th.
LMP2
LMP2 remains dominated by PJ Hyett in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA 07-Gibson, who has pulled away from a pack of young Silver-rated drivers. Grégoire Saucy holds second in the No. 22 United Autosports USA entry, followed by Sebastian Alvarez in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports machine, who posted the fastest LMP2 lap so far.
GTD Pro
GTD Pro has seen significant attrition. The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, a class winner at Daytona two years ago, became the second official retirement after Daniel Serra dropped a wheel on the grass exiting the Esses and collided with the No. 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari driven by James Calado. Serra’s left-front suspension was critically damaged, bringing out the third full-course yellow as he stopped on the backstretch. Calado continued with minimal issues.
The No. 59 RLL Team McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, which had been battling in the top four, headed to the garage with a suspected electrical issue shortly after Jüri Vips took over from Dean MacDonald. Meanwhile, Will Power, in his first stint in the No. 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, served a 100-second penalty for failing to meet stint energy requirements.
Before the Risi incident’s caution, the two Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3s pitted strategically and vaulted to the front: Ben Barker in the No. 64 leads over Sebastian Priaulx in the No. 65. The Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.Rs follow, with Tommy Milner third in the No. 4 and Antonio García fourth in the No. 3.
GTD
In GTD, Patrick Gallagher has taken command for Turner Motorsport in the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3, ahead of Tom Gamble in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. Albert Costa has climbed to third in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari.
The third hour brought a flurry of incidents and strategic plays, disrupting the early rhythm but keeping the Porsche at the forefront in GTP while shaking up the GT classes with retirements and penalties.