Rolex 24: Hour 18: Cadillacs still lead at 3/4 mark

Ricky Taylor leads in the #10 Cadillac

The sun may be up but the story is the same – the pace car leads the Rolex 24 again. Ricky Taylor’s No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R reclaimed the lead from the No. 5 Action Express Cadillac in the 18th hour of the Rolex 24 at Daytona on a still wet track.

Taylor had a 55 second lead over Joao Barbosa with six hours to go, prior to the 14th safety car period of the race, due to debris shed from the No. 26 BAR1 Motorsports Oreca FLM09 of David Cheng.

Taylor got around Barbosa for the lead on lap 464, with the Action Express Cadillac briefly dropping behind the No. 90 Visit Florida Racing Riley of Renger van der Zande, who served a drive-through penalty for repeatedly straight-lining the Bus Stop chicane.

Scott Sharp’s No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan Onroak DPi sits fourth, one lap behind, after also serving a penalty for cutting the track.

In GT Le Mans, the lead battle remains finely balanced, with the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, leading Sebastien Bourdais’ No. 66 Ford GT and the No. 3 Corvette C7.R of Jan Magnussen.

The two cars run fifth and sixth overall, due to the attrition-filled race in the Prototype class and let's not forget the year the Corvette won overall when all the Daytona Prototypes failed.

Prototype Challenge has continued to be paced by the No. 38 Performance Tech Oreca FLM09 of James French, with Ryan Hunter-Reay leading an Michael Shank Racing Acura 1-2 in GT Daytona with six hours to go.

Hour 18 Standings