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Rolex 24 Hour 1: Early problems for DPi, GTLM, LMP3 contenders

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emailBy J.J. O'Malley | January 30, 2021 1:52 PM


Contenders in two top classes encountered problems in the opening minutes of the 59th Rolex 24 At Daytona, that got underway at 3:40 p.m. ET on Saturday.


Oliver Jarvis had problems getting the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P off the grid, reportedly getting the car into first gear. He finally joined the field, but took the green flag at the tail end of the 49-car field. It didn’t take long for Jarvis to get in the mix with the seven DPi contenders, although he had to serve a penalty for speeding on pit road during his first pit stop. He ran seventh at the one-hour mark.

Coming down to the start of the GT race, Kevin Estre in the No. 79 WeatherTech Porsche 911 RSR-19 was turned around after being hit from behind by Bruno Spengler in the No. 25 Team RLL BMW M8 GTE. Estre continued with damaged rear bodywork, although he was again bumped off course on the second lap by a GTD competitor. Spengler served a penalty for incident responsibility.

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Eight minutes into the race, caution waved for the first time to remove debris from the Estre Porsche in Turn 6. Estre then pitted in the early laps to replace the rear-end assembly and splitter, putting the lone GTLM Porsche 15 laps down.

The two Duqueine M30-D08 cars in LMP3 got together in the early laps. The put the No. 6 Muehlner Motorsports entry in the pits, losing four laps, while Ryan Norman in the No. 7 Forty7 Motorsports car was the first car to the garage.

Felipe Nasr led from the start in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. He led 20 laps before his first pit stop, and cycled back to the lead two laps later. Filipe Albuquerque passed for the lead on Lap 25, with Nasr back to the lead one lap later.

At the one-hour mark, Nasr led in DPi, followed by Loic Duval in the No. 5 Cadillac and Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Cadillac. Ben Keating had a 25-second lead in LMP2 driving the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2. Rasmus Lindh leads in LMP3 driving the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier. In GTLM, Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette leads teammate Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette and James Calado in the No. 62 Ferrari.

Aaron Telitz leads GTD in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus, followed by Madison Snow in the No. 1 Lamborghini and Jan Heylen in the No. 16 Porsche.

The command to start the engines for the 59th Rolex 24 At Daytona was given by Pierre Fillion, president of the ACO. Dano Davis, founder of the Brumos Collection, waved the green flag to get the field underway.

HOUR 1 STANDINGS

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Rolex 24 Hour 2: Cadillacs to the fore

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emailBy J.J. O'Malley | January 30, 2021 3:04 PM

After two hours in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Cadillac holds down the top four places, with Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing DPi-V.R leading Felipe Nasr in the No. 31, Simon Pagenaud in the No. 48, and Loic Duval in the No. 5.

In LMP2, class leader Antonio Fuoco’s No. 47 Cetilar Dallara is followed by the ORECAs of Eric Lux (No. 82) and Ben Keating (No. 52).


Tommy Milner leads GTLM in the No. 4 Corvette, chased by James Calado in the No. 62 Ferrari and John Edwards in the No. 24 BMW, while Aaron Telitz continues to pace GTD in the No. 14 Lexus, followed by Jan Heylen in the No. 16 Porsche and Misha Goikhberg in the No. 19 Lamborghini.

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Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson turned the No. 48 Action Express Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R over to IndyCar star Simon Pagenaud with the car in second place midway through the second hour of competition.

“What a car, and what an opportunity,” Johnson said. “I certainly didn’t want to break the toy during the first couple of hours, so I was a little bit more conservative than I needed to be. We got that caution just right.”
Johnson: “What a car, and what an opportunity!” Motorsport Images

Stepping away from stock cars, Johnson will tackle IndyCar this year, and found the DPi the perfect step in the transition.

“This is the closest car I can drive in the U.S. to an IndyCar,” said Johnson, who last raced in the Rolex 24 in 2011, back in the era of the Daytona Prototypes.

“The braking is much better now than the car I drove 10 years ago,” Johnson said of the DPi Cadillac. “Speeds are up, but the brakes are a huge difference. The last car I drove here had steel brakes; this car has carbon fiber, plus the shape of the body is much different, which does provide more downforce. The car does move around in the corner, and you do lack grip and have to fight the car to drive it. That’s much more in line with my NASCAR days. I’m finding in IndyCar that the window to slide things around is so narrow!”

Leading in GT Daytona moments before the 1-hour mark, problems for the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 sent the car to the back of the pack, two laps down. At the end of the hour, the car was still 19th, but gained a lap due to the cautions.

Moments later, Rob Hodes went straight into the wall in Turn 1 in the No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA LMP2 07-Gibson. Hobes limped back to the pits, losing several laps to replace right-front and splitter damage. Debris from the incident also brought out the second caution of the race, a lengthy 34 minute slowdown.


The race had only gone green for eight minutes when Frits Van Eerd tagged a tire barrier, causing significant left-front damage to the No. 29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA. That brought out the third caution of the race.

HOUR 2 STANDINGS

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Rolex 24 Hour 3: DPi battle rages, Corvettes pace GTLM

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emailBy J.J. O'Malley | January 30, 2021 4:07 PM

Competition remains tight among the seven DPi teams battling for top honors in the 59th Rolex 24 At Daytona. After three hours, only 13 seconds separated the pack – the difference between first-place Tristan Vautier in the No. 5 JDC Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPI-V.R and seventh-place Chase Elliott in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.

Elliott was gifted with a stop-and-go penalty when he took over for former race leader Felipe Nasr, who came in early for emergency service just as the caution flag waved at the 2h22m mark.


Ricky Taylor was second in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05, followed by Kevin Magnussen in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Cadillac, Simon Pagenaud in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac, Oliver Pla in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Acura, Harry Tincknell in the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P and Elliott.

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Nick Tandy showed the way in the No. 4 Corvette C8.R, followed by teammate Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Corvette and Jesse Krohn in the No. 24 RLL BMW.

Paul-Loup Chatin was in front of LMP2 driving the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07-Gibson, 14 seconds ahead of Ben Keating in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA and Tim Buret in the No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA.

LPM3 saw Wayne Boyd in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P320 25 seconds ahead of Gar Robinson in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier and George Kurtz in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier.

In GTD, Kyle Kirkwood led in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, closely followed by Darren Turner in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage and Trent Hindman in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911.

Midway through the third hour, James Calado – driving in second place in GTLM in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE – dove to the inside of Cameron Cassels in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier JS P320, leading the LMP3 category. Calado ran out of room, sending both cars sliding backwards. While Calado managed to stop, Cassels tagged the barrier, sending his car to the paddock for repairs.


Calado served a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.

The first retirement of the race was the No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA, shortly followed by the No. 29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA. That reduced the LMP2 class to eight competitors.


HOUR 3 STANDINGS

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Rolex 24 Hour 4: Cadillacs 1-2 into the Daytona darkness

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emailBy J.J. O'Malley | January 30, 2021 5:13 PM

Tristan Vautier led Kevin Magnussen as Cadillacs ran 1-2 at the four-hour mark of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Vautier, in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsport Cadillac DPi-V.R, held a mere five second margin over the former Formula 1 driver making his American sports car debut in Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 01 Cadillac.

Third was Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05, with IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi – who raced an Acura for Team Penske last year – awaiting his turn at the wheel.


Mike Conway was seventh in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac after taking over from Chase Elliott. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion was unhappy with his opening stint:

“I never could get a good rhythm and find a good pace to run,” Elliott said. “I felt way better in my last practice. I need to go to work here and try to be better in my next stint; I put these guys way too far behind. There’s a long way to go, but I hate to put them in a big box like that.”

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A scary moment in the pits for Bill Auberlen came just moments after he stepped out of the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3. Aidan Read was leaving the pits just after the fuel hose was detached, splashing Auberlen in the face with fuel. Fortunately, team owner Will Turner reported later that the veteran driver was OK.

Dr. Lance Willsey, running second in LMP3, spun late in the hour in Turn 5 driving the No. 33 Sam Creech Motorsports Ligier JS P320. Jesse Krohn, driver of the No. 24 BMW, was assessed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.

Steign Schothorst took the No. 111 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan behind the wall at the four-hour mark. That was one of the cars to beat in the GTD class where Indy Dontje leading in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG had take the lead from Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus. Third was Trent Hindman in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche.


After four hours, Jordan Taylor (No. 3) led teammate Nick Tandy (No. 4) as Corvettes ran 1-2 in GTLM, followed by the No. 25 BMW of Philipp Eng.

Tristan Nunez led LMP2 in the No. 11 WIN Autosport ORECA LMP2 07-Gibson, followed by Scott Huffaker in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA and Tim Buret in the No. 9 Tower Motorsport ORECA.

Spencer Pigot led LMP3 in the No. 74 Riley Motorsport Ligier JS P320, followed by Willsey and George Kurtz in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier.

HOUR 4 STANDINGS

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Rolex 24 Hour 5: Dixon into the lead for Ganassi

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emailBy J.J. O'Malley | January 30, 2021 6:16 PM

IndyCar champions Scott Dixon and Sebastien Bourdais waged a terrific battle during the closing minutes of Hour 5 of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, advantage Bourdais in the No. 5 Mustng Sampling Cadillac until he peeled off into the pits in the closing seconds of the segment.

Dixon, in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi.V-R, was left well clear of Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac and third-placed Helio Castroneves in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05.


Dixon’s teammate – F1 veteran and IMSA newcomer Kevin Magnussen – was pleased with his earlier stint in the Ganassi Cadillac:

“It was nice to get my first taste of endurance racing,” Magnussen said. “Awesome, very good fun. Driving here is really cool. We’re in a good position, and the car is doing really well.”

Magnussen has been getting long-range coaching from his father, 2015 Rolex 24 GTLM winner (among the many accolades earned for Corvette) Jan Magnussen.

“He’s been giving me a lot of advice leading up to this race,” Magnussen said, “sending me e-mails and calling me on the phone. It’s been great. He’s done this many times…”

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Also in the fight is 2017 Rolex 24 winner Ricky Taylor, who has returned to his father’s team now campaigning the No. 10 Acura.

“It’s nice to be back on the family team with Konica Minolta and with Acura,” Taylor said. “It was a real fast start to the race this year. Everybody is giving it everything, which is what we all want – we’re all racers. Our Acura has quite a bit of pace.

“We skipped all the off-season testing up until the Roar Before the 24 just to make sure everything was perfect. Wayne Taylor Racing has a lot of experience here at Daytona. It’s all the little details they do during the off season that pay off. As long as us drivers do our jobs properly, we’ll be there at the end with a real good Acura to fight for the win.”

Nicolas Lapierre was leading LMP2 after five hours in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07-Gibson, although he took the car behind the wall moments later. That gave the lead to Matt Bell in the No. 11 WIN Autosport ORECA, followed by Gabriel Aubrey in the No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA.

Scott Andrews led LMP3 in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320, followed by Yann Clairay in the No.33 Sean Creech Motorspors Ligier and Colin Braun in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier.

Corvette Racing continues to run 1-2 in GTLM, with Alexander Sims (No. 4) leading Nicky Catsburg (No. 3) and the No. 25 BMW M8 GTE of Connor De Phillippi.

Andrew Caldarelli worked his way to the GTD lead in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan, followed by Klaus Bachler in the No. 16 Wright Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3R and Matteo Cressoni in the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 488.


The hour ran caution free. After a flurry of yellows in the early going, it’s been all green for the past 3h14m.

HOUR 5 STANDINGS

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Rolex 24 Hour 6: Few DNFs, no big leads at quarter-distance

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emailBy J.J. O'Malley | January 30, 2021 7:01 PM

Three of the biggest names in American open-wheel racing – Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves – ran up front throughout Hour 6 of the Rolex 24 At Daytona in near-perfect weather: 61 degrees, clear and cool, with no precipitation anticipated.

None of the seven DPis have experienced major problems and all are in striking distance of the lead. After six hours, Bourdais led in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac, followed by Dixon in the No. 01 Ganassi Cadillac and Castroneves in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Acura.

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Action is also extremely tight in the other classes: Alexander Sims (No. 4) leads Nicky Catsburg (No. 3) by 1.5s as Corvette Racing runs 1-2 in GTLM, stalked by the BMWs of Connor De Phillippi (No. 25) and Marco Wittmann (No. 24), and the No. 62 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi – all on the lead lap.


Klaus Bachelor leads GTD in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911, with the No. 1 Lamborghini of Bryan Sellers, the No. 23 Aston Martin of Roman De Angeles, the No. 57 Mercedes of Indy Dontje and the No. 75 Mercedes of Luca Stolz all with 11.5s.

Matthew Bell is showing the way in LMP2 in the No. 11 WIN Autosport ORECA (photo above), followed by the No. 82 DragonSpeed USA ORECA of Fabian Schiller and the No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA of John Farano.

In LMP3, Scott Andrews in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier leads Yann Clairay in the No. 33 Ligier by one lap. More significantly, the No. 6 Duqueine of Kenton Koch has rebounded from contact in the opening minutes to run third, albeit two laps down.

HOUR 6 STANDINGS

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Rolex 24 Hour 7: Cadillacs lead after hectic restart, Porsche paces GTD

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emailBy J.J. O'Malley | January 30, 2021 8:10 PM

Caution midway through the seventh hour ended a 4h45m stretch of green-flag racing, bringing the classes back together and bunching up six of the seven DPis. Dixon paced the restart in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, but both Loic Duval in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac and Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac managed to get past on the run into Turn 1 as Helio Castroneves (No. 10 Wayne Taylor Acura) overshot the apex, packing up those behind.


Franck Perera had come to a stop at the exit of the Chicane in the No. 19 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 to bring out the caution. The incident allowed the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of A.J. Allmendinger and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac of Felipe Nasr to regain a lap and close in on the leaders.

Running seventh, one lap down, is Oliver Jarvis in the No. 55 Mazda DPi.

Following the restart, officials assessed a stop-and-go penalty to Duval for jumping the start. That gave the lead to Kobayashi, followed by Dixon and Helio Castroneves in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura.

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Thomas Merrill took over the LMP2 lead in the No. 11 WIN Autosport ORECA, followed by Tim Buret in the No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA and Antonio Fuoco in the No. 47 Cetilar Dallara.

Dr. Lance Willsey led LMP3 in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier, followed by Kenton Koch in the No. 6 Muehlner Motorsports Duqueine and Gar Robinson in the No. 74 Riley Motorsport Kigier. Colin Braun fell to fourth, four laps down, in LMP3, after a brake change. However, the race rules call for each of the teams in the class make a mandatory eight-minute pit stop during the opening 22 hours of the race.

Tommy Milner (No. 4) led Antonio Garcia (No. 3) as Corvette Racing continues to run 1-2 in GTLM. Into the eighth hour, Timo Glock is third in the No. 25 RLL BMW, followed by James Calado in the No. 62 Risi Ferrari.

Patrick Long led the GTD pack in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche (photo at top), followed by Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini and Ian James in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin.


HOUR 7 STANDINGS

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Rolex 24 Hour 8: Fireworks and standout performances ...

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emailBy J.J. O'Malley | January 30, 2021 9:04 PM

Fans were treated to a mammoth fireworks display and standout performances by Chip Ganassi Racing and Action Express Racing as the clock struck 8 hours into the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Scott Dixon put the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R back into the lead in the opening seconds of the eighth hour, passing Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac. The Ganassi team held on to lead even as Dixon turned over the controls to Renger van der Zande, before Kobayashi passed van der Zande at 7h35m.

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Corvette Racing’s long 1-2 run at the front in GTLM ended during pit stops, which promoted the No. 62 Risi Ferrari of James Calado to the lead, followed by the No. 24 Team RLL BMW of Augusto Farfus. The Ferrari led for three laps, then joined the BMW in pitting. That returned the Corvettes to first and second, Antonio Garcia (No. 3) leading Tommy Milner (No. 4) by 2s, followed by Davide Rigon in the No. 62 Ferrari.

Other highlights included a terrific battle up front in LMP2, with Thomas Merrill in the No. 11 WIN Autosport ORECA going back-and-forth for the lead with Tim Buret in the No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA.


Kenton Koch moved into the lead in LMP3 in the No. 6 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine M30-D08, significant due to that car being damaged in an altercation with the other Duqueine in the field in the opening minutes. Joao Barbosa, a three-time winner in the Rolex 24, also had a turn in the LMP3 lead in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JSP320.

At the eight-hour mark, Stevan McAleer, taking over for Koch, was closely followed by Barbosa and Oliver Askew in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier.

Daniel Serra took the lead in GTD in the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3, completing a long climb from 12th, before handing over to Nickles Nielsen. With 16 hours to go, the Ferrari was chased by Andrea Caldarelli in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini, Zach Robichon in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche and Jan Heylen in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche.

HOUR 8 STANDINGS

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Wayne Taylor Racing wins Rolex 24 at Daytona | EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS | 1/31/20 | Motorsports on NBC

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329K subscribersWatch extended highlights of the 59th Rolex 24 at Daytona, where the No. 10 DPi team of Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Alexander Rossi, and Helio Castroneves give Wayne Taylor Racing its third straight victory.

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24H OF DAYTONA 2021 - LAST HOUR

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