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Rolex 24 Hour 12: JDC-Miller Cadillac ahead at halfway point

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | January 30, 2022 1:56 AM ET

Richard Westbrook has the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac in the lead as the Rolex 24 At Daytona hits the 12-hour mark.

Multiple cautions marred the hour while also providing opportunities for numerous driver changes.

The action began with a caution right at the start of the hour near Turn 6. Steven Thomas in the No. 11 for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports needed to be towed back to the pits.

Tristan Nunez (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac) pulled off from the race lead at the restart for fuel. Doing so gave Helio Castroneves (No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura) the race lead and Earl Bamber in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac moved to second.
Bamber spent much of the first half hour pressuring and keeping pace with Castroneves, eventually overtaking Castroneves through the infield horseshoe. Castroneves peeled off for fuel shortly thereafter and was then penalized for speeding.Marcus Ericsson took over the No. 02 CGR entry halfway through the hour. His stint began with a mistake as Ericsson collided with Nunez in the No. 31 in Turn 3 on cold tires.

Sebastien Bourdais is now in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. He took the wheel from Alex Palou.

The other Ganassi Cadillac, the No. 10, suffered radio issues that resulted in a driver change. Alexander Rossi gave way to Filipe Albuquerque.

There was movement in all five classes over the last hour.

Leaders after 12 hours:

DPi: Richard Westbrook, No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac

LMP2: Mikkel Jensen, No. 52 ORECA

LMP3: Kay van Berlo, No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier

GTD Pro: Maro Engel, No. 97 Mercedes-AMG GT3

GTD: Ollie Millroy, No. 70 McLaren 720s GT3

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Rolex 24, Hour 13: JDC-Miller leads; problems for No.01 Cadillac

Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Kelly Crandall | January 30, 2022 3:10 AM ET

Richard Westbrook remains the leader of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Cadillac, while Sebastien Bourdais pulled into the garage as the 13th hour ended.

Bourdais, in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 01 Cadillac, had been out front. He led the field down pit road less than two minutes before the hour change, but made the left-hand turn into the garage.

NBC Sports reported the car was not keeping a charge because of an alternator problem.

The hour ended under caution because the No. 71 GTD of Misha Goikhberg came to a stop near the back chicane out of fuel. It’d been nearly an hour of green-flag racing before the halt.

There was a great back-and-forth battle for the overall race lead early in the hour between Westbrook in the No. 5 and Helio Castroneves in the No. 60 for Meyer Shank Racing.

Westbrook gave up the lead to Castroneves only when having to make a pit stop. Castroneves later pitted to hand over the car to Oliver Jarvis, who nearly found trouble when he locked up the tires going into Turn 6 and almost hit the wall on his out lap.

Between the pit stop and Jarvis’s misstep, he cycled into the seventh position. Castroneves said track conditions are “horrendous” because of how cold it is in Daytona Beach.

“Very, very challenging right now,” said Castroneves. “Same for everyone.”

Jimmie Johnson went back into the No. 48 Action Express Cadillac but ended up in the garage. Johnson spun twice and lost a lot of time as the car suffered suspension damage and a flat tire. The first spin occurred after contact with a GT competitor, and the second by himself later in the lap in the backstretch chicane.

Mike Conway is in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.

There are is one car on the lead lap in LMP3, as Kay van Berlo in the No. 74 Riley Ligier continues to lead the way. Kuno Wittmer, who took over the No. 13 Duqueine in the last hour, is running second.

Maro Engel, leading in the No. 97 Mercedes-AMG GT3, and Alexandre Imperatori, in the No. 2 Porsche 911 GTD3R, went to battle for the lead early in the hour in the GTD Pro class. James Calado in the No. 62 Ferrari 488 GT3 was not far behind.

Pato O’Ward moved into the lead in LMP2 for a bit in the No. 81 ORECA as there were driver changes in the class. Previous leader Mikkel Jensen gave way to Ben Keating in the No. 52 ORECA, while Rinus VeeKay handed the wheel of the No. 29 ORECA to Giedo van der Garde.

Louis Deletraz in the No. 8 ORECA overtook O’Ward near the end of the hour.
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Rolex 24, Hour 14: Magnussen puts No.02 CGR Cadillac into the lead

Jake Galstad/Motorsport Image
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emailBy Kelly Crandall | January 30, 2022 3:54 AM ET

There is a new name at the front in the Rolex 24 as Kevin Magnussen is setting the pace in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac.

While the 14th hour was uneventful in terms of accidents and finally delivered a slowing of caution periods, there was still plenty of action. DPi pit stops started the hour as the field was still under caution for the stopped car of Misha Goikhberg.

On the restart, Albuquerque charged to the outside of Westbrook into Turn 1 but didn’t have the grip to grab the position. Albuquerque tried the same move in the same place a lap later, but again didn’t prevail.

But the action brought Kevin Magnussen into play in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Magnussen had taken over the car before the restart, and gives one side of the CGR garage a lift while the other continues to work on the stricken No.01.

Albuquerque and Westbrook continued their battle throughout the hour. As the run got longer, and when traffic came into play, Albuquerque eventually made the pass. Magnussen followed through for the runner-up position.

A few laps later, Magnussen made an aggressive move in the backstretch chicane to take the race lead, diving deep into the chicane to the outside of Albuquerque, and driving away. Albuquerque appeared to lose his momentum and fell over two seconds behind Magnusson.

During a DPi pit cycle, Pipo Derani climbed into the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.

In GTD, Andy Lally took the No. 44 Aston Martin to the race lead as Richard Lietz in the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R pitted before the end of the caution that carried over from the previous hour to change brakes. But it was Lietz back at the front by the end of the hour over Mikael Grenier in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

James Calado (No. 62 Ferrari 488 GT3) overtook Jules Gounon (No. 97 Mercedes-AMG GT3) a little over halfway through the hour for the in the GTD Pro class. But he pitted from the lead and got out of the car in the final minutes of the hour, giving Gounon the spot back.

Through the cycle of pit stops, it is now the turn of Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3R to lead the way. He took the reins of the car in the final few minutes of the hour. Patrick Assenheimer in the No. 15 Mercedes-AMG GT3 is second.

Nothing has changed in LMP3. The No. 74 Riley Ligier continues to be dominant and is the only car on the lead lap, but now with Felipe Fraga behind the wheel.

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Rolex 24 Hour 15: Whelen Engineering Cadillac takes charge

Richard Dole/Motorsport Images
A mysteriously slow lap from Kavin Magnussen has promoted Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. to the lead of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Magnussen had put the No. 02 Cadillac into the lead of the race in the previous hour.The reason for the slow lap is unknown, but the car seemed problem-free in the second half of the hour as Magnussen moved back into fourth ahead of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05c.On the other side of the Cadillac Chip Ganassi garage is the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R., which has rejoined the race following an electrical issue. The team lost 43 laps while replacing a wiring loom.

The hour ended under a full course yellow after a fire in turn one. Cameras revealed thick smoke that billowed out from behind the timing pylon that initially obscured the view of the car., but it was the later revealed to be the No. 7 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine D08.Loic Duval in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R. passed Will Stevens in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05c late in the hour. Those two are battling while Pipo Derani looks to pull away from the pack.
Notes

* The No. 71 T3 Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan, which came to a stop on the backstretch a handful of hours ago, is back on track after the car ran out of fuel. It is currently 12th in class, 17 laps behind the class leader.

* The No. 63 TR3 Lamborghini Huracan has retired from GTD Pro after being squeezed against the wall by another car. The contact resulted in a broken tie rod.

* Fifteen hours into the race, bitterly cold air, darkness, and little sleep will all combine for mistakes – and not just for the drivers. The mechanics on the No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 only changed three of the four tires on the car during its last pit stop.
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Rolex 24 Hour 16: Cadillacs tighten their grip

Jake Galstad/IMSA
lBy Ryan Kish | January 30, 2022 6:01 AM ET
Cadillac has begun to firm its grip on the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona with the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. and the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R. trading the lead in hour 16. Loic Duval led for much of the hour but the No. 31 Cadillac regained the lead during the pit cycle.
Tristan Nunez is currently at the wheel of the No. 31, and leads Tristan Vautier by six seconds.

The Cadillac entries seem to have the upper hand on the pair of Acura ARX-05cs from Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing during the night.
The No. 31 and No. 5 have looked good consistently through the night and Kevin Magnussen proved the No. 02 Cadillac has pace, which Alex Lynn is now trying to find. What sunrise and the slightly warmer temperatures that come with it, Acura’s success in finding speed of its own will be key to this battle.

Meanwhile, Tom Blomqvist is third in the No. 60 Acura, while Will Stevens in the No. 10 Acura is fourth.GT Daytona has turned into an interesting two-car battle in the last few hours with the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche and the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes trading the lead. Pitstops at the end of the hour has mixed this up, however, as the No. 70 inception racing McLaren 720S controls the race.
Notes:
* The No. 69 G-Drive Racing by APR ORECA 07 went behind the wall after a puncture caused damage to the suspension with repairs complicated by shreds of tire that had mired themselves around the damaged suspension. It has returned to the track, 20 laps down.
* Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 spun in the Le Mans Chicane and tapped the tire barrier on the outside of the corner. The car was not damaged and continued without further incidence. Pumpelly was running third when the spin occurred.
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Rolex 24 Hour 17: MSR Acura breaks back into the lead Jake Galstad/IMSA
By Ryan Kish | January 30, 2022 6:56 AM ET
Just as it looked like Cadillac had a firm grasp on the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Acura and Meyer Shank Racing came through to break into the lead with Tom Blomqvist passing Tristan Nunez on a restart to lead hour 17.
Meanwhile, Cadillac lost another bullet in its gun as the fuel pump issue with the No. 02 Cadillac DPi-V.R. reared its head again, this time more seriously. Earl Bamber took the No. 02 Cadillac into the garage where repairs are underway.

With issues for the No. 48, No. 01, and No. 02 Cadillacs, DPi has turned into a four-horse race with two Cadillacs and two Acuras slated to fight to the finish with sunrise on the horizon.
As the No. 02 Cadillac was pulling into the garage, the No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, which was at the fore of the GT Daytona Pro field, limped into the pits with smoke billowing from the engine compartment. Daniel Juncadella was leading the class earlier in the hour but lost the lead to Laurens Vanthoor’s No. 2 Porsche before the problem developed.
News and notes:
• George Kurtz in the No. 54 CORE autosport spun in the Le Mans Chicane while running third in LMP3. The car was undamaged and continued after a brief stop in the grass at the entry to the chicane.
• The No. 11 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA 07 was given a stop and hold of 60 seconds after slamming into the front of the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari while trying to enter the pits. Josh Pierson had passed the No. 97 Mercedes around the outside but did not see the No. 21 Ferrari who was to the inside of the Mercedes when he applied the brakes to slow for the pits.
• The No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720s GT3 made a second pitstop under the full-course yellow for the mechanics to examine the engine compartment. The car was leading GTD at the time and dropped down to fifth at the end of the hours after the unscheduled stop.
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Rolex 24 Hour 18: Duels at dawn Richard Dole/IMSA
By Ryan Kish | January 30, 2022 7:53 AM ET
Sunrise at the Rolex 24 At Daytona has arrived and presented fascinating stories up and down the order with a Cadillac versus Acura bout slated for DPi and a GT Daytona battle that is showing no signs of slowing down. Just as the sun was preparing to reveal itself on the horizon, Acura took control of the race with Rolex 24 rookie Tom Blomqvist holding onto the lead through his stint. However, it would be the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05c at the front of the field by the end of the hour after it leapfrogged the No. 60 Acura during the pit stops.

Castroneves was behind the wheel of the No. 60 Acura after taking over from Blomqvist. The Brazilian was defending against Mike Conway in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. in the later stages of the hour.The GT Daytona fight features the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari of Toni Vilander leading the way. That is largely down to the pit cycle as the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche, the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720s GT3, and the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 are all vying for the lead. Those three have been at the top of the class for much of the last few hours.

Once the pit cycle settles down the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari of Toni Vilander and the No. 32 Gilbert/Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG will return to their position of looking like serious contenders to turn the three-car GTD battle into a five-car fight.
Good morning, @DAYTONA 🥰 pic.twitter.com/CwD9dTQlZv
— Rolex24Hours (@Rolex24Hours) News and notes:
• A right-rear puncture has cost the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 its once-solid lead in LMP3. The team caught the puncture early so no damage was done to the car, but it did drop to second in class. • The No. 02 Cadillac has rejoined the race after repairs to the fuel pump were completed. Earl Bamber is in the car which is 29 laps down and sixth in class.

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Rolex 24 Hour 19: Conway to the fore Brett Farmer/IMSA
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emailBy Richard S. James | January 30, 2022 9:00 AM ET

Fully into daylight, the 60th Rolex 24 is far from settled in any class. LMP3 seems to be down to two contenders — that could certainly change with five hours left — but every other category is seeing multiple contenders with a shot at victory.

That includes DPi, where Helio Castroneves led for most of the hour in the No. 60 Meyer Shank with Curb-Agajanian Acura, but Mike Conway was fully on the attack in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac before the next round of pit stops starting about 11 minutes before the 20th hour began.
LOOK AT THIS MOVE!

The #Rolex24 at @Daytona is getting intense!
TV: @USA_Network
Commercial-free coverage: @PeacockTV pic.twitter.com/8xB6FB7Kmo

— Motorsports on NBC (@MotorsportsNBC)

As the hour ticked over, the top cars had all pitted, with Castroneves handing over to Oliver Jarvis and Conway taking over the lead. Alexander Rossi in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura and Richard Westbrook in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac remain within striking distance.

The top cars in LMP2 have spread out a bit, with four remaining on the lead lap. The No. 8 Tower Motorsports seems to have the measure of the others for the moment. That LMP3 battle is a close one between the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier and the No 54 CORE Autosport Ligier.

In GTD Pro and GTD, the lead battles now separated by four laps, and are both five-car battles. The No. 2 KCMG Porsche, with Patrick Pilet at the wheel, looks very strong as the team heads into the home stretch of its first Rolex 24. The No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche, the No. 15 Proton USA Mercedes-AMG, the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus and the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari are all still in the fight.

The No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R leads GTD, Richard Lietz having taken over from Zacharie Robichon as the hour began just after sunrise.

“It’s interesting to see how the cars are going to change here as the sun comes up,” said Robichon after his stint. “I think perhaps we’re going to have warmer temperatures at the end of the race than we’ve had throughout the whole race. So I think it’s almost like going into an unknown. It’s not like we’re getting the same conditions we had the beginning of the race. Definitely I’m driving differently in that sunrise stint; I can see how the car was already changing, but the car is taking taking the changes and whatever way you have to drive it, it still has some speed. Now we see what happens.”

Leaders after 19 hours:

DPi: Mike Conway, No. 31 Actiona Express Racing Cadillac
LMP2: Louis Deletraz, No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA
LMP3: Kay van Berlo, No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier
GTD Pro: Nico Jaminet, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
GTD: Richard Lietz, No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R

News and notes:

• The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GTD entry went behind the wall and is now eight laps down.
nway, No. 31 Actiona Express Racing Cadillac
LMP2: Louis Deletraz, No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA
LMP3: Kay van Berlo, No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier
GTD Pro: Nico Jaminet, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
GTD: Richard Lietz, No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R

News and notes:

• The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GTD entry went behind the wall and is now eight laps down.

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Rolex 24 Hour 20: Three-car fight in LMP2

Richard Dole/IMSA
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emailBy Richard S. James | January 30, 2022 10:00 AM ET

LMP2 is a three-car battle with four hours left in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The defending IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP2 champions are still in it, with Mikkel Jensen running second in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA as the hour ticked over. The No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA (pictured above) has battled back into contention, Pato O’Ward currently in first, although the No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA — now piloted by Louis Deletraz — is in third due to the pit stop cycle, but had been leading.

Up front, the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsport Cadillac and the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura cycled to the front as the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac and the No. 60 Meyer Shank with Curb Agajanian Acura swapped drivers, Pipo Derani entering the No. 31 and Simon Pagenaud taking over the No. 60 from Oliver Jarvis. Derani took over the charge that Mike Conway had been on, overtaking Alexander Rossi in the No. 10 as Rossi tried to go too deep into Turn 1 while trying to defend. Derani then set off for leader Richard Westbrook in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac, taking the lead with seven minutes left in the hour.

GTD has been a battle at the front between the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche and the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren, but just as the hour ticked over, Frederik Schandorff brought the McLaren into the pits, where the crew started checking the brakes or left-front suspension in a long stop. That left Jan Heylen out front in the No. 16 Porsche.

Leaders after 20 hours:
DPi: Pipo Derani, No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac
LMP2: Pato O’Ward, No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA
LMP3: Kay van Berlo, No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier
GTD Pro: Dennis Olsen, No. 2 KCMG Porsche 911 GT3R
GTD: Jan Heylen, No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R

News and notes:
• The No. 99 Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3R received a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility with the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 488 GT3.

• By the numbers: There are 42 IMSA class champions in the 60th Rolex 24 at Daytona, counting class championships in both the overall WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup. Joao Barbosa and Antonio Garcia lead the list with six apiece, followed by Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ben Keating, who won GTD in the Michelin Endurance Cup together three times from 2017-19.

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Rolex 24 Hour 21: Duval and JDC-Miller looking strong

Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Richard S. James | January 30, 2022 11:07 AM ET

Loic Duval is back in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac and proving very quick this morning, taking the lead from Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac then holding the lead through the next round of pit stops. He then began to eke out a gap on Derani, extending it marginally as the stint wore on. The two Acuras were battling for third as the hour wound down, a bit off Derani, but they have consistently been pitting later than the leading Cadillacs; that could come into play in the final minutes.

After his final stint in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura, Alexander Rossi noted that their car, now piloted by Filipe Albuquerque, does better with cooler temperatures, but believes the team has set themselves up to be in contention at the end.

“I think our car ultimately is better the colder the track temp is. I think we get a net gain maybe more than the others. But with that said, I think we try and be very meticulous with how we treat the car, and make sure you’ve got all your components and as much of the floor left as possible for the last two hours,” he said. “So you kind of just try and stay in touch for 22 hours and then for two hours, you use the car up and use everything that it’s got left.”

Keating can cheer for his teammates in the No. 5 Cadillac to keep the lead and give him the DPi victory, but his chances of taking LMP2 as well are looking slim as the No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA in the hands of Pato O’Ward continues to show its strength. Keating’s teammate Nicholas Lapierre is a minute back in third, with Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA splitting first and third almost evenly.

Porsche looks in good shape to take both GTD classes, with GTD Pro remaining a battle between the No. 2 KCMG 911 GT3R and the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports entry, with Dennis Olsen (No. 2) and Matt Campbell (No. 9) doing battle. The No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche is still looking strong with Zacharie Robichon back at the wheel.

Leaders after 21 hours:
DPi: Loic Duval, No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac
LMP2: Pato O’Ward, No. 81 Dragonspeed USA ORECA
LMP3: Felipe Fraga, No. 74 Riley Motorsport Ligier
GTD Pro: Dennis Olsen, No. 2 KCMG Porsche 911 GT3R
GTD: Zacharie Robichon, No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R

News and notes:
• The No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren that had been in contention for the GTD win had to replace a right-front brake caliper and is now three laps down.

“This is heartbreaking,” said driver Jordan Pepper. As we were setting up for the final hours, Frederic [Schandorff] reported low brake pressure.”

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Rolex 24 Hour 22: From enduro to a sprint race

Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Richard S. James | January 30, 2022 12:08 PM ET

A sprint race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is 2h40m, and as the time left in the 60th Rolex 24 clicked past that mark and toward the final two hours, it is indeed turning into a sprint race as expected.

The No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac continues to show its strength, aided by the other three DPi entries still in contention battling with each other. First Mike Conway in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac battled with Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura for second, which slid them back toward Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura. Albuquerque got to second, and a battle for third between Conway and Blomqvist, eventually taken by Blomqvist as he swept around the outside into Turn 1 and used one of the BMW M4 GTD Pro cars as pick, allowed Albuquerque to pull out a gap.

More IMSA!

Pfaff takes dramatic GTD Pro win after final lap Porsche battle

Herta delivers late heroics for DragonSpeed to take LMP2 victory

Meyer Shank Racing claims first Rolex 24 win 10 years from its last

The pit stop sequence began with 2h11m left, and the four emerged in the same order with similar margins. Ricky Taylor replaced Albuquerque in the No. 10, apparently to the end. All four cars will need three stops to make it to the end without a lengthy yellow.
With just three hours remaining, @PatricioOWard, @ColtonHerta and @DevlinDeFran are teaming up to lead in the LMP2 class.

Learn more about the @IndyCar drivers competing at @DragonSpeedLLC. #Rolex24 x @DAYTONA pic.twitter.com/F5wlKVo6S7

— IndyCar on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC)

A stop-and-go penalty for a pitlane speed violation has put the No. 54 CORE Autosport Ligier in LMP3 into the clutches of the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier with Malthe Jakobsen at the wheel, and he’s going after Braun in the No. 54. That has also given the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier some cushion for Felipe Fraga, now more than a minute ahead.

Mathieu Jaminet and Laurens Vanthoor continue to battle as the GTD Pro fight between the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R and the No. 02 Porsche of KCMG rages; this one is still anybody’s game.

Leaders after 22 hours
DPi: Richard Westbrook, No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac
LMP2: Colton Herta, No. 81 Dragonspeed USA ORECA
LMP3: Felipe Fraga, No. 74 Riley Motorsports
GTD Pro: Mathieu Jaminet, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
GTD: Jan Heylen, No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R

News and notes
• Although the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac is out of contention, that’s not slowing it down. As the track warmed up from its frigid overnight temperatures, Alex Palou set a new Rolex 24 lap record, knocking more than a quarter-second off the time set by Kevin Magnussen late last night. Palou turned a 1m33.724 with 2h25m left in the race.

• The Corvettes had their struggles this week, but showed promise in the race, and Jordan Taylor, driver of the No. 3, believes there is potential. “Other than the alternator issues, we’ve had a faultless and flawless race,” he said. “The strategy and pit stops have been great. It’s good to see the team executing so well. It’s unfortunate we had that issue, otherwise we’d be fighting in the top five somewhere. It’s good to get the extra miles and it’s good the guys got us back out there because we have a championship to fight for at the end of the day. We’ve made up some points by attrition.”

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Rolex 24 Hour 23: Castroneves leads for MSR into the final hour

Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
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emailBy Richard S. James | January 30, 2022 1:00 PM ET

A yellow with less than two hours to go shook up the Rolex 24 At Daytona after nearly five hours of green-flag running. Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura, which had pitted most recently among the DPi contenders, stayed out, while the others relinquished track position to top off fuel.

Taylor had track position, but soon after racing resumed was under attack by Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura. Blomqvist attacked Taylor out of Turn 6 and took the lead going into the Le Mans Chicane. Taylor went back at him in Turn 1, but slid wide. That allowed Loic Duval in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac to close up and pass Taylor, but Duval slid backwards to fourth. He was the first taker for a full stop with 1h9m left, which afforded him less time to fuel before two stints to the end.

More IMSA!

Pfaff takes dramatic GTD Pro win after final lap Porsche battle

Herta delivers late heroics for DragonSpeed to take LMP2 victory

Meyer Shank Racing claims first Rolex 24 win 10 years from its last

Taylor was the next taker for a full service. Blomqvist followed, with Helio Castroneves replacing him during a full service — which they did in slightly less time than the No. 10. The No. 31 was the last of the DPi contenders to pit, Conway exiting the car and Pipo Derani taking his place.

The top two contenders in GTD Pro — Mathiew Jaminet in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R and Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 2 KCMG Porsche — used the yellow to good effect first pitting in anticipation prior, both taking a splash of fuel. When the pits opened during the caution, they both returned to the pits for a full stop. Both cars should be able to make it to the end with one more short stop, and resumed their battle intensely, with Vanthoor attacking even on the outside of the Kink, which nearly cost him as he put two wheels off.

GTD leader Jan Heylen in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R was stuck behind the GTD Pro battle, and thus was unable to put much gap to Nicklas Nielsen in the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3. The gap was steady at about 5s.

It’s a three-way battle again for LMP2, as the yellow brought the contenders all together. Colton Herta in the No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA holds a small edge over Louis Delatraz in the No. 81 Tower Motorsport ORECA.

Leaders After 23 hours:
DPi: Helio Castroneves, No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura
LMP2: Colton Herta, No. 81 Dragonspeed USA ORECA
LMP3: Felipe Fraga, No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier
GTD Pro: Mathieu Jaminet, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
GTD: Jan Heylen, No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R

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OPINION: Herta and O'Ward are world-class. And the world's starting to notice

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emailBy Chris Medland | February 1, 2022 6:11 PM ET

Who turned the heating off in Florida this week? I headed to the Rolex 24 for a fourth time but with a different hat on than usual, fanboying on Saturday and Sunday with friends rather than working during the race itself.

All of my previous visits had involved some cold nights or wet weather, but nothing as cold as the temperatures that hit Daytona Beach – and most of the rest of Florida – over the weekend.

I managed to buy one of the last bobble hats in the circuit on Saturday morning, as well as a pair of weird gloves, but anyone deciding they were too cold after the start of the race were struggling to find anything of the sort still available. One friend had to resort to a trip to the fishing store across International Speedway Boulevard, but were laughed at when they asked if there were any scarves left.

It might have been easier to go in search of warmth earlier than we did, but the problem was, this race is just so mesmerizing. Sitting in the main grandstand, the view of basically the whole circuit means you can always follow battles, see where prototype drivers are going to come up against challenging pockets of traffic, and spot incidents wherever they happen.

I’ll admit I left the track after about five hours of racing to find dinner and warm up, then returned to just catch the end of the fireworks (having thought they were an hour later) at 10pm with a great view from high in the grandstand, even though it was freezing it was into the early hours before we headed for some sleep.

Then once the sun hit the track on Sunday morning, a major talent put on a bit of a show as the race – both actually and metaphorically – heated up.

The DPi battle was exciting, but you got the impression you weren’t seeing the full potential of any of the cars until the final hour or two, as the leading four all made sure they stayed on the lead lap for the inevitable cautions. But in LMP2, it felt that bit more intense.

And it was the DragonSpeed car that stood out, both in terms of its bright livery and the guy behind the wheel.

Colton Herta came so close to being a Formula 1 driver this season until the attempted Andretti takeover of Sauber fell through, but it’s a name that has been put on the radar of even more people in the world of racing as a result. While he was a household name in the U.S., Colton wasn’t quite getting the attention he deserved in Europe until that point.
Herta and O’Ward’s exploits in IndyCar have them squarely on the American racing map, but Europeans have been slower to catch on. That’s starting to change. Motorsport Images

But for anyone following the Rolex and looking out for drivers that could make the switch to F1 in future, Herta and Pato O’Ward being paired at DragonSpeed offered that opportunity, and they duly delivered.

In the closing stages, Herta appeared to have the race under control as he led the LMP2 class and was holding off Louis Deletraz as the Swiss driver kept the pressure on after a late caution. Then came the final round of pit stops under yellow with less than an hour to go and Tower Motorsport’s slick work in the pits but Deletraz in the lead.

It’s easy for drivers to talk a good game after the event, and O’Ward posted on Twitter that “If there is someone outside of myself that I will always bet on in any race car… it’s always Colton Herta”. But I’ll be the guy that drops a name and admit I messaged Pato just before the final restart and asked him how he was feeling. His reply: “Money’s on HERTA!!!!”

His money was safe.

Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor were close together for the overall win, but the experienced Brazilian just seemed to have matters under control even when traffic put him under pressure. The opposite was true in LMP2, where you felt Herta was the slightly quicker of the two leaders and Deletraz couldn’t afford to slip into his clutches.

That wasn’t just me thinking it, as multiple people sat around me at Turn 1 in the closing stages kept pointing to the two LMP2 leaders and talking about how Herta was closing in that little bit with each lap. It was the young American prospect looking to earn his second watch after a 2019 win in GTLM for Rahal, and the crowd were loving it.

All Herta needed was a sniff, and he got that chance on the run to the Le Mans chicane with 12 minutes to go, beating Deletraz to the apex and regaining a lead he would not relinquish. I remember Herta’s mistake chasing Marcus Ericsson in Nashville after having been quickest all weekend last year, but there was no such error this time round. At 21, his maturity was enormously impressive.

The same could be said for O’Ward, who had performed admirably alongside Devlin DeFrancesco and Eric Lux, as they all celebrated in the garage once Herta completed his move.

In a race when one of the legends of the sport took a stunning overall victory, and GTD Pro went down to the last lap with that epic moment between the Porsches at the Le Mans chicane, my takeaway was how exciting it is to have two young IndyCar prospects who are genuine contenders for a future in F1, and are backing the hype up with increasing regularity.

Whether Herta and O’Ward get their chances remains to be seen, and I hope they will continue to come back and try and win watches for many years to come wherever their careers take them, but they’re exciting to watch and can’t really do any more without being given F1 seat time.

Actually, I have another takeaway from the weekend. Aside from the fact that it was very, very cold and I should pack even more layers in future, I learned the Rolex is such a fun event whether you’re working or watching, and one that will keep me coming back in either capacity. If the finishes are all as dramatic as this one, then even better.

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Perseverance was the key to Rolex 24 victory for MSR

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emailBy Richard S. James | February 1, 2022 5:49 PM ET

Barely off the podium celebration for winning the 2022 Rolex 24 At Daytona, with watches still in hand, and Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud, Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis are trying to goad Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian team owners Mike Shank and Jim Meyer into going to Le Mans in 2023 when the new LMDh cars that will run in the GTP category in IMSA are eligible for the French endurance classic.

You can hardly blame them. If this group of drivers, racing together for the first time, can pull off the win in one of the most competitive, largest fields in recent Rolex 24 history, why couldn’t they win the Big One? Consider Castroneves, who at age 46 anchored the team and its Acura ARX-05 to the victory, is on a streak, having won his first championship in DPi in 2020, the Rolex last year with Wayne Taylor Racing, his fourth Indy 500 with Meyer Shank last May, and now this one. And Pagenaud reminded Shank that he speaks French…

Shank, who has been to Le Mans with an LMP2 effort, defers such talk, noting that it would be up to sponsors and Acura, who will work with MSR again when it brings its new ORECA-based ARX-06 to the party next year. For now, it’s time to reflect on what just happened, the team winning its first Rolex 24 in 10 years, beating favorites WTR who was going for its fourth in a row, and getting the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s biggest victory after going winless in 2021 in its first year of having moved up to the DPi class after running Acura’s program in GTD.

“Personally, it’s amazing to think about what has gone on since we decided to work together,” said Pagenaud. “Joining Helio obviously on the IndyCar side, and also on the sports car side with Oliver and Tom, fit right away. Felt like the relationship started really quickly to grow. And also felt like the vibe was right.

“And this weekend it felt like, okay, we had some setbacks, but we fought and everybody kept a good spirit. Obviously my mate, Helio, he’s really good at doing that in the team. It was a great atmosphere, and obviously good people get good results and get what they deserve.”

The victory was one of perseverance. MSR was seldom in the spotlight all weekend, although Rolex 24 rookie Blomqvist topped the time sheets for a session during the Roar Before the 24. And early in the race, frankly, the team was looking like an also-ran, although hints of the drivers being able to stretch their stints were beginning to appear. And then Castroneves lost a tire coming back onto the oval in Turn 6. The long trip back to the pits put the No. 60 down a lap. But, in a race that would be full of cautions and with IMSA’s wave-around rules, that’s hardly a death sentence, especially so early in the race.
The No. 60 MSR Acura ended Wayne Taylor Racing’s reign in the Rolex 24, and captured their first win at Daytona since 2012. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images

Two hours later the No. 60 Acura was back on the lead lap heading into the long night. But it wasn’t until about dawn that the MSR crew were truly looking like contenders. The Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillacs endured some mechanical issues, as did the No. 48 Action Express Cadillac, which had been an absolute rocket in the hands of Kamui Kobayashi. It was now a four-horse race, and would be until the finish.

Blomqvist got in the car at 10:23 a.m. ET, taking over from Pagenaud, who had put the car in the lead briefly. A little more than three hours from the end, he needed to make sure the No. 60 was in contention, even as the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsport Cadillac was coming to life with Loic Duval at the wheel and putting a big gap on the rest of the field.

“It was super intense. And to be honest, the race started pretty poorly for me,” explained Blomqvist. “We got a few things wrong at the start, but I was chipping away at it. I haven’t got that much experience in this car; I’ve had a lot of experience in the P2. It’s actually quite different.

“I just felt like the more laps I did, I was trying to figure out how to drive around the little problems we were encountering. And I just got more and more comfortable behind the wheel. Thankfully, the speed was there in those crucial stints. The car was working for me and I was able to manipulate it in the right way. And that just kind of made the difference. I managed to get a good run on Ricky [Taylor in the WTR Acura]. We seemed to be a little bit stronger than him at that point in the race. And I think ultimately I teed it up – Helio, he only had one job and it was not to mess it up.”

Blomqvist would have liked to take the car to the finish, but felt like he was pretty cooked. He also mentioned his bladder was full.

So with Blomqvist having done two hours in the car, Castroneves got in with just over an hour to go. A short time later, he put the No. 60 back up front. When the final caution hit with 51 minutes to go, everyone pitted, with both Acuras taking fuel only. Before the caution ended, both Cadillacs that remained in the fight, theNo. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports car and the No. 31 AXR entry, stopped for a splash, concerned that even with 20 minutes of running behind the pace car, they couldn’t make it to the end. In doing so, they extended the caution by at least a lap, possibly guaranteeing that the Acuras could make it through the final 30-minute dash to the checker.
Blomqvist was wildly quick throughout the Rolex 24, and put in a strong final stint before handing off the final two hours to Castroneves. Michael L. Levitt/Motorsport Images

Castroneves was never headed, and except for one scary moment in the newly-named Le Mans chicane when the GTD Pro leaders came together in front of him, it appeared to be smooth sailing the the checker.

It was the perseverance the MSR team displayed before and during the 60th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona that made Oliver Jarvis sure where he was going. A driver in demand after Mazda shuttered its DPi program, what Jarvis saw at MSR told him it was the right choice.

“I think just listening to Mike convinced me,” Jarvis said. “He was very honest that he felt they hadn’t achieved what he wanted to. But I saw it from a different point of view. That’s that Penske came into the championship. Joest came into the championship. And none of them blew anyone away in their first year. It’s a tough championship, and you look at the progression of the team made throughout that year.

“To see that progression, I knew it’s a team on the up. I knew they had huge amounts of capabilities. You saw the way they ran the Indy program and this. It was an easy decision for myself. And when you go to the shop and see the facilities they have, it just reinforces that. It was based on the way Mike’s open and honest, and the way his passion comes through. And I think as a driver you can really resonate with that. As long as the guys have got the passion and the belief, then when you come together you can win stuff.”

And win they did. After going winless in the first year of their return to IMSA’s top class, they took the biggest prize short of a championship. It’s certain that this will fuel a strong run at the title for Jarvis and Blomqvist, contesting the full season together. Additionally, the win is a big weight off Shank’s shoulders.

“We needed it bad, real bad,” Shank said. “We had a tough year last year, and I made it very public. I didn’t want to run from the truth, which was we had a bad year. We set out to fix it. I told the guys here’s the thing: Here’s where we were; here’s where we’re going; and I’m not stopping until we get some kind of closure and some competitive level that we’re used to dealing with in the sports car world. This proved we’re the right track. We’ve got a long way to go, but I liked our execution and I’m just relieved. Just completely relieved.”

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Vanthoor and the agony of defeat

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | February 3, 2022 1:41 PM ET

The voiceover for ABC’s old “Wide World of Sports” show was made famous by Jim McKay for his citation of a line that never ages: “The thrill of victory…and the agony of defeat.”

Porsche factory driver Laurens Vanthoor left the Rolex 24 At Daytona with the full register of feelings about the latter as the Belgian tried like mad to earn the GTD Pro class win. Vanthoor, IMSA’s 2021 GTD class champion with the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche team, was locked in a duel with his former outfit, taking on Porsche stablemate Mathieu Jaminet while teetering on and over the edge to deliver his KCMG Porsche squad the victory on its IMSA debut.
The FINAL moment of this GTD PRO battle, 1:02…🤯👀#IMSA / #Rolex24 / @pfaffmotorsport / @KCMotorgroup pic.twitter.com/PgVbIUr1GM

— #IMSA (@IMSA)

The Frenchman and the crew at Pfaff Motorsports got to experience the thrill of victory, Vanthoor indeed thrilled viewers as he wore out the rear bumper on Jaminet’s 911 GT3 R but left Daytona absolutely gutted after coming so close to achieving success.

That’s the brilliance about McKay’s line — Vanthoor and his KCMG co-drivers ended up standing on the podium, but they might as well have been a million miles away from Jaminet and the Pfaff group as the emptiness of defeat lingered around them to the right of the winners.

Given a few days to process the outcome, Vanthoor was left to deal with the emotions of getting by Jaminet for a brief period in the run to the checkered flag and settling for third after a clash and spin at the Le Mans nee Bus Stop chicane ended KCMG’s 24-hour pursuit of victory.
The line between the Rolex winners and the consolation prize winners could hardly have been closer. Motorsport Images

“Still hurts almost as bad as directly after,” Vanthoor said of the lingering disappointment that landed after coming to a stop in the No. 2 Porsche on Sunday. “I mean, you’re in this fight, you got a car to win…these opportunities don’t come along every year. I tried everything I could imagine to make it happen, but it wasn’t enough. And of course, like last night, you’re lying in bed, two or three hours awake, and the movie’s just playing in your head. What did I do? Could I have done this differently? Should I have done this differently? That’s obviously very easy in hindsight because you have time to think about it at that moment, not to make split-second decisions and go for it.

“The only thing which does ease the pain — and eases quite a lot actually — is to see pretty much the whole internet celebrating the fight and almost giving me more nice words than for past victories. Still doesn’t put the Rolex on my wrist. But, you know, that’s sports. You always have a winner and a loser, and I guess I’ll have to try to get that Rolex another day.”

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Vanthoor shared the KCMG Porsche with Alexandre Imperatori, Dennis Olsen, and Patrick Pilet, all of whom deserve just as much credit for being in a position to win as the driver who put on the heroics for the NBC cameras.

Once he began processing the loss, Vanthoor was able to understand the reaction racing fans at Daytona and those watching worldwide had after seeing the KCMG and Pfaff Porsches trade high-speed body blows.

“I felt that I was the one who was most destroyed the first hour; every time I sat down and started thinking about it deeply, I started having tears in my eyes,” he said. “And everybody else, obviously — Patrick, Dennis, Alex and the team. I mean, it’s no secret that a win would have been 100-percent preferred, but they were all massively supportive. On one hand as well, they were laughing with a tear in their eye, which gives me goosebumps. But afterwards, I saw some pictures — I think it was a moment when I passed Mathieu the first time, that everybody stood up and was screaming like hell. I think the range of emotions and the last hour, last minutes, was huge for everybody.”

The competitive anguish associated with coming up short on Sunday will eventually subside for Vanthoor. Whether he’ll be able to reconcile the loss and move on without feeling its sting is another topic altogether. That’s the stinging part of “the agony of defeat.” Until he gets another shot at earning his first win and Rolex watch at Daytona, Vanthoor will have plenty of time to watch the replays that made the Rolex 24 simply unforgettable.

“I felt I was the one the most disappointed because I let other guys down by not having completed it,” he said. “But I haven’t had one single disappointed look towards me, which also made me feel better in that way. It was special with all the comments and feedback. I think, honestly, I have more positive comments or nice words compared to when I’ve won Le Mans in 2018 in GTE, for example, which was a reasonably big race… I haven’t seen the full [NBC] show from the outside, but I guess it must have been special.”
Lets go Brandon, F Joe Biden!