2017 Mazda RT24 at the Rolex 24 | Mazda

Just before 9 p.m., the gray number 70 car went into the pits, where it would spend most of the night for transmission repairs, while the 55 car continued to ground it out. Throughout the night, the Cadillacs and Fords largely continued to hang onto their leads, despite serious cutthroat competition. We left around midnight as the rain got heavier, and spectators began to disappear into their RVs, tents, or trucks. At our hotel across the four-lane street, we fell asleep to the field roaring together into the night.
By the time the sun came up on Sunday, most cars were still going strong — no small feat, especially since so many of them were new to competition. The weather was still cold and wet, but the track was an unforgettable sight. Both pretty Mazdas were back in, with the 55 car inching ever higher on the leaderboard. There were the GTs out in force, their legend already set after Le Mans last year, battling the iconic, bright yellow Corvette C7.Rs. At full throttle, the new Cadillac prototypes didn’t sound much different than the ‘Vettes, with their roaring V8s drowning out anything else around them.
On top of the prototypes and front-runners there were Lamborghini Hurácans, Lexus RC Fs, Aston Martin Vantages, Mercedes-AMG GT3s, Audi R8s, BMW M6 GTLM, and the all-new Acura NSX, running its first endurance race. Together, it all made for an unforgettable sight.