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

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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

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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.