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.