DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The GTP class has been dominated for much of the race by the Cadillacs. It’s an extension of what we’ve seen during the ROAR Before the 24 and during practice this weekend. In 11 on-track sessions, Cadillacs were fastest in nine of them.
Chip Ganassi Racing and Action Express Racing traded the lead multiple times early on and weren’t really threatened while the sun was out. However, once the sun set, Porsche Penske Motorsport came alive.
Following a couple of quick cautions due to debris and issues for Sean Creech Motorsport, Matt Campbell was able to sweep past Tom Blomqvist in the tri-oval to take the overall lead in the sixth hour. Once out front, the Porsche 963 started to pull away from the field.
At the one-quarter mark, Campbell was leading by 11.392 seconds over Blomqvist. BMW M Team RLL’s Maxime Martin was third, then Chip Ganassi Racing’s Renger van der Zande. Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global’s Filipe Albuquerque was fifth.
LMP2 has been dominated by United Autosports’ No. 2 for much of the race. Ben Keating started on pole, but was quickly usurped by Inter Europol Competition with PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports’ Nick Boulle. Once Boulle got out of the car, teammates Patricio O’Ward and Ben Hanley dominated much of the proceedings.
Other competitors have run into trouble. TDS Racing’s Steven Thomas lost control of his ORECA 07-Gibson and went head-on into the SAFER Barrier exiting the Le Mans chicane.
Thomas was ok after the crash, but the team was out on the spot. Two more LMP2 cars, the No. 88 AF Corse entry and United Autosports’ No. 22, are also out.
In the sixth hour, CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s Malthe Jakobsen ran down the leading Wynn’s-sponsored No. 2 with Hanley at the wheel. Jakobsen then took the lead with a daring move on the outside through the Kink.
After six hours, Jakobsen was in the class lead over Riley Motorsports’ Felipe Fraga. Inter Europol Competition with PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports’ Tom Dillmann was third, then Era Motorsport’s Connor Zilisch and AO Racing’s PJ Hyett.
In GTD Pro, AO Racing’s Michael Christensen led from pole, but quickly lost the advantage to Vasser Sullivan’s Ben Barnicoat. The Lexus has been quick all week, but trouble can creep up anywhere.
In the first hour, High Class Racing’s Dennis Andersen had minor contact with Sean Creech Motorsport’s Lance Willsey. That resulted in Andersen…
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