All that stands between the drivers and entry into the legacy of legends is 6 hours of racing at the Rolex 24. With 18 hours done the race has settled into to the final leg where the teams will start to decide on their racing closers and final tire strategy. Unfortunately for many suspensions issues appear to be the biggest role player in longevity this year. Many have attributed this to the changes at the Le Mans chicane and drivers not being as familiar with the change in pitch of the curbing. The number of failures may come into question as a post analysis for race control but the important point is that all of the drivers have to management this risk so no one will get special treatment.
Of Note
The No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac returned to the race during this block of racing after what was seemingly a catastrophic amount of damage earlier in the race. Then the car suffered a suspension failure later.
Charles Eastwood’s No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette erupted into flames which was the first major fire of the race.
Despite early trouble the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing car traded for the lead all the way up to the 18 hour mark.
Porsche Penske made up time and is back in the fight for the top spot in the GTP class.
4 more cars retired from the race including the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari (GTD), No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang (GTD), No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari and the No. 43 Inter Europol sole ORECA LMP2.
Class Leaders at 18 Hours
GTP: No. 07 Porsche Penske Porsche 963
LMP2: No. 99 AO Racing ORECA
GTD Pro: No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo
GTD: No. 13 AWA Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R