Rolex 24 at Daytona 2023: Half Way Update
Meyer Shank Racing Acura to the Lead at the Half Way Mark
The No. 60 Acura ARX-06 of Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves, Colin Braun and Tom Blomqvist holds the lead at the 12 hour mark, with a 21-second lead on the rest of the GTP field. His closest competitor is the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac of Alexander Sims, while Louis Deletraz sits in third in his Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura.
Drama struck the No. 7 Penske Racing Porsche 963 as the team was taken behind the wall during the sixth hour to repair an electrical issue. In an impressive feat, however, Penske Racing was able to change the battery of their Porsche 963 in a matter of 20 minutes, allowing the car to return to the track. An on track incident between Scott Dixon's Cadillac and an LMP3 car struck the Cadillac from behind as Dixon slowed to avoid a spinning LMP2 car. The damage to the car was minimal and the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac remains in the hunt for the overall win.
TDS Racing's two car LMP2 assault on the class victory held a both first and second at the six hour mark. However, the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports No. 52 is still in the hunt, as the Oreca 07 Gibson keeps the face to the TDS Racing tandem.
The LMP3 class lead is still being led by the tandem of Sean Creech Motorsports and Andretti Autosport. The No. 33 and No. 36 LMP3 machines traded the lead of the class back and fourth through the first half of the race, with little competition felt from the rest of the class.
(Image courtesy of Team Korthoff Motorsports)
Leading at the half way mark in the GTD-Pro class is the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin GT3. Directly behind in class, but not directly behind on track due to GTD cars in between, is the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG. As was the case in the first quarter of the race, Corvette Racing still remains close to front during the second quarter of the race.
In the GTD class, the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG leads, with Inception Racing, Heart of Racing and Winward Racing close behind. Both GT classes are as always very close and very competitive.
