Felipe Nasr came under pressure in the closing stages by Jack Aitken, but held firm en route to guiding Porsche Penske Motorsport to victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It was the third consecutive win for team owner Roger Penske, Porsche and Nasr.
The Brazilian, piloting the No. 7 Porsche 963, was left pulling off a repeat of last year’s heroics, but this time the rival being fended off was Aitken in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac. Nasr crossed the finish line 1.569s ahead of the Brit.
Dries Vanthoor wheeled BMW M Team WRT’s No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 to the final step of the podium.
Run to the Finish…
After pit stops with just under six hours to go, the No. 6 Porsche, with Matt Campbell driving, jumped to the lead over the sister car of Nasr. Uniquely, the windshield wiper of the No. 6 was taped down during its pit stop. Campbell maintained a 2.9s advantage over his team-mate as the clock ticked over to five hours remaining, with Kevin Magnussen (No. 25 BMW M Team WRT) in third and 23s behind.
When pit stops commenced 12 minutes later, the No. 6 swapped drivers from Campbell to Kevin Estre. The caution flew a few minutes later after the No. 18 Era Motorsport LMP2 of Logan Sargeant stopped in Turn 1, which split the field as Estre and Nasr pitted and moved the No. 25 BMW of Marco Wittman (who replaced Magnussen on a previous stop) up to the race lead. Jordan Taylor (Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing) and Will Stevens (Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing) rotated up to second and third, respectively, on the restart.
#24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde, Robin Frijns, Rene Rast
Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images
The No. 3 Corvette of Garcia slowed with 5h12m left with right-rear suspension failure GTD Pro.
Wittman defended well when the race resumed with 4 hours, 19 minutes left, holding off a charging Nasr until pitting after holding the lead for nearly the next 40 minutes.
Wittman’s move to pit put Porsche running 1-2 and cycled to a significant lead following their pit stops 10 minutes later. Estre, utilising warm tyres after going for the undercut on the No. 7 Porsche (with Julien Andlauer in for Nasr after the pit stop), managed to pass his team-mate and take over the lead with 3 hours, 32 minutes to go.
Although the field was spreading out, it was brought closer together once more after another caution when Mike Rockenfeller’s No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 suffered an engine issue and spewed fluids in speedway Turn 3. Estre gave way to Vanthoor, who restarted near the back of the GTP class after pitting two laps later than the majority of the class, with Andlauer leading the field to the green.
It was elbows out by Vanthoor as push through the field featured an intense battle with Renger van der Zande in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 (Meyer Shank Racing). Vanthoor dove under the Cadillac in Turn 1 for sixth, but van der Zande fought back the next lap.
The two ran side-by-side until van der Zande was squeezed off Turn 3, which allowed Vanthoor to secure the position. Then, with 2 hours, 4 minutes remaining, Jordan Taylor’s Cadillac began smoking off speedway at Turn 3. He brought it down pit lane as a fire began to roar near the back of the car, but was able to evacuate safely. There were visible signs of the rear bodywork melted, with the team’s chances for a podium going, literally, up in smoke.
Vanthoor short-pitted from fifth with 1 hour, 38 minutes left, aiming for clear track and a caution to jump the track position game. Andlauer pitted with 1 hour, 30 minutes left, and was swapped out for Nasr in the No. 7 machine. Aitken took over for Bamber, who pitted at the same time. As everything cycled, it was Nasr out front ahead of teammate Vanthoor, with Aitken in third ahead of Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Acura.
Nasr’s lead was 2.4s. Aitken was more than 6s back when he began his stint but clawed that to 2.4s after just 13 minutes.
Final pit stops for the frontrunners began with 48 minutes left, with Vanthoor the first among them and swapping seats with Estre in the No. 6. Aitken followed the next lap, with Nasr in with 45 minutes to go. Nasr came out just ahead of Aitken as the two were within 0.3s of each other while battling through traffic. Estre settled out fourth, behind the No. 25 BMW of Wittman in third, who performed the undercut as the final hour began.
With 20 minutes to go, Aitken attempted an inside move on Nasr along the frontstretch but was squeezed out from completing the move. Nasr held the spot and put a few car lengths between himself and Aitken.
Aitken clawed closer once more with less than eight minutes to go as Nasr carved through traffic. Unfazed, Nasr kept control and eventually sped off to a repeat victory.
LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD class
In LMP2, a furious fight that featured nearly everyone in class at one point or another throughout the 24 hours ended with Alex Quinn guiding the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR to victory. Tom Dillmann, driving Inter Europol’s No. 43, finished a distant second, ahead of team-mate Nick Cassidy in the No. 343 LMP2 ORECA 07 in third.
Although Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports were in control of the GTD Pro class for the majority of the race, it found trouble. While running 1-2, the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT.3R of Antonio Garcia suffered a right-rear suspension failure and was forced to the garage. After 46 minutes of extensive repairs, the entry returned with 4 hours, 21 minutes remaining; 23 laps down. The No. 4, with Tommy Milner at the helm, led often but the caution involving Rockenfeller left the Corvette restarting fourth in class. After being forced off by the Ferrari of James Calado, the No. 4 Corvette fell to seventh.
#4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images
Manthey’s No. 911 Porsche of Thomas Preining assumed control of the class, ahead of the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Max Hesse. The No. 75 Express Racing Mercedes of Maro Engel opted for an extended run, which paid dividends after the pit sequence as it vaulted to lead, just ahead of Preining.
Dan Harper took over the No. 1 from Hesse and took the lead over Engel after the last round of pit stops with under an hour to go. The top two remained that way through the finish, with Winward Racing’s Maxime Martine taking the final step of the podium.
Turner Motorsport had its No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO out front often in the GTD class, but was chasing the win as the clock continued to tick away. Mattia Drudi controlled the race with 1 hour, 30 minutes to go in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, with Magnus Racing’s Nicki Thiim in second and Turner’s Robby Foley third. Thiim took the lead with a strong move on Drudi in Turn 3 with 1 hour, 14 minutes left.
Despite a warning by race control, the two continued to lean on each other over the next several laps. Foley’s hopes took a massive hit with 55 minutes to go after receiving a drive-thru penalty following contact with the 13 Autosport Corvette of Matt Bell. The battle for the win ended up a fender rubbing affair between Thiim and Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis, who found his way in the mix after the final pit stop cycle.
The pair leaned on each other until Ellis’s No. 57 Mercedes pressed his way past Thiim with 20 minutes to go. Thiim fought back and the two touched as they battled on the frontstretch, with Ellis nearly losing the nose and the spot before gathering it back up into Turn 1. The two remained locked together as Thiim attempted a last-gasp outside pass in Turn 1 with 1 minute to go, but was unsuccessful.
Ellis earned the hard-fought win, followed by Thiim in second and Drudi taking third.
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here
