Darkness has fully set in at Daytona, and it is Felipe Nasr that leads the way in the #7 Porsche Penske GTP prototype.
Fog began rolling across the circuit with eight hours out of 24 complete, giving an ominous feel to the event with one third of the race complete.
The race has been allowed to continue under green conditions, despite the brightly lit Ferris wheel being barely visible from the spotter’s area above the grandstands.
At the head of the field in the GTP class, times remained tight between three different manufacturers even as Porsche flexed its muscle a bit in the darkness.
The #6 Porsche battled side by side for the lead with Kevin Estre expertly piloting the prototype against his team-mate, but remains second in line. The #85 JDC-Miller customer Porsche ran in third for a good while as well.
The #6 entry had troubles earlier in the event, including a couple lengthy pit stops to repair damage to the car’s side skirt. But a solid performance has placed the entry right at the front again.
The #60 Meyer Shank Acura had a bit of trouble in pit lane, and ended up leaving a tire unattended outside their pit box.
They escaped with just a warning from race control, however, and remained in position near the back of the GTP standings.
The #24 BMW Team WRT crew had to dig into the front end of their car to try to take care of a minor brake issue, costing them a couple laps on track.
Change of hands in LMP2
At the head of the LMP2 field, the #04 Crowdstrike Racing entry started the evening at the front of the line but lost out near the eight hour mark.
PJ Hyett rocketed past in the #99 AO Racing ‘Spike’ entry, returning the fan-favorite car back to the head of the field.
George Kurtz kept it cool behind the wheel as he was passed, however, and slotted into the second position deftly.
The two cars at the front held a 25 second lead over the rest of the field as the fog rolled in.
Action has been plenty in the prototype classes and multiple drivers have been frustrated with the intensity level they have experiences so early in the endurance event.
To that point, even veteran Ben Keating, who is normally very measured and calm, vented his frustrations to the television broadcast after he climbed from his car.
Closer than ever in GT classes at Daytona
In the GT classes, the battles continued perhaps even more aggressively than in the prototypes.
The Corvette GTD Pro duo found themselves near each other at the head of the field, as they have for a majority of the first portion of the event.
Alexander Sims led the way in the #3 entry and held a six-second lead over his team-mate Nicki Sims in the #4 Corvette.
Behind the American manufacturer lockout was the #69 Mercedes AMG piloted by Max Goetz, though he was over 20 seconds off the pace.
In GTD, the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin held the advantage over the #21 AF Corse Ferrari.
Racing continued uninterrupted despite the fog and mist worsening as the event progressed, but it remains to be seen how long full speed action can safely continue while spotter’s visibility drops even further.
Read about the earlier action from Daytona here!
Discussion about this post