Mazda Team Joest has been hit with a double blow of mechanical issues in the seventh hour of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The #55 of Olivier Pla was the first to hit trouble, coming to a halt on the oval banking but eventually reaching the pits with a reported fuel leak.
As Pla made his way back to pit lane, the #77, at the hands of Timo Bernhard, suffered a significant exhaust fire from a turbocharger failure. “The car suddenly stopped working,” Bernhard said after the #77 came back to the garage.
Oliver Jarvis, who put the #77 on pole earlier in the week, reacted: “I’m listening on the team radio. At the moment we are just trying to get the car back. Absolutely devastated. Pace was good. That’s come out of nowhere! No warning signs.”
The #77 was eventually forced to retire as a result of the turbocharger failure, with the #55 currently a lap down from Dane Cameron in the #6 Acura who leads, ahead of Team Penske team-mate Helio Castroneves.
