Ryan Briscoe leads the six-hour TireRack.com Grand Prix at Road Atlanta after two hours where numerous contenders fell victim to penalties and incidents.
The race got off to a rocky start when Felipe Nasr squeezed Dane Cameron onto the inside kerb at turn 12 prior to the green flag, causing Cameron to spin out and cause a two-car incident between the JDC-Miller #85 Cadillac DPi-VR of Matheus Leist and Dwight Merriman in the #18 Era Motorsport ORECA 07-Gibson, bringing out a safety car.
A second pitstop came out when debris had to be cleared from the track, during which Helio Castroneves racked up a pair of pit lane violations. Castroneves, driving the polesitting #7 Acura ARX-05, was first handed a drivethrough penalty for a pitlane speed infringement. That was then followed up by a 60-second stop and hold for a red light infringement.
This promoted the #10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-VR into the lead, which still leads in the hands of Ryan Briscoe. Juan Pablo Montoya is in second place in the #6 Acura ARX-05, with Filipe Albuquerque third for Whelen Engineering after recovering from its early drivethrough.
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports holds a comfortable lead in LMP2 after its only rival was caught up in the start chaos.
In GTLM, Antonio Garcia leads in the #3 Corvette C8.R after the Spaniard took the lead in the second hour. Bruno Spengler sits in second in the #25 BMW M8 GTE, as Fred Makowiecki holds third in the #911 Porsche 911 RSR-19.
Two GTLM runners hit trouble in the early stages. Tommy Milner suffered a rear puncture in the #4 Corvette C8.R, while the #912 Porsche 911 RSR-19 served a drivethrough for a pit lane infringement in the hands of Laurens Vanthoor.
In GTD, Paul Miller Racing leads in the hands of Bryan Sellers after two hours. The #48 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo captured the lead in the start melee in the hands of Madison Snow and has held onto it since, even as the #11 GRT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo was promoted into the lead when it opted not to pit under yellow early on.
The #86 Acura NSX GT3 Evo sits in second place in the hands of Shinya Michimi for Meyer Shank Racing. The #57 sister Acura, in the hands of Misha Goikhberg, has had a less than stellar opening stint. Goikhberg has had made contact with the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 and has also had an off at turn one.
Frankie Montecalvo, who started from class pole, held third in the #12 Lexus RC F GT3 after two hours.
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