Action Express Cadillac Out Front in Hour 16

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

The No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Pipo Derani was out front of the Rolex 24 at Daytona with less than nine hours remaining.

Pipo Derani led the race with eight hours and 40 minutes to go in the Florida endurance classic after passing the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre, prior to the Frenchman’s scheduled pit stop following a long green flag run.

The No. 25 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 of Rene Rast led the field to green on the restart with 10 hours and 33 minutes to go, following Renger van der Zande’s stoppage, although Tom Blomqvist quickly put the Whelen Engineering-sponsored Cadillac back out top.

There was drama for the No. 25 BMW, however, which lost nine laps in the garage in the 15th hour with a gearbox issue with Connor De Phillippi at the wheel.

The No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac, meanwhile, was officially retired with an undisclosed mechanical problem, marking the first DNF of the race for a GTP class car.

LMP2 was paced by the No. 18 Era Motorsport Oreca 07 Gibson of Christian Rasmussen, while the No. 3 Corvette Racing with Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, in the hands of Dani Juncadella, was out front in GTD Pro.

GTD was led by the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Philip Ellis, ahead of the rebounding No. 32 Preston/Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG in second after receiving a mechanical black flag due to tire pressure requirements.

In addition to the No. 01 Cadillac, the No. 55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 (accident damage), No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 and No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 have all been retired.

There was drama for the No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, which lost ten laps with an unknown issue in the 14th hour, dropping it out of contention in GTD Pro.

The once GTD class-leading No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, meanwhile, was wheeled to the garage with a suspected alternator issue.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John