Contact Sidetracks WTR Cadillac in Another Championship Twist

Contact between the No. 77 Mazda RT24-P of Oliver Jarvis and Scott Dixon in the championship-contending No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R has turned the DPi title battle on its head.

Jarvis appeared to attempt to overtake Dixon for third place in the hairpin and made contact with Dixon, which sent the WTR driver into a spin and cut the right rear tire.

No action was taken by race control.

Dixon limped back to the pits but left significant debris from the car’s bodywork and the tire itself behind, which brought out a full course yellow and caused enough damage to necessitate a trip behind the wall.

The No. 10 was on an alternate strategy dating back to the previous yellow that saw the team not pit in order to lead at the four hour mark and thereby clinch the Michelin Endurance Cup championship.

With earlier problems already finding the championship leading No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05, Pipo Derani has emerged in the strongest position of any of the championship contenders.

Derani currently leads overall in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R ahead of Dane Cameron in the No. 6 Acura DPi, while Jarvis holds third for Mazda.

Alexander Rossi is currently piloting the No. 7 Team Penske Acura which is back up to 16th overall but still languishes at the back of the DPi class nine laps behind the leaders.

Rossi’s full season teammates Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor do hold the tiebreaker over Derani should that come into play.

The other class leaders with just under seven hours remaining are the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07 in LMP2, the No. 3 Corvette Racing entry in GTLM, and the No. 57 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo.