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Race Resumes After Red Flag

Action Express leads past four-hour mark at Daytona…

Photo: John Dagys

Photo: John Dagys

The Rolex 24 at Daytona has resumed past the four-hour mark, following a red flag of more than an hour for the Memo Gidley/Matteo Malucelli accident just prior to the third hour. No update, as yet, has been provided on either driver’s condition beyond the initial news of their transfer to Halifax Medical Center.

READ: Rolex 24 Red-Flagged After Accident

Christian Fittipaldi leads overall in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP, ahead of Tony Kanaan in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Ford EcoBoost Riley and Wayne Taylor in his own No. 10 Corvette DP, after taking over from his two sons Jordan and Ricky and longtime co-driver Max Angelelli.

Other class leaders past the four-hour mark included SRT Motorsports (GTLM, No. 91 SRT Viper GTS-R), CORE autosport (PC, No. 54 ORECA FLM09) and Scuderia Corsa (GTD, No. 64 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3).

Kanaan took over from Scott Dixon on the No. 02’s third pit stop, on Lap 75. When Dixon was in the car, his fuel saving ability and consistency after running just behind the trio of Corvettes paid dividends in the second hour of the race.

The 2013 IndyCar Series champion led overall at that point in the No. 02. Dixon was able to stretch his stint one lap further than the Corvettes on both of the first two pit stop cycles.

Less fortunate in this stint of the race was the sister No. 01 car. Scott Pruett collided with a crewmember, who was trying to remove a piece of equipment from the car after the left rear tire wasn’t fully tightened. Pruett was assessed a stop-and-hold plus 20-second penalty for the infraction and fell outside the top 10.

The Nos. 5, 10 and 99 Corvette DPs ran second through fourth with OAK Racing’s No. 42 Morgan Nissan up to fifth at the two-hour mark, drive by Roman Rusinov.

SRT continued its lead in the GTLM class for most of the second hour before Nick Tandy ascended to the point in the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR. Behind them, the battle for third involved Ferrari, the second Viper and both Corvette Racing C7.Rs.

RSR Racing led in PC with Alex Tagliani in the No. 08 ORECA FLM09; the sister No. 09, unfortunately, lost time behind the wall with a broken cylinder head. PR1/Mathiasen’s No. 52 and BAR1 Motorsports’ No. 87 were second and third in the spec class after two hours.

GTD changed most frequently, with the lead shifting between Porsche 911 GT Americas and Ferrari 458 Italia GT3s depending on the pit stop sequence. Kuba Giermaziak, in the MOMO-sponsored No. 30 NGT Motorsport Porsche, led at the two-hour mark over GB Autosport’s No. 81 Porsche and the No. 72 SMP/ESM Racing Ferrari.

The No. 1 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b and No. 0 DeltaWing DWC13 both went behind the wall during this period with gearbox issues. The DeltaWing has since returned to the race.

Tony DiZinno (@tonydizinno) is Sportscar365's North American Editor, focusing on coverage of the IMSA-sanctioned championships as well as Pirelli World Challenge. DiZinno also contributes to NBCSports.com and other motorsports outlets. Contact Tony

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