Angelelli, WTR Lead at Halfway Mark

Photo: John Dagys

Wayne Taylor Racing continues to lead the Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda as the race reaches the halfway mark, while under the ninth full course caution of the incident-filled race.

Max Angelelli leads a Corvette DP 1-2, with champions elect Action Express Racing running second with Sebastien Bourdais at the wheel of the No. 5 entry.

The team’s No. 9 Corvette DP retired in the fifth hour after contact with the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R of Ben Keating, who continued but brought out the eighth full-course yellow after stopping on track.

Two other Prototype class contenders have fallen by the wayside, with the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP of Richard Westbrook getting hit by Andrew Palmer’s No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi R8 LMS while under yellow.

It resulted in Westbrook’s Corvette DP going behind the wall and losing six laps for repairs to the left-front suspension. Palmer, meanwhile, was handed a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact.

There was further drama on the restart, as Andy Meyrick and Gustavo Yacman made contact in Turn 1, sending the OAK Racing Ligier JS P2 Honda hard into the barriers and bringing out another yellow.

Yacaman climbed from the car uninjured but it ended the French squad’s charge through the field after losing three laps early due to a loose turbo clamp.

The No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca FLM09 of Frankie Montecalco leads Prototype Challenge, while the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR of Michael Christensen is out front in GT Le Mans.

There were problems for Dominik Farnbacher’s No. 93 SRT Motorsports Viper SRT GTS-R during a routine stop, with fluid leaking from the rear of the car. It has since dropped to seventh.

Dane Cameron, meanwhile, leads the way in GT Daytona aboard his Turner Motorsport BMW Z4 GT3 with five hours still to go.

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