By: J.J. O'Malley 6 hours ago The Rolex 24 went back to green following a one-hour, 45-minute stoppage for rain, only for a multi-car crash in the trioval at the restart quickly put the event back under caution.As the cars went through the trioval for the first time with minimum visibility, several started spinning, and three stopped with crash damage. Ryan Hardwick was able to continue in the defending class-winning No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini. Not so lucky were Zacharie Robichon in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche, and Taylor Proto in the No. 46 EBIMOTORS Lamborghini.The remainder of the 19th hour ran under caution.

Standings“For me, it is OK — I am in front,” said race leader Fernando Alonso, driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, during the red flag. “Before the caution, it was fun. The Cadillac was performing well in dry conditions as well as in the wet. We lapped a few cars. It is going to be an exciting finish and good show. I have more time to do in the car. I am ready to go.”GTD leader A.J. Allmendinger explained that the decision was made to go back to green one lap prior to the red flag — giving him the lead when the No. 33 Wynn’s Riley Mercedes-AMG crew decided to pit.“As soon as they made the decision to possibly try to go green, the skies opened up,” Allmendinger said. “I just about crashed in Turn 6 — it was just sliding around. After they called it (red flag), there were about six Prototypes in front of me and they all just about crashed, running around 20 miles. We’d love to go back to green and put on a show. We don’t want to have our biggest race of the year end like this.” In GTLM, Alessandro Pier Guidi led during the stoppage in the No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE, with six cars on the lead lap.“It was difficult even to stay behind the safety car,” said Ferrari co-driver Miguel Molina said. “I am happy they made the decision to stop.”The move from red to green back to yellow did not affect the race leaders. Alonso continued to lead in the No. 10 Cadillac, followed by the No. 6 Acura of Dane Cameron, the No. 7 Acura of Ricky Taylor and the No. 31 Cadillac of Pipo Derani, all on the lead lap.No. 81 DragonSpeed’s Ben Hanley leads LMP2 teammate Pastor Maldonado (No. 1 by two laps. Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No. 62 Ferrari leads six cars on the lead lap in GTLM, while Allmendinger leads GTD in the No. 86 Acura.
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24H OF DAYTONA 2019 - AMAZING SEBASTIAN BOURDAIS RAIN RESTART

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By: J.J. O'Malley 8 hours ago The hour began under the extended 11th caution of the event, with cars running behind the pace car for the first 46 minutes before IMSA officials decided to red flag the race. Fernando Alonso continues to lead in the No.10 Cadillac, followed by the No.6 Acura of Dane Cameron, the sister No.7 Acura of Ricky Taylor and the No.31 Cadillac of Pipo Derani, all on the lead lap. DragonSpeed’s Ben Hanley leads LMP2 by three laps. Alessandro Pier Guidi in Risi’s No.62 Ferrari leads six cars on the lead lap in GTLMA pit stop by leader Luca Stolz in the Riley Motorsports Mercedes resulted in a GTD lead change. A.J. Allmendinger now leads the class in the No.86 Meyer Shank Acura, meaning that he has led in all 13 of his Rolex 24 appearances.

By: J.J. O'Malley 9 hours ago Two constants during the 16th hour: steady rain and Alonso in the lead.The two-time F1 world champion was helped by a call by the Wayne Taylor Racing team at the 15h27m mark, calling the No.10 Cadillac to the pits while anticipating a caution. The No.6 Acura of Dane Cameron also dove into pit road, barely beating the yellow.Early in the hour, the No.33 Riley Motorsports Mercedes of Luca Stolz passed the AIM Vasser Sullivan’s No.14 Lexus with Nick Cassidy at the wheel for the GTD lead. Stolz built up an 11-second buffer, which helped him maintain his advantage when he spun a few laps later. ResultsThen, Filipe Albuquerque pitted the Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi, dragging a banner after sliding into a tire barrier, shedding debris while heading to the pits. A tough race continues for the defending winners, seventh in class, 19 laps down. Finally, the No.4 Corvette with Tommy Milner at the wheel had a wild slide heading into Turn 1, slamming into the tire barrier driver’s side first. He was unhurt, but could not extract the Corvette. The Milner incident – coupled with the debris – brought out the 11th full-course caution at 15h28m.Alex Zanardi returned to the No.24 BMW for his third stint under the caution. Unlike his first attempt which was slowed by problems with bent pins on his steering wheel, it was a smooth transition.The caution was extended while track crews attempted to alleviate several areas of standing water – a frustrating task, given that the rain shows no signs of slowing.Under caution with eight hours remaining, Alonso remains in front followed by the No.6 Acura of Dane Cameron, the No.7 Acura of Ricky Taylor and the No.31 Cadillac of Pipo Derani, all on the lead lap. DragonSpeed’s Ben Hanley leads LMP2 by three laps. Alessandro Pier Guidi in Risi’s No.62 Ferrari leads six cars on the lead lap in GTLM. (Zanardi is ninth, 18 laps down). Luca Stolz in the Riley Mercedes leads 12 lead-lap cars in GTD.A.J. Allmendinger is running second in GTD. The driver of the No.86 Acura is looking to lead in all 13 of his Rolex 24 starts – all for Meyer Shank Racing.
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By: J.J. O'Malley 10 hours ago A drizzle at the beginning of the 15th hour quickly turned into a downpour more than an hour earlier than anticipated, sending virtually the entire field to pit road and scrambling the running order in the Rolex 24.Felipe Nasr stretched his lead in the No.31 Whelen’s Cadillac, helped by a bit of pit strategy. While his three lead-lap competitors pitted for slicks earlier in the hour, Nasr came in two laps later and went to rain tires. When the downpour began moments later, the No.10 of Fernando Alonso, No.7 of Ricky Taylor and No.6 of Dane Cameron all needed an extra stop for the treaded tires, Nasr boosted his lead to more than 90 seconds – an advantage he lost due to caution later in the hourResultsRubens Barrichello was running fifth, two laps down, when he went off in the chicane, damaging bodywork and losing seven laps with a trip to the garage in the No.85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac.Elsewhere, Sebastien Bourdais went straight off in the International Horseshoe in the No.66 Ford GT, falling from second to fifth in GTLM.Porsches ran 1-2 in GTLM prior to the rain, with the No.62 of James Calado taking advantage of the conditions to take the class lead.The No.18 DragonSpeed ORECA – running second in LMP2 – encountered problems when Ryan Cullen had problems restarting on pit road midway through the hour. Once underway, Cullen quickly returned, with a damaged nose and missing the tail after an incident in Turn 6. Debris from the Cullen incident brought out the 10th full-course caution. He lost four laps, but retained second in the four-car class.Meanwhile, the incident involving the No.55 Mazda of Olivier Pla during the 14th hour was traced to the car suddenly losing power in the infield and being punched from behind. The damage cost the team 40 laps, falling from a lead-lap fifth to a distant ninth.The No.31 of Eric Curran and No.7 of Ricky Taylor both changed noses under the caution, helping Fernando Alonso take the lead in the No.10.The green flag returned with three minutes remaining in the hour. With nine hours left on the clock, Fernando Alonso leads, the No.81 DragonSpeed of Ben Hanley sits on top in LMP2; the No.762 Ferrari of James Calado in GTLM; and the No.14 Lexus of Nick Cassidy in GTD.

By: J.J. O'Malley 11 hours ago Two Cadillacs put up a terrific battle up front late in the 14th hour of the Rolex 24. Jordan Taylor in the No.10 managed to hold off a pair of charges by Felipe Nasr in the No.31 before the Brazilian captured the lead with a third attack.Significantly, light drizzle began to fall. Rain is forecast to begin before 7 a.m. and will continue throughout the remainder of the day.Nasr led at the end of the hour in the No.31 Whelen entry, with No.7 Alexander Rossi passing No.10 Taylor for second. Dane Cameron’s No.6 Acura was also on the lead lap in fourth, followed by Taylor in the No.10.ResultsThe DragonSpeed ORECAs were a close 1-2 in LMP2, with Ben Hanley (No.81) leading Roberto Gonzalez (No.1. GTLM was led by the two Porsches, No.912 Vanthoor ahead of No.911 Pilet, with six cars on the lead lap. In GTD, Fraga led in the No.33 Mercedes-AMG, with 10 cars on the lead lap.After Mazda Team Joest worked its way back to the lead lap and fifth position, Olivier Pla encountered another problem in the No.55 Mazda DPi to bring out the event’s ninth full-course caution midway through the hour.Pla spun in the International Horseshoe, with the car sustaining left-rear suspension damage. It was unknown if contact from behind was a factor in the incident. The car was still in the garage at the end of the hour, now 17 laps down.

By: Marshall Pruett 11 hours ago The No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 driven by Justin Marks was penalized for passing under the yellow that opened the hour, which dropped him from second place in GT Daytona to 11th.Calling back to the close of the previous hour where Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia ran out of fuel while leading GT Le Mans, the team spent a considerable amount of time getting the C7.R to re-fire after its tank was filled. A driver change was also completed, and with its prolonged stop complete, Mike Rockenfeller returned to the track nine laps down to the leader.Up front, the lead block of Jordan Taylor, who controlled the race with ease as he built a gap of 10 seconds in his Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R over Acura Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 6 ARX-05, the No. 7 Acura with Alexander Rossi, and the Action Express Racing No. 31 Cadillac, pitted with 17 minutes left in the hour. Taylor held his lead after the stop, but both Acuras were beaten out by Nasr who claimed second.ResultsThe Acura tandem of Rossi and Montoya saw the Colombian chase the American into Turn 1, attempt a pass around the outside, fail, and surrender third as slower cars blocked his path.Continuing the rhythm of the race at the top of the field, the two Cadillac DPis of Taylor and Nasr led at the end of the hour, and the Acura duo held third and fourth; the No. 55 Mazda in fifth was the first car circulating off the lead lap.In what’s beginning to feel like a cut-and-paste entry for yet another hour, DragonSpeed was in total command of LMP2 with its 1-2, and in GTLM, the Porsche GT Team was untroubled as its cars ran 1-2. Ford’s No. 66 GT was third.With the No. 86 MSR Acura out of the leading GTD cluster, the No. 29 Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 was unpressured as a lead of 11 seconds to the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 and the No. 11 GRT Grasser Lamborghini Huracan GT3 stood, but with a pit stop looming, the Ferrari was set to inherit the lead.Brake changes were a common sight throughout the hour, and the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche GTD team lost time tending to its lack of functional headlights.

By: Marshall Pruett 12 hours ago Drama struck the waning moments of Hour 12 as GT Le Mans leader Antonio Garcia ran out of fuel on the way to pit lane. The No. 3 Corvette C7.R slowed to a stop exiting the Bus Stop, which triggered the eighth yellow flag of the event.Action Express Racing’s Pipo Derani led the bulk of the hour in his Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, chased by Wayne Taylor Racing’s Jordan Taylor in the no. 10 Cadillac and the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 of Juan Pablo Montoya.ResultsContinuing the theme from the last few hours, DragonSpeed maintained its 1-2 in LMP2 and the Porsche GT Team kept its 1-2 in GT Le Mans while Risi Competizione stayed locked into third. The story of the early morning hours was all about consistency in GT Daytona as well, as Riley Motorsports stood atop the class with its No. 33 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Scuderia Corsa’s No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 was within a few car lengths, and Turner Motorsport’s No. 96 BMW M6 GT3 was third. Turning laps, giving and taking small gaps, is the current rhythm.

By: Marshall Pruett 14 hours ago A loose wheel that departed the right-rear corner on Juncos Racing’s No. 50 Cadillac DPi-V.R brought out the Rolex 24’s seventh caution period early into the new hour, and with the time required to hoist the car onto the bed of a tow truck, IMSA opted to use the pause in action allow teams to cycle through their pit stops, if desired.ResultsWith just over 35 minutes left in the one-hour block, the field returned to racing where Wayne Taylor Racing’s Renger van der Zande, Acura Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves, and Action Express Racing’s Pipo Derani spent time in close proximity. After completing their own stops, Castroneves had been replaced by Alexander Rossi, who led Simon Pagenaud and WTR’s Jordan Taylor.

DragonSpeed’s 1-2 in LMP2 continued uncontested; in GT Le Mans, Porsche’s 1-2 from the previous hour held as the No. 911 took the lead and held a small gap over the No. 912 911 RSR. The perpetually competitive No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari was farther back in third.Riley Motorsports returned to the GT Daytona lead after holding the point in the opening hours of the event. Its No. 33 Mercedes-AMG GT3 had the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GTE and the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 hot on its tail as another hour was completed.

By: Marshall Pruett 15 hours ago A relatively clean Hour 10 of Rolex 24 racing was ruined with 56 minutes completed as the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 driven by Simon Pagenaud flew off of Turn 5 in the infield while running second overall. Although unconfirmed at the time of the incident, in-car footage from the No. 19 Moorespeed Audi R8 featured the sound of being hit from behind, which sent the GTD car off the circuit just ahead of Pagenaud.The Frenchman gathered the car after a lengthy trip across the grass and returned to the circuit with most of the right-front bodywork torn away from the nose. He pitted at the end of the lap which, to his advantage, was within the No. 6’s pit stop window. The Penske team affected repairs and dispatched Pagenaud where he resumed in fifth place.ResultsTeammate Helio Castroneves maintained the lead as the clock hit the end of the hour, Wayne Taylor Racing’s Cadillac DPi-V.R was eight seconds arrears in second as Renger van der Zande prepared to pit, and Action Express Racing’s Eric Curran was 26.8 seconds behind Castroneves in his Cadillac.

DragonSpeed maintained a 1-2 in LMP2, although its No. 81 was one lap behind the sister No. 18.Porsche’s strength was on display in GT Le Mans as the No. 912 911 RSR led the No. 911 911 RSR by 9.6 seconds, and behind them, the No. 3 Corvette Racing C7.R had 60.4 seconds to regain.GTD featured the GRT Grasser Racing Team and its No. 11 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with a 27.2 second lead over the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 and the No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini, which sat 51.3 seconds back from the leader.