Rolex 24: Porsche Penske Duo Leads as Winward Racing Makes Stunning GTD Comeback
The Porsche Penske Motorsport team maintains their 1-2 lead in the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona with eight hours remaining as dawn approaches.
Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Porsche leads teammate Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 by five seconds, after overtaking him at turn two while Nasr defended against the lapped No. 93 MSR Acura.
Meyer Shank Racing's Felix Rosenqvist holds third place in the No. 60 Acura ARX-06, though now 30 seconds behind after a turn six barrier impact causing minor nose damage. Dries Vanthoor follows in fourth in the No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.
NASCAR race at Daytona
In LMP2, Toby Sowery leads in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing ORECA 07, building an eight-second gap over Sebastien Bourdais of Tower Motorsports. ERA Motorsport and United Autosports USA hold third and fourth with Paul-Loup Chatin and Rasmus Lindh respectively.
GTD PRO sees Laurin Heinrich's No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in front, followed by Kelvin van der Linde's No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW. The No. 65 Multimatic Ford and No. 3 Corvette round out the top four.
The most impressive recovery comes from GTD class leader Winward Racing's No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. After falling seven laps behind due to a stuck throttle pedal, Philip Ellis and Lucas Auer have not only regained the lead lap but built a 20-second advantage over Elliott Skeer's No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Scott Andrews in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes holds third despite an earlier 100-second penalty.
The Conquest Racing Ferrari has returned to action after repairs but trails by over 40 laps in GTD.
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