Hot News IMSA

Rolex 24: Hour 20 – Action Express Still 1-2

Joao Barbosa and Action Express lead the way
Joao Barbosa and Action Express lead the way
LAT for IMSA

With just over four hours remaining in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Action Express Racing team remains 1-2. Currently, the No. 5 Cadillac DPi piloted by Joao Barbosa has a three-lap lead over Eric Curran in the No. 31 Cadillac DPi.

Of course, in the last couple hours, there has been some drama with the Action Express squad as both cars made trips to the garage to treat over-heating issues. However, those issues have, for now at least, appeared to stabilize as the both cars have been turning strong lap times and maintaining their gaps over the competition.

Chip Ganassi Racing continues to run 1-2 in the GTLM category with the No. 66 Ford GT being driven by Dirk Mueller leading Ryan Briscoe by just over a half-second in the No. 67 Ford GT. The two have been nose-to-tail for quite a while now, with Briscoe having taken a few looks to the inside of Mueller in turn 1.

The No. 3 Corvette with Jan Magnussen at the wheel sits about 23 seconds behind Mueller.

Franck Perera has the No. 11 Lamborghini Huracan out front in the GTD category.

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “In that last stint, the car was really good. The way the track is gripping up is suiting us right now. We’re a little too far behind to do anything. We’ll just keep pushing and see what still happens. We need some safety cars for us to have a real shot. We have good speed. We’re just too far behind right now."

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Obviously in the night it is always crazy here. You need to be really focused. I had two incidents… we didn’t lose any time, and I didn’t touch anyone. It was close; people kept spinning in front of me. That was close, and we were lucky. The car is kind of good. The track is changing all the time so I think we need to see where we are at the end. Right now, it looks like the Fords are too fast for us. But we will keep digging and keep digging. It is still a long race, and we know how many things can happen. I am still very optimistic.

“We have only had two yellows, so it’s a bit odd. I was expecting more chaos. There is still plenty of time for something to happen. No one usually wants yellows but I wouldn’t mind a couple to get us closer to the Fords!"

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “We’re just maintaining our position and circulating… waiting for the sun to come up and see what the morning brings. The car is OK. We had to run a set of tires that weren’t very nice, and I didn’t enjoy that very much. In the first stint I did, the traffic wasn’t so bad. After that, it was ridiculous again. There’s still quite a ways to go. We’ll see what sunrise brings."

Brian Carroccio reporting for AutoRacing1

HOUR 20 STANDINGS

Pos CP Car CL Driver Lap Gap Int Make
1 1 5 P J.Barbosa 663 — — Cadillac DPi
2 2 31 P E.Curran 660 -3 L -3 L Cadillac DPi
3 3 54 P R.Dumas 658 -5 L -2 L ORECA LMP2
4 4 78 P H.Tung 656 -7 L -2 L ORECA LMP2
5 5 32 P P.Di Resta 656 -7 L 41.442 Ligier LMP2
6 6 99 P C.Miller 652 -11 L -4 L ORECA LMP2
7 7 85 P A.Cindric 652 -11 L 17.600 ORECA LMP2
8 8 38 P J.French 651 -12 L -1 L ORECA LMP2
9 9 7 P G.Rahal 643 -20 L -8 L Acura DPi
10 10 6 P D.Cameron 642 -21 L -1 L Acura DPi
11 1 66 GTLM D.Mueller 639 — — Ford GT
12 2 67 GTLM R.Briscoe 639 0.292 0.292 Ford GT
13 3 3 GTLM J.Magnussen 639 23.034 22.742 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
14 4 4 GTLM O.Gavin 637 -2 L -2 L Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
15 5 62 GTLM A.Pier Guidi 632 -7 L -5 L Ferrari 488 GTE
16 6 912 GTLM E.Bamber 632 -7 L 21.611 Porsche 911 RSR
17 7 24 GTLM A.Farfus 632 -7 L 30.479 BMW M8 GTLM
18 11 37 P R.Frijns 629 -34 L -13 L ORECA LMP2
19 12 23 P P.Hanson 627 -36 L -2 L Ligier LMP2
20 13 52 P N.Boulle 624 -39 L -3 L Ligier LMP2
21 1 11 GTD F.Perera 614 — — Lamborghini Huracan GT3
22 2 86 GTD T.Hindman 614 22.371 22.371 Acura NSX GT3
23 3 48 GTD B.Sellers 614 29.155 6.784 Lamborghini Huracan GT3
24 4 33 GTD L.Stolz 614 90.507 61.352 Mercedes-AMG GT3
25 5 64 GTD F.Montecalvo 613 -1 L -1 L Ferrari 488 GT3
26 6 44 GTD M.Winkelhock 613 -1 L 4.294 Audi R8 LMS GT3
27 7 29 GTD C.Mies 612 -2 L -1 L Audi R8 LMS GT3
28 8 911 GTLM P.Pilet 611 -28 L -21 L Porsche 911 RSR
29 8 15 GTD J.Hawksworth 609 -5 L -3 L Lexus RCF GT3
30 9 75 GTD M.Grenier 608 -6 L -1 L Mercedes-AMG GT3
31 10 93 GTD M.Farnbacher 608 -6 L 21.930 Acura NSX GT3
32 11 63 GTD A.Balzan 607 -7 L -1 L Ferrari 488 GT3
33 12 71 GTD L.Spinelli 606 -8 L -1 L Mercedes-AMG GT3
34 13 19 GTD E.Perez Companc 603 -11 L -3 L Lamborghini Huracan GT3
35 14 96 GTD J.Klingmann 596 -18 L -7 L BMW M6 GT3
36 9 25 GTLM P.Eng 591 -48 L -20 L BMW M8 GTLM
37 15 69 GTD J.Falb 591 -23 L -5 L Acura NSX GT3
38 16 14 GTD D.Baumann 584 -30 L -7 L Lexus RCF GT3
39 17 73 GTD N.Siedler 580 -34 L -4 L Porsche 911 GT3 R
40 18 82 GTD M.Fuentes 579 -35 L -1 L Ferrari 488 GT3
41 19 59 GTD M.Cairoli 576 -38 L -3 L Porsche 911 GT3 R
42 20 51 GTD P.Dalla Lana 571 -43 L -5 L Ferrari 488 GT3
43 14 10 P R.Van Der Zande 555 -108 L -69 L Cadillac DPi
44 15 20 P B.Gaughan 543 -120 L -12 L Multimatic/Riley LMP2
45 16 55 P J.Bomarito 541 -122 L -2 L Mazda DPi
46 17 77 P T.Nunez 530 -133 L -11 L Mazda DPi
47 21 58 GTD P.Long 529 -85 L -42 L Porsche 911 GT3 R
48 18 22 P P.Derani 438 -225 L -92 L Nissan DPi
49 19 2 P R.Dalziel 338 -325 L -100 L Nissan DPi
50 20 90 P M.McMurry 291 -372 L -47 L Cadillac DPi