Dyson on course for Daytona victory

Team drivers James Weaver, Max Papis, Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Rob Dyson held a massive 12-lap lead in what quickly turned into a race of attrition.

Forbes-Robinson said: "We're just trying to take care of the car as best we can. We're backing down on the engine revs and not taking any risks in traffic."

The Dyson R&S-Lincoln MkIII and one of Cadillac's Northstar LMPs were the only open-top sports racers to reach quarter distance without encountering major problems.

However, the car driven by Max Angelelli, Eric van de Poele and Wayne Taylor would encounter major dramas just two hours later.

An unscheduled stop for remedial work on the gearbox was extended to include a change of brake pads, which cost the car a total of 21 minutes.

After a second call at the pits for the same transmission problem within the hour, the Cadillac team decided to change the gearbox.

Another hour and 45minutes were lost and the car was in 33rd position at 12 hours.

The number two Northstar, driven by Andy Wallace, Butch Leitzinger and Franck Lagorce, was second best sports racer a half distance, albeit down in seventh overall after two long stops at which the right wheel refused to come off.

Wallace reckoned, however, that the car was the "fastest thing on the track" during the night.

"It's running really well and I think second overall is a possibility," he said.

An intense battle for GTO class honours separated the two leading sports racers.

The number 93 Chrysler Viper of Jean-Christophe Belloc, David Donohue and Ni Amorim led the number 91 sister car by just 30 seconds.

A further lap behind the Viper GTS-R of Olivier Beretta, Karl Wendlinger and Dominique Dupuy was the first of the Chevrolet Corvettes, driven by Andy Pilgrim, Franck Freon and Kelly Collins.

The second factory Chevy was another 90 seconds in arrears.

The GTU class was still led by the G&W Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3-R.

The retirement of the second-placed Dick Barbour Racing entry in the 12th hour gave the G&W entry a nine-lap lead over the Mike Colucci Racing GT3-R.

The Konrad Lola-Ford was retired with overheating towards the end of the seventh, while the Doran team opted not to repair its Ferrari 333SP after afire in the airbox.