Update: Field Lola still holds sway
After a topsy-turvy first half of the American sportscar classic, the Rolex 24 at Daytona appears to have settled down with the Intersport Lola of Jon Field leading the way by nine laps with six hours remaining
Field, partnered by Michael Durand and Duncan Dayton, leads by nine laps in the Lola-Judd, which has run like clockwork since some early problems.
"We've finally sorted the car out and it's running real good," said Field. "It takes a lot of luck to get to the end, but we'll see what happens. On the opening lap we had a real miserable car, and we actually looped it. But we made some calls in the pits to change it, stiffened the roll bar and it helped it immensely."
The Doran Lista Racing Dallara-Judd lies in second after leading from pole yesterday. Didier Theys headed the field for the first two hours until he encountered a power steering failure which dropped him down the order.
The car, crewed by Theys, Fredy Lienhard, Mauro Baldi and CART star Max Papis, regained the lead by hour six but lost it again four hours later with a lengthy stop to replace its batteries. "The power steering comes in and out, but it's driveable," said Lienhard.
A dark horse for victory, however, is SR2 class leading Rand Racing Lola-Judd of Bill Rand, Anthony Lazzaro, Terry Borcheller and Ralf Kelleners. It lies in fourth place overall, just behind the Jim Matthews Racing Riley & Scott of Matthews, Guy Smith, Scott Sharp and Robby Gordon, which has been hampered by electrical problems and a puncture.
"We're just riding around right now, not risking anything or taking any chances - it's a 24-hour race," said Gordon. "You've got to be smart all night long and not take any chances. All four of us realise the same thing, and we're going to be smart about it."
The Bytzek Motorsports Porsche 911 GT1 of David Empringham and Richard Spenard, which had run fifth overall and at the head of the GTS class, went out with a blown engine after 16 hours.
1, Intersport Racing, Lola-Judd, 536 laps
2, Doran Lista Racing, Dallara-Judd, 527 laps
3, Jim Matthews Racing, Riley & Scott-Elan, 516 laps
4, Rand Racing, Lola-Nissan, 515 laps
5, Champion Racing, Lola-Porsche, 507 laps
6, Rocketsports Racing, Jaguar, 505 laps
Share Or Save This Story
History repeats as 70th anniversary of Mallory Park is celebrated
How Sutton's BTCC steamroller overcame Snetterton challenges
Rossi faces key decision: Who will replace di Giannantonio at VR46?
Red Bull reacts to Verstappen’s criticism – why ‘I told you’ moments are needed
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments