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Daytona 24 Hours victory decided by late-race Cadillacs collision

Cadillac claimed victory in the Daytona 24 Hours as two of its new prototypes collided in the closing stages of the IMSA SportsCar Championship opener

The Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R shared by brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor, Max Angelelli and Jeff Gordon took the victory by just over half a second from the best of the Action Express Racing Cadillacs.

The race turned into a 20-minute dash to the flag after the 21st and final safety car of an event that ran in wet conditions for nearly half of its duration.

The WTR Cadillac with Ricky Taylor at the wheel was a second behind Albuquerque after the race went green for the final time.

Taylor closed down the gap and then made an opportunist move into Turn 1 with four laps to go.

The WTR had got his nose alongside the rear wheels of the leader when Albuquerque turned in and spun as a result of the ensuing contact.

That gave Taylor a lead of just over four seconds, which the Action Express driver was able to eat into over the remaining laps.

Jordan Taylor said: "I'm relieved because we've come close so many times before.

"My little brother finally made it happen today."

The two Cadillacs moved away from their remaining rival once the track began to dry as lunchtime approached on Sunday.

The Spirit of Daytona Riley-Gibson MK30 LMP2 car could run with the leaders during the wet portion of the race, but had no answer for the Cadillacs on a dry track.

Marc Goossens, Renger van der Zande and Rene Rast slipped a lap down in the Riley before the race was complete.

Extreme Speed Motorsports drivers Scott Sharp, Ryan Dalziel and Pipo Derani and took fourth position, three laps in arrears, in the best of the team's pair of Nissan-Onroak DPis.

Ford triumphed in another close battle in the GT Le Mans class.

Dirk Muller had to withstand intense late pressure in the Chip Ganassi Ford GT he shared with Joey Hand and Sebastien Bourdais.

Patrick Pilet, in the factory Porsche 911 RSR co-driven with Frederic Makowiecki and Dirk Werner, put the Ford driver under pressure before having to back off over the final laps, allowing Muller to win by nearly three seconds.

The Porsche driver was then pushed hard by James Calado in the Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE, but held on to take the runner-up spot by just 0.091s.

The Alegra Motorsports Porsche team claimed a surprise GT Daytona class victory with Michael Christensen, Daniel Morad, Jesse Lazare and father and son Carlos and Michael de Quesada.

They moved into contention in the closing stages before factory driver Christensen moved the car into the lead.

The Dane crossed the line just a couple of tenths clear of the Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS driven by Christopher Mies, Jules Gounon, Connor De Phillippi and Jeffrey Schmidt.

2017 DAYTONA 24 HOURS RESULTS:

Pos Class Driver Team Car Gap
1 P R.Taylor, J.Taylor, M.Angelelli, J.Gordon Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac 24h00m57.343s
2 P J.Barbosa, C.Fittipaldi, F.Albuquerque Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac 0.671s
3 P M.Goossens, R.van der Zande, R.Rast Visit Florida Racing Riley/Gibson 1 Lap
4 P S.Sharp, R.Dalziel, P.Derani Tequila Patron ESM Nissan 3 Laps
5 GTLM D.Muller, J.Hand, S.Bourdais Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford 7 Laps
6 GTLM P.Pilet, D.Werner, F.Makowiecki Porsche GT Team Porsche 7 Laps
7 GTLM G.Fisichella, J.Calado, T.Vilander Risi Competizione Ferrari 7 Laps
8 GTLM A.Garcia, J.Magnussen, M.Rockenfeller Corvette Racing Chevrolet 7 Laps
9 GTLM H.Tincknell, A.Priaulx, T.Kanaan Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford 7 Laps
10 GTLM K.Estre, L.Vanthoor, R.Lietz Porsche GT Team Porsche 7 Laps
11 GTLM S.Mucke, O.Pla, B.Johnson Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford 7 Laps
12 GTLM B.Auberlen, A.Sims, A.Farfus, B.Spengler BMW Team RLL BMW 8 Laps
13 P C.Miller, S.Simpson, M.Goikhberg, M.Beche JDC-Miller Motorsports ORECA/Gibson 13 Laps
14 P D.Cameron, E.Curran, M.Conway, S.Morris Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac 20 Laps
15 PC J.French, P.O'Ward, K.Masson, N.Boulle Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA/Chevrolet 21 Laps
16 GTLM O.Gavin, T.Milner, M.Fassler Corvette Racing Chevrolet 23 Laps
17 P E.Brown, J.van Overbeek, B.Senna, B.Hartley Tequila Patron ESM Nissan 23 Laps
18 GTD C.de Quesada, D.Morad, J.Lazare, M.De Quesada, M.Christensen Alegra Motorsports Porsche 25 Laps
19 GTD C.De Phillippi, C.Mies, J.Gounon, J.Schmidt Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi 25 Laps
20 GTD B.Keating, J.Bleekemolen, M.Farnbacher, A.Christodoulou Riley Motorsports - Team AMG Mercedes 25 Laps
21 GTD L.Aschenbach, A.Davis, M.Bell, R.Liddell Stevenson Motorsports Audi 25 Laps
22 GTD J.Segal, O.Negri, T.Dyer, R.H.-Reay Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura 25 Laps
23 GTD B.Sweedler, T.Bell, F.Montecalvo, P.Kaffer Alex Job Racing Audi 26 Laps
24 GTD B.Sellers, M.Snow, B.Miller, A.Caldarelli, D.von Moltke Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini 30 Laps
25 GTD J.Marks, J.Klingmann, M.Martin, J.Krohn Turner Motorsport BMW 31 Laps
26 GTD E.Busnelli, F.Babini, E.Collard, F.Perrodo Ebimotors Lamborghini 33 Laps
27 GTLM R.Briscoe, R.Westbrook, S.Dixon Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford 35 Laps
28 GTD S.Creel, M.Hedlund, W.Henzler, J.Heylen, T.Pappas TRG Porsche 38 Laps
29 GTD A.Lally, K.Legge, M.Wilkins, G.Rahal Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura 42 Laps
30 PC T.Papadopoulos, J.Mowlem, A.Merzon, T.Hindman, D.Cheng BAR1 Motorsports ORECA/Chevrolet 43 Laps
31 P S.Buemi, N.Heidfeld, N.Jani, S.Sarrazin Rebellion Racing ORECA/Gibson 50 Laps
32 PC D.Yount, B.Rice, M.Kvamme, C.Ducote, G.Yacaman BAR1 Motorsports ORECA/Chevrolet 60 Laps
33 GTD P.D.Lana, P.Lamy, M.Lauda, M.Sorensen Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 66 Laps
34 GTD E.Anassis, B.Gdovic, Z.Claman, A.Massari DAC Motorsports Lamborghini 69 Laps
35 P M.Guasch, J.Gutierrez, R.Enerson, T.K.-Smith PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier/Gibson 75 Laps
36 GTD J.Hawksworth, R.Alon, A.Cindric, D.Farnbacher 3GT Racing Lexus 78 Laps
37 GTD C.Engelhart, R.Ineichen, E.P.Companc, M.Bortolotti GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini 79 Laps
38 GTD C.Nielsen, A.Balzan, M.Cressoni, S.Bird Scuderia Corsa Ferrari Not running
39 P H.Hedman, N.Lapierre, B.Hanley, L.Duval DragonSpeed ORECA/Gibson Not running
40 P T.Nunez, J.Bomarito, S.Pigot Mazda Motorsports Mazda Not running
41 GTD C.Engelhart, R.Ineichen, R.Pampanini, M.Beretta, M.Pavlovic GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Not running
42 GTD K.Habul, B.Said, T.Vautier, M.Engel, P.Morris SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes Not running
43 GTD L.DeGeorge, C.Sbirrazzuoli, P.Ruberti, L.Persiani, R.Giammaria Dream Racing Motorsport Lamborghini Not running
44 PC S.Mayer, J.Dayson, A.Popow, S.Rayhall, C.Daly Starworks Motorsport ORECA/Chevrolet Not running
45 PC B.Keating, R.Wickens, C.Cumming, J.Falb, R.Ruscitti Starworks Motorsport ORECA/Chevrolet Not running
46 P T.Long, J.Miller, J.Hinchcliffe Mazda Motorsports Mazda Not running
47 GTD M.Mapelli, M.Basseng, L.Stolz, L.Willsey, F.Konrad Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini Not running
48 GTD C.MacNeil, G.Jeannette, S.Gisbergen, T.Jager Riley Motorsports - WeatherTech Racing Mercedes Not running
49 GTD J.Bennett, C.Braun, P.Long, N.Jonsson CORE Autosport Porsche Not running
50 GTD P.Mann, M.Mediani, A.P.Guidi, D.Rigon, R.Mastronardi Spirit of Race Ferrari Not running
51 GTD P.Lindsey, J.Bergmeister, M.McMurry, N.Siedler Park Place Motorsports Porsche Not running
52 GTD C.Lewis, J.Mul, K.Grala, B.Sandberg Change Racing Lamborghini Not running
53 GTD S.Smith, R.Walls, H.Proczyk, M.Cairoli, S.Muller Manthey Racing Porsche Not running
54 GTD S.Pruett, S.Karam, I.James, G.Menezes 3GT Racing Lexus Not running
55 GTLM J.M.Edwards, M.Tomczyk, N.Catsburg, K.Wittmer BMW Team RLL BMW Not running

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