24 Hours of Daytona - H+23: Meyer Shank Racing one hour from victory!

The 23rd hour of racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona was disrupted by two Full Course Yellows. The No. 60 Acura of Meyer Shank Racing is only sixty minutes away from a second consecutive victory, but the second Acura and the two Cadillacs are still there.

Published on 29/01/2023 à 18:40

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24 Hours of Daytona – H+23: Meyer Shank Racing one hour from victory!

Meyer Shank Racing is well positioned for a second consecutive victory at Daytona © 2 Jake Galstad

GTP: Two Acuras against two Cadillacs for the final sprint!

The suspense is still high to know who will be the winner of the 61st edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona! This 23rd hour was eventful with two Full Course Yellows deployed. The first to evacuate theAston Martin #64 of the TGM / TF Sport team, driven by Matt Plumb and victim of a puncture. The second a few minutes later, after the spin of the PR1 Mathiasen n°52 of Nicolas lapierre on the next turn the raise.

Thanks to these two FCYs, a fourth car returned to the fight for victory: the No. 10 Acura of Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti is now 2nd in the GTP category, ahead of the No. 01 and No. 02 Cadillacs, after having been relegated more than 2 rounds! An hour from the checkered flag, the No. 60 Acura of Meyer Shank Racing is still leading the debates, but the top 4 is held in just a few seconds!

Also note a small incident for the #25 BMW with a spin during the FCY period, at the exit of the chicane Le Mans. Connor De Phillippi, at the wheel at the time of the track exit, returned to the pits slowly before leaving immediately.

LM P2 – LM P3: TDS Racing on favorable ballot, PR1 Mathiasen out of the race

After the two FCYs, it is TDS Racing which is in the lead with one hour to go! The No. 35 Oreca took control of the race with Giedo van der Garde, just ahead of Matthieu Vaxiviere on the No. 88 AF Corse and the No. 04 CrowdStrike of Ben Hanley. The first four are held in just a few seconds. However, PR1 Mathiasen's hopes of victory were reduced to nothing after Nicolas Lapierre's spin: the car was relegated to 5 laps behind the leader.

In LM P3, the suspense is no longer so much the lead of the Duqueine D08 No. 17 of the AWA team, driven by the Briton Wayne Boyd, still dominates the debates with 13 laps in advance.

GTD-Pro – GTD: Nothing is decided!

What a battle in GTD! The suspense is total in the two categories, which have been fighting intensely on the track since the post-FCY relaunch. The No. 14 Lexus from the Vasser Sullivan team took control of the category… but the Mercedes #79 from WeatherTech and the #3 Corvette are nestled in the leader's exhausts! The suspense remains with one hour to go, while the #63 Lamborghini of Iron Lynx is not far behind in 4th place in the category.

In the GTD, the No. 27 Aston Martin from the Heart of Racing team has already taken off despite the multiple FCYs, ahead of the No. 57 Mercedes from the Winward Racing team.