Chip Ganassi Racing was strongest at Daytona

If the #02 BMW-Riley of Dixon-Franchitti-Hand-McMurray-Pruett experienced numerous mechanical problems, the #1 sister car of Kimball-Montoya-Pruett-Rojas was the fastest at the 24 Hours of Daytona by constantly remaining at the forefront. If the end of the event seemed to come down to consumption, the leading crews preferred to ensure the result by carrying out a quick refueling through the pits. Juan-Pablo Montoya crossed the finish line as a winner, securing his third victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona while his teammate Scott Pruett celebrated his fifth success at the Florida event. However, some teams protested against the balance of performance carried out by the organizers which offered great power to the BMW engines.

The No. 10 VelocityWW Corvette DP driven by Angelelli-Hunter-Reay-Taylor fell just seconds from first place. If the neutralization game allowed the categories to be uncertain until the finish, Max Angelelli was not able to take over the No. 01 BMW-Riley once the last refueling had been carried out. Michael Shank Racing failed to repeat its performance from last year. But the crew of the No. 60 Ford-Riley made up of Allmendinger-Ambrose-Negri Jr-Pew-Wilson still managed to grab the podium after losing seven laps following a change of link. Starworks Motorsport's hopes of doing well were dashed when the Ford-Riley of Bourdais-McNish-Dalziel-Popow encountered brake problems, requiring lengthy repairs while the No. 2 was in sixth place with a few hours to go.

Audi scored a double in the GT category with victory for the No. 8 Alex Job Racing R24 driven by Albuquerque-Jarvis-Mortara-von Moltke. The No. 8 APR Motorsport R52 of Bass-Basseng-Rast-Stippler secured second place by taking advantage of the fuel shortage of the No. 8 Rum Bum Racing R13 of Biela-Haase-Plumb-Winkelhock, this the last one having attempted the gamble of reaching the finish without returning to the pits in the last laps. The podium is thus completed by the Ferrari 458 n°69 of AIM Autosport of Assentato-Cosmo-Lazzaro-Longhi-Wilkins. There Porsche No. 16 of Napleton Racing driven by Canache-Donohue-Lewis-Norman dominated the GX category which quickly lost its interest following the numerous mechanical damage suffered by the Mazda 6s.

Discover the report from the 24 Hours of Daytona in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad, PC and Mac, and from Wednesday on newsstands.