Porsche Penske’s Matt Campbell leads after six hours of racing for the 24 Hours of Daytona, the season-opener for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The sunset gave chance for the humidity and the heat to settle after drivers persevered through the hottest conditions so far in the event.
As temperatures cooled and the darkness emerged, strategies were still at play with an expected chance of rain for the sunrise on the next day.
A fifth caution was deployed when misfortune struck for the #33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P217 LMP2, which stopped on track.
At the other end of the LMP2 class, Felipe Massa led under yellow before pitting alike many of his rivals, as Felipe Fraga took over the wheel of the #74 Riley Oreca 07.
Upon returning to green, the #62 Risi Competizione spun and backed into the wall slightly, before moving away.
Following this, bodywork suspectedly from the #62 was isolated at Turn 6, with suspected fluid at the Turn 7 banking, as the #40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 ran over part of the bodywork and went on at the bus stop chicane.
The narrative heated up into a thrilling spectacle at the front when the race returned to green after a sixth caution period when Porsche Penske’s (#7) Matt Campbell asserted his pace when he overtook Maxime Martin (#25 BMW RLL) for P2.
The Australian then took the lead with a daring yet cunning move around the outside of Tom Blomqvist’s #31 Whelen Cadillac V Series.R, into the first corner.
LMP2 featured a thrilling and ongoing fight for the lead with Peugeot Hypercar reserve driver and youngster Malthe Jakobsen provoking a chase on the #2 United Autosports USA Oreca 07, which held the class lead with Ben Hanley at the wheel
Furthermore, GTD Pro hosted a lead fight between the pole-sitting #77 AO ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R running ahead of Paul Miller Racing’s Bryan Sellers with former Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion Laurin Heinrich.
After six hours, Matt Campbell leads the race in the #7, ahead of #31 of Blomqvist, followed by J. Taylor of the #40.
Campbell pitted as did Blomqvist, as did Taylor, though the trio retained their outgoing GTP positions.
LMP2 saw Jakobsen take the lead after Hanley pitted, followed by the #74 Riley Oreca of Fraga, and Tom Dillmann in the #52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen.
The combined GTD field featured Sellers in the lead in the #1 BMW, followed by the GTD leader #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 of Ferrari Hypercar driver Antonio Fuoco.
With the #9 Pfaff Motorsport McLaren 720S encountering issues, the other running McLaren #70 Inception Racing ran with Olly Millroy behind the Cetilar Ferrari.
