Rolex 24 at Daytona race progress

#911 Porsche 911 RSR — Final session for 24 hour cars today. Here we see an expensive coat rack getting final prep

With the Rolex 24 at Daytona already two-thirds run, we can bring you the latest Daytona race progress. Martin was out and about on Friday once again and reported some interesting pre-race activity which we will give you at the beginning of this report. The rest of the report will contain the latest material from the Porsche press desk.

One of the Audi GTD is in trouble. The engine came out late Friday, so there was no time for any test prior to the race start. The Manthey-Racing Porsche sits next door on high stands getting checked over

Renger van der Zande gives the pole sitter interview in the Daytona press room on Thursday after Qualifying

The Daytona infield is filled with campers and motorhomes. Every spot has been sold out for months

Eric Bloss and the Porsche 962-104 — Two more old friends have arrived. Eric Bloss from Porsche Motorsport USA stands in front of 962-104 for which he has organised delivery for the vintage display. This car, owned by Preston Henn and driven by Bob Wollek, AJ Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Thierry Boutsen, won the 1985 Daytona 24 Hour race

How the Porsche 911 RSRs fared at the start

Both Porsche 911 RSR cars took off into the Daytona 24-hour race without any problems, but faced strong opposition in the traditionally cutthroat GTLM class. To recap, the #912 Porsche of Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni started in third position in class with the #911 car of Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki in fourth.

Hour 1

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
5	911	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
6	912	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
16	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
17	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

#912 Porsche 911 RSR, drivers: Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni

For Wright Motorsports, their day was almost over before the race even began. During the pre-race formation laps, Robert Renauer in the #58 Porsche 911 GT3 R left the track in Turn 5, making heavy contact with the wall, causing significant damage to the left front. This brought the car back into the garage before the green flag was even waved to start the race. The team were strong favourites to finish on the podium with works driver Patrick Long in the seat together with two-time and defending GTD champion Christina Nielsen and Mathieu Jaminet. The car eventually made its way out to the track but it remains last in the standings, although the #58 Porsche was posting very respectable lap times.

Hour 2

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
3	911	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
6	912	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
15	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
16	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

Hour 3

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
5	911	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
7	912	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
15	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
18	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

Hour 4

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
2	911	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
6	912	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
15	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
17	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

#58 Porsche 911 GT3 R — #58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by: Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet

Hour 5

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
3	911	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
7	912	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
13	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
16	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

#59 Porsche 911 GT3 R — #59 Manthey-Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by: Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli

Hour 6

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
4	911	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
6	912	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
15	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
16	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

#73 Porsche 911 GT3 R — #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by: Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas

Hour 7

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
5	911	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
7	912	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
15	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
17	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

Hour 8

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
5	911	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
7	912	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
12	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
14	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

Hour 9

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
6	912	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
7	911	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
12	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
13	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

Hour 10

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
5	912	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
8	911	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
12	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
14	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

Hour 11

Class Pos.	Car No.	Drivers	Team	Car
5	912	Pilet/Tandy/Makowiecki	Porsche factory	911 RSR
8	911	Vanthoor/Bamber/Bruni	Porsche factory	911 RSR
12	73	Lindsey/Bergmeister/Siedler/Pappas	Park Place Motorsports	911 GT3 R
13	59	Smith/Walls/Proczyk/Muller/Cairoli	Manthey-Racing	911 GT3 R
21	58	Long/Nielsen/Renauer/Jaminet	Wright Motorsports	911 GT3 R

The latest weather report is that it should stay dry through to the end of the race, so perhaps that variable may have been parked for now.