Daytona 24 Porsche 21 hour notes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - February 3 -- The only thing you can count on at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona is what seems a sure bet one hour disappears the next hour. Just ask the ...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - February 3 -- The only thing you can count on at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona is what seems a sure bet one hour disappears the next hour. Just ask the #38 Champion Racing Lola Porsche crew, whose car had come "all the way back" from a pace lap pit stop and a broken shift linkage in the first minutes of the race to fourth overall in the 17th hour.

It was just before 7:00 AM EST when driver Lucas Luhr was turning some of the fastest laps that team had recorded that the transmission linkage broke again. Crew chief Brad Kettler had said the first time that this could happen, and that the crew was prepared with both parts and a plan.

"Sure, the timing was bad this late in the race, and we could have used the lost lap time as we fixed it, but we're still out there with three hours to go. Our crew did a great job to get the car going again," said Kettler. The car is currently sixth overall.

The top two-positioned cars are also having problems in the waning hours of the race, so anyone in the top five could either win or break.

Two teams continue dominate the standings in GT, as the #66 Racers Group Porsche 911 GT3 RS of Bernhard/Bergmeister/Buckler/Schrom continues to lead the class, while #44 Orbit Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R with Kester/Schultheis/Trembley/Wellman has moved into second place.

The second Racers Group car, #68 Porsche of Schumacher/Neam/Nagel/Zacharias still is third. The #43 Orbit Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RS of Kyle Petty/Peter Baron/Leo Hindery/Mike Borkowski had been running third or fourth most of the night, had contact with another car during hour #21 and bent a wheel, breaking some suspension pieces. As of the end of hour #21, the car was still in fourth place, but was about to lose position.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 3, 2002) - End of Hour #21 - GT Top Teams Overall leader completed 611 laps

1.(66) Kevin Buckler, Sonoma, Calif.; Michael Schrom, Ghent, N.Y.; Timo Bernhard, Germany, Jorg Bergmeister, Germany, GT, The Racers Group Porsche GT3 RS - 574 laps

2. (44) Gary Schultheis, Boca Raton, Fla.; Anthony Kester, Michigan City, Ind.; Sylvain Tremblay, Sunrise, Fla., Selby Wellman, St. Petersburg, Fla., GT, Orbit Racing Porsche GT3 R - 567 laps.

3. (68) Robert Nearn, Great Britain; BJ Zacharias, Cincinnati, Ohio; Larry Schumacher, West Chester, Ohio, Robert Nagel, Clearwater, Fla., GT, The Racers Group Porsche GT3 R - 564 laps.

4. (43) Peter Baron, San Mateo, Calif.; Leo Hindery, Hillsborough, Calif.; Kyle Petty, Randleman, N.C., Mike Borkowski, Scottsdale, Ariz., GT, Orbit Racing Porsche GT3 R - 561 laps

5. (86) Stephan Ortelli, Monaco; Hans Fertl, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; N. Amorim, Portugal; Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R, GT -561 laps

6. (24) Joao Barbosa, Portugal; Thierry Perrier, France, Michel Neugarten, Monaco, GT, Perspective Racing Mosler MT900R - 558 laps

7. (40) Brady Refenning, Stuart, Fla.; Carlos De Quesado, Miami, Fla, Catesby Jones, Hillsboro Beach, Fla., Jake Vargo, Memphis, TN, GT, Alegra Motorsports BMW M3 - 553 laps

8. (67) Matthew Talbert, Templeton, Calif.; Jim Michaelian, Seal Beach, Calif.; Ludovico Manfredi, Key Biscayne, Fla., Paul Daniels, England, Racers Group Porsche 911 GT3 RS, GT – 534 laps

9. (35) Gary Green, Somerset, NJ; Richard Valentine, Higham, Mass.; Rick Dilorio, Harvard, Mass.; Jim Walsh, Kirkland, WA, Zip Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R; 529 laps

10. (04) Brady Refenning, Stuart, Fla.; Carlos De Quesado, Miami, Fla.; Catesby Jones, Hillsboro Beach, Fla.; Jake Vargo, Memphis, Tenn.; Alegra Motorsport BMW M3, GT – 512 laps.