Rolex 24 six hour report

Daytona Beach, FL (January 30, 1999) - It's been a story of mechanical breakdowns and full course yellows as the Rolex 24 at Daytona passed the six hour mark this evening.

Several of the top cars have suffered problems early in the race. The No. 16 Dyson entry of James Weaver/Stuart Hayner/Dorsey Schroeder/Rob Dyson sat on the pole and led until experiencing brake problems just past the four hour mark.

The No. 72 Doran/Lista Ferrari 333 SP with Fredy Lienhard/Didier Theys/Mauro Baldi/Arie Luyendyk was running in sixth position when the engine stopped. Luyendyk said that he felt something strange while trying to downshift and the car just quit. The car was repaired and sent back out and was still running at the five hour mark.

At the six hour mark, the leading Ferrari of Jim Matthews/Stefan Johansson/Jimmy Vasser/Max Papis was just 2.944 seconds ahead of another Ferrari 333 SP with Massimilliano Angelelli/Didier de Radigues/Allan McNish/Wayne Taylor aboard.

The race has been slowed several times for full course cautions. Taking advantage of the caution periods has helped to keep the competition close. In GT2, the GM Goodwrench Corvettes have been running one-two in class wiith the GT2 leader, the No. 4 car, with Scott Sharp/John Heinricy/Andy Pilgrim aboard, just seven laps behind the overall leader. The No. 2 Corvette was two laps behind their teammates at the seven hour mark.