Petit Le Mans halfway report
The race has been action packed thus far.
Photo by: Action Sports Photography
The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP currently leads Petit Le Mans. The first caution of the race came after just 13 minutes when Eric Lux spun and stopped in his 8Star machine.
Championships clinched
By starting the race, the No. 5 Action Express Corvette clinched the Team's championship. Both Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi clinched the driver's title as well.
Also, the No. 555 AIM Autosport Ferrari secured the GT Daytona Team’s Championship in the four-race Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup.
Prototypes fall
Early mechanical dramas put the Oak Racing Ligier multiple laps behind. They worked their way back up to seventh, but contact with the DeltaWing sent the car flying off into the tire barrier outside of turn one.
The No. 9 Action Express Corvette ended qualifying stuffed in the door of the SpeedSource Mazda. Today wasn't much better. They retired after contact with the No. 33 GTD Viper. The aforementioned Mazda is also out of the race due to engine issues. The No. 88 BAR 1 Motorsports entry went back to the garage after making contact with a barrier as well.
No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette DP stalled in the second hour momentarily before getting back going again, but it did bring out a full-course yellow. Power steering issues dropped the No. 09 PC down the order, which was running second at the time of the issue.
The Spirit of Daytona DP is in serious trouble too, which we will get to in a moment...
Contact under caution
During the fourth full-course caution, a very bizarre incident took place on pit road. One driver looked down at his belts for a moment and when he looked up, chaos ensued. The No. 4 Corvette, No. 911, and No. 62 Ferrari were all involved.
During the ninth caution, the Spirit of Daytona car got clobbered by the Flying Lizard entry as they went down into turn nine, causing major suspension damage to the No. 90. Mike Rockenfeller was furious and understandably so.
Racer leaders
P - No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP
PC - No. 52 PR1 Motorsports Oreca FLM09
GTLM - No. 912 Porsche 911
GTD - No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW
Caution summary
Caution #1 - No. 25 8Star Motorsports PC spins on the exit of turn seven.
Caution #2 - No. 42 Oak Racing P1 stops with mechanical dramas.
Caution #3 - No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette DP stops on track momentarily
Caution #4 - No. 45 Flying Lizard GTD and No. 87 BAR1 PC have separate issues.
Caution #5 - No. 55 BMW Z4 GTE stops after contact with No. 01 Ganassi DP.
Caution #6 - No. 88 BAR1 PC makes contact with barriers at the third corner.
Caution #7 - No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports PC stops on track on the exit of turn seven.
Caution #8 - No. 91 SRT Viper goes off the course and is forced to pit.
Caution #9 - No. 33 SRT Viper GTD crashes on the exit of turn seven, nearly flipping due to the odd angle.
Caution #10 - No. 42 Oak Racing P1 crashes into barrier following contact with the DeltaWing.
Retirements
There have been ten retirements thus far.
P - No. 42 Oak Racing Ligier
P - No. 9 Action Express Corvette
P - No. 07 SpeedSource Mazda
PC - No. 88 BAR1 Motorsports Oreca
GTLM- No. 55 BMW Z4 GTE
GTLM - No. 62 Ferrari F458 Italia
GTD - No. 27 Porsche 911
GTD - No. 18 Porsche 911
GTD - No. 30 Porsche 911
GTD - No. 71 Porsche 911
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