Rolex 24: Cadillac, Acura out front as issues blight Alonso's car
Cadillac and Acura look poised to duel for overall victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona as just four cars find themselves still on the lead lap with half of the race completed as Fernando Alonso's hopes of a podium were dashed following a brake issue through the night.
After emerging at the front of the field through the rain-hit spell in the sixth hour, the #31 Whelen Racing Engineering Cadillac DPi sits P1 by less than 10 seconds from the #6 Acura Team Penske, with both teams' sister cars sitting on the lead lap as half a minute covers the top four.
Cadillac and Acura look poised to duel for overall victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona as just four cars find themselves still on the lead lap with half of the race completed as Fernando Alonso's hopes of a podium were dashed following a brake issue through the night.
After emerging at the front of the field through the rain-hit spell in the sixth hour, the #31 Whelen Racing Engineering Cadillac DPi sits P1 by less than 10 seconds from the #6 Acura Team Penske, with both teams' sister cars sitting on the lead lap as half a minute covers the top four.
The #10 Konica Minolta Cadillac dropped out of contention at the front following a right-rear puncture - a recurring issue for many teams through the race - but there was worse news for Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris in the #23 United Autosports entry through the night.
Having run inside the top seven and been on the lead lap, a puncture firstly caused co-driver Phil Hanson to slow and crawl back to the pits, dropping three laps down.
While Alonso was able to gain back a lap under the second Full Course Yellow of the race, a brake master cylinder failure forced United Autosports to put the Ligier JS P217 behind the wall and take time to resolve the issue, leaving the car 25 laps down in P22 at the time of writing.
In GTLM, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing currently enjoys a 1-2, with Dirk Müller leading in the #66 Ford GT ahead of Ryan Briscoe in the #67 car, while AJ Allmendinger sits out front in the GTD class for Michael Shank Racing.
