Rolex 24 running updates: Pair of Porsche Penske cars pace overnight run to Hour 18

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A series of overnight cautions broke up the rhythm of the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. But Porsche Penske Motorsport was unaffected, and the team continued to hold down the top two overall positions as the classic endurance race reached the three-quarter mark.

Nick Tandy in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class No. 7 Porsche 963 took the lead from the team‘s sister No. 6 driven by Matt Campbell car in the second half of the 18th hour after Mathieu Jaminet paced most of the night in the No. 6. Tandy held a 5.608-second lead over Campbell at the 18-hour mark, with Philipp Eng holding third place in the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8, albeit almost half a lap behind.

Seven of the 12 GTP entries were still running after 18 hours, with five on the lead lap. The No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 ran in fourth place, followed by the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R.

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In Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Dane Cameron in the No. 99 AO Racing “Spike” ORECA LMP2 07 led by 5.243 seconds over fellow ex-GTP driver Sebastien Bourdais, in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA, as Cameron drove into the lead during the night.

AO Racing was also in great shape in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class, where its No. 77 “Rexy” Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) ran second to the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, with a deficit of 2.284 seconds.

The race in the GTD class was even closer, with Matt Bell (No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R) ahead of Ralf Aron (No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3) by just 1.637 seconds.

The yellow flag flew just four minutes past the halfway point of the race when a fire broke out in the rear of the GTD class No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R that was quickly extinguished by a track safety crew. Just four minutes after racing resumed, another caution waved when the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07 competing in the LMP2 class left debris on the circuit.

Another stoppage occurred early in the 14th hour when defending LMP2 series class champion Tom Dillmann‘s No. 43 ORECA LMP2 07 fielded by Inter Europol Competition stopped on track.

One of the major stories of the race is the comeback of the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, the defending WeatherTech Championship GTD champion. The entry fell seven laps behind in the third hour due to a sticking throttle and was three laps in arrears at the halfway point, but drivers Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje, Lucas Auer, and Russell Ward rallied to lead 68 laps. A pit penalty for an unrestrained wheel dropped the car to ninth in class, but still on the lead lap.

“Luckily, it was early in the race, and we have time to make up for it,” said Ellis. “I am super proud of the guys. We earned so many laps back with half the race to go, so I would say we are back in the race, to be honest. It all proves to me we are one of the best in the IMSA paddock. The crew put us back in the game again.”

Through the first 18 hours and three Michelin Endurance Cup segments, unofficial leaders with the most points so far are the No. 7 Porsche in GTP, No. 99 AO ORECA in LMP2, No. 1 PMR BMW in GTD PRO and No. 70 Inception Ferrari in GTD.

WATCH: Green flag, early spin

Live coverage of the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 continues on Peacock, with NBC rejoining at Noon ET to broadcast the conclusion of the race. International coverage continues on the Official IMSA YouTube channel.