2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona: Final 8 Hours Recap

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — It was a record day for the 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona and it was a victorious day for Action Express Racing.

The No. 5 Cadillac DPi driven by Felipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi were victorious, completing a record 808 laps and a record 2,876.48 miles over 24 hours.

In the last eight hours, the No. 7 Team Penske Acura DPi went to the garage for repairs after contact with the No. 31 Cadillac DPi. The Nos. 67 and 66 Ford GT machines swapped first and second place around during the final eight hours but the No. 67 machine with Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and Scott Dixon were victorious by 11.166 seconds.

Meanwhile, the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi had another right rear tire failure and the car was retired on safety grounds after completing 555 laps.

Five minutes after the No. 10 retired, the No. 55 Mazda DPi had a mechanical failure that set the rear bodywork on fire and that car was out.

Within the final eight hours, the No. 77 Mazda DPi was also retired as was the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 that started on pole in the GTD class.

The GTD class victory went to the No. 11 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Rolf Ineichen, Mirko Bortolotti, Franck Perera and Rik Breukers.