Porsche narrowly missed out on a podium finish at the 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona as the GT Class battle went down to fuel strategy and timing of pit stops.
The #44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car was forced to pit from second place with only one hour of the race still to go. While this avoided an additional stop, the 35 seconds lost was too much to overcome, the team eventually finishing 5th as the Alex Job Racing Audi went on to victory in class.
The Alex Job Racing Porsche also fell victim to fuel strategy, as the team’s fuel saving efforts not only allowed rivals past, but still required the team to come in for a final pit stop, dropping them to sixth. The last Porsche in the top ten was the Burtin Racing car, who finished in tenth position.
It was not a good day for other Porsche teams, however, as the MOMO/NGT entry spent much of the race in the podium positions, only for a collapsed suspension to force the team into retirement. The pole-sitting Konrad Racing/Orbit Racing Porsche also was forced to retire from recurring problems due to contact earlier in the race.
There was also a DNF for Rubens Barrichello in the Dener Motorsports Porsche, as the car coasted to a stop due to an engine failure.
There was a 100% success rate for Porsche in the GX class, though, as the podium was shared by the three Porsche teams, led by the Napleton Racing team after all three Mazda6s retired.
