Chip Ganassi Racing led as the first quarter of the Rolex 24 at Daytona came to a close, earning the lead through a pitstop cycle after a thrilling battle for the lead.
Christian Fittipaldi‘s #5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP had much of the hour under control, having pulled a strong lead out when racing continued after the first twenty minutes were spent under full-course caution. As the class race settled down, Max Angelelli began setting some incredibly strong laptimes in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP and started reeling in the second placed Ford-Riley of Tony Kanaan.
After passing Kanaan, Angelelli set his sights on the race lead, closing in on Fittipaldi when the race leader got caught in traffic, bringing the top three all together on track. Kanaan pitted first, leaving a two car duel for the lead, before both Angelelli and Fittipaldi pitted together the following lap. The #10 car won the race off pit road owing to the fact it had not opted for a driver chance, while Sebastien Bourdais had taken over in the #5 machine.
The lead in the PC category changed hands during the hour, with Colin Braun‘s RSR Racing Orecan making its way past the #7 Starworks machine of Issac Tutumlu.
Rob Bell held the lead in the GTLM class throughout the hour in the #93 SRT Motorsports Viper, leading team-mate Ryan Hunter-Reay in the #91 sister machine.
Rene Rast continued to lead in the GTD class in the Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS.
2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona standings after 6 hours
P
#01 – Chip Ganassi Racing – Ford-Riley – Pruett/Rojas/McMurray/Karam
#10 – Wayne Taylor Racing – Corvette DP – W. Taylor/R. Taylor/J. Taylor/Angelelli
#5 – Action Express Racing – Corvette DP – Barbosa/Fittipaldi/Bourdais/Frisselle
PC
#25 – 8Star Motorsports – ORECA FLM09 – Potolicchio/Kimber-Smith/Marsal
#54 – CORE autosport – ORECA FLM09 – Montecalvo/Jeannette/Cheng/Guasch
#08 Starworks Motorsport – ORECA FLM09 – Schultis/Lux/Zande/Bird
GTLM
#93 – SRT Motorsports – SRT Viper – Bell/Bomarito/Wittmer
#91 – SRT Motorsports – SRT Viper – Farnbacher/Goossens/Hunter-Reay
#3 – Corvette Racing – Chevrolet Corvette C7.R – Magnussen/Garcia/Briscoe
GTD
#48 – Paul Miller Racing – Audi R8 LMS – Miller/Rast/Haase/Bell
#555 – Level 5 Motorsports – Ferrari 458 – Ticker/Sweedler/Bell/Segal/Per Guidi
#45 – Flying Lizard Racing – Audi R8 LMS – Canache Jr/Pumpelly/Pappas/Winkelhock