Rolex 24, The 18th Hour: Porsche Leads After Historic Full Course Yellow
The tension was almost as heavy as the fog itself when the Rolex 24 at Daytona finally went green again. After the longest Full Course Yellow in the event’s history, the field roared back to life, and it quickly became clear that the night had tipped the balance toward Porsche.
Porsche Takes Command in the Fog
As the race ticked into its 18th hour, the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 emerged at the head of the pack. The fog-induced caution had dragged on endlessly, testing the patience of drivers, strategists, and fans alike. But once the green flag waved, with a full quarter of the race still ahead, the fight was back on.
Conditions had been brutal. Just after midnight, visibility collapsed to nearly nothing, forcing officials to neutralize the race. The prototypes crept around the banking like ghosts, headlights slicing through the mist. Even under yellow, the drama didn’t let up.
The No. 6 Porsche’s rise to the front wasn’t without adversity. In the 13th hour, the team made four separate pit stops to repair bodywork damage. That they clawed back to the lead speaks volumes about both the crew’s grit and the car’s raw pace.
The sister No. 7 Porsche had its own setbacks. After leading at the halfway point, it was forced into unscheduled repairs in the 14th hour. But Laurin Heinrich delivered a flawless restart, keeping the car firmly in the hunt.
Updates Across the Grid
The battles behind the Porsches were just as intense. Louis Deletraz held fourth in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Cadillac, while Colin Braun kept the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura in the top five. The gaps were razor-thin, with traffic and lingering moisture adding to the chaos.
Race control at the Rolex 24 stayed busy. The No. 85 JDC-Miller Porsche and No. 24 BMW were slapped with drive-through penalties, while the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac suffered a painful 30‑second stop-and-hold for a technical violation.
LMP2 was equally fierce. Sebastien Bourdais used every bit of his experience to keep the No. 8 Tower Motorsport Oreca ahead, with Nick Cassidy charging through the field to put the No. 343 Inter Europol car in second. Tom Dillmann kept the sister Inter Europol entry in striking distance, ready to capitalize on any slip.
GTD Pro and GTD Battles Heat Up
The restart lit a fire under the GT classes. In GTD Pro, the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R muscled its way back to the front. Tommy Milner made a decisive move on the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 of Ben Barker, the Corvette’s V8 thunder echoing across the fog-soaked speedway.
In GTD, Robby Foley seized the moment in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, slipping past Lilou Wadoux’s No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. It was multi-class racing at its finest: speed, traffic management, and nerves of steel.
What It Means for the Final Hours
As the sun burns off the last of the fog at Daytona and the track heats up, the race will shift yet again. Cars optimized for cool night air may struggle, and tire wear will become a defining factor. Drivers, already exhausted, will have to dig even deeper.
With the Rolex 24 field compressed after the marathon caution, the endurance phase is effectively over. What remains is a six-hour sprint. Every pit stop must be flawless. Every driver change must be perfect. There is no margin left.
What’s Next
The 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona is proving once again why it’s one of motorsport’s ultimate tests. The fog may have slowed the pace, but it hasn’t dulled the intensity. Porsche looks strong, Cadillac and Acura are lurking, and every class is delivering a fight worth watching. Strap in, because the final push to the checkered flag is shaping up to be a thriller.
