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2013 Daytona Rolex 24: Weathertech Racing Porsche Third After 18 Hours At Daytona
After 18 hours, the No. 23 WeatherTech Porsche continues to be a on the lead lap, running third in the 51st GRAND-AM Rolex 24 at Daytona.
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Fog blanketed the World Center of Racing before sunrise. They ran 31 laps under caution due to fog. The race finally went green on lap 375.
In the overnight hours, drivers Damien Faulkner (Ireland) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (Monte Carlo) both put in multiple stints to keep the Alex Job Racing prepared Porsche near the top of the leader board, this despite a damaged front splitter. Faulkner ran has high as third before he turned the car over Bleekemolen.
"It was quite difficult because we lost most of the splitter," Faulkner said. "I had to do some adjustments inside the car to compensate for the lack of downforce on the front. But, the car is running very well. I got held up the last 10 or 15 minutes by some Ferraris. They are just stupidly fast in a straight line and stupidly slow in the corners for some reason. We will need a front splitter at some point."
On lap 412, Bleekemolen took over for Faulkner. On lap 447, under a caution for fog, the WeatherTech crew went to work fixing the damaged front splitter to give the drivers more downforce. Three laps later, Bleekemolen returned to pit lane for a brake change. From there, he spent most of his second stint under a nearly two hour caution and was still in the car at the time of this report.
Drivers Cooper MacNeil, of Hinsdale, Ill., and Marco Holzer, of Germany, are expected to get back in the car during the daytime hours.
SPEED Channel will carry live coverage of the Rolex 24 at Daytona on TV and the Internet. Live TV coverage is from 3 to 11 p.m. Jan. 26. During the overnight hours from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. Jan. 26/27, fans can watch the race on the Internet at SPEEDTV.com. Live TV coverage resumes at 9 a.m. through the race finish Jan. 27.
MacNeil Automotive, headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, has long been recognized by the discerning automotive enthusiast as a supplier of accessories of unparalleled quality. In addition to the WeatherTech brand, the company supplies products to many automobile manufacturers (OEM) as an original equipment supplier. In fact, MacNeil currently supplies accessories to all four German manufacturers of luxury automobiles as well as a host of other automobile manufacturers worldwide!
PaddockTalk Perspective
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