28 January 2017
Daytona Beach, 28 January 2017 - The 2017 edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona got underway at 2:30 pm (8:30 pm CET) on Saturday. There was little to report in the first laps of what will be a very long and complex race. However, we should mention Toni Vilander's extraordinary start with the 488 GTE of Risi Competizione. On lap 1 the Finn, who began from fourth, overtook two of the three Fords ahead of him, driven by Richard Westbrook and Olivier Pla. Car no. 66 driven by Joey Hand is currently in the lead.
GTD. In the GTD class Alessandro Pier Guidi held onto first position in car no. 51 of Spirit of Race, while Alessandro Balzan, at the wheel of the 488 GT3 of Scuderia Corsa, was overtaken by the Aston Martin of WEC world champion Marco Sorensen.
Risk of rain. The skies above Daytona are cloudy and rain is almost certain. Local experts say it isn't imminent but could start after 10 pm, around the eighth hour of the race, and last all night. If so, the rain and the low temperatures will need to be seriously taken into consideration, because they could play havoc with the drivers' performance values. Next update at 7 pm local time (1 pm CET).