A final-hour attack by one-time F1 driver Jack Aitken was not enough to deny the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport car a historic third-straight win in the Daytona 24 Hours.<\/p>\n
The race, which was effectively suspended under a full course yellow period for over six-and-a-half hours between 00:47 and 07:19 Eastern Time due to heavy fog over Daytona, with the #7 crew of Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer, and Laurin Heinrich leading.<\/p>\n
In the final hour, Nasr was behind the wheel of the #31 Cadillac Whelen, driven by former Williams F1 racer Aitken, who launched a major assault on the leader after the final round of pit-stops.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nasr had a moment off track coming out of the pits for the final time as Aitken pressured his fellow ex-F1 driver, including going side-by-side into the braking zone for Turn 1 as he harried the leading 963 machine.<\/p>\n
Nasr ultimately brought the Porsche home ahead in the thrilling chase as the #7 became the first car to win the Daytona 24 Hours for three straight years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aitken’s charge brought second for Cadillac, with the #24 BMW was steered to third place overall by Dries Vanthoor as the #6 Porsche 963 recovered from contact in the third hour of the race to take fourth place.<\/p>\n
The car lost pace in the closing hour as the scale of the damage took its toll, but Kevin Estre brought it home fourth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The victory is a record-extending 21st victory for Porsche in the Daytona 24 Hours, as Nasr, the only driver to be a part of the #7 crew for all three wins, joined the likes of Brian Redman, Andy Wallace, Derek Bell, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon, and Helio Castroneves as a three-time winner.<\/p>\n
Porsche’s victory comes after it announced last year that it was withdrawing from the World Endurance Championship and would not be competing for overall victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours.<\/p>\n