Porsche number 912 has retired from the Daytona 24 Hours. Crankcase oil pressure woes sent the Long/Christensen/Bergmeister car Porsche back to the garage, not to re-emerge.

Meanwhile, the number 911 911 continues to lead the GTLM class, 20 seconds up on Liddell’s Corvette. Patrik Pilet is still behind teh wheel and has been keeping well clear of other peoples’ accidents. While other 911s are waist-deep in duck tape, number 911 is caked in race dirt but not a lot else.

Pilet’s team mate Richard Lietz was just interviewed by the TV crews on how Porsche race engineers might modify their strategy, given the 912 RSR’s issues. His comment was just what we want. “The engine is running strong so, though we might have some nerves, we need to stay racing. As others are driving flat out, and so are we.”

Patrick Pilet with Richard Lietz

Quizzed on the difference from here to Le Mans, Leitz was transparent. “Here you have banking, Le Mans does not. We’ve worked on setting the car up for this and now we go quicker here. Also, when you win at Le Mans, you don’t get a watch. We just need to stay flat out and get the right amount of luck to win.” And a Rolex!