The WTR #10 crew had a bit of a scramble to fix a broken oil filler. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura lost time on pit lane and behind the wall just after the 12-hour mark of the 24 Hours of Daytona, dropping from third place in the process.
There was a bit of a scramble by the crew during the car’s pit stop, with the cause for the confusion and lost time initially not known.
According to Acura officials, when the crew members attempted to flush the car’s oil system, they noticed that the oil fill nozzle was broken.
That necessitated a quick trip to the garage area to replace, which took very little time due in part to the fact that, out of 61 entrants, the Acura team has the garage location closest to pit lane.
After replacing the broken filler, the crew then commenced flushing the oil as originally planned. An oil flush necessitates that the crew removed the rear engine cover and the rear wing assembly as well.
The track remained under caution during the entire process, but the #10 still lost two laps and lost its position in the top three.
The sister #60 Meyer Shank Racing also completed an oil flush, but did not encounter any problems during the procedure and only lost a couple places on track.
In addition to the scheduled oil flush at the halfway point, both Acura prototypes also require the crews to add oil every few hours to keep the system topped up.
Both teams plan to add oil again a couple times before the end of the 24 hour race, but do not anticipate needing to flush the system again.
Keyword: Wayne Taylor Racing loses two laps to broken oil filler