‘Unfortunate’ Rolex 24 incident derails IndyCar legend Alex Palou's dominant start

Three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou is racing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, also known as the 24 Hours of Daytona. The Spaniard is driving the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 in the GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) class for Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian. Palou’s car faced an issue in the first half of the race detailing the team's dominant start.

Palou and Co. qualified P2 in the GTP category and started the race just behind the lead BMW. The IndyCar driver's teammate Nick Yelloly was the qualifying driver and started the race, shadowing the race leader in the first stint. Within a couple of hours, the No. 93 car took the lead at the hand of Kakunoshin Ohta.

However, disaster struck the No. 93 MSR entry with a little over five hours into the race as Alex Palou was behind the wheel. The Spaniard’s car stopped on the track and was taken back to the pits as the MSR’s tweet read:

“Unfortunately Alex Palou has stopped on track and the team is sending the 93 Acura back to the garage to further diagnose the issue.”

After a quick inspection, the team realized that the No. 93 Acura suffered a rear suspension failure. However, the team repaired the car in just an hour and it was back on the track.

“Slow clap for the 93 crew. 👏🏻 In EXACTLY 1 hour, the 93 crew has repaired the suspension and heading back out of the garages. Let’s go boys and girls,” read MSR’s tweet.

Alex Palou and Co.’s No. 93 entry was running in P8 with 10 hours left in the race while the other Meyer Shank Racing entry, the No. 60 driven by Scott Dixon and Co. ran in P2. A little later in the 24 Hours of Daytona, the No. 60 had a small incident at turn 6, and after a quick front wing and driver change, it was back on the track.

Scott Dixon made his latest pitstop with 6.5 hours to finish. He is running P4 in the GTP class and is about 24 seconds behind Campbell’s lead Porsche.

Alex Palou to travel to London for mediation with McLaren following the breach of contract suit

As Alex Palou was preparing for the 24 Hours of Daytona, he was asked to be reported to London for mediation with McLaren after the race. According to sources, the Spaniard will travel to London on Tuesday, January 28.

Palou signed a contract with McLaren to join the IndyCar team for the 2023 season, which included the role of F1 reserve driver. However, the contract with Chip Ganassi Racing stopped him from moving for the 2023 season, and it was decided that he would make the move for the 2024 season.

However, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri getting long-term contracts at the F1 team, Palou didn't see the opportunity for an F1 move from Arrow McLaren’s IndyCar team and decided to stay with CGR. McLaren filed a lawsuit to compensate for the damages, which will be mediated as the Spaniard will be flying to London with his attorneys.