2007 Rolex 24 at Daytona - Live reporting from the XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing pits

8:45 PM Sadly the bid for honours in the Rolex 24 this year fades at the one-third distance point after the #18 car suffers accident damage and is unable to continue. Gastón, who is behind the wheel at the time, is checked over at the medical centre as a precaution. It is a disappointing end to the week for the whole team, especially after all the hard work and promise shown by the new project, but motor racing does throw up the occasional setback, and it's part of the challenge.

8:20 PM Calm, methodical, and certainly one of the most "switched on" guys in the pitlane, VICI Racing Logistics Manager Doug Smith's job never gives him a break; in fact his job starts long before the team even leave their home base. "During the race my job is to stay on a different radio channel to the car and the pits," he says, "if the crew need anything they switch to that channel and call me, and I can dash to the garage or other point and collect it. I also move the drivers and personnel around between the pits, paddock and the sleeping quarters truck, during the race," he adds.

7:40 PM Uwe Brettel, the President of Porsche Motorsports N.A., drops into the XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing pit. "Porsche," says Ron, "is like a big family, they look after you, and you end up joining up for life. For me the connection began firstly during my racing career, driving the hugely successful 962C amongst others, and latterly as a team owner. Their professionalism, dedication and application to winning is unrivalled in motor racing, and this standing can easily be seen by the number of Porsche or Porsche-powered cars up and down the pitlane here this week."

5:50 PM Roland is very happy with the situation at one-fifth distance, “the car is looking good, its running well, all the temperatures are fine and data seems good,” he says, “this is a long race so I want the drivers to be careful, not to get into any dangerous actions, I don’t want the car stretched or bent. Gastón, with his hot blooded Latin temperament, I have told to keep it very steady, lap consistently. No risks.”

6:30 PM Rudy Albers, the President of Wempe, visits the hot pit. New York based Wempe (www.wempe.com) crafts exclusive timepieces and jewellery, and the company has supported VICI Racing for around 5 years now. "It's fun," says Rudy, "and we get exposure."

17:40 PM Gastón completes his first shift in the cockpit. This is his first 24 hour race and he’s pretty impressed at the end of his stint, which marks the four hour point. “There’s lots of traffic, too much of it,” he comments, “it’s amazing out there – just incredible driving in this race. I had a little bit of understeer but the car is safe and comfortable; we’re looking good for the rest of the race.” Terry returns to the cockpit for the next stint.

3:00 PM XM Satellite Radio Executive Vice President, Steve Cook, and VICI Racing Team President, Ron C. Meixner, observing the real-time telemetry feed in the pits.

2:35 PM Terry Borcheller is reasonably happy after the opening stint, the car's running ok, but he's a bit disappointed not to have been able to make up positions at the start. A long night awaits, he reckons.

2:30 PM Tyre Technician James McNiff is busy examining the tyres after the first stint and he's mildly unhappy with wear of the right hand rear tyre; the pressures will be very slightly revised for the next tyre change.

2:22 PM The XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing team make their first pit stop of the race; the first of around 25 that are scheduled before the checkered flag drops at 1:30 PM tomorrow. Terry smoothly hands the #18 car over to Uwe Alzen, after 32 laps and just under an hour’s racing.

1:30 PM The 45th Rolex 24 at Daytona gets underway on time. Terry makes a solid start, running the first stint without any dramas, consistently in the high twenties positions.

1:15 PM Fifteen minutes to the green flag and the start of the Rolex 24. The drivers are in big demand on the grid for interviews with the world's media. Here Nicky Pastorelli is being interviewed by Race World.

1:05 PM With a quarter of an hour to go before the start, the drivers are all on the grid, soaking up the atmosphere. It's warm and sunny, and the hordes of enthusiastic fans throng onto the grid.

12:50 PM Terry Borcheller will take the green flag. “There’s going to be a lot of energy around at the start, and it’s difficult not to feed off the back of that, but we need to stay very focused, it’s a long race and we need to be around at the end," he says. "I have thought about the start a lot, and we are further down the grid than expected, and the further back the more chance for problems. However I’m anticipating that the car will be better in the race, and we have been encouraged by the times Uwe set in night practice, so we need to make a good start.”

12:45 PM “It’s a perfect day for racing, we will start the race as quick as we can, and try to make the finish without any mistakes,” says Gastón. He seemed to be greatly enjoying the day. “As everybody knows, during the race speed is not the most important thing, so we will have to run the whole race without any mistakes and then see where we are. I’m really enjoying being at Daytona, it’s full of people, its something else here, a very special atmosphere, it is also my first 24 hour race.

12:25 PM The grid officially opens at 12:00 AM and shuts at 1:00 PM; and so with all preparations completed the team push the #18 Porsche-Fabcar onto its 20th position on the grid. The moment of truth is really upon us now as the car sits on the tarmac in the glorious sunshine with the brightly-coloured grandstands rising steeply in the background.

11:30 AM Rain is predicted tonight and the team has a strategy in place. Terry, who has raced in the Rolex 24 many times and won the legendary event says over an early lunch, “that racing in the rain transforms the track. Depending on the temperatures – how cold it will be – it could be interesting; the banking is very fast and treacherous in the wet. In 2001 I drove virtually the whole race in the rain; it’s going to be very tricky and for the guys on the team who have not been here before, I just say to them ‘welcome to Daytona.’”

11:00 AM VICI Racing Technical Director & Chief Engineer Roland Wall is at the back of the team truck, he finalising his strategy for the race; including making such decisions as which driver should start the race. Roland is a highly experienced engineer who is very pleased to be able to add the Rolex 24 to his already impressive CV. He's the team's leader in the pits, commanding huge respect from everyone and his word is final, it is never questioned. Despite his long career, he still has a fresh and boundless enthusiasm for racing, and can pick an entire crew up when they are down, motivating them to new heights. He also "puts his money where is mouth is", never leaving the crew working in the garage on their own, he's always part of the action.

10:15 AM The team are sealing up any excess apertures in the bodywork. "It's going to rain tonight," says Team Manager Bob Lutz, another experienced hand at Daytona. "We don't want any water getting into the car. We always prepare for the worst and hope for the best," he adds. Indeed the weather forecasters are predicting rain overnight, however clearing up in the morning. Yet another unpredictable scenario at Daytona...

10:10 AM A new windshield is being fitted to the #18 Porsche-Fabcar. This is a routine action carried out before any 24 hour race, such as Daytona. The new screen also includes number of rip-off layers which will be removed during pit windows. Cockpit visibility is always an issue at Daytona, especially at night.

10:03 AM The XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing pit garage is a hive of activity, with final preparations underway before the grid opens up in just under two hours.

09:15 AM There's a reunion in the XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing pit garage as Dr Jurgen Lindemann turns up. He was Porsche Motorsport's race doctor at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1993, a race which Ron drove in; now well over a decade later he is back with the German brand.

08:45 AM James McNiff is the team's Tyre Technician. With a long, tough 24 hour race coming up he has a lot of work to do, getting the set of tyres ready, checking and setting up the pressures, sorting out scrubbed sets; but it a job he is very experienced at. "We will probably be doing quite a few double stints on the tyres during the race he says," he says, "the [control] tyres are pretty hard and with the weather being quite cold, wear will not be such a big issue this weekend. When it's cold at Daytona, it's very cold," he adds.

08:10 AM The #18 car is mounted with an on-board camera supplied by Porsche Motorsport. All the race action over the next 24 hours should be captured in some style. Everyone in the VICI Racing team is hoping for some great viewing - and of course to see the checkered flag hove into view on the camera tomorrow afternoon.

08:00 AM Today has dawned very bright and sunny. The pitlane is buzzing; we're now rapidly building up to the start at 1:30 PM EST. The excitement is really kicking in now as last minute preparations get underway.