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

8:08 PM The #18 car is taken straight back to the pit garage where the team swing into action with a routine engine change: removing the unit that has seen them through the practice sessions today, for a new unit that will take them into the race on Saturday. With Grand-Am rules allowing the teams up until 9:30 PM this evening before the paddock is closed for the night, the mechanics instantly swing into action to start removing the engine. The job will be completed first thing in the morning. "The crew are doing a great job, everyone is working very hard; we're nicely heading in the right direction," says Roland.

8:00 PM The night practice session ends. And just like the afternoon practice and qualifying sessions it's been hit by full course cautions, three this time, which have interrupted the drivers' running. However everyone has turned in very similar and consistent times, the engineers have acquired more data to work off, and the team has made another step towards the big race.

7:45 PM We're now and hour into night practice. As the cars race through the darkness, this is the atmosphere that sums up Daytona. A red sky hangs over the infield as the sun sets, the darkness, punctuated by thousands of lights. For sheer spine tingling atmosphere this legendary circuit has few rivals in the world.

7:10 PM For 21-year Robert Renauer it is his first experience of racing in the dark, and it will be his first 24-hour race. A steep learning curve for the youngster, but one he is looking forward to. He completes is six laps smoothly; it is his first time in the car this week. "The car is much better than it was at the official Daytona tests at the beginning of this month," he says after his stint, "we're going in the right direction for sure, and I'm really looking forward to the race, it is a whole new experience for me" he says.

6:30 PM Night practice gets underway. This one-and-a-half hour session allows each driver to experience the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway in the dark and is mandatory. All five XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing drivers', Terry Borcheller, Uwe Alzen, Gaston Mazzacane, Nicky Pastorelli and Robert Renauer, are in the pit area waiting for the green light. Each driver will get six laps behind the wheel of the #18 Fabcar-Porsche, with Terry, the most experienced of the quintet getting the action underway.

4:10 PM the first qualifying session starts at 3:45 PM and is just 15 minutes long. (The second session is tomorrow). Six minutes are lost under a full course caution as the #60 Negri hits the tyre barriers. With less than 10 minutes, Terry posts a 1:47.649 which leaves him in a solid 21st; the team now have just over two hours to get ready for the night time acclimatisation runs. (Photo, right: Ken May)

3:15 PM Argentinean former F1 driver Gastón Mazzacane is one of the five drivers on the #18 car this week. "This will be my first 24 hour race," he says, "I'm looking forward to a strong race. The team will come up with a good, consistent strategy; the drivers need to be good mentally, no mistakes - a lot of concentration for 24 hours. The team is working very hard, so our race prospects look pretty exciting. This race is very popular in Argentina, fans always follow Daytona, and as I'm the only Argentinean driver here I will be able to count on a lot of support back home."

1:30 PM The second practice session sees the #18 XM Satellite Radio VICI Racing Porsche-Fabcar on track for the first time. Terry Borcheller is in the drivers' seat. As the most experienced driver on the team, and a former winner here, he is entrusted with getting the car set-up this afternoon. The one hour session (1:30 to 2:30 PM) is cut short by 23 minutes when a car goes off into the tyre barriers at 1:55 PM. Terry sets a best lap of 1:48.810 during the ten laps he runs.

12:10 PM Uwe Alzen is restless to get into the car. Alzen is a veteran sports car driver who has raced much of his career with Porsche, including a GT1 class win for the German brand in the 1998 Daytona 24 Hours where he finished second overall. He is a regular in the Nürburgring 24 Hours so his long distance credentials are impeccable. The complete professional, he knows there is much work to do, and wants to get on.

11:15 AM Logistics Manager Doug Smith has a busy day. The drivers' name transfer for the car have gone AWOL, and he has to dash out of the paddock to find the truck that has arrived with sleeping quarters for the drivers during the race. He's also sorting out accounts with the suppliers on site. "Very important to make sure everything is smoothly running and up to date in this area, when we need consumables fast during the race, we want the supplier to be happy with us." Then he's off to acquire spare parts for the radios, plugs to make all the international drivers' helmets compatible with GrandAm fittings, and he also dishes out restaurant tokens to the team personnel.

10:30 AM With the conditions still wet at the circuit the team elect to skip the first half hour session (10:00 to 10:30) in favour of continuing to work on the car. Technical Director & Chief Engineer Roland Wall is glued to his laptop. "We're working on adjusting the hydraulic balance and a number of detail geometry changes," he reveals. Meanwhile the bulk of the VICI Racing staff, who have travelled up from the Miami base, are all mumbling about the cold weather.

09:40 AM The #18 Porsche-Fabcar is fired up for the first time this week in the pit garage. The 3.8-litre Porsche flat 6-cylinder engine burbles away, its sound echoing off the walls, mixing with the other engines which are kicking into life. "It's an excellent engine," says Team President Ron C. Meixner, "a real jewel, no one quite builds engines like Porsche do, " he adds. This power unit is almost new, with just a couple of hours running time in testing on it; and although it is good for 30 hours of running time it will be changed tomorrow evening with a fresh unit installed for the race. The Porsche Grand Am engine revs to 9,500 rpm, comments Roland.

07:30 AM The big news this morning, as the team begins preparing for the first practice session, is the rain! Despite good weather forecasts all week, persistent rain has arrived overnight at Daytona, the track is soaking wet, and the sky filled with dark and menacing clouds. The TV weather forecasts are predicting rain all day, however clearing tomorrow but then returning at the weekend. Team Technical Director & Chief Engineer Roland Wall though is smiling, the rain reminds him of the Nürburgring, one of his favourite circuits - but without the cold and rain. He feels right at home, he says.