Grand-Am, Rolex 24 at Daytona - Hours 7 to 9

The race goes green again just as the seventh hour begins, with Mark Patterson leading the race in the #23 United Autosports Riley. AJ Allmendinger is second in the #6 MSR Dallara and takes the lead at NASCAR 2.

21:39 Antonio Garcia spins the #90 Coyote on the banking and loses the rear bodywork after clipping the wall at NASCAR 2.

21:41 FCY #9

21:50 Green.

Buddy Rice is pursued by Joey Hand, but Pat Long gets among them as he unlaps himself again. The Lizard car can break so much later into T1 and into the Bus Stop than the other DPs.

The GT fight soon after the restart briefly resembles a NASCAR race as a whole pack of them go three-abreast round the banking. 

22:06 Rice still leads by just under a second, while we have another new leader in GT - the Paul Miller Racing Porsche, currently driven by Bryce Miller.

With 201 laps completed, the order is 5, 01, 55, 23, 6, 9, 60, 02, 76 and 8. Jamie McMurray has just got back onto the lead lap in the #02 after losing a lap when the Ganassi crew changed the gear cluster on that Riley during a recent caution period. 

22:11 Allmendinger takes fourth from Blundell.

There's trouble for the #94 Turner BMW, which goes behind the wall and heads for the garages.

22:13 Hand ends lap 204 just a tenth off the lead.

22:17 The #01 Ganassi car retakes the lead.

Of the three GTs involved in the earlier shunt, only the #69 SpeedSource has yet to return to the race. The #32 PR1 M6 is 21st in class, 30 laps down on the class lead; while the #07 Banner Camaro is 23rd in class, a further seven laps down. 

22:20 Blundell is closing back on Allmendinger as the MSR internecine battle for fourth continues.

In GT, Brendan Gaughan in the #67 TRG Porsche is on the tail of Hurley Haywood in the #59 Brumos car for second in class.

22:24 Right-rear puncture for Flying Lizard puncture; instantly undoing the team's hard work in clawing back two laps. Long hands over to Seth Neiman as the car returns to the pit.

22:27 Hurley Haywood assumes the GT lead as the #48 and #67 Porsches both pit. 

22:30 Just as your scribe was about to recognise probably the longest period of green flag running, we encounter FCY #10. Debris.

Brendan Gaughan confirms that inspired driving from Wolf Henzler, Andy Lally and Spencer Pumpelly was the reason for the #67 pulling back a two laps deficit en route to taking the GT lead.

22:46 Green.

Max Papis gets the drop on Christoph Bouchut at the restart and moves the #9 Action Express Riley into third. Ozz Negri and Dario Franchitti pass Zak Brown on the restart lap to move up to fifth and sixth respectively.

With 220 laps down, Burt Frisselle leads Joey Hand by half a second. The #5 has led for 75 laps.

One lap later, six-tenths covers the top three.

22:55Hand retakes the lead.

As the #01 quickly builds up a three second lead, Frisselle now has Papis and Bouchut to worry about. Franchitti takes fifth from Negri, while Zonta takes eighth from Brown.

In GT, Miller is maintaining an eight-second lead over Andrew Davis, while Wolf Henzler - currently a lap down - is significantly quicker in the #67. 

23:03 The battle for second has now grown to five cars, with just 1.3s covering them.

Jonathan Bomarito is closing quickly on Charles Espenlaub for fourth in GT and Mazda bragging rights.

The #90 Coyote is back in the race, albeit 42 laps down.

23:07 Bouchut takes third from Papis.

We haven't mentioned the #18 Muehlner Porsche yet, but it is quietly making its way up the class standings, and currently inhabits 11th place with Cory Friedman at the wheel.  

23:13 Hand's lead has expanded to 18 seconds. The circuit commentator's average time between random comments has expanded to about seven minutes.

The #95 Level 5 Riley is plummeting down the timing screens and is now 16 laps off the lead.

23:19 It's starting to get tight again behind Burt Frisselle, with five seconds covering second to seventh.

23:27 Davis leads GT as Miller pits. Bryan Sellers takes over the now second-placed Porsche,and finds the unwelcome shape of Wolf Henzler right behind him as he rejoins. 

23:31 Henzler up to second.

Eight hours down - 16 to go.

23:33 Frisselle pits from second. 'Mad Max' Papis is now second, having regained position from 'Crazy Christophe' Bouchut. 

The #70 SpeedSource Mazda appears to have hit trouble and is now several laps down on the leader.

23:37 250 laps completed,with a quarter of the running so far (in terms of time) being under caution.

As the latest round of stops continues, we have a new leader in Dario Franchitti. Ricardo Zonta is 14 seconds back in second in the #76 Krohn Lola, while Scott Pruett is back in the #01 in third. The Scotsman's lead is very short lived, however, as he points the Riley towards the pits.

Martin Brundle has just started his third stint in the #23 United Riley.

23:45 Zonta pits and Pruett leads. The #60 and #9, in second and third places, are the only cars in the top ten to have not yet led. 

23:49 FCY #11. Reason unknown.

Ozz Negri clocks up his first lap in the lead as Pruett pits under caution.

23:58 We currently have a Michael Shank 1,2,3 at the top of the standings - #60,#6,#23.

00:05 Green

News round-up:

* The reason for #95's earlier problems was Raphael Matos hitting the wall at the exit to the chicane shortly before eleven o'clock.
* The #36 Yellow Dragon Mazda has retired with crash damage.
* The #32 PR1 BMW M6 is now a convertible, as the crew attempt to patch up what's left of it and try and get it back in the race.
* "Various mechanical issues" was the reason for the #11 Mustang's failure to start.
*The ambient temperature dropped from 72 degrees Fahrenheit to 49 over the course of the first eight hours.

Hour nine ends under FCY #12.