Round two of the Crown Racing Series at Fuji Speedway was a thriller, with the changeable conditions throwing up a wild race packed with drama.
But round three at Daytona International Speedway was very different, with drivers leaving the mountains and rain of Fuji for the banking and floodlights of this iconic American venue.
It seemed fitting, then, that an American car, the Ford Mustang, dominated Daytona, with Canadian Gregory Hovesen leading home Nicolai Pedersen to a Ford 1-2 after a nail-biting race.
But who mastered Daytona, and how did the top six get there?
Race Analysis
Strategy Corner
While dry conditions throughout the weekend meant there would be no repeat of the strategy dilemmas the drivers faced in Fuji, Daytona brought a new challenge. With Daytona's banking making the racing fast and furious, drivers would not only have to contend with drafting but also with fuel saving.
It meant Daytona would be another race where drivers had to keep their composure to reach the finish while avoiding becoming a sitting duck in the closing stages.
With tyre wear becoming a factor in the closing stages of the race, drivers could stop just for fuel, losing less time to the cars behind and crucially giving them a clear track when they left the pits.
Hovesen makes good
Having not finished on the podium before the Daytona meeting, Hovesen was certainly not the favourite coming into the meeting despite a strong drive to the top eight in Fuji.
But Hovesen surprised many of his rivals by taking pole position by over a tenth from Pedersen, with the pair holding station for the first 10 laps before switching places on the run up to the Bus Stop chicane.
Hovesen remained in third after his mandatory pitstop before he and Pedersen swapped again on lap 20, setting up the chase between himself and race leader de Vos.
With de Vos saving fuel, Hovesen ate into the Dutchman's lead, and with three laps to go, he was all over the Porsche’s gearbox. On the final lap, Hovesen finally got past and quickly pulled away to secure his first series win.
Second for Pedersen despite costly slowdown
For the third race weekend in a row, Pedersen featured on the podium, albeit a bittersweet one, having missed out on a second consecutive win. With the Mustangs in strong form at Daytona, Pedersen was able to join Hovesen on the front row, with the pair working together to try and conserve fuel during the first stint of the race.
Pedersen finally got past Hovesen on lap 10 at the Bus Stop chicane and led his off-track friend into the pits for their mandatory stops, retaining second. Eventually, the pair swapped back on lap 20, though Pedersen saw his chances of victory evaporate due to a slowdown penalty.
However, Pedersen would get some consolation as he took second by passing de Vos at the Bus Stop chicane on the last lap and, with it, became the new championship leader.
Time runs out for de Vos
While de Vos just ran out of time to secure victory, the Dutchman gave a good account of himself, earning his second straight podium. Having lost his Fuji win in the stewards' room, de Vos was hungry for redemption, and the Dutchman put himself in a good position to challenge for victory with third on the grid.
De Vos stayed out one more lap before pitting on lap 17, opting to refuel and nurse the tyres to the chequered flag. With the Porsches also strong at Daytona, the Dutchman was able to stretch the gap out to over a second from Hovesen and Pedersen.
However, de Vos' lead melted away not long after as he tried to save fuel, allowing the Mustangs to eat up the ground. De Vos' resistance held until the final lap, as he had to yield to Hovesen and Pedersen, dropping him to a disheartened third.
Hat-trick of fours for Erdelyi
Erdelyi will have left Daytona wondering what he has to do to crack the podium places after a third consecutive fourth place. Erdelyi qualified on the outside of the second row and retained his position at the start, giving him a ringside seat to the top three squabbling for position.
With fuel consumption proving an annoyance, Erdelyi kept de Vos honest for the opening stint before he followed Pedersen and Hovesen for his first pitstop on lap 15.
There, Erdelyi dropped behind Neo due to a slow stop, and although he eventually repassed the Spaniard, the pace of the three was too strong. As a result, the Hungarian was unable to break into the podium spots, settling for another fourth.
Neo comes good with strong fifth
Having endured two eventful races in Silverstone and Fuji, Neo was finally rewarded for his prudence, sealing his first top five in the series.
Neo's final lap in qualifying was good enough for sixth, and after a clean start where he avoided the opening-lap contretemps, the Spaniard found himself fifth, running with the leaders.
That became fourth when Neo jumped Erdelyi at the pit window, only to run wide at the Bus Stop chicane, dropping him to fifth, where he stayed until the finish.
Woodrow continues to grow with another top six
Despite being a relative newcomer to GT3 cars, Woodrow continues to grow in confidence and has his first series top-six finish under his belt. Starting from ninth, Woodrow picked up a spot from the Bozga-Pagnini incident before giving an out-of-shape Neg a tap from behind, sending the Romanian into a spin.
Woodrow hassled Kadin Richardson for seventh before getting past the American on lap 7, and following the pit window, he closed in on Luciano. By lap 21, Woodrow was right with Witvoet, and five laps later, the pair were locked together, duking it out for sixth before the American got by on exit of Turn 6, where he pulled away to secure a strong result.
After the race, Woodrow took responsibility for the incident with Neg and apologised to the Romanian.
The chase for the crown
At the halfway point of the championship, Pedersen leads the standings on 82, with Erdelyi's consistency helping him move up to second on 75, while de Vos moves into the top three on 68.
Daytona winner Hovesen leaps to fourth on 57, one point ahead of David Bozga, who failed to score in Daytona, and Woodwood, who completes the top six on 54.
Driver Quotes
"After a chaotic qualy and no real flying lap I had to start from the back. I managed to get 8 positions in Lap 1. Unfortunately, the gap to the cars in front was too big and I lost the draft."
"I never drove the mustang in Daytona until the official practice session on race day, so I'm very happy and take the P5, shame I underfueled too much in the pits, that put me fighting with the consumption to reach the checkered flag instead of fighting for a better result."
"Disappointing result after a series of errors, including a costly penalty in the pits. Ready to reset and go again at Spa."
Paddock Pass
Bozga goes out early
Having come into Daytona as the championship leader following two podiums at Silverstone and Fuji, Bozga hoped to stretch his championship lead with his first series victory.
However, Bozga was on the backfoot heading into race day, with the Belgian only seventh on the grid, putting him amongst the midfield at the start.
Bozga attacked from the start, but exiting the Rodriguez International Horseshoe, he made contact with Andrea Pagnini, sending him into the barrier.
The damage done in the shunt put Bozga out on the spot and ensured the Belgian would come away from Daytona with his first non-score of the season.
The Kos train reaches the top 10
The big mover in Daytona was Igor Kos, who overcame a dreadful qualifying session to finish ninth from 17th and last on the grid. Kos' qualifying was an abject disaster, with the German caught out by several cars slowing into the Rodriguez International Horseshoe, hitting the wall, ruining his session.
With nothing to lose, Kos decided to go with a conservative strategy for lap 1, hanging back on the approach to the green flag, helping him clear Federico Alberti into Turn 1. Next was Kyle Domark into the Rodriguez International Horseshoe, followed by the wounded Pagnini and the stranded Neg at Turn 4.
With Konrad Kula and Alexander Paulick also involved in opening lap incidents, Kos found himself in ninth by the start of lap two with a three-second buffer over Neg back in 10th.
Kos kept his nose clean for the rest of the race and sealed ninth after a fine drive.