Less than two hours later – at the 13-hour, 45-minute mark – came the third major setback for the SunTrust team, this time in the form of a blown radiator as a result of overheating conditions under the engine cover.

For the third time, the team headed to the garage to replace the radiator, costing another 30 minutes of track time that didn't drop the SunTrust car out of the 10th position, but did drop it a total of 14 laps off the lead lap.

Although the team battled back to within eight laps of the lead, a lack of problems for cars ahead meant the quartet had to settle for fifth place at the flag.

“When we understood that it wasn't possible to win, we changed out strategy and started to think about the championship,” Angelelli reflected. “We wanted to capture as many points as possible for our championship. We had a winning car so it was really disappointing that we weren't able to contend for the win.”

Despite the disappointment of seeing the SunTrust car fail to secure the result its pace deserved, Taylor added that he was confident for the remainder of the season as the team seeks to secure the Rolex Series title.

“Michael and Max, they are really fast,” he said. “We're going to have a good driver pairing from this point forward. I always knew Michael was the guy to have. I spoke about him for a long time. The opportunity came and it was the right thing to do. And not only is he fast, but he's a great guy. Everybody really likes to be around him. He fits us really well. He was spectacular here this weekend. He and Max will push each other from this point forward. That's what we need. I'm excited.

“I've got to say something about Ricky. There was so much uncertainty in so many people's minds about throwing him into the deep end like this. I even questioned it as we got close. But I remember going systematically through this and talking to all the players who, by the way, have been more than supportive. I'm especially proud of what he did. He never made a mistake. He got the car in 13th position last night and handed it over in the lead.

“For him, it's a huge confidence boost. I think what he did this weekend would have taken any normal person a year or two to get through. So, it was a crash course and he handled it really well. On top of that, my 16-year-old son (Jordan) was out there driving for the first time in this series in a GT Porsche, and he was in during the worst times and handled it really well. That was really special.”