Free Practice 3 meant time for the cars and drivers to get laps in under the cover of darkness from the Daytona International Speedway.
The DPi pace was set by the #54 CORE autosport Nissan DPi thanks to Colin Braun’s efforts. His 1:34.979 was the quickest lap from the lone Nissan DPi entered this weekend.
Second in the class was the #7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi with Helio Castroneves setting a 1:35.126. He was followed closely behind by the sister #6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi; Simon Pagenaud setting the quickest time, a 1:35.155.
LMP2 was led by Ben Hanley in the #81 DragonSpeed ORECA 07, whose time of 1:36.521 was roughly half a second quicker than the next best time. That next-best time came from Pastor Maldonado in the #18 DragonSpeed ORECA 07, a 1:37.086 from the Venezuelan.
Enzo Guibbert was third quickest in the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Oreca 07, that car’s best time a 1:38.295.
In GTLM, BMW Team RLL topped the charts for the first time this weekend. It was Augusto Farfus in the #25 BMW M8 GTE who set a 1:43.315.
The pole-sitting #911 Porsche 911 RSR ended the session in second thanks to the effort of Patrick Pilet and his 1:43.317. Oliver Gavin’s 1:43.353 in the #4 Corvette C7.R was good enough for third by the end of the day.
GT Daytona was also topped by a BMW. The #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 set a 1:46.145 with Bill Auberlen at the helm. Daniel Serra brought home the #51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 in second with a time of 1:45.274.
Third in the class was the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R with Matt Campbell putting down a 1:45.795.
The only drama in the session came from the #29 Montaplast by Land Audi R8 LMS GT3. The car stopped at the side of the track with Chris Mies behind the wheel, bringing out a short red flag. An apparent water leak was the source of the team’s woes.
