Free Practice 2 for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship runners at Road America today saw a Cadillac finish atop the timing screens again.
After the #01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R topped FP1 with a hot lap from Sebastien Bourdais, this time it was the Action Express #31 example that ran fastest, after an improvement at the very end of the session by Pipo Derani, following a flurry of fast times from multiple GTP cars.
The Brazilian’s best time was a 1:47.986, the fastest time of the day and the only time under 1:48 so far. It was also 0.729 seconds quicker than the current sports car track record of 1:48.715 set by Dane Cameron in an Acura DPi.
The #01 Ganassi-run Cadillac Racing V-Series.R ended up second, after Bourdais set a 1:48.187 to briefly go top in the final minute, making it another 1-2 for the GM brand.
“It was a positive day for all of us at Cadillac Racing,” Derani said in summary. “A better order in the second practice, I would say! Jokes aside, it’s not only being quick in practice 1 and expecting to be quick in practice 2.
“You have to keep working on it, trying different things to find a little bit here and a little bit there. It was a good start but obviously, the competition is very stiff and strong. It’s a long track and a small mistake going really quick can cost you a couple of tenths (of a second) and a position.
“Trying to put everything together is not easy and that’s why we’re trying to have a car that’s good and easier to achieve the desired lap times. At the end of the day it’s competition whether it’s’ practice or qualifying. You always want to be the quickest.
“Practice is very tight and we shouldn’t expect anything different in qualifying, which means that every detail is going to count.”
Third in the running was the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura, which held the fastest time in the closing stages, but would end up six-tenths off by the end with a 1:48.598 from Ricky Taylor.
Connor De Phillippi also set his best time late in the session in the #25 BMW Team RLL M Hybrid V8, but would slot in fourth. The fastest Porsche 963, the #6 from Penske, would end up sixth, less than a tenth slower than the second of the BMWs that completed the top five.
Once again Proton Competition’s brand new Porsche 963 would end up 10th, this time 2.9 seconds off the pace after the team completed a further 14 laps.
In the other classes, the #18 Era Motorsport ORECA ended up fastest in LMP2, with a 1:52.244, while the #30 Ligier JS P320 of Garrett Grist finished at the top of LMP3 with a 1:58.069.
GTD Pro saw Jordan Taylor set a 2:03.712 late in the session to put Corvette Racing’s #3 C8.R first in class. The #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 ended up second.
Fastest in the GTD class rankings was the #32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 with a 2:04.327.
Track action in Wisconsin continues tomorrow with Qualifying at 13:15 local time.
Image courtesy of Cadillac
