Roar Before The 24 testing continued Saturday, with much cooler temperatures than yesterday’s opening two sessions.
Test Session 3 commenced in the morning and all 90 minutes were completed with no major incidents – though, a handful of gentleman drivers in LMP2 cars did have spins and off-track excursions, aggravated by the low surface temperatures.
After setting the fastest time yesterday, Pipo Derani and the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R picked up right where they left off, leading the GTP category with a time of 1:35.372.
There was good news from JDC-Miller MotorSports, whose fortunes turned around after a tough start to Friday. The #85 “Banana Boat” Porsche 963 clocked in second courtesy of veteran acquisition Richard Westbrook, followed by the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Connor de Phillippi.
LMP2 was led by the #88 AF Corse Oreca 07 of Ferrari Hypercar driver Nicklas Nielsen, who turned in the best time to that point at 1:38.576.
Ford ended Friday evening on top of GTD Pro, but Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports struck back, as Tommy Milner put in a 1:45.844 to lead the class in his #4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Of course, it wasn’t all smiles at Pratt Miller. The #3 Corvette had an engine misfire that resulted in limited track time in Session 3, and a subsequent engine change to fix the problem. The #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 would also undergo an engine change after the morning session and didn’t return in Session 4 after lunch.
Kyle Marcelli and the #45 WTRAndretti Lamborghini led GTD, finishing with a best lap of 1:45.986.
This was followed by a 60-minute Test Session 4, under similar conditions to the preceding session.
While reinforcing that today’s action is merely a series of preliminary tests, JDC-Miller MotorSports’ form compared to the struggles of Friday only got better. Phil Hanson, JDC-Miller’s Endurance Cup specialist, set the fastest time of the week to date in the Banana Boat, at 1:35.216.
What’s more, the Mustang Sampling-sponsored #5 Proton Competition Porsche finished second courtesy of Neel Jani, who set an identical time of 1:35.329 to De Phillippi in the #25 BMW.
“The car was very good,” said pacesetter Hanson. “The JDC boys did a good job rolling out a good car. We were very fast when me and my teammates drove this morning, and it translated to this afternoon.
“We haven’t really discussed qualifying yet, but we are in good shape. We are learning so much about the car. We want to get as much data as we can.”
As LMP2’s Bronze-graded drivers prepare to qualify their cars tomorrow, Ben Keating laid down the benchmark for his peers to follow. In the Wynn’s-purple-liveried #2 United Autosports Oreca 07, Keating set the fastest time of all in Test Session 4 – with only eight other professional drivers thus far having posted faster times than him!
“Ben is scary quick,” added Hanson, about the gentleman driver pulling double duty in GTP and LMP2. “He’s really fast. It would be shocking to Pro drivers how fast he’d be (in a GTP) on new tyres. It makes me nervous, to be honest! It’s amazing he’s as fast as he is as a Bronze and at his age.”
There were more grimaces in the Corvette/Pratt Miller garages – the #4 ‘Vette that led Session 3 suffered the same misfiring issue as its sister car, necessitating another engine change. The #3 did not run in the afternoon. Elsewhere, the #9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo missed significant time with a mechanical issue, while the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R stopped just after the chequered flag.
Mario Farnbacher, Heart of Racing Team’s newest recruit, was quickest in GTD Pro aboard the #23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO in this session.
But the GTD-class #86 MDK Motorsports Porsche, driven by Klaus Bachler, would set the fastest time across both GTD classes, at 1:45.799 before sunset at Daytona.
“I would definitely take it if we end up in this position next Sunday,” said Bachler. “It was a good session for us. But the problem is it’s quite cold and the weather forecast for the 24 is a lot warmer. Tomorrow it should be quite equal in terms of temperature, we don’t know how it will be tomorrow but with the balance it should be the same.”
“Last year is in the past,” Bachler added about last year’s frustrating first race for the 992-generation Porsche. “For me, it was the hardest, longest 24-hour race I’ve ever done because I knew I couldn’t fight for the victory. But this year we could see before that everything is working well.”
Along with the #3 Pratt Miller Corvette and #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini, the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 was a no-show in Session 4 due to what team owner/founder Will Turner described as “preventative maintenance.”
A report of the night-time Test Session 5 will follow later. Testing concludes with Session 6 tomorrow, exclusively for GTP cars, which will be followed by Qualifying to set the grid for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, at 1:55 PM EST (local time).
RESULTS: SESSION 3 TIMES >> | SESSION 4 TIMES >>
Images © Jake Galstad, Richard Dole / IMSA
