Ahead of a pivotal qualifying session for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic in Detroit, the #25 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 went fastest in second practice this afternoon.
15 minutes into the two-hour practice, the #25 RLL BMW of Sheldon van der Linde turned in a 1:07.137 lap to take the top spot. The South African driver made further improvements and finished with a 1:06.427, just half a second away from Nick Tandy’s course record set in Qualifying last year.
The #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Nick Tandy went second-fastest with a 1:06.720, but shortly after setting his personal best, the IMSA GTP Championship co-leader slid coming through turn one and hit the protective tire barrier, knocking the engine cover loose and onto the track.
The debris caused a red flag, and the #7 Porsche will lose its fastest lap in Qualifying as a consequence.
That same penalty will also be applied to the #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, which brought out a red flag after Filipe Albuqerque hit the concrete barrier at the same intersection of Franklin & Rivard Street, and rolled slowly back to the pits.
Dries Vanthoor, the polesitter in every IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race so far, was third-quickest in the #24 RLL BMW, followed by Renger van der Zande in the #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 in fourth, then Matt Campbell in the #6 Penske Porsche, Earl Bamber in the #31 Whelen Cadillac, and the aforementioned Albuqerque in sixth.
As in the first practice session, it was the two Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3s who finished first and second in GTD PRO.
And just like first practice, the #3 factory Corvette set the fastest time – this time, it was set by Antonio Garcia, at 1:10.565. Tommy Milner’s best time in the #4 Corvette was only one-hundredth of a second slower.
But the #3 Corvette will also stand to lose its fastest lap in Qualifying. A red flag for debris at the halfway mark of the session was ruled to be the Corvette’s responsibility.
The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 was third-fastest in GTD PRO, followed by the #64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3, and the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, rounding out the top five.
IMSA Qualifying begins at 4:50 PM ET (local time) – and will be streaming live in most countries on the official IMSA YouTube channel and IMSA.TV, and on Peacock in the United States.
Images © Jake Galstad, Michael L. Levitt / IMSA / Lumen Digital Agency
