Acura Meyer Shank Racing bounced back from a muted performance during testing at the Roar Before The 24, to top the timesheets in the first official practice session for the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Two-time Rolex 24 winner Tom Blomqvist in the black and orange #60 Acura ARX-06 set the fastest time with less than 30 minutes left in the 90-minute session, setting a 1:35.415s, to put him ahead of two-time and defending Daytona-winning squad Porsche Penske Motorsport’s two cars.
It was Kévin Estre in the #6 Penske Porsche 963 that went second-fastest with a 1:35.520s, nearly matched by two-time winner Felipe Nasr in the #7 Penske Porsche who set a 1:35.534s.
The best lap from Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R wasn’t far behind as the two-time overall winner set a 1:35.561s, fourth-fastest in GTP.
Dries Vanthoor completed the top five in the #24 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, but it was a tough session for the #25 WRT BMW – it did only five laps, and missed significant time with a hybrid system problem.
The #23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie was tenth-fastest in GTP – Ross Gunn’s best time was 1.9 seconds back of Blomqvist’s best, going into Qualifying for the Rolex 24 this afternoon.
Formula E World Championship leader Nick Cassidy set the fastest time in LMP2 aboard the #343 Inter Europol Competition ORECA 07-Gibson. Cassidy’s best time was a 1:39.764s. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the #343 car – which had to serve a 60-second stop-and-go penalty for failing to serve a drive-through penalty in a timely manner.
It was one of 21 cars given a drive-through penalty for teams setting up their pit equipment earlier than allowed.
Alex Quinn in the #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR car was second-quickest, then Pietro Fittipaldi in the #73 Pratt Miller Motorsports car in third, and Mikkel Jensen in the #2 United Autosports USA car in fourth.
GTD PRO newcomer Triarsi Competizione made a statement by setting the best time in its class. The upgraded #033 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo set a 1:46.348s with Alessio Rovera behind the wheel to top the session.
Dean MacDonald was second-quickest in the orange #59 RLL Team McLaren 720S GT3 EVO. Defending GTD PRO race winner Frédéric Vervisch was third in the #65 Ford Racing Mustang GT3, followed by Maro Engel in the 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO.
And in GTD, Valentin Hasse-Clot led the way in the #19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with a 1:46.325s – fastest of all the GT cars in both classes.
Antonio Fuoco went second-fastest in the #21 AF Corse USA Ferrari, followed by Nicki Thiim in the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin, and Frederik Schandorff in the #70 Inception Racing Ferrari.
Qualifying for the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona starts this afternoon at 2:10 PM ET (local time).
Images © Jack Webster / dailysportscar.com
