In his first weekend for JDC-Miller MotorSports, Laurin Heinrich put the black and gold #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 at the top of the leaderboard in opening practice for the IMSA Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, setting a 1:13.240 at the chequered flag to surpass Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist in the #60 ARX-06 (1:13.335).
It’s the start of a packed day for IMSA, with Practice 2 set to begin at 1:10 PM PT (local time), followed by Qualifying at 5:25 PM PT.
Behind Heinrich and Blomqvist, the #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R of Filipe Albuquerque was third-quickest with a 1:13.402. Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 set a 1:13.436 to go fourth-fastest in GTP. This is with the significant Balance of Performance adjustment headlined by a 45 kilogramme weight increase for the factory 963s.
Jack Aitken timed in fifth in the #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R (1:13.462).
In sixth was the #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, which, similar to the two Apple Music-sponsored Penske Porsches, also has a special one-off livery featuring the famous 76 fuel station brand, which has its roots in California and is now owned by ConocoPhillips, for the Long Beach round.
In GTD, Matthew Bell put the 13 Autosport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the top of the board with a 1:19.226 set at the chequered flag.
Bell’s time unseated Jack Hawksworth from the top spot, but his 1:19.330 in the #89 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 was still good for second-fastest. The #89 Lexus is, of course, one of three GTD Pro entries making one-off GTD cameo appearances at Long Beach.
Behind him, Philip Ellis went third-fastest in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, and Giacomo Altoè was fourth in the #81 DragonSpeed Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
DragonSpeed unveiled a new livery yesterday, reuniting with streetwear company Anti-Social Social Club who designed a striking pink and green livery. Pfaff Motorsports is also running a one-off livery for the #46 Lamborghini Temerario GT3, setting its signature red and black plaid aside for the blue and white of longtime sponsor Lithia Auto Group.
Also unveiling a new look and sponsorship is DXDT Racing, with Wealthspire adding a splash of gold to the blue #36 Corvette. Robert Wickens set the car’s fastest time in the session, but that time was only good enough for 13th-fastest in the 17-car GTD field.
Despite a few drivers going off in the run-off areas, the entire first practice session was run without any red flags.
Images © IMSA
