Daytona 24 Hours: Ford, Ferrari lock out GTLM and GTD front rows
The grid has been set for IMSA's GT classes at Daytona International Speedway.
Photo by: Brian Cleary
The GTD category, which makes up nearly half of the 55-car Rolex 24 at Daytona field, were the first cars on track for qualifying.
The 15-minute session went smoothly with no major incidents. Ferrari asserted themselves at the top of the charts with the Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari. He was trailed by fellow Ferrari driver Alessandro Balzan.
In the final moments, the Scuderia Corsa took a swing at Pier Guidi, cutting out a tenth, but still 0.018 off the top spot.
Pier Guidi, who was part of the GTD-class winning team at Daytona in 2014, put up a time of 1:47.099. Marco Sorensen was fourth in the No. 98 AMR Aston Martin and Mirko Bortolotti rounded out the top five in the No. #11 GRT Lamborghini Huracan.
GTLM
The Porsches had control of the speed charts early, but will quickly shuffled down the order by the Ford fleet. Joey Hand went to the top mid-season, trailed by the sister cars of Richard Westbrook and Olivier Pla.
Pla went off at the International Horseshoe, spinning the No. 68 Ford GT with just under five minutes to go. He was able to emerge unscathed, having kept the car out of the tire barrier.
Nobody was able to mount a challenge against the Blue Oval, allowing Hand to come away with the pole at a 1:43.473. Westbrook and Pla made it a sweep of the top three for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing.
Toni Vilander in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari and Patrick Pilet in the No. 911 Porsche 911 rounded out the top five. The No. 69 Ford GT clocked in sixth, giving CGR four of the top six starting positions.
The popular Corvette Racing entries were never a threat for pole, timing in seventh with Jan Magnussen and ninth with Olivier Gavin.
Cla | Num | Driver | Class | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 66 | Sébastien Bourdais Joey Hand |
GTLM | Ford GT | 6 | 1'43.473 | -- |
2 | 67 | Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon Richard Westbrook |
GTLM | Ford GT | 6 | 1'43.704 | 0.231 |
3 | 68 | Stefan Mücke Olivier Pla Billy Johnson |
GTLM | Ford GT | 4 | 1'43.987 | 0.514 |
4 | 62 | Giancarlo Fisichella James Calado Toni Vilander |
GTLM | Ferrari 488 GTE | 7 | 1'44.121 | 0.648 |
5 | 911 | Patrick Pilet Frédéric Makowiecki Dirk Werner |
GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | 7 | 1'44.251 | 0.778 |
6 | 69 | Harry Tincknell Tony Kanaan Andy Priaulx |
GTLM | Ford GT | 4 | 1'44.256 | 0.783 |
7 | 3 | Jan Magnussen Antonio Garcia Mike Rockenfeller |
GTLM | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | 7 | 1'44.359 | 0.886 |
8 | 912 | Richard Lietz Kevin Estre Laurens Vanthoor |
GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | 7 | 1'44.591 | 1.118 |
9 | 4 | Marcel Fassler Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner |
GTLM | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | 6 | 1'44.685 | 1.212 |
10 | 19 | Bill Auberlen Bruno Spengler Augusto Farfus Alexander Sims |
GTLM | BMW M6 GTLM | 6 | 1'44.759 | 1.286 |
11 | 24 | John Edwards Kuno Wittmer Nicky Catsburg Martin Tomczyk |
GTLM | BMW M6 GTLM | 6 | 1'44.974 | 1.501 |
12 | 51 | Davide Rigon Maurizio Mediani Peter Mann Alessandro Pier Guidi |
GTD | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 8 | 1'47.099 | 3.626 |
13 | 63 | Sam Bird Matteo Cressoni Christina Nielsen Alessandro Balzan |
GTD | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 8 | 1'47.117 | 3.644 |
14 | 98 | Pedro Lamy Paul Dalla Lana Mathias Lauda Marco Sorensen |
GTD | Aston Martin Vantage | 9 | 1'47.734 | 4.261 |
15 | 59 | Cooper MacNeil Steve Smith Harald Proczyk Reinhold Renger |
GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 8 | 1'47.736 | 4.263 |
16 | 11 | Rolf Ineichen Mirko Bortolotti Ezequiel Perez Companc Christian Engelhart |
GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 9 | 1'47.785 | 4.312 |
17 | 29 | Connor de Phillippi Jeffrey Schmidt Jules Gounon Christopher Mies |
GTD | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 10 | 1'48.213 | 4.740 |
18 | 93 | Andy Lally Graham Rahal Katherine Legge Mark Wilkins |
GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 8 | 1'48.268 | 4.795 |
19 | 28 | Michael Christensen Carlos de Quesada Daniel Morad Michael de Quesada Jesse Lazare |
GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 8 | 1'48.341 | 4.868 |
20 | 86 | Jeff Segal Ryan Hunter-Reay Oswaldo Negri Jr. Tom Dyer |
GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 7 | 1'48.350 | 4.877 |
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