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Edition

Australia Australia
Testing report
IMSA The Roar Before The 24

Daytona 24h Roar: Palou’s Ganassi Cadillac fastest in IMSA night test

Cadillac’s Alex Palou set the fastest time in the only night-time test session of the Roar Before the Rolex 24, the precursor to next weekend’s Daytona 24 Hours.

#01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou

Palou lapped the 3.56-mile road course in 1m35.705s in Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cadillac V-Series.R GTP entry in cold track conditions for this two-hour session under the floodlights.

Renger van der Zande set the early pace in the #01 CGR Caddy, lapping in 1m35.895s, which was a tenth clear of Filipe Albuquerque’s #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06 after 15 minutes.

Kevin Estre’s factory-entered, Penske-run Porsche lost a wheel and trundled back to the pits. With four attached once more, he rejoined the track and leapt to second, 0.089s down on van der Zande at 1m35.984s.

As the session entered its second hour, Connor De Phillippi’s #25 RLL-run BMW M Hybrid V8 jumped to second.

But just as the leading Caddy’s position came under threat, Ganassi’s IndyCar gun Palou reset the bar with a lap of 1m35.705s – putting it over a quarter of a second clear from the #25 BMW, #6 Porsche and #10 Acura.

"I just love driving at night with the traffic in this amazing car," said Palou. "We turned a bunch of laps and learned a lot as we prepare for tomorrow's qualifying and also for next week's race.

"We finished up on top with the night session today, so I'm pretty happy about that."

Jack Aitken placed fifth in Action Express Racing’s Cadillac from Josef Newgarden’s #7 Penske Porsche, Jesse Krohn (#24 BMW) and Colton Herta (#40 WTR Acura). Gianmaria Bruni (Proton Porsche) and Tijmen van der Helm (JDC-Miller Porsche) rounded out the GTP runners.

#34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3: Manny Franco, Albert Costa Balboa, Alessandro Balzan, Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, #20 MDK by High Class Racing ORECA LMP2-Gibson: Dennis Andersen, Seth Lucas, Laurents Hoerr, Scott Huffaker

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

#34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3: Manny Franco, Albert Costa Balboa, Alessandro Balzan, Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, #20 MDK by High Class Racing ORECA LMP2-Gibson: Dennis Andersen, Seth Lucas, Laurents Hoerr, Scott Huffaker

Huffaker fastest in LMP2

Mikkel Jensen held the top spot in his #11 TDS-run ORECA on 1m38.995s for a while, before Clement Novalak took over P1 in the #52 Inter Europol/PR1 Mathiasen variant on 1m38.961s.

IndyCar star Felix Rosenqvist then entered the conversation, topping the class by setting 1m38.897s just before the hour mark in his #22 United Autosports ORECA.

Paul-Loup Chatin grabbed second in the #99 AO Racing ORECA, just 0.005s down on Rosenqvist, but then Matthieu Vaxiviere topped them all in the Richard Mille-entered AF Corse ORECA.

Scott Huffaker did likewise in the #20 MDK by High Class Racing ORECA with a remarkable 1m38.270s to beat Vaxiviere by 0.394s.

Charles Milesi improved on Jensen’s time in the #11 TDS ORECA to take third, while Felipe Fraga made a late improvement to take fourth in his #74 Riley-run entry.

#47 CETILAR Racing Ferrari 296 GT3: Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto, Antonio Fuoco, Eddie Cheever

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

#47 CETILAR Racing Ferrari 296 GT3: Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto, Antonio Fuoco, Eddie Cheever

Ferrari beats McLaren in GTD

After hitting trouble in the previous session, the Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S bounced back by setting the early GTD pace in Marvin Kirchhofer’s hands with a fastest lap of 1m45.980s, just ahead of the fellow Pro class entry of Dirk Muller (Multimatic Ford Mustang) by 0.027s.

Michelle Gatting led the pro-am GTD category in her Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan in the early stages.

In the second hour, Eddie Cheever III – son of the ex-F1 driver and Indy 500 winner – emerged as a surprise pacesetter in Cetilar’s pro-am Ferrari 296 with a lap of 1m45.739s.

Kirchhofer had to settle for the fastest Pro category time, ahead of Muller. Jan Heylen was fourth in his #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, the car that is the subject of the Brad Pitt Formula 1 movie filming.

     
Driver Info
 
Cla Drivers # Chassis Laps Time Interval km/h
1 Netherlands R. van der Zande France S. Bourdais New Zealand S. Dixon Spain A. Palou Cadillac Racing 01 Cadillac V-Series.R 61

1'35.705

133.911
2 United States C. de Phillippi United Kingdom N. Yelloly Belgium M. Martin Germany R. Rast BMW M Team RLL 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 61

+0.277

1'35.982

0.277 133.525
3 United Kingdom N. Tandy France M. Jaminet France K. Estre Belgium L. Vanthoor Porsche Penske Motorsport 6 Porsche 963 39

+0.279

1'35.984

0.002 133.522
4 United States R. Taylor Portugal F. Albuquerque New Zealand B. Hartley Sweden M. Ericsson Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti 10 Acura ARX-06 49

+0.300

1'36.005

0.021 133.493
5 Brazil P. Derani United Kingdom J. Aitken United Kingdom T. Blomqvist Whelen Cadillac Racing 31 Cadillac V-Series.R 22

+0.546

1'36.251

0.246 133.152
6 United States D. Cameron Brazil F. Nasr Australia M. Campbell United States J. Newgarden Porsche Penske Motorsport 7 Porsche 963 62

+0.839

1'36.544

0.293 132.748
7 Finland J. Krohn Austria P. Eng Brazil A. Farfus Belgium D. Vanthoor BMW M Team RLL 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 62

+0.891

1'36.596

0.052 132.676
8 United States J. Taylor Switzerland L. Deletraz United States C. Herta United Kingdom J. Button Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti 40 Acura ARX-06 49

+1.017

1'36.722

0.126 132.503
9 Italy G. Bruni Switzerland N. Jani Belgium A. Picariello France R. Dumas Proton Competition 5 Porsche 963 55

+1.093

1'36.798

0.076 132.399
10 Netherlands T. van der Helm United Kingdom R. Westbrook United Kingdom P. Hanson United States B. Keating JDC/Miller Motorsports 85 Porsche 963 47

+1.198

1'36.903

0.105 132.256
11 Denmark D. Andersen
S. Lucas
H. Laurents
United States S. Huffaker MDK by High Class Racing
20 ORECA LMP2 07 57

+2.565

1'38.270

1.367 130.416
12 Argentina L. Perez Companc Denmark N. Nielsen France L. Wadoux France M. Vaxiviere Richard Mille AF Corse 88 ORECA LMP2 07 54

+2.959

1'38.664

0.394 129.895
13 United States S. Thomas Denmark M. Jensen
H. McElrea
France C. Milesi TDS Racing
11 ORECA LMP2 07 64

+2.969

1'38.674

0.010 129.882
14 United States G. Robinson Brazil F. Fraga Australia J. Burdon Brazil F. Massa Riley 74 ORECA LMP2 07 47

+3.018

1'38.723

0.049 129.818
15 D. Goldburg United Kingdom P. di Resta
B. Garg
Sweden F. Rosenqvist United Autosports USA
22 ORECA LMP2 07 66

+3.192

1'38.897

0.174 129.589
16
P. Hyett
France P. Chatin Australia M. Brabham
A. Quinn AO Racing
99 ORECA LMP2 07 60

+3.197

1'38.902

0.005 129.583
17 Poland J. Smiechowski United States N. Boulle France T. Dillmann France C. Novalak Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports 52 ORECA LMP2 07 49

+3.256

1'38.961

0.059 129.506
18 United States L. Willsey Portugal J. Barbosa
N. Siegel
United Kingdom J. Edgar Sean Creech Motorsport
33 Ligier LMP2 55

+3.301

1'39.006

0.045 129.447
19 Canada J. Farano
M. Dinan
Austria F. Habsburg New Zealand S. McLaughlin Tower Motorsports
8 ORECA LMP2 07 55

+3.379

1'39.084

0.078 129.345
20 United States G. Kurtz United States C. Braun United Kingdom T. Sowery
M. Jakobsen Crowdstrike Racing by APR
04 ORECA LMP2 07 55

+3.420

1'39.125

0.041 129.291
21 United States B. Keating
N. Pino
United Kingdom B. Hanley Mexico P. O'Ward United Autosports USA
2 ORECA LMP2 07 62

+3.586

1'39.291

0.166 129.075
22 United States D. Merriman United Kingdom R. Dalziel
C. Zilisch
C. Rasmussen Era Motorsport
18 ORECA LMP2 07 59

+3.614

1'39.319

0.028 129.039
23 United States E. Lux United States K. Simpson Australia J. Allen
S. Alvarez DragonSpeed
81 ORECA LMP2 07 29

+3.757

1'39.462

0.143 128.853
24 Italy R. Lacorte Italy G. Sernagiotto Italy A. Fuoco United States E. Cheever Cetilar Racing 47 Ferrari 296 GT3 54

+10.034

1'45.739

6.277 121.204
25 Germany M. Kirchhofer United Kingdom O. Jarvis Canada J. Hinchcliffe United States A. Rossi Pfaff Motorsports Driveway.com / Motul / Motomaste 9 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO 38

+10.275

1'45.980

0.241 120.928
26 United States J. Hand Germany D. Muller Belgium F. Vervisch Ford Multimatic Motorsports 65 Ford Mustang GT3 25

+10.302

1'46.007

0.027 120.898
27
A. Adelson
E. Skeer Belgium J. Heylen France F. Makowiecki Wright Motorsports
120 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 46

+10.302

1'46.007

0.000 120.898
28 France S. Mann France F. Heriau Spain M. Molina Japan K. Cozzolino Af Corse 21 Ferrari 296 GT3 44

+10.406

1'46.111

0.104 120.779
29
K. Li
Denmark A. Fjordbach
L. Voorde
Austria K. Bachler MDK Motorsports
86 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 52

+10.464

1'46.169

0.058 120.713
30 Switzerland R. Frey Denmark M. Gatting Belgium S. Bovy Iron Dames 83 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 44

+10.540

1'46.245

0.076 120.627
31 United States R. Hardwick Norway D. Olsen
G. Levorato
United States C. Lewis Proton Competition
55 Ford Mustang GT3 60

+10.550

1'46.255

0.010 120.616
32
M. Franco
A. Costa
Italy A. Balzan Monaco C. Sbirrazzuoli Conquest Racing
34 Ferrari 296 GT3 47

+10.597

1'46.302

0.047 120.562
33 Canada O. Fidani United Kingdom M. Bell Germany L. Kern United Kingdom A. Lynn AWA 13 Corvette C8.R GTD 19

+10.609

1'46.314

0.012 120.549
34 O. Triarsi
C. Scardina
R. Agostini Italy A. Rovera Triarsi Competizione
023 Ferrari 296 GT3 55

+10.622

1'46.327

0.013 120.534
35 United States B. Iribe Switzerland F. Schandorff United Kingdom O. Millroy United Kingdom T. Gamble Inception Racing 70 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO 58

+10.629

1'46.334

0.007 120.526
36 United States R. Foley United States P. Gallagher
J. Walker
Germany J. Klingmann Turner Motorsport
96 BMW M4 GT3 43

+10.677

1'46.382

0.048 120.472
37 Spain A. Garcia United Kingdom A. Sims Spain D. Juncadella Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R 59

+10.682

1'46.387

0.005 120.466
38 Canada K. Marcelli Costa Rica D. Formal
G. Doyle
United States A. Harrison Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti
45 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 56

+10.704

1'46.409

0.022 120.441
39 Germany L. Heinrich
S. Priaulx
Denmark M. Christensen AO Racing
77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 50

+10.728

1'46.433

0.024 120.414
40
F. Perera
South Africa J. Pepper Italy A. Caldarelli Italy M. Bortolotti Iron Lynx
19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 36

+10.763

1'46.468

0.035 120.374
41 United States T. Milner Netherlands N. Catsburg New Zealand E. Bamber Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R 14

+10.778

1'46.483

0.015 120.357
42 United States D. Brule United States A. Udell United States T. Hindman France J. Andlauer Kellymoss with Riley 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 31

+10.788

1'46.493

0.010 120.346
43 United Kingdom H. Tincknell Germany M. Rockenfeller Germany C. Mies Ford Multimatic Motorsports 64 Ford Mustang GT3 27

+10.839

1'46.544

0.051 120.288
44 United States F. Montecalvo Canada P. Thompson United States A. Telitz Japan R. Miyata Vasser Sullivan 12 Lexus RC F GT3 56

+10.905

1'46.610

0.066 120.214
45 Italy C. Schiavoni Italy M. Cressoni France R. Grosjean Italy M. Cairoli Iron Lynx 60 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 51

+11.002

1'46.707

0.097 120.105
46 United Kingdom J. Hawksworth United Kingdom B. Barnicoat United States K. Kirkwood United Kingdom M. Conway Vasser Sullivan 14 Lexus RC F GT3 57

+11.083

1'46.788

0.081 120.013
47 United States J. Andretti Colombia G. Chaves Canada S. Hargrove Austria T. Preining Andretti Motorsports 43 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 52

+11.090

1'46.795

0.007 120.006
48 United Kingdom R. Gunn Spain A. Riberas Germany M. Farnbacher Heart Of Racing Team 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo 30

+11.095

1'46.800

0.005 120.000
49 United States J. Potter United States A. Lally United States S. Pumpelly Denmark N. Thiim Magnus Racing 44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo 31

+11.110

1'46.815

0.015 119.983
50 Canada R. De Angelis Canada Z. Robichon United Kingdom I. James Denmark M. Sorensen Heart Of Racing Team 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo 48

+11.186

1'46.891

0.076 119.898
51 Australia K. Habul France J. Gounon Germany L. Stolz Germany M. Engel Sun Energy 1 75 Mercedes AMG GT3 41

+11.228

1'46.933

0.042 119.851
52
S. Monk
United Kingdom K. Legge Colombia T. Calderon United Kingdom S. McAleer Gradient Racing
66 Acura NSX GT3 31

+11.408

1'47.113

0.180 119.649
53 Canada A. Mantella
N. Varrone
United States T. Merrill Ireland C. Eastwood AWA
17 Corvette C8.R GTD 5

+11.464

1'47.169

0.056 119.587
54 Canada M. Grenier United States M. Skeen United States K. Koch
M. Goetz Korthoff/Preston Motorsports
32 Mercedes AMG GT3 39

+11.489

1'47.194

0.025 119.559
55 United States R. Ward Switzerland P. Ellis Netherlands I. Dontje Canada D. Morad Winward Racing 57 Mercedes AMG GT3 42

+11.524

1'47.229

0.035 119.520
56 United States B. Sellers United States M. Snow United States N. Verhagen South Africa S. Van Der Linde Paul Miller Racing 1 BMW M4 GT3 26

+11.705

1'47.410

0.181 119.318
57 Turkey S. Yoluc Portugal R. Andrade Australia S. Andrews United Kingdom A. Christodoulou Lone Star Racing 80 Mercedes AMG GT3 58

+12.102

1'47.807

0.397 118.879
58 Canada M. Goikhberg Italy L. Spinelli Canada D. DeFrancesco United Kingdom S. Mitchell Forte Racing 78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 16

+12.622

1'48.327

0.520 118.308
59 Brazil D. Serra Italy D. Rigon Italy A. Pier Guidi United Kingdom J. Calado Risi Competizione 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 2

+13.551

1'49.256

0.929 117.302
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