Petit Le Mans: Derani leads Cadillac 1-2 in darkness of FP3
Pipo Derani ensured Action Express Racing remained top in third practice for one of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s marquee events, Motul Petit Le Mans.
The Brazilian lapped the 2.54-mile Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in 70.347sec, just quick enough to beat fellow Cadillac DPi-V.R driver, Wayne Taylor Racing’s Renger van der Zande.
The two Acura Team Penske cars were next up, Dane Cameron a hair quicker than Ricky Taylor, while Harry Tincknell was fifth – yet within 0.13sec of pacesetter Derani.
The 90min session was interrupted twice by red flags, one for Chris Miller in the #85 JDC-Miller Cadillac who spun and lost his rear wing, and an earlier one for a gravel-trap excursion by the Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca.
LMP2 was led by Mikkel Jensen in the Tower Motorsports by Starworks car, who was around 0.3sec than Performance Tech Motorsports’ pacesetter Colin Braun.
The Porsche 911 RSRs sat 1-2 by the end of the session, Laurens Vanthoor a quarter-second faster than Frederic Makowiecki.
Nicky Catsburg was one of the ‘extra’ enduro drivers who excelled in the session, setting third fastest time in the Corvette C8.R he’ll be sharing with Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor.
Jack Hawksworth set fastest time in GT Daytona, his AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F lapping mere hundreths quicker than the impressive Jan Heylen in the Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Markus Winkelhock made an impressive return to IMSA with third fastest in the Hardpoint Audi R8, just ahead of Alessandro Balzan’s Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488.
Qualifying commences at 12.30pm ET on Friday, while the race starts at 12.40pm ET on Saturday.
| Cla | Num | Driver | Class | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 |  Felipe Nasr Pipo Derani  Filipe Albuquerque | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 63 | 1'10.175 | |
| 2 | 10 |  Renger van der Zande  Ryan Briscoe  Scott Dixon | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 52 | 1'10.215 | 0.040 |
| 3 | 6 |  Juan Pablo Montoya  Dane Cameron  Simon Pagenaud | DPi | Acura DPi | 45 | 1'10.262 | 0.087 |
| 4 | 7 | Helio Castroneves Ricky Taylor Alexander Rossi | DPi | Acura DPi | 41 | 1'10.285 | 0.110 |
| 5 | 55 | Jonathan Bomarito  Harry Tincknell Ryan Hunter-Reay | DPi | Mazda DPi | 49 | 1'10.304 | 0.129 |
| 6 | 77 | Oliver Jarvis Tristan Nunez Olivier Pla | DPi | Mazda DPi | 56 | 1'10.809 | 0.634 |
| 7 | 5 | Sébastien Bourdais Tristan Vautier Loic Duval | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 47 | 1'10.819 | 0.644 |
| 8 | 8 |  John Farano  Mikkel Jensen Job Van Uitert | LMP2 | ORECA LMP2 07 | 60 | 1'11.195 | 1.020 |
| 9 | 38 | James McGuire Matthew Bell Colin Braun | LMP2 | ORECA LMP2 07 | 48 | 1'11.503 | 1.328 |
| 10 | 52 | Patrick Kelly  Simon Trummer Scott Huffaker | LMP2 | ORECA LMP2 07 | 50 | 1'12.146 | 1.971 |
| 11 | 85 | Chris Miller Matheus Leist Gabriel Aubry | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 34 | 1'12.307 | 2.132 |
| 12 | 51 | Austin McCusker  Jakub Smiechowski Rob Hodes | LMP2 | ORECA LMP2 07 | 55 | 1'13.670 | 3.495 |
| 13 | 912 | Earl Bamber  Laurens Vanthoor Mathieu Jaminet | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR - 19 | 58 | 1'17.252 | 7.077 |
| 14 | 911 | Nick Tandy Frédéric Makowiecki Matt Campbell | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR - 19 | 51 | 1'17.481 | 7.306 |
| 15 | 3 |  Antonio Garcia Jordan Taylor Nick Catsburg | GTLM | Corvette C8.R | 54 | 1'17.512 | 7.337 |
| 16 | 24 |  Jesse Krohn John Edwards Augusto Farfus | GTLM | BMW M8 GTE | 58 | 1'17.580 | 7.405 |
| 17 | 4 | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Marcel Fassler | GTLM | Corvette C8.R | 54 | 1'17.741 | 7.566 |
| 18 | 25 | Bruno Spengler Connor de Phillippi Colton Herta | GTLM | BMW M8 GTE | 56 | 1'17.874 | 7.699 |
| 19 | 14 | Jack Hawksworth Aaron Telitz Michael de Quesada | GTD | Lexus RC F GT3 | 54 | 1'20.501 | 10.326 |
| 20 | 16 | Ryan Hardwick Patrick Long Jan Heylen | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 51 | 1'20.547 | 10.372 |
| 21 | 30 | Rob Ferriol  Markus Winkelhock Andrew Davis | GTD | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 47 | 1'20.660 | 10.485 |
| 22 | 63 | Cooper MacNeil  Alessandro Balzan Jeff Westphal | GTD | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 32 | 1'20.753 | 10.578 |
| 23 | 23 | Ian James Roman De Angelis Darren Turner | GTD | Aston Martin Vantage GT3 | 39 | 1'20.861 | 10.686 |
| 24 | 9 |  Dennis Olsen Zacharie Robichon Lars Kern | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 47 | 1'20.937 | 10.762 |
| 25 | 86 | Mario Farnbacher Matt McMurry  Shinya Michimi | GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 47 | 1'20.980 | 10.805 |
| 26 | 96 | Bill Auberlen Robby Foley Dillon Machavern | GTD | BMW M6 GT3 | 42 | 1'21.001 | 10.826 |
| 27 | 48 | Bryan Sellers Madison Snow Corey Lewis | GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 43 | 1'21.045 | 10.870 |
| 28 | 12 | Frankie Montecalvo Townsend Bell Kyle Kirkwood | GTD | Lexus RC F GT3 | 55 | 1'21.049 | 10.874 |
| 29 | 57 | Alvaro Parente Mikhail Goikhberg Trent Hindman | GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 49 | 1'21.212 | 11.037 |
| 30 | 74 | Gar Robinson Lawson Aschenbach Ben Keating | GTD | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | 37 | 1'21.267 | 11.092 |
| 31 | 44 | Andy Lally John Potter Spencer Pumpelly | GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 44 | 1'21.633 | 11.458 |
| View full results | |||||||
Petit Le Mans: AXR Cadillac tops second practice
Marquardt steps down from BMW Motorsport
The significance of the next step in WEC/IMSA convergence
Following the latest convergence connection permitting Le Mans Hypercars from the FIA World Endurance Championship to compete against LMDh entries in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from 2023, it could open up enticing options not only to manufacturers but also for the calendar and race formats
Why a Mazda IMSA Prototype title would bring bitter joy
Can Mazda win this year’s IMSA Prototype championship? Undoubtedly. But it will be the culmination of an achingly hard struggle, after which the brand has decided to quit. David Malsher-Lopez tells the story of a bizarre blend of heartache and positivity.
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
Nine things to watch at the 2021 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
After a 100-minute sprint race to whet the appetite, the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship gets underway properly this weekend. With plenty of significant changes during the winter, here are the key points you need to keep an eye on
Why Magnussen is relishing a fresh start in sportscars
Having gone over seven years without a race win through spells with McLaren, Renault and Haas, Kevin Magnussen's departure from Formula 1 for IMSA with big-hitters Chip Ganassi Racing could give him what he craves most - a chance of success
Oliver Gavin's Corvette Racing highlights
Oliver Gavin has stepped down from the full-time Corvette Racing line-up after a stellar career with the team spanning nearly 20 years. He looks back on a stint that encompassed, among other successes, five Le Mans 24 Hours victories.
How Tandy joined an exclusive club of endurance legends
Victory at last year's Spa 24 Hours meant Nick Tandy had completed the unofficial sextuple crown of the world's six biggest endurance races, becoming the first Briton to do so. Ahead of his fresh start with Corvette Racing, he explains how he did it…
The 12 greatest Sebring 12 Hours ranked
The 2020 edition of the Florida sportscar classic is finally taking place this weekend, eight months after its traditional date in March. That meant there was plenty of time for Motorsport.com to pour over its previous 67 races and select the best.