IMSA Roar: Pagenaud's AXR Cadillac leads first session
Simon Pagenaud set the fastest time in opening session in the Roar Before The 24, driving Action Express Racing’s #48 Cadillac DPi-V.R.
In the car he will share with Jimmie Johnson, Mike Rockenfeller and Kamui Kobayashi, Pagenaud lapped the 3.56-mile Daytona course in 1min35.312sec, 0.385sec faster than Ricky Taylor’s best effort in Wayne Taylor Racing’s Acura ARX-05.
The second AXR car, driven by former F1 driver Felipe Nasr, was third fastest, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cadillac piloted by Renger van der Zande.
Jonathan Bomarito, who has become Mazda’s endurance third man for its sole RT24-P, was fifth ahead of Tristan Vautier’s JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac and Olivier Pla in Meyer Shank Racing’s Acura.
Nicolas Lapierre was fastest LMP2 driver, with a 1min37.741, less than 0.6sec from the slowest DPi time in the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca, ahead of High Class Racing, Tower Motorsports by Starworks, and Cetilar Racing.
As expected LMP3 times and GT Le Mans were very similar. Laurents Hoerr led the least powerful prototype class with a 1min43.655sec lap in the Muehlner Motorsports Duqueine, with his nearest rivals being the Ligiers of Scott Andrews ((Riley Motorsports) and Wayne Boyd (Sean Creech Motorsports).
James Calado’s Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 led GTLM, 0.387sec faster than defending class champion Jordan Taylor in the #3 Corvette C8.R, and half a second up on the faster BMW M8 of Philipp Eng.
In GT Daytona, two-time class champion Christina Nielsen led the way in the Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche 911 GT3 R, 0.3sec faster than Matteo Cressoni’s AF Corse Ferrari 488. Next up were the two Mercedes-benz AMG GT3s of Winward Racing and Sun Energy 1.
The second session begins at 4.15pm local (Eastern) time.
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