Petit Le Mans IMSA: Bourdais leads opening practice session
The No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R set the pace in the opening practice session for the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finale at Road Atlanta.
Sebastien Bourdais jumped to the top of the charts late with a 1:11.674s, leading the Penske duo at the conclusion of the 90-minute session. The No. 6 Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet was just 0.046s adrift of Bourdais with Matt Campbell in the sister No. 7 Porsche 0.233s back of the fast time.
Ben Hanley led the LMP2 field at 1:13.919s, driving the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA. Trailing him by 0.260s was the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA, with the title-leading No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA third on the time sheets.
Garett Grist in the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier led the way in LMP3 with a fast lap of 1:16.732s.
Jules Gounon put the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 at the top of the GTD Pro field at 1:20.279s with the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Bill Auberlen just 0.011s behind and leading the non-pro drivers.
The session was stopped twice due to incidents. First for the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, who crashed at Turn 1 and damaged the rear of the car. Later on, there was an incident involving the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier of Jonathan Woolridge.
| Cla | Drivers | # | Chassis | Laps | Time | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01 | Cadillac V-LMDh | 34 | 1'11.674 | 127.578 | ||
| 2 | 6 | Porsche 963 | 32 | +0.046 | 0.046 | 127.496 | |
| 3 | 7 | Porsche 963 | 30 | +0.233 | 0.187 | 127.164 | |
| 4 | 31 | Cadillac V-LMDh | 21 | +0.503 | 0.270 | 126.689 | |
| 5 | 24 | BMW M Hybrid V8 | 28 | +0.678 | 0.175 | 126.382 | |
| 6 | 60 | Acura ARX-06 | 31 | +0.847 | 0.169 | 126.088 | |
| 7 | 25 | BMW M Hybrid V8 | 38 | +0.861 | 0.014 | 126.063 | |
| 8 | 10 | Acura ARX-06 | 26 | +0.979 | 0.118 | 125.859 | |
| 9 | 5 | Porsche 963 | 41 | +1.562 | 0.583 | 124.857 | |
| 10 | N. SIEGELCrowdstrike Racing by APR
|
04 | ORECA 07 | 28 | +2.245 | 0.683 | 123.703 |
| 11 | A. QUINNPR1 Mathiasen Motorsports
|
52 | ORECA 07 | 37 | +2.505 | 0.260 | 123.269 |
| 12 | 11 | ORECA 07 | 45 | +2.712 | 0.207 | 122.926 | |
| 13 | 88 | ORECA 07 | 38 | +2.879 | 0.167 | 122.651 | |
| 14 | C. RASMUSSENEra Motorsport
|
18 | ORECA 07 | 46 | +2.883 | 0.004 | 122.644 |
| 15 | 20 | ORECA 07 | 42 | +3.178 | 0.295 | 122.161 | |
| 16 | 35 | ORECA 07 | 45 | +3.478 | 0.300 | 121.673 | |
| 17 | 8 | ORECA 07 | 44 | +3.680 | 0.202 | 121.347 | |
| 18 | 59 | Porsche 963 | 20 | +3.805 | 0.125 | 121.146 | |
| 19 |
N. SIEGEL
B. GARG
|
30 | Ligier JS P320 | 14 | +5.058 | 1.253 | 119.168 |
| 20 | 13 | Duqueine M30-D08 | 25 | +6.097 | 1.039 | 117.576 | |
| 21 | G. VANAndretti Autosport
|
36 | Ligier JS P320 | 33 | +6.177 | 0.080 | 117.455 |
| 22 | 85 | Duqueine M30-D08 | 36 | +6.974 | 0.797 | 116.265 | |
| 23 | N. VARRONEAWA
|
17 | Duqueine M30-D08 | 18 | +7.160 | 0.186 | 115.991 |
| 24 | 79 | Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo | 32 | +8.605 | 1.445 | 113.903 | |
| 25 | 97 | BMW M4 GT3 | 17 | +8.616 | 0.011 | 113.887 | |
| 26 | 16 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 37 | +8.745 | 0.129 | 113.704 | |
| 27 | F. PERERAIron Lynx
|
63 | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 | 36 | +8.753 | 0.008 | 113.693 |
| 28 | 1 | BMW M4 GT3 | 15 | +8.917 | 0.164 | 113.462 | |
| 29 | 27 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | 34 | +9.021 | 0.104 | 113.316 | |
| 30 | 32 | Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo | 33 | +9.031 | 0.010 | 113.302 | |
| 31 | 96 | BMW M4 GT3 | 19 | +9.130 | 0.099 | 113.163 | |
| 32 | P. LIDDYUS RaceTronics
|
78 | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 | 30 | +9.144 | 0.014 | 113.143 |
| 33 | 57 | Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo | 32 | +9.180 | 0.036 | 113.093 | |
| 34 | 62 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | 36 | +9.468 | 0.288 | 112.691 | |
| 35 |
S. MONK
|
66 | Acura NSX GT3 | 42 | +9.507 | 0.039 | 112.637 |
| 36 | S. PRIAULX
|
80 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 33 | +9.563 | 0.056 | 112.560 |
| 37 | 3 | Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD | 30 | +9.665 | 0.102 | 112.418 | |
| 38 | 23 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | 35 | +9.719 | 0.054 | 112.344 | |
| 39 | 61 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | 40 | +9.846 | 0.127 | 112.169 | |
| 40 | 93 | Acura NSX GT3 | 29 | +9.914 | 0.068 | 112.075 | |
| 41 | 83 | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 | 36 | +9.916 | 0.002 | 112.073 | |
| 42 | 77 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 41 | +10.005 | 0.089 | 111.950 | |
| 43 | 92 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 23 | +10.041 | 0.036 | 111.901 | |
| 44 | 9 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 41 | +10.098 | 0.057 | 111.823 | |
| 45 | 44 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | 34 | +10.234 | 0.136 | 111.637 | |
| 46 | O. TRIARSI
C. SCARDINA
|
023 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | 26 | +10.277 | 0.043 | 111.579 |
| 47 | B. THIENES
J. WOOLRIDGE
|
38 | Ligier JS P320 | 25 | +10.370 | 0.093 | 111.452 |
| 48 | 47 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | 14 | +10.436 | 0.066 | 111.363 | |
| 49 | 12 | Lexus RC F GT3 | 15 | +10.478 | 0.042 | 111.306 | |
| 50 | 70 | McLaren 720S GT3 | 7 | +16.980 | 6.502 | 103.143 | |
| 51 | 14 | Lexus RC F GT3 | 7 | ||||
| 52 | 33 | Ligier JS P320 | 0 | ||||
| 53 | 74 | Ligier JS P320 | 1 |
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