Acura Top First Timed Session Of The GTP Era
The first IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship practice session of the ROAR before the Rolex 24 Hours saw multiple interruptions for red flags including a pair of unfortunatee LMP3s, the #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier entry and the #17 AWA Duqueine with requiring intervention after stopping on track.
With 20 minutes to go there was another stoppage, this time for recovery of the #3 Corvette of Jordan Taylor, the C8.R requiring the flatbed for whatever ailed the GTD Pro machine.
Add to that dramas on pitlane with a flash fire for the #79 WeatherTech Racing AMG, the brand new car suffering a failed seal in the fuel system, it was soon back in the garage for a repair and clean up.
Eight of the nine GTP cars sat line astern on the timing screens at the end of the session, the only car out of position was the #31 Action Express Cadillac, the car not setting a timed lap in the session.
Topping the times in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX06 was Colin Braun a 1:35.635 a tenth and a half clear of the #7 Porsche 963 of Matt Campbell with the #10 Konica Minolta Acura of Ricky Taylor and the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Nick Yelloly just three hundredths apart.
The fastest of the Cadillacs meanwhile was the #02 Cadillac racing car, just over a second off the top time.
LMP2 saw newcomer Alex Quinn top the times in the #52 PR1 Mathiesen Oreca with a 1:39.167, the #18 Era Motorsport car (Oliver Jarvis) and the #8 Tower Motorsports machine (Scott McLoughlin) both also in the 1:39s.
LMP3 was topped by the #38 Performance Tech Ligier JS P320 of Cameron Shields, a 1:43.486 three tenths clear of Joao Barbosa in the #33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier and then the pair of AWA Duqueines, all still in the 1:43s
Into the GTD classes and topping the GTD class was an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 1,2,3 the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin of Andy Lally from the GTD class topping the combined times with a 1:47.004, 4 hundredths ahead of the #23 Heart of Racing GTD Pro car (Ross Gunn) and then the #64 TGM by TF Pro effort, a further tenth and a half back in the hands of Owen Trinkler.
Four cars did not set a time in the session, in addition to the #31 Cadillac the #16 and #77 Wright Motorsports Porsche did not complete a timed lap and the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 did not leave its garage during the session.
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