January 29, 2023
By Holly Cain
IMSA Wire Service

Rolex 24 At Daytona Unofficial Results
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The debut of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s newest class not only lived up to expectations, but arguably outperformed it with one of the most dramatic runs to the Rolex 24 At Daytona overall victory in recent memory. It all unfolded in front of a rapt international television audience and a record crowd at Daytona International Speedway.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist drove the pole-winning No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to a 4.190-second victory, to win the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class win in the first race with hybrid-powered prototypes. It was the second consecutive and third overall Rolex 24 victory for the Meyer Shank team, which led a race-best 365 of the 783 laps, crossing the stripe 4.190 seconds ahead of Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.
The Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-LMDh cars from Chip Ganassi Racing finished third (with driver Renger van der Zande in the No. 01) and fourth (Earl Bamber in the No. 02). The top four cars were separated by 11.176 seconds after 24 hours of racing on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course.
“I knew we had a fantastic car, unbelievable,’’ said an excited Blomqvist, who won the 2022 Rolex 24 in his first race with Meyer Shank and went on to collect the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class championship. “I just have to say, a massive ‘well done’ to everyone who’s been a part of this project.
“What a car we’ve built and I’m so grateful to be able to drive that and be trusted with the duty to take it to the finish. Amazing, I was a bit nervous because the (No.) 10 car was definitely the second fastest car when it came down to it. But yeah, we held it off and had to take it to another level to secure this victory.’’
Blomqvist shared the car in the race with Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, the latter duo also part of last year’s Rolex 24 triumph. Today’s victory, in fact, is Castroneves’ third straight in the iconic race, tying late sports car legend Peter Gregg for most consecutive overall victories in sports car racing’s renowned season opener.
“This team is amazing. This is absolutely a dream come true,’’ Castroneves, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner said after once again convincing his teammates and team owners Mike Shank and Jim Meyer to climb the track fence in celebration. “So happy to start the year like that and keep it going.’’
Pagenaud, Castroneves’ teammate on the Meyer Shank IndyCar team, was also all smiles, earning his second straight Rolex winner’s watch.
“I think I’m getting used to it,’’ he joked, adding, “I’ll tell you what, it was tough out there but it was fun. I’m going to savor this one.”
The MSR No. 60 Acura led the final 97 laps despite having to repair the gearbox midrace and worrying whether it would indeed make it to the end. It marks the third straight Rolex 24 overall victory for Acura, which also won with the WTRAndretti team in 2021.
Nine hybrid prototypes made the highly anticipated debut of the GTP class in the race. All but one were still running at the finish, including the top six overall finishers, an impressive outing for a car making its first competitive showing in one of the longest, most grueling events on the schedule.
The celebratory feeling went from track to pits to company brass. The first win in a totally new car elicited both relief and confidence. The finish of the race, the reliability and competitiveness a good sign for all.
“It feels unbelievable,’’ said David Salters, president of Honda Performance Development (HPD), which developed the race winner. “The real privilege is to work with those people (Acura teams) and achieve days like today. We all know it doesn’t happen all the time. Was it worth it? It’s been two years and I think it’s the best thing I’ve been involved in in my whole life.
“If that isn’t a demonstration of precision-crafted performance, I don’t know what is,’’ Salters added. “It’s a landmark moment. It’s the pinnacle of sports car racing.”

Proton Competition Wins Photo Finish in LMP2

By Mark Robinson

The No. 55 Proton Competition ORECA LMP2 07 went from the scrap heap to the top of the heap in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Three days after the car was significantly damaged in a Rolex 24 practice session, James Allen eked out the narrowest of victories by just 0.016 seconds over Ben Hanley in the No. 04 Crowdstrike by APR ORECA.

An intense four-car battle over the final 90 minutes led to the photo finish, with the Proton and Crowdstrike entries swapping the lead with the No. 35 TDS Racing and No. 88 AF Corse ORECAs. Hanley went to the front with 20 minutes left in the No. 04, overtaking Job Van Uitert in the No. 35 with a bold pass leading to the infield section that involved contact between the cars and sent Van Uitert off course and to an eventual fourth-place finish.

Allen moved ahead of Nicklas Nielsen in the No. 88 AF Corse ORECA and into second place with seven minutes to go, then the 36-year-old Australian set his sights on Hanley ahead. Lapped traffic allowed Allen to slice the deficit and nearly grab the LMP2 lead on the next-to-last lap. Unsuccessful in that attempt but instilled with confidence, Allen drafted Hanley through Turns 3 and 4 of the Daytona oval on the last lap, pulled alongside in the trioval and nudged ahead as they took the checkered flag.

“Going into the final lap at the start, I saw that I actually did get in front of him before the line,” Allen said, “so I thought there’s no point trying to force any late-braking moves or anything silly. I could just get him going down the final straight and that’s kind of what I did.”

Even though he wasn’t sure he did.

“The spotter came over the radio and said we won, and I still didn’t believe it,” Allen admitted. “I was like, ‘Are you sure?’”

It was quite the recovery for Allen and co-drivers Fred Poordad, Francesco Pizzi and Gianmaria Bruni, who each collected their first Rolex 24 victory. The No. 55 ORECA sustained significant damage in a practice crash on Thursday, but the Proton crew worked overtime to repair it for the race.

“Luckily, ORECA makes a very strong tub because it was still intact,” explained Allen. “But the drive shaft was buried in the diff and took the gearbox with it. The whole rear end and all the bodywork had to come off, all the suspension. It was a very long job. It was really a big job by everyone on the team and I really appreciate it. They managed to get it done and the car was on the grid.”

No. 17 AWA Team Cruises to Victory in LMP3

By Godwin Kelly
The No. 17 AWA Duqueine D08 turned the Le Mans Prototype (LMP3) class race into a 24-hour romp as drivers Anthony Mantella, Wayne Boyd, Nico Varrone and Thomas Merrill dominated at Daytona.
“It was a relief (to see the checkered flag),” Boyd said. “All the boys were laughing at me because every two minutes on the radio I was asking how long was left.”
Most other cars in the class faced mechanical or other issues during the race. The margin of victory for the No. 17 AWA Duqueine over the second-place No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P320 was a whopping 12 laps.
“My teammates built that lead,” Mantella said. “My job was to keep the car clean and stay out of trouble.”
The No. 17 car went to the lead for the first time on Lap 315, pushing past the No. 33 Sean Creech Ligier JS P320. Those two cars had a pitched battle until Lap 634 when the No. 33 went behind the wall for lengthy repairs to fix a shifting issue.
“I was actually more nervous (with the large lead) than fighting with the other car,” Varrone said. “It was more nervous than when we were fighting another car because, if you lose, that’s OK. But if you lose with such a massive lead, it would hurt more.”
It was the first IMSA victory for Mantella, Boyd and Varrone. Merrill now has two career IMSA wins.
When the Creech entry had mechanical problems, no other LMP3 car was able to give chase. Creech climbed back up the leaderboard to score the second-place finish.
“As always, a hard-fought (Rolex 24),” Creech said in a post-race tweet. “Once again, we brought it home P2. Proud of a super effort by the entire team to keep us on track in a race of survival.”
Sean Creech Motorsport, which will run the entire series, didn’t go home empty handed, leaving Daytona with the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup points lead.
Rounding out the podium was the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier with drivers John DeAngelis, Christopher Allen, Connor Bloum and Cameron Shields.

February 2, 2023
By Tony DiZinno
IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Nearly a decade ago in the 2014 Formula 3 European Championship, three young drivers combined to win 25 of 33 races and swept the top three in points.
Two of them made it to Formula 1 by 2016. The third embarked on a different career odyssey.
Esteban Ocon won that championship. Max Verstappen finished third.
And Tom Blomqvist finished second.
If ever there was a doubt about the talent possessed by the British-born Swedish son of rally legend Stig Blomqvist, look no further than the top competitors he raced against in that single junior season.
So how, then, has the 29-year-old’s star risen so much only in the last year since joining Meyer Shank Racing in the top-level prototype class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship?
It takes a second to reflect on Blomqvist’s journey, which has been an unusual path toward the top.
He raced Formula E cars, DTM touring cars and GT cars, including a full season in the WeatherTech Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) class with BMW M Team RLL in 2019.
But through either tough luck or adverse circumstances, he never finished better than fifth in points in any single season.
A breakthrough 2021 season racing Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) cars in Europe and Asia, downforce-type cars that more closely mirrored his junior open-wheel programs, quickly reestablished Blomqvist on the map.
Arguably his biggest “wow” moment came in defeat, when he lost to another LMP2 competitor in a photo finish at that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He finished second in that year’s FIA World Endurance Championship and emerged as a top-flight prototype candidate as IMSA teams readied for the final season of Daytona Prototype international (DPi) competition and the launch of the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) era.
Mike Shank then made a call that’s changed both individuals’ trajectories since an initial test at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the fall of 2021.
“I started looking at his numbers and I’m like, ‘We should test this guy,’” Shank said.
“He got in the car and just slayed it. I called (Jim Meyer, team co-owner), I said, ‘I’ve got our guy. There’s no question about it.’”
Meyer echoed the thoughts, saying, “I don’t even know who this guy is. (Shank) goes, ‘Leave it to me,’ and then literally one minute later he said, ‘We’re done. We have who we need.’”
From a strong first impression to an even stronger 2022, Blomqvist emerged as perhaps the DPi driver of the season with a run of form few saw coming.
With three poles, bookend wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Motul Petit Le Mans and the last DPi championship (co-driving with Oliver Jarvis), Blomqvist was dynamite a year ago. He proved his quiet 2019 IMSA GTLM campaign didn’t accurately reflect his potential.

His 2022 Rolex 24 drive revealed a star turn, but his 2023 Rolex 24 was perhaps even better given the newness of the GTP formula.
With Rolex 24 qualifying returning to the traditional format of fastest single lap, a red flag left Blomqvist with one lap to set a flyer on new tires – and he delivered. In the race itself, he managed to set the 10 fastest single laps.
He anchored the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 he shared with new recruit Colin Braun along with IndyCar aces Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves en route to Meyer Shank’s second – and Acura’s third – straight Rolex 24 win.
What sayeth the man himself? Humility comes first for the soft-spoken driver who just is focused on the job at hand.
“Obviously I have to thank the team for putting the faith in me for both those parts,” Blomqvist said.
“I think what’s so special about this team is, we are a small team compared to some of our opponents, but the atmosphere, the way we work, enables people to get the best out of themselves, and I think that’s why we’re such high achievers.”
It seems his bosses will have to provide the kudos.
“We love Tom. He’s the real deal, isn’t he? Immensely talented, super smart, and on it,” said David Salters, president of Honda Performance Development (HPD), which develops the Acura.
“He reminds me a little bit when (Robert) Wickens came into IndyCar out of DTM,” Shank reflected. “He truly believes he’s the fastest guy out there, and he proved it tonight.”
“Who can forget his qualifying run last week? It was incredible, just an incredible story,” Meyer added.
“We’re thrilled to be in the Tom Blomqvist business.”

January 30, 2023
By David Phillips
IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -The highly anticipated 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona is in the books and it’s fair to say the race exceeded expectations.
There was a record crowd on hand to witness the largely flawless debut for the ultra-complex Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) hybrids, a photo finish in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) and the typically fierce, deep and unpredictable competition among a bevy of marques in the two Grand Touring (GT) classes – the competitors in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship delivered quite a show.
With 45 finishers from 61 starters and five class winners, there are a plethora of stories (and potential takeaways). Without diminishing James Allen’s breathtaking pass of Ben Hanley at the checkered flag to grab the LMP2 laurels (not to mention Proton Competition’s outstanding effort repairing the victorious No. 55 ORECA after a practice mishap) or AWA’s dominant LMP3 win, allow me to offer this trio of takeaways.
Tip of the Hat

A tip of the hat to Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche, their teams and drivers for an unexpectedly smooth debut of the GTP class. After roughly 18 months to build out their hybrid prototypes, eight of the nine GTPs were running at the end of 24 hours, headed by the top two Acura ARX-06s and two Cadillac V-LMDhs in P3 and P4, all on the lead lap. Sure, the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 finished 100+ laps down after issues with the spec hybrid powertrain and the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 did not finish after suffering a broken gearbox.
But an 89 percent finishing rate would be an outstanding record for any class in any 24-hour race, let alone one featuring such complex vehicles in their competition debut. With seven weeks before they race again, the teams and manufacturers will have plenty of learnings from the Rolex 24 to use in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Of course, a dozen hours of racing on the rough ’n tumble runways, taxiways and macadam of Sebring International Raceway is every bit, if not more, demanding than 24 hours at Daytona International Speedway. But if the remarkable debut of the GTPs is any indication, Round 2 of the 2023 WeatherTech Championship should be every bit as compelling as the first.
Passing the Torch?

As television viewers were regularly reminded, the days when Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian could be considered a “little team” are long gone. The No. 60 MSR Acura led the race early, often and late; in other words, just about any time they darn well pleased.
For those keeping score, this makes back-to-back Rolex 24 wins for the Ohio-based team and its third overall, which dovetails with its 2022 Daytona Prototype international class championship and the 2019 and 2020 GT Daytona (GTD) crowns . . . not to mention the 2021 Indianapolis 500.
So, while preseason talk focused on the coming epic showdown between the teams of the reigning titans of American motorsports – Chip Ganassi and Roger Penske – it was the one owned by Mike Shank and partner Jim Meyer that took home the honors . . . and gave at least one observer pause to ponder this: Roger Penske was born in 1937 and dominated American racing in his 40s, 50s and 60s. Chip Ganassi was born in 1958 and rose to challenge Penske and, yes, dominate American racing in his 40s, 50s and 60s. Born in 1966, Shank is mounting an increasingly formidable challenge to the Penske/Ganassi domination of sports cars and Indy cars. Is he poised to become the next team owner to dominate American racing?
GTD’s Big Picture

Kudos to Mercedes/WeatherTech Racing and Aston Martin/Heart of Racing Team on their wins in GTD PRO and GTD respectively. But in terms of the big picture, Corvette Racing is the manufacturer that announced its intentions to be a force in GT racing this season and in years to come last week.
After a comparatively disappointing GTD PRO campaign last year, the No. 3 Corvette C8.R GTD gave the GTD PRO competition all they could handle in the Rolex 24 before settling for what, under the circumstances, was a disappointing runner-up finish.
That’s encouraging evidence that Corvette Racing put the lessons learned last year campaigning a C8.R born and bred for the discontinued GTLM class to good use and will be a force to be reckoned with in their sophomore season of GTD PRO. What’s more, the unveiling of Corvette’s Z06 GT3.R is ample evidence of GM’s commitment to GT racing – and a tantalizing glimpse into the future, not only for Corvette Racing in GTD PRO, but for what one must imagine will be a host of GTD teams looking to campaign the new ‘Vette in seasons to come.

January 22, 2023
By Holly Cain and Godwin Kelly
IMSA Wire Service

Rolex 24 At Daytona Qualifying Results

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The first “official” marks of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s 2023 season were set Sunday in Motul Pole Award qualifying to establish the lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona season opener. Most attention was focused on the hybrid-powered prototypes making up the reborn Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, and the qualifying session lived up to the hype.
In a dramatic final moments, Tom Blomqvist turned the best lap of the entire three days of Roar Before the Rolex 24 on-track activity, putting the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 on pole position. Blomqvist will lead the 61-car field to the green flag on Jan. 28, following an impressive lap of 1 minute, 34.031 seconds (136.295 mph).
Blomqvist’s fast time – set on the very last lap of the qualifying session – bettered Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 by a slight 0.083 seconds. The top eight GTP cars were separated by only 0.815 seconds.
“That was one of the most difficult sessions I’ve done because my tires weren’t exactly fully, fully ready and I didn’t have much of a good reference to go off of, so I was glad to win that one,’’ Blomqvist said of his fourth career Motul Pole Award and first for the Rolex 24.
Ricky Taylor qualified third in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 fielded by Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (1:34.198, 136.054 mph) and will start alongside the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-LMDh on the second row. Sebastien Bourdais turned a best lap of 1:34.262 (135.961 mph) in the No. 01, one of two GTP cars entered by Chip Ganassi Racing.
Meyer Shank Racing paced the first four practice sessions of the weekend leading up to qualifying. But the pole appeared in jeopardy when Nick Tandy went off course in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport, bringing out a red-flag stoppage with Blomqvist sitting in seventh place. Once the track was cleared, it left time for a single flying lap for each car when the green flag returned.
“Thankfully that was just enough time for one lap,” Blomqvist said. “I don’t really know how I did it, but my lap was made easier because the car has been quick all weekend and I know what I had underneath me.”
Blomqvist, who pitted to change Michelin tires early in the session, conceded he was worried about getting a crack at the pole position during the red-flag stoppage.
“I was actually a bit bummed because I thought it was kind of done for us, and then they said, ‘You’ve got one lap,’” Blomqvist of the team radio chatter. “I didn’t know what to expect, so I just kind of went for it on the out lap and had to get past one car and make a legitimate move on the out lap.
“I was lucky I had such a smooth running in terms of the car being so good and really didn’t have to do too many changes to the set-up. I knew what I had but today the track conditions were very different with the wind and the heat, so I just had to virtually send it and rely on my instincts.
“Thankfully, I managed to survive that,’’ he added smiling. “That was a fun day.’’

Keating Earns Fourth Daytona Pole With LMP2 Flyer
Veteran driver Ben Keating took Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) pole honors in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 with a lap of 1:40.541 (127.470 mph). While the conditions seemed ideal for fast laps – sunny skies, mild temperatures – Keating said the windy surroundings made it a bit treacherous.
Two LMP2s spun with the help of breezy conditions and a “green track” after Saturday’s rain showers washed the rubber off the track surface.
“I felt like this was one of the more tricky qualifying sessions,” said Keating, who earned his fourth Rolex 24 pole and 12th of his IMSA career. He’ll share the No. 52 in the race with Paul-Loup Chatin, Alex Quinn and Nicolas Lapierre.
“You set your car up so you’re on the edge in the Bus Stop (the Le Mans Chicane on the oval backstretch),” Keating explained. “All weekend, we had a slight headwind going into the Bus Stop. Today, we had about a 19-mph tailwind, and that made a huge difference in our car.”
John Farano, wheeling the No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA, spun and made heavy contact into a tire wall in Turn 7. Fred Poordad also went off course in Turn 6 in the No. 55 Proton Competition ORECA.
“I expected it to be tricky, but it’s never quite real until you get out there and start doing it,” Keating said. “I had quite a few ‘moments’ in the car at the Bus Stop and I was not surprised to see a car go off there.”

Francois Heriau in the No. 35 TDS Racing ORECA was a tick behind Keating, posting a time of 1:41.751 (125.594 mph). Steven Thomas was third in the No. 11 TDS Racing entry at 1:41.813 (125.878 mph) and inadvertently helped Keating.

“I got a nice tow off of Thomas and that made about half a second worth of difference,” Keating said.

Pino Procures First IMSA Pole in LMP3
Eighteen-year-old Nico Pino scored his first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole with a blistering lap of 1:43.197 (124.189 mph) in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P320. Pino leapfrogged past Dakota Dickerson (No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier) on the speed chart late in the qualifying session. Dickerson wound up second fastest with a lap of 1:43.307 (124.057 mph).
It was a big day for Pino and car owner Sean Creech, who has a race shop in Jupiter, Florida. It was Creech’s first Daytona pole as a car owner.
“This is a special one,” Pino said. “This was my first pole (ever). We have a long race coming ahead – 24 hours. This was a 15-minute qualifying session.”
Pino will share the No. 33 with Lance Willsey, Danny Soufi and four-time Rolex 24 winner Joao Barbosa.
“We have done a lot of work fine-tuning the car,” Pino said. “We had our ups and downs through the practice sessions, but now we have a good baseline to start working with the team for the race. I’m looking forward to it.”
Rolex 24 At Daytona practice starts Thursday. The 24-hour race begins Saturday with the start airing live on NBC at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday and the conclusion beginning at noon Sunday, Jan. 29. Flag-to-flag coverage is available on Peacock.

January 20, 2023
By John Oreovicz and Holly Cain
IMSA Wire Service

Roar Before the Rolex 24 Test Session 1 Results
Roar Before the Rolex 24 Test Session 2 Results
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship edged one step closer to the starting line with the first official practice sessions of the new season at Daytona International Speedway.
For months, sports car fans around the world have been anticipating the debut of the exotic, hybrid-powered prototypes in the new GTP class at the Roar Before the Rolex 24, and Daytona Beach delivered picture-perfect 75-degree conditions on Friday. The new cars shone as bright as the Florida sun on what constituted the ‘23 season’s opening day.
Over the course of the three-day Roar weekend, competitors in all five classes of the WeatherTech Championship will utilize 7.5 hours of track time from five test sessions in preparation for the 61st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, set for Jan. 28-29. A Sunday afternoon qualifying session will seed the 61-car grid. The Roar also kicks off the 2023 season for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, which has five test sessions of its own, and the new IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, which conducts its first two races of the season.
Thanks to the new GTP cars, the new year has been built up not only as the start of a new championship campaign, but the beginning of a whole new era. Friday at Daytona definitely resonated with a “Let’s get it started!” vibe.
Chip Ganassi, whose organization partners with Cadillac Racing to field Cadillac V-LMDh prototypes in the WeatherTech Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship, paid tribute to the complex technology of the new prototypes, and the countless development hours that went into getting them ready for this moment.
“Here we are now in a race situation,” Ganassi said.
“It’s what we all look forward to and what we are excited about, and it’s all coming to a head this weekend.”
With three minutes remaining in Friday’s final WeatherTech Championship practice, Helio Castroneves set the fastest lap of the day. The four-time Indy 500 winner, 2020 WeatherTech Championship Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class champion and two-time Rolex 24 overall winner turned a lap of 1 minute, 35.210 seconds (134.607 mph) in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06. He was a mere 0.110 seconds faster than Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.
“It feels great – I’ll take it,” Castroneves said. “Any good day in the office is always a good day. It’s great to have everyone synching. Everyone did a good job and let’s keep it going.”
Castroneves, who drives full-time for Meyer Shank’s IndyCar Series team and shares in the workload at the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events, has participated in the development of the Acura ARX-06. But he admitted that until Friday, he was yet to feel comfortable in the new machinery.
“To be honest, it was the first time I felt good in the car,” said Castroneves. “Acura did a lot of work behind the scenes that people don’t understand. When I was here testing the last time, there was no way I was happy. There were question marks, big time. But the end of the day, everyone did a great job and now let’s just keep it going.”
Mikkel Jensen set the final practice pace in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) with a fast lap of 1:38.730 in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07, while Gabby Chaves was fastest in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) at 1:42.926 in the No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier JS P320.
Five-time Rolex 24 winner Andy Lally set the fast lap among GT competitors with a lap of 1:47.004 in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, set in the first of Friday’s two sessions. Fastest in GTD PRO was Ben Barnicoat’s lap of 1:47.040 in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, set in the second session.
Mars Paces Michelin Pilot Challenge Testing
Teen phenom Luca Mars topped the speed chart following two IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge test sessions. The co-driver of the No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 turned a lap of 1:53.042 (113.373 mph) in the first practice.
NASCAR standout Zane Smith recorded the fastest lap in Friday’s final action (1:53.159, 113.256 mph). Smith is teaming with fellow NASCAR driver Harrison Burton in the No. 42 PF Racing Mustang, along with James Pesek.
Burton, who drives the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series, and Smith, driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford F150 and the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, are among five fulltime NASCAR drivers competing in IMSA series over the next week. NASCAR trucks regulars Hailie Deegan and 2021 series champion Ben Rhodes are co-driving the No. 41 PF Racing Mustang in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, while defending Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric will compete in the Rolex 24 in the No. 51 ORECA LMP2 for Rick Ware Racing, which fields cars in NASCAR, IMSA and the NHRA.
Goldburg Tops First VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Sessions
Dan Goldburg was the driver to beat in the first official day of competition for the new VP Racing Challenge that features a 45-minute doubleheader sprint race format with LMP3 prototypes and GT4-specification cars. Goldburg (No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08) enjoyed a 0.790-second advantage in LMP3 over Bijoy Garg (No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320). Tim Probert (No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4) topped the GSX class in both sessions, with his 1:54.660 lap in the morning setting the benchmark.
Saturday’s slate of Roar activities includes practice sessions for the WeatherTech Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge, along with qualifying and the opening race for the VP Racing Challenge (2:05 p.m. ET, livestream on Peacock).