RECAP/PHOTOS: IMSA Rolex 24 Practice At DAYTONA

by Hunter Thomas January 28, 2023 0 comments

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s time for the 61st running of the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA.

As typically, this year’s edition also features several NASCAR connections.

NASCAR Cup Series team, Rick Ware Racing has a No. 51 entry in LMP2 with Austin Cindric serving as one of the four drivers on the team. This will be Cindrci’s fifth effort in the prestigious sportscar race. His teammates include Pietro Fittipaldi, who is the grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi, Devlin Defrancesco, and Eric Lux.

Also, in GTP, there’s the Porsche Penske Motorsports No. 6 and 7 teams that’s owned by NASCAR Cup Series owner, Roger Penske.

Throughout the past few days, 61 teams hit the high banks of DAYTONA and clocked times in three practice sessions.

Practice No. 1

In the first practice session, it was last year’s runner-up, Wayne Taylor Racing with Acura ARX-06 drivers, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz, Brendon Hartley and Ricky Taylor leading the way with a fast lap of 01:35.366 minutes overall and in GTP. Cadilla Racing’s No. 02 was second, just 0.266 seconds off. Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian’s No. 60 was third, followed by the No. 01 Cadillac Racing team, and Prosche Penske Motorsports’ No. 6 team.

PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports with ORECA LMP2 07 drivers, Paul-Loup Chatin, Alex Quinn, Nicolas Lapierre and Ben Keating led the way in the LMP2 class.

The No. 74 Riley Motorsports – WeatherTech Racing Liger JS P320 team with Felipe Fraga, Josh Burdon, Glennvan Berlo and Car Robinson was fastest in LMP3.

In GTD, the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes – AMG GT3 team (Lucas Auer, Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje) led the way in GTD.

Finally, TGM/TF Sport Aston Martin Vintage GT3 No. 64 team (Owen Trinkler, Ted Giovanis, High Plumb and Matt Plumb) were fastest in GTD Pro.

Practice No. 2

Cadillac Racing’s No. 02 entry with Richard Westbrook, Early Bamber and Lex Lynn set the fastest overall lap in Practice No. 2 with a lap time of 01:35.185 minutes. Wayne Taylor Racing dropped to second on the speed chart, just 0.238 seconds off the fastest lap. The Cadillac Racing No. 01 team stayed firm, finishing the session in third, followed by Cadillac V-LMDh’s No. 31 entry and Porsche Penske Motorsports’ No. 7 entry.

Once again, PRO Mathiasen Motorsports’ No. 52 entry led the way in LMP2, and so did Riley Motorsports – WeatherTech Racing’s No. 74 entry in LMP3.

Mercedes-AMG GT3 ran the fastest lap in GTD with Mikael Grenier, Kenton Koch, Maximilian Goetz, and Mike Skeen piloting the No. 32 car.

WetherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3’s No. 79 entry with drivers, Jules Gounon, Maro Engel, Cooper MacNeil and Juncadella topped the speed chart in GTD Pro.

Practice No. 3

The final session was topped by Prosche Penske Motorsports’ No. 7 entry with Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr and Michal Christensen behind the wheel of the Porsche 963. Wayne Taylor stayed second on the speed chart, followed by Cadillac Racing’s No. 02 and 01 teams. Cadillac V-LMdh rounded out the top-five.

AF Corse’s No. 88 ORECA LMP2 07 team with Francois Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Julien Canal and Nicklas Nielson clocked the fastest lap in LMP2.

Andretti Autosport that’s known for their INDYCAR efforts was fastest in final LMP3 practice. The team has Jarrett Andretti, Gabby Chaves, Dakota Dickerson and Rasmus Lindh piloting its Ligier JS P320 this weekend.

Once again, it was WeatherTech Racing’s No. 79 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry leading the way in GTD Pro and the No. 32 entry of Mercedes-AMG GT3 clocking the fastest lap in GTD.

Broadcast Schedule

The 61st running of the Rolex 24 will get underway on Saturday. Below is the TV and live streaming schedule:

SAT | 1:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. | NBC

SAT | 2:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. | USA

SAT | 10 – 11:59 p.m. | USA

SUN | 6 a.m. – 12 p.m. | USA

SUN | 12 – 2 p.m. | NBC

You can watch the race in its entirety up until 1:40 p.m. on Sunday on IMSA TV and Peacock.

Photos

Brandon Zumbach is at Daytona International Speedway capturing images of all the on-track action. Check out the photos that he captured throughout practice.