IMSA has attempted to slow the Cadillac DPi-V.R.s on no less than four occasions this season. Regardless of what’s been done, they’re still quick. Â Action Express Racing’s Christian Fittipaldi proved that Friday morning when he turned in the quickest lap of opening practice for this weekend’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle Park.
Fittipaldi’s lap of 83.750 seconds (101.015 mph) was nearly a half-second quicker than Wayne Taylor Racing’s Jordan Taylor in second. Â JDC/Miller MotorSports’ Mikhail Goikhberg was third fastest, a full second off the pace. Â Mazda Motorsports’ Tristan Nunez was fourth quickest, while Action Express Racing’s Dane Cameron rounded out the top five.
In Prototype Challenge, the Performance Tech Motorsports domination of the time sheets continued in full effect. Â Youngster Patricio O’Ward was fastest with a lap of 87.851 seconds (96.299 mph). Â The lap, good enough for ninth overall was more than 2.5 seconds faster than BAR1 Motorsports’ Bruno Junqueira.
In GT Daytona, it was the Jeroens at the front of the pack. Â Change Racing’s Jeroen Mul was fastest with a lap of 90.782 seconds (93.190 mph). Â Mul’s time, set on his final lap of practice, was a tenth of a second quicker than Riley Motorsports’ Jeroen Bleekemolen in the Client Command-sponsored Mercedes. Â Stevenson Motorsports’ Andrew Davis was third fastest in the No. 57 Audi, followed by Tristan Vautier in the SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes. Â CORE Autosport’s Colin Braun was fifth.
There were two red flags during the session.  The first came out after just a couple of minutes when Ryan Lewis crashed the BAR1 Motorsports No. 20 PC entry into the wall at turn 8.  The wall was moved in the wreck and had to be reset.
Later on in the session, Daniel Morad spun the Alegra Motorsports Porsche into the tire barrier in turn 1 to spark a second red flag. Â That interruption saw additional repairs made to the walls as well.
Results of Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Practice No. 1
Teams will get one more 90-minute practice session on the tricky 2.35-mile street course starting at 1 p.m. this afternoon.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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