On Saturday afternoon, the Cadillac brigade re-asserted themselves. Despite running a new 5.5-liter V8 as opposed to the 6.2-liter V8 used in 2017, the DPi-V.R.s were right back on pace. With three minutes remaining in Roar session No. 4, Action Express Racing’s Felipe Nasr turned in the fastest lap of the Roar to date in order to top the session.
Nasr’s lap of 96.973 seconds (132.160 mph) is two-tenths of a second faster than the time Jordan Taylor set in session No. 3 and seven-hundredths of a second off of last years’ Rolex 24 at Daytona pole. The lap was also eight-hundredths of a second faster than Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ryan Hunter-Reay. Spirit of Daytona Racing’s Eddie Cheever III was third quickest, followed by Christian Fittipaldi in another Cadillac 1-2-3-4. Jackie Chan DC Racing JOTA’s Alex Brundle had the fastest lap by a Global LMP2 car in fifth.
CORE autosport’s Romain Dumas was sixth quickest, followed by Acura Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya. JDC-Miller MotorSports’ Stephen Simpson was eighth quickest, followed by Helio Castroneves in the No. 7 Acura. Jackie Chan DC Racing JOTA’s Daniel Juncadella was 10th. Even with the fast times, the top 10 were still separated by less than a second.
In GT Le Mans, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing IMSA’s pace continued. Ryan Briscoe set the fastest GTLM time of the Roar just a couple of minutes into the session. Briscoe’s time of 103.980 seconds (123.254 mph) was approximately one-seventh of a second faster than Risi Competizione’s Alessandro Pier Guidi. Sébastien Bourdais was third quickest, followed by the Porsches of Laurens Vanthoor and Frédéric Makowiecki.
At BMW Team RLL, the work continues. The No. 24 M8 GTE did not turn a lap in the 45-minute session. Meanwhile, Alexander Sims‘ best lap in the No. 25 was six-tenths of a second slower than anyone else in the class.
In GT Daytona, it was Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian’s Mario Farnbacher who turned in the fastest lap right at the end of the session. Farnbacher’s lap of 107.425 seconds (119.302 mph) was four-hundredths of a second faster than Manthey Racing’s Sven Müller. GRT Grasser Racing Team’s Mirko Bortolotti was third quickest in the No. 11 Lamborghini, followed by Park Place Motorsports’ Patrick Lindsey and Magnus Racing’s Andy Lally.
Ezequiel Perez Companc was sixth in the No. 19 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini, followed by Wright Motorsports’ Robert Renauer and Paul Miller Racing’s Madison Snow. 3GT Racing’s Kyle Marcelli and Turner Motorsport’s Jens Klingmann rounded out the top 10. The top 16 GTD cars were within one second of Farnbacher.
Results of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Roar Before the 24 Session No. 4
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams have one more on-track session on Saturday. That will be a night session that will begin at 6:30 p.m.
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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