JDC-Miller ORECA leads Sebring IMSA FP1

The JDC-Miller ORECA 07-Gibson prototype led IMSA's opening practice session at Sebring Thursday morning, run under clear skies and cool temperatures.

The quick time posted by the No. 85 ORECA (1m49.516s) was marginally faster than the pair of Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.Rs. The No. 5 AXR Cadillac (-0.041s) and the sister No. 31 (-0.092s) weren't far off the WEC-spec JDC-Miller LMP2 chassis, but its drivers cited a visible lack of straightline speed after IMSA applied two rounds of Balance of Performance sanctions aimed at slowing the Rolex 24 at Daytona-winning model.

Among the other DPi brands, Mazda's fastest RT24-P chassis was fifth (-0.901s) and the best Nissan Onroak DPi was 10th (-2.101s). The Tequila Patron ESM-run car had its session cut short when shifting problems intervened after eight laps.

In GT Le Mans, the Porsche GT Team led with its No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR (1m57.109s) which was faster than all but one of the ORECA FLM09-Chevy PC cars. Ford Chip Ganassi Racing's Ford GTs completed the top three as the No. 67 (-0.057s) and No. 66 (+0.219s) shadowed the German machine.

Paul Miller Racing's No. 48 Lamborghini Huracán took GT Daytona honors (2m01.040s), but the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS (-0.009s) was impossibly close as the top 12 cars in class were covered by less than one second.

The four-car PC class was topped by the Rolex 24-winning Performance Tech Motorsports entry (1m55.172s).

45 of the 46 cars entered for Saturday's race took part in practice. Only Michael Shank Racing's No. 86 Acura NSX missed the one-hour session as a result of a clutch problem.

UP NEXT: FP2, 3:15-4:15 p.m. ET