Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images
Derani leads Rolex 24 night practice
Drivers put in their crucial Thursday night practice in conditions similar to what they're likely to experience after the sun sets on the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona this weekend, giving the teams valuable setup information as well. For many of the Bronze drivers, it was required time in order to drive in the nighttime during the race.
Pipo Derani, who will start the race from pole on Saturday, topped the timesheet with a 1m35.708s lap in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, 0.310s better than Felipe Nasr in the No 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.
Malthe Jakobsen headed LMP2 in the same No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA that Toby Sowery posted the fastest time this morning with a 1m39.166s lap. Pato O'Ward was second with a 1m39.472s in the No. 2 United Autosports ORECA.
GTD PRO was headed by Earl Bamber in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R as the two Corvettes went one-two in the session, Alexander Sims in the No. 4 falling 0.088s short of his teammate's 1m46.770s.
The No. 86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was once again atop the GTD standings, this time in the hands of Larry Voorde who recorded a 1m47.075s lap good for fifth GT overall. Danny Formal was a scant 0.022s back in the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2.
Two cars did not venture out in the session, both GTD PRO cars – the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. The session was interrupted by one red flag, for the No. 74 Riley Motorsports ORECA which stopped on the course after a punctured tire.
UP NEXT: the final practice, a one-hour session beginning at 11:20am ET.
Richard S. James
Richard James is motorsports journalist living in Orange County, Calif, who has been involved in the sport to some degree for three decades. He covers primarily sports car racing as a writer and photographer, with occasional forays into off-road and other forms of racing. A former editor of the SCCA’s publication, SportsCar, he has a special love for the grass-roots side of the sport and participates as a driver in amateur road racing.
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