Van der Linde takes turn up front for BMW in Roar session 4

BMW’s time at the top of the timing screens continued in Session 4 at Daytona this afternoon, with the No. 25 M Hybrid V8 finishing the hour-long session first, following a 1m36.196s from Sheldon van der Linde.

It was a 1-2 on this occasion for the RLL team, with Dries Vanthoor putting the No. 24 second with a 1m36.600s.

“It’s positive to see that all the hard work over the winter is paying off,” van der Linde said after the session. “It’s only the Roar -- we know a lot of people are sandbagging quite a lot, but it’s a good way to start the event. The car feels good.

“We didn’t know where we would be, and everyone’s doing something different with programs. But we expect to be stronger this year. The team has taken steps forward, with new engineers bringing the knowledge of other cars over.”

The two Penske Porsches came closest to breaking the deadlock, with Mathieu Jaminet putting the No. 6 third and Nick Tandy steering the No. 7 963 to fourth with 1m36.9s and 1m37.1s laps respectively.

The No. 40 WTR Cadillac completed the top five, with Jordan Taylor logging the car’s fastest time, a 1m1:37.237s.

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In LMP2, Tom Dillmann reeled off a 1m40.272s in the Inter Europol ORECA to lead the way. Reigning GTP drivers’ champion Dane Cameron was also quick, putting the AO Racing "Spike" ORECA second with a near-identical time -- 1m40.279s.

Elsewhere in the class the No. 22 United Autosports 07 suffered the first significant incident of the Roar. Dan Goldburg lost the rear of the car at the Le Mans Chicane and ended up sliding sideways into the tires on driver’s left.

The impact, took the rear wing off the car, though overall the damage looked relatively minor when the car was lifted onto its flatbed during the subsequent red flag period.

Lamborghini looked strong again in GTD. Andrea Caldarelli set the best time in the GTD PRO-entered No. 9 Pfaff Huracan, a 1m48.049s.

The GTD pacesetter was Michelle Gatting in the Iron Dames Porsche. The Dane’s best lap was a 1m48.173s. Stevan McAleer in the No. 021 Triarsi Ferrari would end up third and within a tenth of Bovy.

The third and final session of the day will see the cars run in darkness from 6:30pm ET.

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