Blomqvist leads for MSR Acura as Rolex 24 practice begins

Acura Meyer Shank Racing bounced back from a muted performance at the Roar Before The 24 to top the timesheets in the first official practice session for the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Two-time Rolex 24 winner Tom Blomqvist in the black and orange No. 60 Acura ARX-06 set the fastest time with less than 30 minutes left in the 90-minute session, setting a 1m35.415s, to put him ahead of two-time and defending Daytona-winning squad Porsche Penske Motorsport’s two cars.

It was Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 that went second-fastest with a 1m35.520s, nearly matched by two-time winner Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Penske Porsche who set a 1m35.534s.

The best lap from Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R wasn’t far behind as the two-time overall winner set a 1m35.561s, fourth fastest in GTP.

Dries Vanthoor completed the top five in the No. 24 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, but it was a tough session for the No. 25 WRT BMW – it did only five laps, and missed significant time with a hybrid system problem.

The No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie was 10th fastest in GTP – Ross Gunn’s best time was 1.9 seconds back of Blomqvist’s best, going into qualifying this afternoon.

Formula E championship leader Nick Cassidy set the fastest time in LMP2 aboard the No. 343 Inter Europol Competition ORECA 07-Gibson. Cassidy’s best time was a 1m39.764s. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the No. 343 car, which had to serve a 60-second stop-and-go penalty for failing to serve a drive-through penalty in a timely manner. It was one of 21 cars given a drive-through penalty for teams setting up their pit equipment earlier than allowed.

Alex Quinn in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR car was second quickest, then Pietro Fittipaldi in the No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports car in third, and Mikkel Jensen in the No. 2 United Autosports USA car in fourth.

GTD PRO newcomer Triarsi Competizione made a statement by setting the best time in its class. The upgraded No. 033 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo set a 1m46.348s with Alessio Rovera behind the wheel to top the session.

Dean MacDonald was second quickest in the orange No. 59 RLL Team McLaren 720S GT3 EVO. Defending GTD PRO race winner Frederic Vervisch was third in the No. 65 Ford Racing Mustang GT3, followed by Maro Engel in the 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO.

In GTD, Valentin Hasse-Clot led the way in the No. 19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with a 1m46.325s – fastest of all the GT cars in both classes.

Antonio Fuoco went second fastest in the No. 21 AF Corse USA Ferrari, followed by Nicki Thiim in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin, and Frederik Schandorff in the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari.

Qualifying for the Rolex 24 At Daytona starts this afternoon at 2:10pm ET.

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