Deletraz keeps WTR Cadillac ahead in second Laguna IMSA practice

Louis Delètraz and Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing led the second practice session at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as they did yesterday afternoon.

For most of the 90-minute session, Dries Vanthoor in the No. 24 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 led the way with a 1m14.722s. Qualifying simulations then consumed the final 15 minutes, where Jack Aitken took his turn at the top, then Vanthoor.

But with six minutes to go, the black No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R of Delètraz leaped to P1 with a 1m14.183s, the fastest time of the weekend so far, 0.2s up on his Practice 1 time.

A late lap of 1m14.366s from the No. 24 WRT BMW of Vanthoor put the Belgian driver second on the leaderboard at the very end. Aitken stood on third place with his 1m14.688s aboard the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac.

Behind them, Nick Yelloly led the way for Acura Meyer Shank Racing in the No. 93 ARX-06, going fourth fastest, followed by the fastest Porsche 963, the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche of Laurin Heinrich in fifth.

There were no red flags this morning but there were a couple of incidents of note: Within the first 10 minutes on a cold track, Kévin Estre spun his No. 6 Penske Porsche and backed the rear of the car into the tire barrier down at Turn 5. He slowly drove back to the pits where Porsche Penske Motorsport mechanics completed repairs, allowing Estre and Laurens Vanthoor to get a meaningful session in.

With 15 minutes left, Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 WTR Cadillac had a very scary moment at the top of the Corkscrew when he slid off into the gravel while trying to pass the No. 25 WRT BMW. The Portuguese driver escaped the skid with no damage.

In GTD Pro, Jack Hawksworth put in two fast laps in the final minutes to take the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 to the top of the leaderboard. Hawksworth’s quick time of 1m21.945s was the first sub-1m22 lap of the weekend set in either GT category.

An encouraging sight for Pfaff Motorsports and Lamborghini came when Sandy Mitchell set the second-quickest time in the No. 9 Temerario GT3: A 1m22.240s put the new Temerario within a quarter-second of the well-established RC F.

The No. 3 and No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.Rs finished third and fourth to match their number plates, Antonio García ahead of Tommy Milner.

Conquest Racing led GTD, the second time that a Ferrari led a practice session this weekend. With Manny Franco on the sideline due to personal reasons this weekend, second-generation racer Lorenzo Patrese has stepped in and set a 1m22.072s to lead the class.

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It was a midship party in the top three: The No. 81 DragonSpeed Corvette of Giacomo Altoè in second, followed by the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Danny Formal in third.

Aaron Telitz went fourth quickest in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus.

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