Four manufacturers in two first rows of GTP class

IMSA

Jan 24

The scheduled 15-minute qualifying session, that was reduced to 5:50 of green flag running because of a red flag early on, delivered a mix of the four manufacturers in the two first rows with Dries Vanthoor in #24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 clinching pole in 1:33.895

📷 © Luc Warnotte. BMW, Porsche and Acura are the top 3 of qualifying session today at Daytona.

Four manufacturers in two first rows of GTP class

After driving the fastest lap during ROAR before ROLEX 24, The longest of the Vanthoor brothers in #24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 he’ll share with Philipp Eng, Kevin Magnussen, and Raffaele Marciello confirmed BMW M Hybrid V8 velocity at Daytona International Speedway by driving a flying lap 0.291 seconds faster than competition.

Dries Vanthoor (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team RLL): “I am very pleased to have secured the first pole position with the BMW M Hybrid V8. It's a great result and a deserved reward for the hard work of everyone involved in this project. It's a good start to the season that we can be proud of. But for the race, pole position doesn't say much. We will continue to give our all to have a reason to celebrate on Sunday as well.” Source: BMW Group

📷 © Courtesy of Luc Warnotte at Daytona. #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian ARX-06.

Nick Yelloly led the way for Acura in qualifying for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, putting his #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian ARX-06 second on the grid for the twice-round-the-clock classic.

Nick Yelloly (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Qualified 2nd: "My very first Acura qualifying and we're lining up on the front row for Daytona, which is nice. There was a bit of confusion regarding the amount of time we had left, so it was lucky that I started to get on with it when I did, because in the middle of the lap they said it was the last lap and I thought I had two or three more. Let's say the racing gods helped us out a little bit there, but the car felt nice. I still think there's more in it. Now we just have to concentrate on the race. Happy for all the MSR and the HRC crew to get a good start to the season in terms of qualifying, but the points are mostly in the race!" Source: Acura

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona. Felipe Nasr in #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 during qualifying.

Felipe Nasr was third quickest with the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “We did a good job. Third place is absolutely fine. After the red flag, I had to get the tyres into the optimal operating window as quickly as possible. That worked well, but it was still challenging. On the first lap, the car felt like it was on ice – but that was the same for everyone. Now, our focus is entirely on the race: we need to ensure we have a consistently fast car for Saturday and Sunday.” Source: Porsche

Jack Aitken, driving the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, led the Cadillac contingent with a best lap of 1:34.350 on the 12-turn Daytona International Speedway course.

Jack Aitken, #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R (best lap of 1:34.350): “I was happy and it’s a pretty good place to start. We’re hopefully going to be in the mix in the front the start of the race. It was a bit of a weird session, very truncated and I didn’t get many laps in. I had to make that last lap count. The car felt really nice, so I think we’re in a solid position. We have a few more sessions to work on things and build a solid racecar.” Source: Cadillac Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona. #85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963.

Gianmaria Bruni drove the #85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 in fifth of GTP class.

Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 963 #85): “It was a mini-qualifying. With such limited time, it’s not easy to set a competitive lap. However, everything came together well for us, and we maximized our potential. I’m satisfied with the result and optimistic for the race ahead. Our comparably small team is doing a fantastic job.” Source: Porsche

Next days WeatherTech schedule

Friday, January 24, 2025 WeatherTech Championship’s sessions are programmed as follow:

Practice 3 from 11:20 AM to 12:20 AM ET

The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with qualifying on Thursday, January 23. The race will feature live television segments on NBC and USA and flag-to-flag coverage on Peacock in the U.S., and IMSA.com for international viewers.

Four manufacturers in two first rows of GTP class

Four manufacturers in two first rows of GTP class

Ford Mustang GT3 on the front row of GTD Pro field

BMW M Hybrid V8 performed well at ROAR