Cadillac Whelen Leads Petit Le Mans Practice
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Cadillac Whelen driver Jack Aitken clocked the fastest lap in the initial practice session for the 28th annual Motul Petit Le Mans, running a time of 1:11.260 in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R. The session, held under mild, overcast conditions, showcased strong performances from the GTP class competitors.
Aitken’s lap placed him 0.411 seconds ahead of Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06, who registered a time of 1:11.671. Ross Gunn’s V12-powered No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie completed the top three with a commendable 1:11.959.
Rounding out the top five, Nick Yelloly in the No. 93 MSR Acura and Louis Delétraz in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac clocked in at 1:12.198 and 1:12.267, respectively. Championship co-leader Mathieu Jaminet captured the seventh spot in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.
In LMP2, championship leader Dane Cameron took the top time, completing his lap in 1:12.859 aboard the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA 07-Gibson. He was followed closely by Tom Dillmann in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA (1:12.958), and Sébastien Bourdais in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports entry.
The GTD PRO category saw a fierce battle, with Dan Harper in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO leading with a time of 1:19.615, just 0.022 seconds faster than Aaron Telitz in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3. In the GTD class, Philip Ellis drove the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 to a quick lap of 1:19.638, narrowly edging Kenton Koch’s No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari and Alessandro Pier Guidi’s No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari.
The session was marred by two red flag interruptions. The first, after a spin by John Potter in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin, and the second caused by a collision involving James Roe’s No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports ORECA and Robert Megennis’ Ferrari. Both the ORECA and Aston Martin will forfeit their fastest laps in qualifying as a consequence of the incidents.
Practice 2 is set to commence at 3:15 PM ET.
