IMSA Monterey SportsCar Weekend: Practice Round Summary
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca— BMW M Team RLL demonstrated impressive pace during the second practice session for the IMSA Monterey SportsCar Weekend. Dries Vanthoor clocked the fastest lap in GTP, piloting the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 to a time of 1m13.915s, setting the benchmark for qualifying. Vanthoor, who has secured three pole positions in three previous rounds this season, looks poised to continue this trend.
Matt Campbell recorded the second-fastest time in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, finishing just 0.036s adrift of Vanthoor’s leading time. The session faced interruptions, with two red flags hampering progress. The first was caused by Nick Yelloly’s spin in the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06, while the second occurred after Misha Goikhberg’s No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini also ended up in a sandy trap at Turn 3.
Philipp Eng in the No. 24 BMW encountered issues when Tommy Milner’s No. 4 Corvette made contact, though he managed to continue. The No. 25 RLL BMW, driven by Sheldon van der Linde, ended up third, followed by Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 MSR Acura and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Penske Porsche. Notably, Nasr’s co-driver Nick Tandy returned to the pits with an open door, indicating a possible technical issue still under investigation.
In the GTD PRO category, Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Corvettes dominated, with Nicky Catsburg’s No. 4 securing the fastest time at 1m21.187s, followed closely by Alexander Sims in the No. 3. DragonSpeed’s No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 placed third; the car briefly emitted smoke during the session but continued after a quick fix. Rounding out the top five were the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini and the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus.
Kenton Koch led in GTD, setting a time of 1m21.502s in the No. 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, followed by the No. 45 WTR Lamborghini and the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus. Robert Wickens of DXDT Racing achieved a personal best of 1m22.596s in his specially equipped No. 36 Corvette GT3.R, completing 45 laps throughout the session.
Upcoming: Qualifying for the Monterey SportsCar Championship is scheduled for 3:15 PM local time, streaming on Peacock in the U.S. and via the IMSA YouTube channel and IMSA.TV globally.
Results Summary:
- GTP Fastest: No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 – Dries Vanthoor (1m13.915s)
- GTD PRO Fastest: No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Nicky Catsburg (1m21.187s)
- GTD Fastest: No. 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO – Kenton Koch (1m21.502s)
The field is set for an exciting qualifying session as teams prepare for the main event at Laguna Seca.
