No. 24 BMW tops interrupted second practice at Road America

Motul SportsCar Grand Prix: Second Practice Report

The No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Dries Vanthoor, topped the charts in the second practice session for the Motul SportsCar Grand Prix at Road America with a time of 1:49.676. This session was disrupted for nearly 20 minutes due to a red flag after a collision involving Marco Mapelli’s No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 and Benjamin Pedersen’s No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA 07, which left Mapelli’s Lamborghini damaged against a concrete barrier. The incident was attributed to Mapelli, resulting in the loss of his best qualifying time, conditional on the car’s repair before the afternoon session at 4:40 PM CT.

Following the resumption, Nick Yelloly registered the fastest GTP time for the No. 93 Acura at 1:49.682, before Vanthoor narrowly eclipsed this mark just before the checkered flag. The No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde followed in third, achieving the first sub-1:50 lap of the weekend with a time of 1:49.843.

In the LMP2 category, Malthe Jakobsen of Algarve Pro Racing set the pace with a time of 1:52.823, edging out compatriot Mikkel Jensen by a mere 29 milliseconds. Third place went to Dane Cameron in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports dominated GTD PRO, with Alexander Sims leading in the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R at 2:04.247, followed by the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 in second. The No. 9 Pfaff Lamborghini rounded out the top five in this category.

In GTD, Onofrio Triarsi’s No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 claimed the quickest time at 2:04.866. Danny Formal and Matthew Bell followed in the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini and the No. 13 AWA Corvette, respectively. Notably, Robert Wickens finished tenth in GTD in his hand-controlled No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette.

Key Times

• GTP:

  • 1. Dries Vanthoor (No. 24 BMW) – 1:49.676
  • 1. Nick Yelloly (No. 93 Acura) – 1:49.682
  • 1. Sheldon van der Linde (No. 25 BMW) – 1:49.843

• LMP2:

  • 1. Malthe Jakobsen (No. 04 ORECA) – 1:52.823
  • 1. Mikkel Jensen (No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA) – +0.029s
  • 1. Dane Cameron (No. 99 AO Racing ORECA) – position unknown

• GTD PRO:

  • 1. Alexander Sims (No. 3 Corvette) – 2:04.247
  • 1. No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari – position unknown
  • 1. No. 4 Corvette – position unknown
• GTD:
  • 1. Onofrio Triarsi (No. 021 Ferrari) – 2:04.866
  • 1. Danny Formal (No. 45 Lamborghini) – position unknown
  • 1. Matthew Bell (No. 13 AWA Corvette) – position unknown

This session sets the stage for an intense qualifying at Road America, with teams racing against the clock to secure optimal grid positions ahead of the main event.