Tower Motorsports Leads Opening Practice at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Tower Motorsports dominated the first practice session for the IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with Renger van der Zande stepping in for Sebastien Bourdais, who is occupied with commitments in Brazil. Van der Zande recorded the fastest lap of the session at 1m08.402s in the No. 8 ORECA 07-Gibson, positioning himself at the top of the LMP2 class.
United Autosports USA showcased strong performances with their two entries, finishing second and fourth. Ben Hanley in the No. 2 car clocked a time three-tenths slower than van der Zande, while substitute driver Tom Blomqvist in the No. 22 entry was just behind. Dane Cameron in the No. 99 AO Racing vehicle claimed the third position.
The session was marred by a red flag following a crash by TDS Racing’s Steven Thomas, who went off at Turn 1, sustaining significant damage to his car but emerging unhurt.
In other changes ahead of the weekend, PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports announced a driver swap: Nick Boulle and Benjamin Pedersen replace Rodrigo Sales and Mathias Beche, respectively.
In GTD PRO, the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, featuring a distinctive red and black livery, was fastest with Andrea Caldarelli recording a lap time of 1m15.580s. He led Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R by nearly half a second, despite recent Balance of Performance adjustments that increased the Lamborghini’s weight and reduced its power.
Vasser Sullivan Racing had a strong showing, with Jack Hawksworth’s No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 leading the GTD class and sitting just behind Catsburg. He was closely followed by Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 Lexus, whose time was separated by a mere five-thousandths of a second. The top three in GTD included the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3.
Practice 2 is scheduled for tomorrow at 10:35 AM ET.
