Indianapolis Motor Speedway Practice Report: Acura Leads Ahead of Qualifying
Indianapolis, IN — The #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 clocked the fastest time across two practice sessions on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Tom Blomqvist achieving a groundbreaking 1:15.714 in Practice 2, marking him as the first GTP driver to break the 1:16 barrier.
Blomqvist’s performance overshadowed Ricky Taylor’s earlier time of 1:16.297 in the #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, with Nick Yelloly’s #93 Acura following closely in third at 1:16.352. Romain Grosjean piloted the #63 Lamborghini Squadra Corse SC63 to a commendable fourth with a 1:16.481, finishing ahead of the #24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 of Dries Vanthoor.
GTP Championship leader Matt Campbell experienced setbacks, being tagged by Sébastien Bourdais’ #8 Tower Motorsports ORECA LMP2 early in the session, damaging the right-rear of the Porsche 963 and resulting in a red flag. Consequently, Bourdais’ co-driver will be penalized by losing their fastest lap during qualifying.
In the LMP2 category, Nicklas Nielsen seized the fastest time with a 1:16.989 in the #88 AF Corse ORECA 07-Gibson, ahead of Hunter McElrea of TDS Racing and newcomer Logan Sargeant in the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports entry.
The GTD class saw Casper Stevenson topping the timesheets with a 1:23.624 in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, while Albert Costa led the GTD PRO category in the #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 at 1:23.720.
A notable incident concluded Practice 2 as a multi-car crash unfolded involving the #63 Lamborghini, #18 Era Motorsport ORECA, and #13 AWA Racing Corvette, resulting in all three vehicles sustaining damage.
Qualifying for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks is scheduled for 3:15 PM ET today and will be broadcasted globally via the official IMSA YouTube channel and IMSA.TV, while U.S. viewers can watch on Peacock.
Practice 2 Results Summary:
- GTP: Blomqvist (#60 Acura) 1:15.714, Taylor (#10 Cadillac) 1:16.297, Yelloly (#93 Acura) 1:16.352
- LMP2: Nielsen (#88 ORECA) 1:16.989, McElrea (#11 ORECA) 1:17.139, Sargeant (#52 ORECA) 1:17.225
- GTD: Stevenson (#27 Aston Martin) 1:23.624
- GTD PRO: Costa (#81 Ferrari) 1:23.720
Images © Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com