Porsche Penske Motorsport Tops Final Practice Ahead of Rolex 24 at Daytona
Porsche Penske Motorsport secured the fastest time in the final practice session for the 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona, with Laurens Vanthoor clocking a lap of 1:36.475 in the #6 Porsche 963 just before the session concluded.
The 75-minute practice session began with a 15-minute run for Bronze drivers, where Henrik Hedman’s #81 DragonSpeed Corvette spun at the Le Mans Chicane, leading to an early red flag. Chris Cumming of Pratt Miller Motorsports emerged as the fastest Bronze driver, posting a time of 1:41.623. In GT classes, Kenny Habul piloted the #75 Express Mercedes-AMG to a best of 1:47.160.
Following the Bronze session, Vanthoor’s impressive lap dethroned the #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R of Ricky Taylor, who had earlier set a time of 1:36.571. The #24 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Dries Vanthoor, completed the top three with a time of 1:36.790.
In LMP2, Charles Milesi of TDS Racing led with a 1:39.909 in his #11 ORECA 07-Gibson, while Enzo Fittipaldi and Grégoire Saucy followed in second and third, respectively.
The fastest GTD Pro entry was the #75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, with Maro Engel achieving a best of 1:46.251. The top four GTD Pro finishers were rounded out by Max Hesse (#1 Paul Miller BMW), Andrea Caldarelli (#9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini), and Dean MacDonald (#59 RLL Team McLaren).
In GTD, a Corvette sweep saw Scott McLaughlin in the #36 DXDT Racing Z06 GT3.R claim the top spot with a time of 1:47.155, followed by Giacomo Altoè (#81 DragonSpeed Corvette) and Matt Bell (#13 Autosport Corvette).
The session was marred by additional red flags, including incidents involving Jon Field’s #37 Intersport Racing ORECA and the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.
The 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona will commence tomorrow at 1:40 PM ET. Teams are poised for what promises to be an exciting endurance race.
Images © Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com
