Friday’s one-hour practice session on the Daytona International Speedway road course saw only 6 of the 59 entered teams skip the chance to make final adjustments, scrub in some tires and practice vital pit stops for the IMSA endurance racing season opener tomorrow.
NBC network’s live coverage of the 62nd Rolex 24 begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday – the BS stops when the green flag drops at 1:40 p.m. ET. Then, alas, coverage changes to the USA Network from 2:30-8 p.m., 10 p.m.-midnight and then again from 6 a.m.-noon Sunday. NBC has the race conclusion airing from noon-2 p.m. Sunday. Full race streaming coverage is also available on Peacock. The NFL, NHL or MLB would never treat fans like this.
Cadillac set the pace for the fourth straight time over the last two days of practice sessions. Today, Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, turned the best lap Friday morning of 1 minute, 35.983 seconds (133.523 mph). Along with the other No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac (Chip Ganassi Racing), the two Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars have ruled every session in this week’s warm settings. Pipo Derani put the No. 31 on the pole last Sunday when it was colder. Aitken today was 0.239 seconds better than Connor De Phillippi in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8. Aitken’s run today was the sixth-best lap overall for the four practices. Chip Ganassi Racing entries have won eight Rolex 24 wins. Six of those were overall in the top prototype class, However, but last came in 2015. Full disclosure, AutoInformed is pulling for Chip.
Mikkel Jensen was fastest in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class with a 1:39.078 lap (129.352 mph) in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 that ranked as best through all the practices this week.
The GTP field has grown from last year’s eight entries to 10 entries with privateers JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition. Spare parts were at such a premium a year ago that door-handle-to door-handle racing was risky. Not this year, there will be real racing the green to checkered flags.
Practice and qualifying saw Cadillac and Porsche atop the time sheets, with the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R taking pole position just ahead of the similar No. 01 Cadillac Racing entry. The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 and the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 grabbed the second row ahead of the Nos. 10 and 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06s owning the third row. The
Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 driven by Tandy placed the No. 6 sixth on the speed chart Friday with a lap of 1:37.456. Conventional racing wisdom (ignoring the 24 hour length)would have that with just 0.7 seconds covering the top six and the nine qualifiers (the Proton Porsche did not post a time after a crashing in the final practice) separated by less than a second, there is little to choose between the four marques. Indeed, while Cadillac and Porsche led the way in every session, BMW was always in the top three. And, ahem, Acura is the defending champion. The No. 85 JDC-Miller Porsche set the pace in the fourth practice session on Friday just ahead of Proton’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Porsche. The privateer Porsches could be leading on Sunday afternoon.
The Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes in the final practice saw Thomas Preining with the fastest lap in the No. 43 Andretti Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (1:47.072/119.695 mph). However, he was almost matched by GTD PRO leader Matteo Cairoli in the No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 (1:47.239/119.508 mph).
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Daytona Time – Rolex 24 Runs Saturday and Sunday
Friday’s one-hour practice session on the Daytona International Speedway road course saw only 6 of the 59 entered teams skip the chance to make final adjustments, scrub in some tires and practice vital pit stops for the IMSA endurance racing season opener tomorrow.
NBC network’s live coverage of the 62nd Rolex 24 begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday – the BS stops when the green flag drops at 1:40 p.m. ET. Then, alas, coverage changes to the USA Network from 2:30-8 p.m., 10 p.m.-midnight and then again from 6 a.m.-noon Sunday. NBC has the race conclusion airing from noon-2 p.m. Sunday. Full race streaming coverage is also available on Peacock. The NFL, NHL or MLB would never treat fans like this.
Cadillac set the pace for the fourth straight time over the last two days of practice sessions. Today, Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, turned the best lap Friday morning of 1 minute, 35.983 seconds (133.523 mph). Along with the other No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac (Chip Ganassi Racing), the two Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars have ruled every session in this week’s warm settings. Pipo Derani put the No. 31 on the pole last Sunday when it was colder. Aitken today was 0.239 seconds better than Connor De Phillippi in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8. Aitken’s run today was the sixth-best lap overall for the four practices. Chip Ganassi Racing entries have won eight Rolex 24 wins. Six of those were overall in the top prototype class, However, but last came in 2015. Full disclosure, AutoInformed is pulling for Chip.
Mikkel Jensen was fastest in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class with a 1:39.078 lap (129.352 mph) in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 that ranked as best through all the practices this week.
The GTP field has grown from last year’s eight entries to 10 entries with privateers JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition. Spare parts were at such a premium a year ago that door-handle-to door-handle racing was risky. Not this year, there will be real racing the green to checkered flags.
Practice and qualifying saw Cadillac and Porsche atop the time sheets, with the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R taking pole position just ahead of the similar No. 01 Cadillac Racing entry. The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 and the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 grabbed the second row ahead of the Nos. 10 and 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06s owning the third row. The
Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 driven by Tandy placed the No. 6 sixth on the speed chart Friday with a lap of 1:37.456. Conventional racing wisdom (ignoring the 24 hour length)would have that with just 0.7 seconds covering the top six and the nine qualifiers (the Proton Porsche did not post a time after a crashing in the final practice) separated by less than a second, there is little to choose between the four marques. Indeed, while Cadillac and Porsche led the way in every session, BMW was always in the top three. And, ahem, Acura is the defending champion. The No. 85 JDC-Miller Porsche set the pace in the fourth practice session on Friday just ahead of Proton’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Porsche. The privateer Porsches could be leading on Sunday afternoon.
The Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes in the final practice saw Thomas Preining with the fastest lap in the No. 43 Andretti Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (1:47.072/119.695 mph). However, he was almost matched by GTD PRO leader Matteo Cairoli in the No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 (1:47.239/119.508 mph).
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.