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Motorsport

Sport

Daytona 24h: Vanthoor on pole for BMW in GTP

BMW Daytona Dries Vanthoor PJ Hyett Cadillac IMSA Porsche Andreas Beil Christian Rasmussen Daniel Goldburg

BMW snatched pole position for the Daytona 24 Hours during an interrupted qualifying session for this weekend's IMSA SportsCar Championship season-opener.

Dries Vanthoor jumped to the top of the times on his final lap in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh run by the Rahal team to knock Meyer Shank Racing Acura driver Nick Yelloly off pole.

Vanthoor’s 1m33.895s gave him a margin of nearly three tenths over former BMW driver Yelloly, who posted a 1m34.186s in the dramatic final stages of the 15-minute session on Thursday.

“It was not easy with the red flag; it made tyre warming a bit difficult,” said Vanthoor, who also set the fastest during last weekend’s official pre-event Roar test.

“We’ve been improving on that - it was a bit of a struggle point last year.

“Then it was about getting the lap together.”

Running was restricted when the #25 BMW with Sheldon van der Linde at the wheel stopped on track for so far undisclosed reasons at the end of the infield, resulting in a short stoppage while the clock continued to run.

Felipe Nasr took third for 2024 Daytona winner Porsche, his 1m34.280s in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry leaving him nearly four tenths off the pace.

Cadillac took a step forward from the Roar after a mid-week Balance of Performance change in which it has gained 20kW or 26bhp in its baseline power output, Jack Aitken taking fourth in the Action Express Racing entry.

The Briton’s 1m34.350s in the best of the Caddy V-Series.R LMDhs snuck him ahead of Gianmaria Bruni in the JDC-Miller Motorsports customer Porsche, which lapped in 1m34.374s.

Tom Blomqvist had sat at the top of the times starting his final lap on 1m34.432 in the #60 Shank Acura, but he was unable to improve after he came up Mirko Bortolotti in the solo Lamborghini SC63 LMDh as he swept up onto the banking after the infield.

The two cars appeared to make the lightest of contacts in the incident, which resulted in Blomqvist aborting his lap.

Filipe Albuquerque was fastest of the Wayne Taylor Racing entries on the multiple Daytona-winning team’s return to Cadillac.

The Portuguese driver took seventh with a 1m34.933s, which was just two hundredths ahead of team-mate Louis Deletraz.

Bortolotti was ninth fastest in the Lambo, while the second PPM entry was tenth in Matt Campbell’s hands.

#40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V- Series.R: Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Alex Lynn, Kamui Kobayashi (Photo by: James Gilbert - Motorsport Images)

United Autosports topped the times in LMP2 with its #22 ORECA-Gibson 07 driven by Daniel Goldburg.

A 1m38.676s from the American gave him a margin of just over three tenths ahead of Ben Keating.

The PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports driver looked on course for a sixth consecutive P2 pole with a 1m39.000s before he was demoted to second by Goldburg.

Nick Boulle made it a 1-3 qualifying result for United with 1m39.203s in the team’s #2 entry.

He benefitted from the demotion of PJ Hyett in the AO Racing ORECA after he lost his fastest two lap times for causing the session to be red-flagged in its final seconds.

Hyett dropped to sixth behind Chris Cumming and Steven Thomas in their respective Pratt Miller Motorsports and TDS Racing ORECAs.

#99 AO Racing, ORECA LMP2 07: PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron, Jonny Edgar, Christian Rasmussen (Photo by: James Gilbert - Motorsport Images)

Ford blocked out the front row in GT Daytona Pro with its Mustang GT3, Mike Rockenfeller leading the way from Frederic Vervisch.

Rockenfeller set two laps good enough for the pole, ending up on a 1m45.523s in the #64 Multimatic Motorsport entry.

That gave him an advantage of three tenths over Vervisch’s 1m45.855s in the sister #65 car.

BMW took third place with Dan Harper in the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo with a 1m46.005s.

Alexander Sims was just seven thousandths behind on 1m46.012s in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.GT3.

Lamborghini ended up fifth with the Pfaff Motorsport Huracan GT3 EVO2 driven by Andrea Caldarelli ahead of Tommy Milner in the #4 Corvette Racing entry.

Porsche claimed class honours in the regular GTD class with Elliott Skeer driving the Wright Motorsports 911 GT3-R.

#120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992): Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, Tom Sargent, Ayhancan Guven (Photo by: Andreas Beil)

A 1m46.634s gave the American, winner of the GT World Challenge America last year, the top spot by less than two hundredths of a second over Philip Ellis in the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Trent Hindman was just six thousandths behind in third aboard the Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

The Rolex 24 meeting at Daytona resumes at 18:30 local time with the 90-minute night practice session.


Cla	Drivers	#	Chassis	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	R. Marciello K. Magnussen D. Vanthoor P. Eng BMW M Team RLL	24	BMW M Hybrid V8	6	1'33.895		136.493
2	K. Ohta A. Palou N. Yelloly R. van der Zande Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian	93	Acura ARX-06	6	+0.291 1'34.186	0.291	136.071
3	F. Nasr L. Vanthoor N. Tandy Porsche Penske Motorsport	7	Porsche 963	6	+0.385 1'34.280	0.094	135.936
4	E. Bamber F. Drugovich F. Vesti J. Aitken Cadillac Whelen	31	Cadillac V-Series.R	6	+0.455 1'34.350	0.070	135.835
5	G. Bruni B. Aron P. Wehrlein T. van der Helm JDC/Miller Motorsports	85	Porsche 963	6	+0.479 1'34.374	0.024	135.800
6	F. Rosenqvist S. Dixon C. Braun T. Blomqvist Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian	60	Acura ARX-06	5	+0.537 1'34.432	0.058	135.717
7	B. Hartley W. Stevens F. Albuquerque R. Taylor Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing	10	Cadillac V-Series.R	6	+1.038 1'34.933	0.501	135.000
8	K. Kobayashi A. Lynn L. Deletraz J. Taylor Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing	40	Cadillac V-Series.R	6	+1.040 1'34.935	0.002	134.998
9	E. Mortara D. Kvyat R. Grosjean M. Bortolotti Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse	63	Lamborghini SC63	6	+2.365 1'36.260	1.325	133.139
10	K. Estre M. Campbell M. Jaminet Porsche Penske Motorsport	6	Porsche 963	4	+2.681 1'36.576	0.316	132.704
11	R. Lindh J. Allen P. di Resta D. Goldburg United Autosports USA	22	ORECA LMP2 07	8	+4.781 1'38.676	2.100	129.880
12	M. Beche B. Pedersen B. Keating R. Sales PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports	52	ORECA LMP2 07	10	+5.105 1'39.000	0.324	129.455
13	O. Jarvis B. Hanley G. Patterson N. Boulle United Autosports USA	2	ORECA LMP2 07	7	+5.308 1'39.203	0.203	129.190
14	C. Cumming C. Ilott J. Roe P. Fittipaldi Pratt Miller Motorsports	73	ORECA LMP2 07	8	+5.322 1'39.217	0.014	129.171
15	C. Milesi H. McElrea M. Jensen T. Steven TDS Racing	11	ORECA LMP2 07	10	+5.494 1'39.389	0.172	128.948
16	C. Rasmussen J. Edgar D. Cameron P. Hyett AO Racing	99	ORECA LMP2 07	7	+5.705 1'39.600	0.211	128.675
17	M. Vaxiviere N. Nielsen M. Dylan L. Perez Companc Af Corse	88	ORECA LMP2 07	10	+5.859 1'39.754	0.154	128.476
18	C. Herta T. Sowery M. Jakobsen G. Kurtz Crowdstrike Racing by APR	04	ORECA LMP2 07	10	+5.973 1'39.868	0.114	128.329
19	A. Felix da Costa B. Garg J. Field T. Dillmann Inter Europol Competition	43	ORECA LMP2 07	10	+6.506 1'40.401	0.533	127.648
20	T. Lutke R. Dalziel D. Heinemeier Hansson P. Chatin Era Motorsport	18	ORECA LMP2 07	10	+7.263 1'41.158	0.757	126.693
21	J. Van Uitert S. Bourdais S. Alvarez J. Farano Tower Motorsports	8	ORECA LMP2 07	10	+7.349 1'41.244	0.086	126.585
22	A. Cindric S. Priaulx M. Rockenfeller Ford Multimatic Motorsports	64	Ford Mustang GT3	6	+11.628 1'45.523	4.279	121.452
23	F. Vervisch D. Olsen C. Mies Ford Multimatic Motorsports	65	Ford Mustang GT3	7	+11.960 1'45.855	0.332	121.071
24	A. Farfus M. Hesse J. Krohn D. Harper Paul Miller Racing	48	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	4	+12.110 1'46.005	0.150	120.900
25	A. Sims D. Juncadella A. Garcia Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports	3	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	9	+12.117 1'46.012	0.007	120.892
26	J. Hinchcliffe M. Mapelli J. Pepper A. Caldarelli Pfaff Motorsports	9	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	7	+12.241 1'46.136	0.124	120.751
27	N. Varrone N. Catsburg T. Milner Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports	4	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	9	+12.550 1'46.445	0.309	120.400
28	A. Picariello K. Bachler L. Heinrich AO Racing	77	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	9	+12.644 1'46.539	0.094	120.294
29	S. van Gisbergen S. McLaughlin C. Zilisch B. Keating Trackhouse by TF Sport	91	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	8	+12.684 1'46.579	0.040	120.249
30	J. Gounon M. Engel M. Grenier K. Habul 75 Express	75	Mercedes-AMG GT3	6	+12.718 1'46.613	0.034	120.210
31	A. Güven T. Sargent E. Skeer A. Adelson Wright Motorsports	120	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	9	+12.739 1'46.634	0.021	120.187
32	M. Sorensen R. De Angelis A. Riberas R. Gunn Heart Of Racing Team	007	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	5	+12.751 1'46.646	0.012	120.173
33	R. Ward P. Ellis L. Auer I. Dontje Winward Racing	57	Mercedes-AMG GT3	7	+12.757 1'46.652	0.006	120.167
34	L. Stolz F. Schiller M. Martin T. Bartone GetSpeed	69	Mercedes-AMG GT3	9	+12.758 1'46.653	0.001	120.165
35	K. Marcelli G. Doyle T. Hindman D. Formal Wayne Taylor Racing	45	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	7	+12.763 1'46.658	0.005	120.160
36	K. Kirkwood F. Montecalvo P. Thompson J. Hawksworth Vasser Sullivan Racing	12	Lexus RC F GT3	7	+12.893 1'46.788	0.130	120.013
37	P. Kligerman F. Perera M. Farnbacher M. Goikhberg Forte Racing	78	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	9	+12.910 1'46.805	0.017	119.994
38	A. McIntosh V. Hasse-Clot R. van M. Robin van der Steur Racing	19	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	7	+12.956 1'46.851	0.046	119.943
39	T. Neubauer M. Molina D. Rigon A. Costa DragonSpeed	81	Ferrari 296 GT3	7	+12.963 1'46.858	0.007	119.935
40	C. Stevenson M. Drudi Z. Robichon T. Gamble Heart Of Racing Team	27	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	4	+13.010 1'46.905	0.047	119.882
41	D. Fumanelli O. Millroy F. Schandorff B. Iribe Inception Racing	70	Ferrari 296 GT3	7	+13.033 1'46.928	0.023	119.856
42	G. Altoè C. Sbirrazzuoli D. Serra M. Franco Conquest Racing	34	Ferrari 296 GT3	9	+13.064 1'46.959	0.031	119.822
43	K. van der Linde C. de Phillippi N. Verhagen M. Snow Paul Miller Racing	1	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	6	+13.068 1'46.963	0.004	119.817
44	K. Gaillard M. Gatting R. Frey S. Bovy Iron Dames	83	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	7	+13.086 1'46.981	0.018	119.797
45	R. Lietz T. Preining M. Cressoni C. Schiavoni Proton Competition	20	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	6	+13.220 1'47.115	0.134	119.647
46	J. Calado M. Skeen S. McAleer S. Monk Triarsi Competizione	021	Ferrari 296 GT3	7	+13.294 1'47.189	0.074	119.565
47	N. Thiim S. Pumpelly A. Lally J. Potter Magnus Racing	44	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	9	+13.385 1'47.280	0.091	119.463
48	J. Klingmann J. Walker P. Gallagher R. Foley Turner Motorsport	96	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	8	+13.386 1'47.281	0.001	119.462
49	T. Bell K. Kirkwood A. Telitz B. Barnicoat Vasser Sullivan Racing	14	Lexus RC F GT3	7	+13.386 1'47.281	0.000	119.462
50	K. Cozzolino A. Pier Guidi L. Wadoux S. Mann Af Corse	21	Ferrari 296 GT3	9	+13.487 1'47.382	0.101	119.350
51	P. Derani C. Eastwood A. Udell S. Yoluc DXDT Racing	36	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	9	+13.697 1'47.592	0.210	119.117
52	M. Kirchhofer L. Kern M. Bell O. Fidani AWA	13	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	8	+14.439 1'48.334	0.742	118.301
53	H. Tincknell T. Calderon T. Bechtolsheimer J. Hand Gradient Racing	66	Ford Mustang GT3	8	+14.486 1'48.381	0.047	118.250
54	R. Aron E. Filgueiras S. Andrews D. Knox Lone Star Racing	80	Mercedes-AMG GT3	8	+14.557 1'48.452	0.071	118.172
55	A. Fuoco L. Patrese N. Lacorte R. Lacorte Cetilar Racing	47	Ferrari 296 GT3	8	+14.663 1'48.558	0.106	118.057
56	C. Laursen A. Leclerc R. Agostini C. Toledo Af Corse	50	Ferrari 296 GT3	8	+15.761 1'49.656	1.098	116.875
57	M. Götz D. Morad K. Koch S. Lucas Korthoff Competition Motors	32	Mercedes-AMG GT3	8	+19.310 1'53.205	3.549	113.211
58	J. Andlauer N. Pino T. Vautier N. Jani Proton Competition	5	Porsche 963	0
59	E. Cheever A. Rovera C. Scardina O. Triarsi Triarsi Competizione	023	Ferrari 296 GT3	0
60	R. Rast R. Frijns S. Van Der Linde M. Wittmann BMW M Team RLL	25	BMW M Hybrid V8	1
61	F. Massa J. Burdon F. Fraga G. Robinson Riley	74	ORECA LMP2 07	10
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