Long Beach IMSA: Nasr takes pole, Snow fastest in GTD

DPi

Filipe Albuquerque was the first driver to deliver a sub 1min13sec lap in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05, but pacesetter in practice Felipe Nasr eclipsed that by over 0.6sec in the Action Express Racing Cadillac, while Loic Duval spun his JDC Miller MotorSports Caddy at the final turn, the first-gear hairpin.

Yet both Nasr and Duval then delivered 1min11sec laps, just 0.144sec apart, a gap which then extended to 0.207sec when the former Formula 1 driver delivered a 1min11.620sec. Behind this pair, Kevin Magnussen made it a Cadillac 1-2-3, 0.347sec off the top, before further moving up to second.

He just might have snagged pole – he set a purple Sector 1 – but then out came the red flag for Oliver Jarvis skating into the Turn 9 tire wall and the need to retrieve him meant the red flag and checkered flag emerged, sealing Nasr his pole.

Behind the three Cadillacs, Dane Cameron – 0.820sec off the fastest Caddy – took fourth for Meyer Shank Racing ahead of WTR’s similar car. Oliver Jarvis lost his two best laps but the Mazda RT24-P was last at the time it crashed anyway.

GT Le Mans

Jordan Taylor was the first GTLM driver to lay down the gauntlet, setting a 1min17.638sec in the #3 Corvette. As he whittled that down to a 1min17.097sec, Tommy Milner in the #4 car closed to 0.205sec behind. Taylor then ducked under the 1min17sec barrier and came up 0.297sec short. Cooper MacNeil was 2.885sec short.

The session ended somewhat unsatisfyingly as a GTD runner brought out the red flag.

GT Daytona

There was a fine battle fought by the amateurs in the GTD class, between Madison Snow in Paul Miller Racing’s Lamborghini Huracan, Robbie Foley’s Turner Motorsports BMW M6, Zach Robichon in the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

And Snow it was who sent the Lambo to the top with a 1min19.475sec lap, 0.134sc ahead of Foley.

Then Richard Heistand threw in a great 1min19.707 for Carbahn Peregrine Racing Audi R8 to claim third ahead of Robichon.

In fifth, Daniel Mancinelli clocked fifth for Scuderia Corsa despite grazing a wall with the Ferrari 488 and also skipping and bumping into Turn 9 runoff.

Next up was Trent Hindman in the Wright Motorsports Porsche ahead of the two Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC Fs, split by Roman de Angelis in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.

That decided the grid for tomorrow afternoon’s race; then the Ams gave way for the Pros to claim points. And again, the PMR Lambo and Turner BMW were much to the fore. However, it was Laurens Vanthoor who moved to the top of the times with a 1min18.957sec lap, 0.148sec ahead of Bryan Sellers in the PMR car, while Jack Hawksworth delivered third fastest in the #14 VSR Lexus.

Bill Auberlen delivered P4 for Turner ahead of Ross Gunn’s HoR Aston. Pat Long, who topped the first two practice sessions for Wright Motorsports, might have improved on sixth, but came around Turn 8 to discover Alex Ribeiras’ Aston Martin broadside and trying to shuffle his car around the right way, and that brought out the red flag.