Gurney, Liddell Quick in Wet Opening Practice at Detroit
Gurney turned a fast lap of 75.41 mph (1 minute, 39.3 seconds) in a Corvette DP on the extremely wet 2.1-mile street course to lead the Daytona Prototype class. Richard Westbrook was second with Joao Barbosa third in a 1-2-3 sweep by Corvette DPs.
Robin Liddell was fastest in the Grand Touring (GT) class and eighth-fastest overall, driving a Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R.
Drivers tiptoed through driving rain on the Belle Isle layout early in the first session, abandoning the preferred racing line at certain points to avoid puddles.
Despite the severe conditions, incidents were relatively scarce. Dion von Moltke spun the APR Motorsport Audi R8 on the main straightaway 10 minutes into the session but managed to continue. The No. 70 Mazda RX-8 SpeedSource entry of Sylvain Tremblay and Jonathan Bomarito stalled after sloshing through standing water on pit road.
Qualifying for both classes is scheduled later Friday at 5:05 p.m. ET. Saturday's race is also scheduled for a 5:05 p.m. ET start.
Friday, June 1, 2012 – Practice 1 Report
8:35 a.m. – 10:35 a.m
Daytona Prototype Top 3:
* Alex Gurney – No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP – 1:39.300 (75.408 mph)
* Richard Westbrook – No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP – 1:40.063 (74.833 mph)
* Joao Barbosa – No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP – 1:40.473 (74.527 mph)
GT Top 3:
* Robin Liddell – No. 57 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro GT.R – 1:43.145 (72.597 mph)
* Bill Auberlen – No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 – 1:45.163 (71.204 mph)
* Jordan Taylor – No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R – 1:48.535 (68.992 mph)