IMSA: Not taking 2nd set of tires cost Ricky Taylor the Rolex 24 pole

Defending Rolex 24 at Daytona and series champions – Acura and Meyer Shank Racing – got their 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season off to a strong start Sunday, with driver Tom Blomqvist putting together a last-lap “flyer” in qualifying aboard his electrified Acura ARX-06 to claim the pole for next weekend’s 61st running of the 24-hour endurance race at Daytona International Speedway.

The qualifying session capped a weekend of full-field IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship testing, known as “The Roar Before the 24” and set the grid for the 61-car field that will be running next weekend’s twice-around-the-clock endurance contest.

In a session marked by a brief stoppage to clear debris from another competitor’s crash, Blomqvist took advantage of a fresh set of Michelin tires to vault to pole as the checkered flag fell to end the 15-minute qualifying. The pole position is the first for any manufacturer in the new hybrid-powered GTP era of IMSA competition, and the second consecutive pole at Daytona for Acura.

Last year’s pole qualifier, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, will start third. Driver Ricky Taylor led the opening half of qualifying, but his team elected to use only one set of tires for qualifying, and Taylor remained in pit lane with the qualifying resumed, dropping from first to third in the final minutes of the session.

#10: Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz, Brendon Hartley. LAT Photo for IMSA

Quotes
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05): POLE QUALIFIER, Acura records first pole in new IMSA GTP era. Blomqvist’s fourth pole in IMSA competition: “That was a bit wild. I knew I had a good car, but I had no point of reference and had to wing it a bit [with time for just one flying lap after a mid-session red flag]. I knew I had the car to do it, but the tires weren’t even up to temperature. I just had to lick the stamp and send it. Meyer Shank Racing, Acura, HPD, Oreca, everyone built a fantastic car. It’s really promising for next weekend, but there’s 24 hours of racing before we can set our sights on being up here for another year. I had a lot of confidence here after last year, and the team put a lot of faith in me.”

#60: Meyer Shank Racing W/Curb-Agajanian, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Tom Blomqvist, Motul Pole Award. LAT Photo for IMSA

Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport ARX-05) Qualified third for the Rolex 24: “The [qualifying] session all came down to tires. It was an intentional decision by us to take [only] one set, and the MSR Acura team took two. Based on the risk of red flags with everyone running new cars, I still think [one set of tires] was the right decision. If the session had stayed red for 30 more seconds, we were on pole. As it turned out, the No. 60 [MSR Acura] got to use that second set [of tires] properly. I thought the car was really, really good and if we couldn’t be on pole, it’s nice for the other Acura to finish first after all the work everyone has put in at Acura, HPD, Oreca, and WTR Andretti. We’ll see them in the race.”