Nasr Leads Cadillac DPi Sweep in Roar Qualifying
Nasr in the #31 Cadillac |
All Photos by LAT for IMSA |
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The strong pace shown by Cadillac, which led every session throughout the first two days of the Roar Before The Rolex 24 At Daytona test, carried into Sunday’s inaugural Roar qualifying session. The new-for-2018 qualifying sessions establish the garage and pit locations each team will use during the Rolex 24 At Daytona race weekend on Jan. 25-28.
Leading the way in a back-and-forth 15-minute session for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class was Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R with a best time of 1 minute, 35.806 seconds (133.764 mph). Nasr was first in a top-four sweep for Cadillac, which is looking for its second consecutive Rolex 24 win after taking its debut race last year.
“All I have to say, is we as a team, Action Express and Cadillac, we brought the car out there to run the most amount of laps," Nasr said. “We were really getting into it and preparing for the race, because we know this weekend is more a part of what is going to come at the end of the month. We all felt pretty confident. We felt the car was behaving well.
“Today in qualifying, all I have to say, is myself and Filipe (Albuquerque), that was driving our sister car, we gave everything we had. The times were pretty close. There are some cars out there that aren’t showing fully what they can do, but I know we are. I’m pretty happy with what we have right now."
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Nasr is pleased to be back racing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, a race that put him on the map somewhat when he earned a ride in the 2012 race as winner of what was then the “Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge" by taking the 2011 British Formula 3 title.
His performance in that race, which netted a third-place result, was impressive and paved the way for a career that ultimately took him into Formula 1. This year, he will race full-time in the WeatherTech Championship alongside 2016 Prototype champion Eric Curran in the No. 31 machine. For the Rolex 24, they welcome Mike Conway and this year’s Sunoco Whelen Challenge winner, Stuart Middleton, who is following in Nasr’s footsteps.
“There’s so many other things I got to experience here in a positive way – the racing, the people – it really opened up the doors for me here," Nasr said. “I became friends since then with everyone. I knew with a phone call to my American friends that I could be coming back to the race and that’s what I thought early on. As soon as I had a brief adventure in F1, let’s put it this way, I had great fun, but I knew this championship was always going to go up.
“I feel this year we have such a strong lineup of teams and drivers and everyone pushing each other that it’s going to be great. For a racing driver to be in an environment like this, and teams pushing each other, there’s nothing better than that. It’s really great to be involved."
Second quickest in Prototype qualifying was Tristan Vautier in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R with a time of 1:36.037 (133.442 mph). While the team has participated for several years in the WeatherTech Championship Prototype class, it is a newcomer to the Cadillac camp in 2018 after fielding LM P2 race cars last year. Vautier is sharing the car with full-season teammate Matt McMurry and endurance driver Eddie Cheever III.
“It was good," Vautier said. “All the Caddy teams, we came here with a good spirit. We want to show IMSA what we have and we pushed flat out the whole test, just because we want to maximize everything for the race and we think it is the right thing to do. We all pushed each other. I think it’s good because it helps us all to learn about the car and go get those last tenths we can find in the setups. For us at Spirit of Daytona, it’s been good, because the first time the car hit the ground was January 2. Things have been pretty straightforward."
Albuquerque was third in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac he shares with Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi with a best lap of 1:36.135 (133.306 mph). Renger van der Zande was fourth at 1:36.481 (132.828 mph) in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac, co-driving with past IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, and defending race and series champion Jordan Taylor.
Dane Cameron rounded out the top five in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05 DPi car. Cameron’s best lap was a 1:36.988 (132.188 mph) in the car he shares with Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud.
Hand Leads GTLM Roar Qualifying in No. 66 Ford GT
Joey Hand |
In three weeks, Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais will go for their second consecutive Rolex 24 At Daytona victory for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 66 Ford GT. The title defense got off to a strong start at the Roar, as Hand was the fastest qualifier in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class with a best lap of 1:43.610 (123.688 mph).
“You’re always trying to win practice, but especially trying to win qualifying," Hand said. “We went for it. We struggled with our balance of the car a little bit this weekend from the December test. We really liked it. Dirk and Seabass (Sebastien Bourdais) and I were just bouncing it all weekend. We got it closer this morning, we think maybe it’s the temperature, and we made a change right between the practice and qualifying.
“We wanted to see how aggressive we could get. It was a better car, but it still needs to be a better race car. We’re happy with the progress. To finish out the Roar, I think we’re OK looking to come back. You never know what temperature you’re going to get when you come back, so you don’t want to really tune too much here, but you do want to learn some things that are right and wrong, but yeah, I’ll take it. Somebody’s got to do it, so I guess I can handle it."
Oliver Gavin posted the second quickest time in GTLM, turning a 1:43.640 (123.653 mph) lap in the No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R he’s sharing with Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler. Ryan Briscoe was third in the No. 67 Ford GT at 1:43.714 (123.564 mph), followed by Earl Bamber in the No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR at 1:43.888 (123.357 mph) and defending WeatherTech Championship GTLM champion Antonio Garcia at 1:43.998 (123.227 mph).
The top six GTLM cars qualified within one second.
Lamborghini Maintains Torrid GTD Pace at Bortolotti Qualifies Fastest
Mirko Bortolotti |
Lamborghini Huracan GT3s have been at or near the top of the time charts throughout the Roar Before the Rolex 24, including the class’ fastest overall lap of the weekend of 1:47.104 (119.653 mph) set in Friday’s first session by Rolf Ineichen in the No. 11 GRT Grasser Racing Team entry.
It was more of the same in Sunday’s qualifying session in which Ineichen’s teammate, Mirko Bortolotti, posted the fastest time of 1:47.374 (119.352 mph), securing prime garage space and pit selections for the No. 11 team that also includes drivers Franck Perera and Rik Breukers.
“It’s good to be back at Daytona," Bortolotti said. “We are not a regular team for the season, but for me, it’s already the third time coming back to Daytona, so it’s always good to be here. For the team, it’s the second time after the race we did last year. We’ve got a good garage spot for the race. Let’s see what kind of benefit we will have out of it.
“Obviously, the race is in two-and-a-half, three weeks’ time, so we’ve got a lot of work in front of us. Hopefully, we can keep this up and go for a strong result."
Andy Lally qualified second in GTD in his return to the No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 after spending the 2017 WeatherTech Championship season with Michael Shank Racing’s Acura NSX program. Lally posted a best time of 1:47.436 (119.284 mph) in the car he shares with owner/driver John Potter, endurance teammate Andrew Davis and Audi factory ace Markus Winkelhock.
Patrick Long was third in GTD at 1:47.481 (119.234 mph) in the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. This lineup includes two-time and defending WeatherTech Championship GTD champion Christina Nielsen, along with Robert Renauer and Mathieu Jaminet. Alvaro Parente was fourth in the No. 86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 at 1:47.605 (119.096 mph), followed by Ryan Eversley in the No. 69 HART Acura NSX at 1:47.665 (119.030 mph).
The top 18 cars in GTD – all but one of the 19 to participate in the qualifying session – were covered by less than one second.
Qualifying Results
POS | NO. | CL | CL POS | DRIVERS | TEAM/CAR/SPONSOR | LAPS | TIME |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 31 | P | 1 | Eric Curran Mike Conway Stuart Middleton Felipe Nasr |
Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi |
8 | 01:35.806 |
2 | 90 | P | 2 | Matt McMurry Tristan Vautier Edward Cheever |
Spirit of Daytona Racing Cadillac DPi |
9 | 01:36.037 |
3 | 5 | P | 3 | Joao Barbosa Christian Fittipaldi Filipe Albuquerque |
Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi |
9 | 01:36.135 |
4 | 10 | P | 4 | Jordan Taylor Ryan Hunter-Reay Renger van Der Zande |
Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac DPi |
9 | 01:36.481 |
5 | 6 | P | 5 | Simon Pagenaud Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya |
Team Penske Acura DPi |
8 | 01:36.988 |
6 | 7 | P | 6 | Ricky Taylor Graham Rahal Helio Castroneves |
Team Penske Acura DPi |
7 | 01:37.231 |
7 | 22 | P | 7 | Johannes van Overbeek Luis Felipe Derani Nicolas Lapierre |
Tequila Patron ESM Nissan DPi |
9 | 01:37.245 |
8 | 55 | P | 8 | Spencer Pigot Jonathan Bomarito Harry Tincknell |
Mazda Team Joest Mazda DPi |
8 | 01:37.263 |
9 | 78 | P | 9 | Alex Brundle Ho-Pin Tung Antonio Felix da Costa Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen |
Jackie Chan DCR JOTA ORECA LMP2 |
8 | 01:37.274 |
10 | 85 | P | 10 | Robert Alon Austin Cindric Simon Trummer Devlin DeFrancesco |
JDC-Miller Motorsports ORECA LMP2 |
9 | 01:37.323 |
11 | 99 | P | 11 | Misha Goikhberg Chris Miller Gustavo Menezes Stephen Simpson |
JDC-Miller Motorsports ORECA LMP2 |
9 | 01:37.331 |
12 | 23 | P | 12 | Fernando Alonso Lando Norris Phil Hanson |
United Autosports Ligier LMP2 |
9 | 01:37.515 |
13 | 37 | P | 13 | Lance Stroll Felix Rosenqvist Daniel Juncadella Robin Frijns |
Jackie Chan DCR JOTA ORECA LMP2 |
9 | 01:37.697 |
14 | 38 | P | 14 | James French Patricio O'Ward Kyle Masson |
Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA LMP2 |
8 | 01:37.707 |
15 | 32 | P | 15 | Bruno Senna Will Owen Hugo de Sadeleer Paul Di Resta |
United Autosports Ligier LMP2 |
9 | 01:37.779 |
16 | 2 | P | 16 | Scott Sharp Ryan Dalziel Olivier Pla |
Tequila Patron ESM Nissan DPi |
9 | 01:37.857 |
17 | 52 | P | 17 | Gustavo Yacaman Sebastian Saavedra Nicholas Boulle Roberto Gonzalez |
AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier LMP2 |
9 | 01:37.905 |
18 | 20 | P | 18 | Marc Drumwright Joel Miller Ryan Cullen |
BAR1 Motorsports Multimatic/Riley LMP2 |
9 | 01:39.920 |
19 | 54 | P | 19 | Jonathan Bennett Colin Braun Romain Dumas Loic Duval |
CORE autosport ORECA LMP2 |
8 | 01:40.018 |
20 | 77 | P | 20 | Tristan Nunez Oliver Jarvis Rene Rast |
Mazda Team Joest Mazda DPi |
3 | 01:42.104 |
21 | 66 | GTLM | 1 | Dirk Mueller Joey Hand Sebastien Bourdais |
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT |
7 | 01:43.610 |
22 | 4 | GTLM | 2 | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Marcel Fassler |
Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R |
5 | 01:43.640 |
23 | 67 | GTLM | 3 | Richard Westbrook Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon |
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT |
6 | 01:43.714 |
24 | 912 | GTLM | 4 | Gianmaria Bruni Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor |
Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR |
5 | 01:43.888 |
25 | 3 | GTLM | 5 | Jan Magnussen Antonio Garcia Mike Rockenfeller |
Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R |
5 | 01:43.998 |
26 | 62 | GTLM | 6 | Alessandro Pier Guidi | Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE |
7 | 01:44.037 |
27 | 25 | GTLM | 7 | Bill Auberlen Connor De Phillippi Philipp Eng Alexander Sims Colton Herta |
BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTLM |
6 | 01:45.056 |
28 | 24 | GTLM | 8 | Augusto Farfus John Edwards Jesse Krohn Nicky Catsburg Colton Herta |
BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTLM |
5 | 01:46.717 |
29 | 11 | GTD | 1 | Rolf Ineichen Mirko Bortolotti Franck Perera Rik Breukers |
GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
8 | 01:47.374 |
30 | 44 | GTD | 2 | Andy Lally Andrew Davis John Potter Markus Winkelhock |
Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 |
8 | 01:47.436 |
31 | 58 | GTD | 3 | Patrick Long Christina Nielsen Robert Renauer Mathieu Jaminet |
Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R |
5 | 01:47.481 |
32 | 86 | GTD | 4 | Trent Hindman Katherine Legge AJ Allmendinger Alvaro Parente |
Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 |
7 | 01:47.605 |
33 | 69 | GTD | 5 | Sean Rayhall Ryan Eversley Chad Gilsinger John Falb |
HART Acura NSX GT3 |
8 | 01:47.665 |
34 | 15 | GTD | 6 | David Heinemeier Hansson Dominik Farnbacher Scott Pruett Jack Hawksworth |
3GT Racing Lexus RCF GT3 |
6 | 01:47.691 |
35 | 63 | GTD | 7 | Jeff Segal Cooper MacNeil Gunnar Jeannette Alessandro Balzan |
Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 |
8 | 01:47.726 |
36 | 29 | GTD | 8 | Christopher Mies Jeffrey Schmidt Sheldon van der Linde Kelvin van der Linde |
Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 |
8 | 01:47.765 |
37 | 19 | GTD | 9 | Christian Engelhart Ezequiel Perez Companc Christopher Lenz Louis Machiels Max van Splunteren |
GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
7 | 01:47.778 |
38 | 82 | GTD | 10 | Santiago Creel Martin Fuentes Ricardo Perez Miguel Molina |
Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 |
8 | 01:47.814 |
39 | 33 | GTD | 11 | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating Luca Stolz Adam Christodoulou |
Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
8 | 01:47.886 |
40 | 93 | GTD | 12 | Mario Farnbacher Lawson Aschenbach Justin Marks Côme Ledogar |
Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 |
7 | 01:47.905 |
41 | 75 | GTD | 13 | Maro Engel Kenny Habul Thomas Jaeger Mikael Grenier |
Riley Motorsports – Team SunEnergy Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
8 | 01:47.912 |
42 | 51 | GTD | 14 | Paul Dalla Lana Pedro Lamy Daniel Serra Mathias Lauda |
Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 |
7 | 01:47.988 |
43 | 64 | GTD | 15 | Bill Sweedler Townsend Bell Sam Bird Frank Montecalvo |
Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 |
7 | 01:48.042 |
44 | 14 | GTD | 16 | Kyle Marcelli Bruno Junqueira Dominik Baumann |
3GT Racing Lexus RCF GT3 |
6 | 01:48.094 |
45 | 73 | GTD | 17 | Jorg Bergmeister Patrick Lindsey Timothy Pappas |
Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R |
8 | 01:48.142 |
46 | 96 | GTD | 18 | Don Yount Mark Kvamme Mark Kvamme Jens Klingmann |
Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 |
8 | 01:48.354 |
47 | 71 | GTD | 19 | Kenton Koch Robby Foley Juan "JC" Perez Loris Spinelli |
P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
8 | 01:49.287 |
48 | 48 | GTD | 20 | Bryan Sellers Bryce Miller Madison Snow Andrea Caldarelli |
Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
0 | 00:00.000 |
49 | 59 | GTD | 21 | Sven Muller Randy Walls Harald Proczyk Steve Smith Matteo Cairoli |
Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R |
0 | 00:00.000 |
50 | 911 | GTLM | 9 | Nick Tandy Patrick Pilet Frederick Makowiecki |
Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR |
0 | 00:00.000 |