ROAR: GTP Qualifying
The timing of the GTP ROAR qualifying sessions was somewhat disturbed as the organizer decided to organize a sixth session for the GTPs at 13:25. Indeed the rain that raged during the fifth session on Saturday evening had only seen the Porsche #6 and the Cadillac #31 on the track. It was therefore at 15:00 (instead of 14:40) that Ricky Taylor was the first in the GTP class to set off for the 20' of the ROAR qualifying session which turned out to be very thrilling.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
Both Porsche works drivers put in a strong drive and quickly positioned themselves among the frontrunners. On lap four, Tandy pulled out all stops: the outright Le Mans’ winner of 2015 set top times in the first two sectors and was on course for pole position – only to lose the rear of his Porsche 963 when braking for the last chicane. The vehicle shot over the grass and crashed into the tyre barrier. Despite damage to the front of the car, Tandy managed to drive slowly back to the pits – however, the stewards had already red-flagged the session. The IMSA regulations clearly state that the driver who caused a red flag in qualifying has their two fastest lap times voided. As a result, the #6 car will take up the race from the back of the GTP field.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
When the ROAR qualifying session finally went green for the remaining two and a half minutes, Nasr again launched a blistering attack in the #7 car. With mere seconds left on the clock, the Brazilian catapulted his 963 to the front of the field.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
In a dramatic final moment, Tom Blomqvist turned the best lap of the entire three days of Roar Before the Rolex 24 on-track activity, putting the #60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 on pole position. Blomqvist will lead the 61-car field to the green flag on Jan. 28, following an impressive lap of 1 minute, 34.031 seconds (136.295 mph).
Blomqvist’s fast time – set on the very last lap of the ROAR qualifying session – bettered Felipe Nasr in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 by a slight 0.083 seconds. The top eight GTP cars were separated by only 0.815 seconds.
“That was one of the most difficult sessions I’ve done because my tires weren’t exactly fully, fully ready and I didn’t have much of a good reference to go off of, so I was glad to win that one,’’ Blomqvist said of his fourth career Motul Pole Award and first for the Rolex 24.
“Thankfully that was just enough time for one lap,” Blomqvist said. “I don’t really know how I did it, but my lap was made easier because the car has been quick all weekend and I know what I had underneath me.”
Blomqvist, who pitted to change Michelin tires early in the ROAR qualifying session, conceded he was worried about getting a crack at the pole position during the red-flag stoppage.
“I was actually a bit bummed because I thought it was kind of done for us, and then they said, ‘You’ve got one lap,’” Blomqvist of the team radio chatter. “I didn’t know what to expect, so I just kind of went for it on the out lap and had to get past one car and make a legitimate move on the out lap.
“I was lucky I had such a smooth running in terms of the car being so good and really didn’t have to do too many changes to the set-up. I knew what I had but today the track conditions were very different with the wind and the heat, so I just had to virtually send it and rely on my instincts.
“Thankfully, I managed to survive that,’’ he added smiling. “That was a fun day.’’
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
After setting the pace early in Sunday afternoon’s qualifying session, concluding the 2023 Roar Before the Rolex 24, Ricky Taylor piloted Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport’s (WTRAndretti) #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 to a starting position of third for the 61st Running of the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA.
A strategy decision by the team, opting to stay in the pits on used tires at the end of a red-flag-impacted the ROAR qualifying session, was ultimately the deciding factor in the result. The team is confident in their ability to fight to the front over the 24 hours of hard GTP racing ahead.
“The session all came down to tires,” said two-time IMSA Champion Ricky Taylor. “It was an intentional decision by us to take one set, and MSR took two. Based on the risk of red flags with everyone running new cars, I still think that was the right decision. If the session had stayed red for 30 more seconds, we would have been on pole. As it turned out, #60 got to use that second set 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 HPD, Oreca, and WTRAndretti. We’ll see them in the race.”
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
Sebastien Bourdais was then dealt a single flyer lap after the ROAR qualifying session went to green with two minutes and 30 seconds remaining. Bourdais capitalized on the opportunity and propelled the #01 to P4 with a fastest lap time of 1:34.262.
« I honestly think that track picked up a crazy amount because the grip was up significantly and we've never run that fast, » said Sebastien Bourdais. « The car felt amazing and I'm really happy for the Cadillac team. It's a strong start; obviously not the pole, but as close as we can get without getting it. I'm really happy and I think it bodes well for the race. We're in it and it's now about executing and making no mistakes and hoping that the gods of electronics are with us for 24 hours. »
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
Alex Lynn had previously piloted the #02 to a favorable time of 1:34.389 and settled into P5 to end ROAR qualifying.
« I’m pretty happy, to be honest. We made a lot of improvements on the car over the last couple of days and I think where we ended up with the balance was really great. I'm very happy and we'll see what next week brings. I'm really enjoying driving this Cadillac V-LMDh and it's giving me really good feedback, and we're improving it so much. It's an enjoyable job when you just start making huge strides and improving with this brand new vehicle that we've got »
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
Pipo Derani posted a best lap of 1:34.608 to qualify sixth in the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh.
The two BMW M Hybrid V8 prototypes finished the GTP class ROAR qualifying session in seventh and eighth places and will start the season-opener of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from the fourth row of the grid next Saturday.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
BMW M works drivers Philipp Eng and Nick Yelloly were at the wheels of the #24 and #25 cars.
« Of course it would have been nice to start from the very front, but in a 24-hour race starting positions don’t really matter too much » said Philipp Eng (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 7th place). « We didn’t focus on outright pace in all practice sessions we had. It was much more about making the car behave predictably and being driveable for us. That’s key in an endurance race like this – especially with a new car. It’s most important that reliability and operations are good. If you tick these two boxes, then you’ve already made it quite far. »
📷 © Luc Warnotte: #24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 at ROAR Qualifying 2023.
Nick Yelloly (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 8th place): « Since I wasn’t able to go out on track during warm-up, I didn’t get a read of the strong wind that changed significantly from yesterday where we had a decent balance in the car. Even if qualifying wasn’t the ideal session for us, we still learned something – as we did in every session here at the Roar. Now we have a couple of more practice sessions next week before the race starts. We have to make sure that we set up a car that is comfortable and good to drive over 24 hours. »
Practice for the Rolex 24 starts on January 26th, with the green flag for the legendary endurance race waving on the 28th at 1:40 p.m.
Related news
