IMSA 2022: Friday session @ ROLEX 24 AT Daytona
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
The Cadillacs showed the tip of their nose today by dominating the last session before the 24 Hours of Daytona. The track was very dry today, closer to the weather conditions we are expecting tomorrow.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
Four-time Indy car Champion Sebastien Bourdais dominated the session and was the only one to cover the lap in less than 1:35 with his #01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac.
The Chip Ganassi Racing #01 car is among the top favorites with a driver quartet composed of multiple Rolex 24 At Daytona winners: Renger Van Der Zande (in 2019 and 2020), Scott Dixon (in 2006, 2008 and 2020 as well as the 2018 Rolex 24 in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) and Sebastien Bourdais (in 2014 and 2017 in the GT Le Mans). The 4th is last year’s IndyCar champion Alex Palou. The last three count 11 IndyCar championships with Dixon’s six and Bourdais’ four. Renger van der Zande won the 2016 WeatherTech Champion and Bourdais also won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring last year.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
Loïc Duval achieved the second-best performance with his #5 JDC Motorsport Cadillac which he’ll co-drive with Richard Westbrook, Tristan Vautier and Ben Keating.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
Le Mans 24 winner and WEC champion Jose Maria Lopez Was 3rd with #48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R (run by Action Express Racing in collaboration with Hendrick Motorsport). Lopez replaces Simon Pagenaud in the usual quartet with Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR champion who will make his 9th start at the 24 Hours of Daytona, two-times-Rolex 24 hours-winner Kamui Kobayashi and Le Mans, Rolex 24, Sebring, and Spa 24 winner Mike Rockenfeller.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
Two times 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Earl Bamber was 4th with the second Chip Ganassi Cadillac (#02) which he’ll do-dive with Alex Lynn, Kevin Magnussen and Marcus Ericsson.
With this two-car line-up in the top 4, Chip Ganassi Racing, the eight-time Rolex 24 At Daytona Speedway winning team including six overall victories (in 2006, ’07, ’08, ’11, ’13 and ’15, as well as GTLM class in 2017 and ’18), has put together the best conditions for a ninth overall victory.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
Pipo Derani ends the top 5 Cadillac ranking of the session with his #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac. His ceo-drivers for the ROLEX 24 are Le Mans 24 winner and WEC champion Mike Conway and Tristan Nunez, 2021 vice-champion LMP2 class.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
The DPi class, which has been reduced to a two-manufacturer battle between Acura and Cadillac for this year (Mazda dropped off the entry list), sees the 2 Acura more than 1:3 sec. slower than Bourdais’ best time in P6 (#10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 DPi with Alexander Rossi, Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Will Stevens)
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
and P7 for #60 Meyer Shank Racing (recently announced as one of two partner teams chosen to run the Acura ARX-06 LMDh in 2023) Acura ARX-05 DPi with Hélio Castronoves, Tom Blomqvist, Simon pagenaud and Oliver Jarvis.
LMP2
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2022.
