Cadillac scores front row and new track record

Cadillac swept front row with a record.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. Front row with both Cadillac V-Series.R for Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Cadillac swept the front row with a record-shattering qualifying for the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona. Reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP champion Pipo Derani toured the Daytona International Speedway course with the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in 1 minute, 32.656 seconds to earn his 10th IMSA pole overall and Cadillac’s fourth since the first season of DPi competition in 2017.

Cadillac entries paced the 10-car GTP field on the time chart in four of the six test sessions leading into the Roar Before 24 qualifications. Cadillac prototype entries have won the Rolex 24 four times since 2017.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

“With the help of a great team and a great car beneath me, obviously the Cadillac was flying out there today. It’s a privilege and pleasure to drive such a car. It was really well-balance today,” said Derani, who will co-drive the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R with Jack Aitken and Tom Blomqvist. “I think we’re working in the right direction. Obviously, last year we were close to pole position, but we were not quite there. I think in the end, everyone is really tight.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #01 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais, driving the #01 Cadillac V-Series.R, was close behind at 1:32.727 to complete the front-row lockout. The previous track record was 1:33.695, set in 2019. Also, for comparison: 2023 pole-winning lap time in first race of GTP era - 1:34.031. 2022 pole-winning lap time in final year of DPi era - 1:34.034. Bourdais is co-driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R with Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou – a stout roster that represents seven Rolex 24 At Daytona overall victories and 12 INDYCAR championships.

“It was obviously a great day for Cadillac; you always want to go P1-P2,” said Bourdais, who 10 years ago co-drove a Chevrolet Corvette DP for Action Express Racing and earned the first of his two overall wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the inaugural IMSA WeatherTech race following the merger. “For us, it was a solid effort, but we just didn't quite get everything the way we wanted for that perfect run. But we have a really solid racecar and now we will just try to adjust things over the next week to get it the best we can for the race. We’ll try to execute as a team, with the drivers, and hope that we can come out of this with a watch.” Source: Cadillac Racing.

Porsche Penske Motorsport secures a strong grid position

Felipe Nasr from Brazil set the third-quickest lap time, clocking 1:32.876 minutes in the #7 Porsche 963.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #7 Penske Porsche 963

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “Third place is okay. I got everything I could out of our car today. The crew did a great job. I’m totally convinced that we’re contesting the race with a strong package. We’ll continue to focus on working on consistency over long distances in the upcoming practice sessions starting on Thursday. We need to be perfectly prepared to be in the fight for victory next weekend.”

#25 BMW M Hybrid V8 secures second row

Connor De Phillippi (USA) drove the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 to the fourth starting position. De Phillippi was 0.366 seconds off pole position with a qualifying time of 1:33.022 minutes and has a good start position for the race from the second row. He shares the cockpit with Nick Yelloly, Maxime Martin, and René Rast.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #25 BMW M Hybrid V8.

Connor De Phillippi (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 4th starting position): “In qualifying we had the best car of the whole weekend. We are satisfied that we have made a good step in the right direction. There is still some optimisation to be done here and there, but I am happy for the team about the significantly better result compared to last year. We are slowly but surely getting to where we need to be to close the gap. The race is long, and a lot can happen. We are ready for the action.”

Acura locked out Row 3.

Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti qualifying their pair of Acura ARX-06 GTP machines fifth and sixth on the grid for the twice-round-the-clock endure and the debut of the rebranded Honda Racing Corporation USA. Acura returns to Daytona International Speedway for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTechSportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 as defending three-time race winners – with 1-2 finishes in both 2022 and ’23.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #40 ARX-06

Louis Deletraz qualified fifth aboard the #40 ARX-06 in the first qualifying effort for the newly-added second car at WTRAndretti. The second full-time ARX-06 entry in 2024 with the #40 DexImaging Acura is driven by three-time IMSA champion (and Ricky’s brother), Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta and former Formula One world champion Jenson Button.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #10 ARX-06

The sister #10 car of Filipe Albuquerque slotted in right alongside in sixth. The diver lineup for the #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 includes two-time IMSA champion Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Brendon Hartley and 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericcson.. 

Albuquerque and Taylor combined to win the 2021 event, kicking off a string of three Rolex victories in a row for Acura. 

Second Porsche 963 seventh

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. Porsche 963 #6

Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #6) wrapped up the qualifying session on P7. Nick Tandy: “Cadillac was incredibly strong, which surprised me a little. Still, we want to win the race – not the qualifying. In Daytona, it’s all about being the fastest in the final and decisive phase next Sunday. We’re contesting an endurance race here, and the focus is always on reaching the finish. Our cars are running flawlessly. We’ve worked hard over the winter and we’re seeing the results. I’m heading into the upcoming race week feeling good.”

Second BMW 8th

Jesse Krohn was eighth in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8. Alongside Krohn, Philipp Eng (AUT), Augusto Farfus (BRA), and Dries Vanthoor (BEL) will drive the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8.

Jesse Krohn (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8): “This is not the place where I wanted to end the session. I didn't get everything together for a fast lap after we had focussed on race speed and not on qualifying in the test sessions. Of course, it would be better to start further ahead, but we definitely have a much better car for the race than the start position suggests. I think we are very well prepared.”

No Luck for Porsche 963 customer teams.

Luck eluded the Porsche 963 customer teams on Sunday. Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm concluded the qualifying session in ninth place at the wheel of the JDC-Miller MotorSports car. The identical Proton Competition car remained in the garage during the session: Swiss driver Neel Jani was involved in an accident during a brief test session before qualifying. The repairs needed prevented him from taking part in the qualifying session. 

Tijmen van der Helm (Porsche 963 #85): “We’re closer to the other teams compared to last year, so we’ve made progress, even though we still have a long way to go. Today was the qualifying for an endurance race. We’re facing a 24-hour event, so the grid spot doesn’t really matter. The main thing is that we keep up with the others. That’s what makes an exciting and good competition. If we reach the flag without any incidents, we should be able to achieve something good.”

GTP Qualifying results

Source: IMSA

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