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Charles Bradley

Rolex 24: Braun leads Acura 1-2 in FP4 at Daytona Roar

Braun lapped the 3.56-mile road course, which hosts the 61st Rolex 24 Hours next weekend, in the fastest GTP time of the weekend so far at 1m35.038s to top the timesheet in the quickfire hour-long fourth session of the three-day ‘Roar Before The 24’ event.

With rain threatening as a cold weather front sweeps across Florida, the action came thick and fast from the start of the session. Michael Christensen (#7 Penske Porsche 963) set the first representative time of 1m36.460s, before Alexander Sims pipped him by 0.023s in Action Express Racing’s Cadillac V-LMDh.

Philipp Eng briefly topped that with 1m35.811s in his BMW Team RLL M Hybrid V8, then Colin Braun reset the bar with 1m35.594s in the Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 – to ensure that all four GTP manufacturers had taken a turn at the head of the times.

Not to be outdone, Brendon Hartley then grabbed P1 with 1m35.156s in the Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06. Nick Yelloly momentarily split the Acuras in the #25 BMW, before Braun regained the top spot with 1m35.038s.

The session ended with Braun clear of Hartley by 0.118s, with Eng (who suffered a quick spin in the closing moments) and Yelloly making it a BMW 3-4. Porsche was 5-6 with Christensen and Dane Cameron in the #6 car.

The Cadillacs were again slowest in the top class, with Renger van der Zande 1.262s off the pace in his #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh. Sims was eighth in the AXR variant, with Richard Westbrook rounding out the GTP class in the #02 CGR car.

#04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07: George Kurtz, Ben Hanley, Matt McMurry, Esteban Gutierrez (Photo by: Art Fleischmann)

Hanley fastest in LMP2

In LMP2, Raffaele Marciello led the way for High Class Racing for the first half of the session, before Ben Hanley’s Crowdstrike Racing by APR beat him by 0.875s with a time of 1m38.633s.

IndyCar star Rinus VeeKay jumped up to second for TDS Racing, ahead of Kyffin Simpson (Tower Motorsports), who set his time just as he received the mechanical warning flag, but he was still 0.684s down in third. Marciello dropped to fourth.

Nico Pino’s Ligier topped the LMP3 class for Sean Creech Motorsport, ahead of Gabby Chaves for Andretti Autosport.

#44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3: John Potter, Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly, Nicki Thiim (Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images)

Aston Martin continues GTD domination

Aston Martin was fastest in the GT Daytona ranks once again, with Nicki Thiim (Magnus Racing) setting the pace at 1m47.655s, just ahead of Pro class leader Hugh Plumb (TGM/TF Sport).

Maximilian Goetz was best of the rest in the Team Korthoff Mercedes-AMG, ahead of Jack Hawksworth in the Pro class Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F and David Pittard’s Heart of Racing Aston.

Final practice today is a two-hour night session, which starts at 18:30 ET – when rain is expected. Qualifying for the Rolex 24 Hours takes place on Sunday at 13:25 ET.

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval
1 United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist
United States Colin Braun
Brazil Helio Castroneves
France Simon Pagenaud
Acura ARX-06 31 1'35.038    
2 United States Ricky Taylor
Portugal Filipe Albuquerque
Switzerland Louis Deletraz
New Zealand Brendon Hartley
Acura ARX-06 29 1'35.156 0.118 0.118
3 Austria Philipp Eng
Brazil Augusto Farfus
Germany Marco Wittmann
United States Colton Herta
BMW M Hybrid V8 19 1'35.372 0.334 0.216
4 United States Connor de Phillippi
United Kingdom Nick Yelloly
South Africa Sheldon Van Der Linde
United States Colton Herta
BMW M Hybrid V8 24 1'35.458 0.420 0.086
5 Australia Matt Campbell
Brazil Felipe Nasr
Denmark Michael Christensen
Porsche 963 32 1'36.072 1.034 0.614
6 France Mathieu Jaminet
United Kingdom Nick Tandy
United States Dane Cameron
Porsche 963 25 1'36.151 1.113 0.079
7 France Sébastien Bourdais
Netherlands Renger van der Zande
New Zealand Scott Dixon
Cadillac V-LMDh 26 1'36.223 1.185 0.072
8 New Zealand Earl Bamber
United Kingdom Alex Lynn
United Kingdom Richard Westbrook
Cadillac V-LMDh 27 1'36.384 1.346 0.161
9 Brazil Pipo Derani
United Kingdom Alexander Sims
United Kingdom Jack Aitken
Cadillac V-LMDh 32 1'36.437 1.399 0.053
10 United States George Kurtz
United Kingdom Ben Hanley
United States Matt McMurry
Mexico Esteban Gutierrez
ORECA LMP2 07 32 1'38.633 3.595 2.196
11 Thomas Steven
Denmark Mikkel Jensen
Scott Huffaker
Netherlands Rinus van Kalmthout
ORECA LMP2 07 32 1'39.303 4.265 0.670
12 Canada John Farano
New Zealand Scott McLaughlin
United States Josef Newgarden
Kyffin Simpson
ORECA LMP2 07 31 1'39.317 4.279 0.014
13 Denmark Dennis Andersen
United Arab Emirates Ed Jones
Denmark Anders Fjordbach
Italy Raffaele Marciello
ORECA LMP2 07 30 1'39.508 4.470 0.191
14 France François Perrodo
France Matthieu Vaxiviere
France Julien Canal
Denmark Nicklas Nielsen
ORECA LMP2 07 28 1'39.768 4.730 0.260
15 United States Fred Poordad
Italy Francesco Pizzi
Australia James Allen
Giammaria Bruni
ORECA LMP2 07 29 1'40.014 4.976 0.246
16 France François Heriau
Netherlands Giedo van der Garde
United States Josh Pierson
Netherlands Job Van Uitert
ORECA LMP2 07 29 1'40.236 5.198 0.222
17 United States Eric Lux
Canada Devlin DeFrancesco
United States Austin Cindric
Brazil Pietro Fittipaldi
ORECA LMP2 07 32 1'40.646 5.608 0.410
18 United States Ben Keating
France Paul-Loup Chatin
Alex Quinn
France Nicolas Lapierre
ORECA LMP2 07 29 1'40.888 5.850 0.242
19 United States Lance Willsey
Portugal Joao Barbosa
Nicolas Pino
Danny Soufi
Ligier JS P320 29 1'42.961 7.923 2.073
20 United States Jarett Andretti
Colombia Gabby Chaves
United States Dakota Dickerson
Sweden Rasmus Lindh
Ligier JS P320 26 1'42.963 7.925 0.002
21 United States Gar Robinson
Brazil Felipe Fraga
Netherlands Glenn van Berlo
Josh Burdon
Ligier JS P320 29 1'43.346 8.308 0.383
22 Japan Yu Kanamaru
Canada James Vance
Canada Antonio Serravalle
United States Nicholas Boulle
Duqueine D08 26 1'43.428 8.390 0.082
23 Dwight Merriman
United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel
Christian Rasmussen
United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
ORECA LMP2 07 15 1'43.693 8.655 0.265
24 Sebastian Alvarez
Singapore Danial Frost
Alex Vogel
Guilherme de
Ligier JS P320 25 1'43.947 8.909 0.254
25 United States Till Bechtolsheimer
Netherlands Tijmen van der Helm
United States Luca Mars
United States Mason Filippi
Duqueine D08 31 1'44.043 9.005 0.096
26 Canada Anthony Mantella
United Kingdom Wayne Boyd
Nico Varrone
United States Thomas Merrill
Duqueine D08 28 1'44.258 9.220 0.215
27 Canada Orey Fidani
United Kingdom Matthew Bell
Germany Lars Kern
Germany Moritz Kranz
Duqueine D08 32 1'45.132 10.094 0.874
28 John DeAngelis
Christopher Allen
Australia Cameron Shields
Connor Bloum
Ligier JS P320 27 1'45.910 10.872 0.778
29 United States John Potter
United States Andy Lally
United States Spencer Pumpelly
Denmark Nicki Thiim
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 21 1'47.276 12.238 1.366
30 United States Ted Giovanis
United States Hugh Plumb
United States Matt Plumb
United States Owen Trinkler
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 28 1'47.309 12.271 0.033
31 United States Mike Skeen
Canada Mikael Grenier
United States Kenton Koch
Maximillian Goetz
Mercedes AMG GT3 25 1'47.315 12.277 0.006
32 United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth
United Kingdom Ben Barnicoat
United Kingdom Mike Conway
Lexus RC F GT3 30 1'47.446 12.408 0.131
33 United Kingdom Ross Gunn
Spain Alex Riberas
David Pittard
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 21 1'47.446 12.408 0.000
34 United States Aaron Telitz
United States Frankie Montecalvo
United States Kyle Kirkwood
Parker Thompson
Lexus RC F GT3 23 1'47.507 12.469 0.061
35 United States Russell Ward
Switzerland Philip Ellis
Netherlands Indy Dontje
Austria Lucas Auer
Mercedes AMG GT3 18 1'47.520 12.482 0.013
36 Germany Fabian Schiller
Zimbabwe Axcil Jefferies
Mercedes AMG GT3 26 1'47.599 12.561 0.079
37 Sheena Monk
United Kingdom Katherine Legge
Germany Mario Farnbacher
United States Marc Miller
Acura NSX GT3 28 1'47.671 12.633 0.072
38 Spain Antonio Garcia
United States Jordan Taylor
United States Tommy Milner
Corvette C8.R GTD 25 1'47.711 12.673 0.040
39 Italy Andrea Caldarelli
Italy Mirko Bortolotti
South Africa Jordan Lee Pepper
France Romain Grosjean
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 31 1'47.737 12.699 0.026
40 Italy Alessandro Pier Guidi
United Kingdom James Calado
Brazil Daniel Serra
Italy Davide Rigon
Ferrari 296 GT3 23 1'47.757 12.719 0.020
41 Ashton Harrison
Danny Formal
Canada Kyle Marcelli
Australia Ryan Briscoe
Acura NSX GT3 25 1'47.785 12.747 0.028
42 Canada Roman De Angelis
Denmark Marco Sorensen
United Kingdom Ian James
United Kingdom Darren Turner
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 27 1'47.824 12.786 0.039
43 Brendan Iribe
Switzerland Frederik Schandorff
United Kingdom Ollie Millroy
Germany Marvin Kirchhofer
McLaren 720S GT3 26 1'47.836 12.798 0.012
44 Switzerland Rahel Frey
Belgium Sarah Bovy
Denmark Michelle Gatting
Doriane Pin
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 27 1'47.928 12.890 0.092
45 Canada Mikhail Goikhberg
Italy Loris Spinelli
Chile Benjamin Hites
Italy Marco Mapelli
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 27 1'47.985 12.947 0.057
46 United States Patrick Gallagher
United States Robby Foley
Michael Dinan
Germany Jens Klingmann
BMW M4 GT3 22 1'48.041 13.003 0.056
47 Italy Raffaele Giammaria
Frank Perera
Italy Claudio Schiavoni
Switzerland Rolf Ineichen
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 24 1'48.159 13.121 0.118
48 Italy Roberto Lacorte
Italy Giorgio Sernagiotto
Italy Antonio Fuoco
Italy Alessandro Balzan
Ferrari 296 GT3 27 1'48.286 13.248 0.127
49 United States Bill Auberlen
Chandler Hull
Canada Bruno Spengler
United States John Edwards
BMW M4 GT3 25 1'48.358 13.320 0.072
50 Mann Simon
Argentina Luis Perez Companc
Spain Miguel Molina
Italy Francesco Castellacci
Ferrari 296 GT3 27 1'48.411 13.373 0.053
51 Austria Klaus Bachler
France Patrick Pilet
Belgium Laurens Vanthoor
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 10 1'49.028 13.990 0.617
52 Onofrio Triarsi
Charles Scardina
Italy Alessio Rovera
Italy Andrea Bertolini
Ferrari 296 GT3 23 1'49.088 14.050 0.060
53 United States Bryan Sellers
United States Madison Snow
United States Corey Lewis
Belgium Maxime Martin
BMW M4 GT3 6 1'49.124 14.086 0.036
54 United States Ryan Hardwick
Belgium Jan Heylen
Canada Zacharie Robichon
Norway Dennis Olsen
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 26 1'49.188 14.150 0.064
55 United States Don Yount
United States Jaden Conwright
Kerong Li
Italy Alessio Deledda
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 27 1'49.286 14.248 0.098
56 United States Alan Brynjolfsson
United States Trent Hindman
Max Root
France Kevin Estre
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 23 1'49.384 14.346 0.098
57 United States Mark Kvamme
United States Trenton Estep
Denmark Jan Magnussen
United States Jason Hart
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 17 1'49.429 14.391 0.045
58 Alan Metni
Netherlands Kay van Berlo
Australia Jaxon Evans
France Julien Andlauer
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 25 1'49.545 14.507 0.116
59 David Brule
United States Alec Udell
United States Andrew Davis
Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 23 1'49.730 14.692 0.185
60 PJ Hyett
Seb Priaulx
United States Gunnar Jeannette
United Kingdom Harry Tincknell
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 26 1'49.952 14.914 0.222
61 United States Cooper MacNeil
Spain Daniel Juncadella
France Jules Gounon
Germany Maro Engel
Mercedes AMG GT3 0      
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