GTP
The #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Augusto Farfus visited the Turn 1 runoff 12m into the session, while 20mins later its sister car did the same. Meanwhile Turn 6 proved a trouble spot for the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and the Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06. But it was Renger van der Zande in the Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac V-Series.R who brought out the first red flag after skidding into the Turn 9 runoff.
Minutes after the session resumed, it was Alexander Sims who slid long at Turn 9, but he was able to get the Action Express Racing Caddy was able to return to the track without outside aid.
With half an hour left to run, the Acuras of MSR and Wayne Taylor Racing were well clear of the field, this time with MSR ahead with a time of 1min11.036sec and separated from each other by 0.239s.
Then Nick Yelloly jumped the #25 into third, ahead of BMW teammate Philipp Eng, and 0.657s off the top, while Bourdais ventured into a runoff but got the Ganassi Caddy turned around to resume without causing a red.
With just under 20m remaining, Filipe Albuquerque broke into the 1m10s, with a 1:10.859s, and very nearly replicated it on his next lap, to move the WTR to the top by 0.177s.
In the final 10 minutes, Sims slotted the AXR Cadillac between the two BMWs to claim fourth, while Felipe Nasr’s #7 Porsche moved into sixth – soon to be displaced by teammate Mathieu Jaminet.
But the big news was at the top of the class, as Tom Blomqvist delivered a 1m10.391s to claim top spot by 0.323s, despite Albuquerque improving his time. That left him an astonishing 1.3s ahead of the fastest non-Acura, the #25 BMW which Connor De Phillippi slid into the Turn 9 runoff in the final five minutes.
GTD Pro / GTD
The Acura NSX of Racers Edge Motorsports led GTD and indeed the entire 20-car GT field until with 12m remaining, Jack Hawksworth vaulted his GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F to the top with a 1m18.341s. He then sliced almost half a second off that time to lead his nearest rival, Patrick Pilet in the Pfaff Porsche 911 GT3 R by 0.441sec a gap which Pilet shaved down to 0.424s.
A late flyer from Antonio Garcia ensured the Corvette Racing C8.R ended the session in third place, 0.553s off the top and less than a tenth ahead of, with Ross Gunn in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.
Racers Edge remained top of GTD, followed by Seb Priaulx in the AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, Marco Sorensen in the pro-am HoR Aston and the #12 Vasser Sullivan Leuxs. Frederik Schandorff was fifth in class in the Inception Racing McLaren 720S, ahead of fifth fastest in GTD Pro, Daniel Juncadella’s WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3.
