Driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing, the Dutchman pulled off a stout flying lap of 1m49.179s around the 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit, which came with 25 minutes remaining.
Augusto Farfus established the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 in the runner-up spot of the session, ending up 0.258s off the mark set by van der Zande.
The No. 10 Acura ARX-06 of Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti came away third (+0.465s), running only 22 laps in the session after experimenting with ride heights and making multiple shock adjustments.
The No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R prepared by Action Express Racing momentarily held the top spot before sliding down to fourth, courtesy of Tom Blomqvist putting together a lap that was 0.576s behind the leader.
In fifth was Matheiu Jaminet in the No. 6 Porsche Penske 963, which led the majority of the practice after being the first driver to go under the 1m50s mark with a 1m49.869s.
The only GTP entry to not turn a lap in the session was the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 for Wayne Taylor Racing due to an engine change.
The LMP2 category saw Mikkel Jensen set the pace in the No. 11 ORECA 07 for TDS Racing after a class-best 1m51.497s flyer, which also happened to be 10th overall. Paul-Loup Chatin ended up second in AO Racing’s No. 99 ORECA 07 at a narrow 0.007s behind.
Uniquely, both Jensen and Chatin put down times that went quicker than the No. 7 Porsche Penske 963 GTP machine that was 12th overall after hitting 1m52.004s lap.
The first red flag of the session was brought out with roughly 55 minutes to go after Tom Dillman, driving the No. 52 ORECA 07 for Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, was caught into the aftermath of a couple of GT cars coming together in Turn 7. Fortunately, everyone was able to continue on. Dillman was still able to finish fourth in the category by session’s end, 0.005s behind the No. 2 United Autosport USA machine of Ben Hanley.
The No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA 07 of Colin Braun, who made his IndyCar Series debut last weekend on the Streets of St. Petersburg, shunted in Turn 17 to bring out the second red flag, which prematurely ended the session.
Earl Bamber vaulted the No. 4 Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R to the top of the GTD Pro category, hitting a best lap of 2m00.790s, which was more than three tenths faster than Paul Miller Racing’s No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 of Madison Snow.
GTD was led by Antonio Fuoco in the No. 47 Ferrari 296 GT3 for Cetilar Racing, hitting a best of 2m00.991s. Philip Ellis, driving Winward Racing’s No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3, nailed a flyer that was only 0.017s off the class time set by Fuoco.
After not turning a lap in the second practice session, the woes continued for the No. 65 Ford Mustang GT after Dirk Mueller had a rare moment that ended up with an off-track excursion in Turn 16.
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