Connor De Phillippi set a time far quicker than anybody else a third of the way into the first practice session for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America, and while competitors closed the gap, his time held until the final five minutes. Filipe Albuquerque then put the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti at the top with a1m51.089s time (131.18mph), 0.411s faster than De Phillippi’s 1m51.5s lap in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8.
“Not much [speed left out there],” said Albuquerque, who would love to have the No. 10 on pole tomorrow for teammate Ricky Taylor’s birthday. “It was a bit tricky to drive the track. When we were testing here, we were way faster. I think the track is just coming in, coming in. We did a qualifying sim on fresh tires.
“It’s always good to be P1 to tell my mom and friends, but it does not go beyond that.”
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There might have been more improvements in the final minutes as other teams attempted qualifying simulations in conditions — warm and humid — similar to what they’ll see tomorrow afternoon, but the session was cut short by Danny Formal getting the No. 45 GTD-class WTRAndretti Lamborghini Huracán stuck in the gravel in Turn 14.
Sebastien Bourdais set the third-quickest time in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R at 1m51.666s, followed by Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, winner at Road America a year ago. The second WTRAndretti Acura completed the top five in the hands of Louis Delétraz.
Paul DiResta led LMP2 for United Autosports, turning a 1m53.486s lap in the No. 22 ORECA, good for a 128.41mph average around the 4.048-mile circuit. That time was substantially quicker than the rest of the field, led by Tom Dillman in the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, 0.607s back. Ben Hanley was third for United Autosports in the No. 2 at 1m54.177s.
Frederik Schandorff was the quickest of the GTD runners by quite a margin, posting a time 0.629s faster than the rest, and leading all the GTD PRO entries with a 2m05.242s time (116.36mph) in the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.
Antonio Garcia led the GTD PRO field in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R that won last time out at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Garcia’s 2m05.369s lap led the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 in the hands of Harry Tincknell by 0.219s.
Nicky Catsburg put the second Corvette into the top three with a 2m05.676s lap, while Laurin Heinrich was fourth in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, in which co-driver Julien Andlauer would later make light contact with a track barrier. Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 completed the top five.
Six-tenths of a second behind Schandorff, and ninth GT car overall, Loris Spinelli was second in GTD with a 2m05.871s lap in the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Patrick Gallagher was third in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 with a 2m05.955s lap. Roman De Angelis (No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo) and Kenton Koch (No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG) completed the top five in GTD.
Aside from the session-ending red flag, the session was interrupted for five minutes when Nick Boulle took the No. 52 ORECA off course in Turn 14, taking out a trackside sign and leaving some debris on the track.
The second practice session for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Road America takes place at 9:55am local time tomorrow, 10:55am ET. It will be the last practice session ahead of qualifying late tomorrow afternoon.