The Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) times both dropped and tightened up considerably during the second practice session for tomorrow’s IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix of Long Beach. Sebastien Bourdais went to the top of the time sheet just as time ran out in the final 90-minute practice session before qualifying.
With the track more rubbered in and temperatures having risen a bit with the sun breaking through the morning cloud cover, Bourdais turned a 1m11.637s lap (98.9mph) in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R to steal the glory from the previous quick runner,Nick Yelloly in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8. Yelloly’s best was 0.484s off Bourdais. The first practice’s fast performer, Pipo Derani, was third with a 1m12.218s lap in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R.
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Philipp Eng kept both BMWs in the top five with a 1m12.454s lap in the No. 24, followed by Nick Tandy in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963. Until Bourdais’ blistering lap at the end of the session, the top nine cars had been within a second, but Tandy ended up being the last within a second of the best time.
Both Acuras continued to struggle, with the two Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti ARX-06s toward the bottom of the chart; only the No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 was slower.
As in GTP, the best time in GTD was turned at the very end of the session, courtesy of Stevan McAleer. Sheena Monk’s new full-season partner in the No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 flew to the top with a 1m18.259s time, good for a 90.53mph average around the a.968-mile, 11-turn temporary circuit. Danny Formal was second, 0.102s behind in the No. 45 WTRAndretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, with Albert Costa Balboa third in the No. 32 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 at 1m18.382s.
Matthew Bell, who topped the first session in the No. 13 AWA Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, and Loris Spinelli (No. 78 Forte Racing by USRT Lamborghini) rounded out the top five as 15 of the 16 cars that participated in the session were within a second.
The No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG that had heavy contact with the wall in the morning at the hands of Mikael Grenier did not turn any laps during the session. The other car that had contact in the first practice, the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S, had to undergo a gearbox change after Brendan Iribe toasted the McLaren’s clutch as he tried to back out of the tires in Turn 1. It was an all-hands moment as the team had only a couple of hours to get the swap done.
The second practice session ran uninterrupted by any red flags, although several cars visited the various runoff areas around the track.
Up Next: Qualifying at 5 p.m. local time, 8 p.m. ET.