Tag: Dries Vanthoor

Dries Vanthoor’s late charge wins Rolex 24 pole for BMW

In a frantic finish, Dries Vanthoor has given BMW M Team RLL pole position for the 63rd annual Rolex 24 At Daytona. Driving in bitterly cold conditions, Vanthoor sneaked up to the top of the timesheets in his No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 with a top time …

In a frantic finish, Dries Vanthoor has given BMW M Team RLL pole position for the 63rd annual Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Driving in bitterly cold conditions, Vanthoor sneaked up to the top of the timesheets in his No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 with a top time of 1m33.895 — right at the checkered flag. It’s the younger Vanthoor brother’s first career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position, and the first IMSA pole for the BMW M Hybrid V8 in GTP.

Vanthoor’s triumph counter-balanced the misfortune of the No. 25 BMW of Sheldon van der Linde, who came to a stop during his out laps and brought out a red flag — preventing him from setting a representative time.

That red flag set up a six-minute scramble for pole in GTP, which appeared to be going the way of Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06. But on his final lap, Blomqvist was caught out by the No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 of Mirko Bortolotti, and the two even made contact in the transition to Speedway Turn 1.

One of the Acura MSR cars did consolidate a front row start — but instead of the No. 60, it was Nick Yelloly in the No. 93 Acura, with a 1m34.186s, coming in second.

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Reigning GTP champion Felipe Nasr was third quickest in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, followed by Jack Aitken, who made it four makes in the top four with his No. 31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R.

Gianmaria Bruni was a solid fifth in the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche, followed by Blomqvist in the No. 60 MSR Acura.

Bortolotti was ninth fastest, behind the two Wayne Taylor Racing cars — the No. 40 of Louis Deletraz and the No. 10 of Filipe Albuquerque — but the No. 63 Lamborghini had its time deleted for blocking. The No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche did not take part in qualifying, rendering IMSA’s decision to rescind its penalty from Practice 1 earlier today redundant.

Daniel Goldburg took the LMP2 pole for United Autosports. Jake Galstad/Lumen

LMP2 qualifying at Daytona has long been the domain of Ben Keating, but his streak of five consecutive class pole positions has come to an end at the hands of United Autosports USA’s Daniel Goldburg.

Goldburg, in the No. 22 ORECA 07, snatched the top time during the final minutes of LMP2 qualifying with a 1m38.690s. Despite the track conditions, he was within two-tenths of the pole time Keating set last year for United Autosports.

Keating will start second in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA with his best time of 1m39.000s, three-tenths behind Goldburg.

PJ Hyett had a time that was quick enough for third place, but with a minute to go, he spun his No. 99 “Spike” machine at Turn 2 and got stuck in the grass to bring out a red flag in the final seconds. Hyett lost his two fastest laps and was demoted to sixth.

That elevated Nick Boulle to third in the No. 2 United Autosports car, followed by the returning Chris Cumming in the No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports ORECA in fourth, and Steven Thomas in the No.11 TDS Racing ORECA in fifth.

Ford Multimatic Motorsports made a serious statement of intent to kick off the second year of its GTD PRO program, qualifying 1-2 with Mike Rockenfeller on pole in the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3.

Mike Rockenfeller led the way in a strong showing for the Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 cars in GTD PRO. Michael Levitt/Lumen

Rockenfeller took provisional pole from the sister No. 65 Ford of Frederic Vervisch with a 1m45.810s, then improved to a 1m45.523s to put the top spot out of reach of the rest of the pack. It’s the Mustang GT3’s first GTD PRO pole position, and a front-row lockout with Vervisch in second with a 1m45.855s.

Paul Miller Racing’s new recruit, Dan Harper, and the No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO put together a solid qualifying run to take third on the grid with a 1m46.005s.

Alexander Sims was fourth quickest in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R, ahead of Andrea Caldarelli in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 in a strong fifth, with Tommy Milner seventh in the No. 4 Pratt Miller Corvette.

After a pre-qualifying gearbox change, defending GTD PRO champion Laurin Heinrich qualified seventh in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Wright Motorsports led the way in GTD, courtesy of Elliott Skeer with its Porsche 911 GT3 R. Jake Galstad/Lumen

Three different manufacturers were separated by mere milliseconds in GTD qualifying, but Elliott Skeer held off strong challenges from Trent Hindman and Philip Ellis to claim pole position for Wright Motorsports.

Skeer took provisional pole in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche with a 1m46.825s, then retook the top spot away from Hindman with a 1m46.634s, for his first career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position. The reigning GT World Challenge America pro champion withstood a last-minute flyer from reigning GTD champion Philip Ellis, who set a 1m46.652s in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Hindman, in the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini, held onto third with his 1m46.658s, as 0.024s separated the top three qualifiers in GTD. Maximilian Götz qualified fourth in the No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG, followed by Parker Thompson in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus.

Only one GTD car, the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari, elected not to qualify.

RESULTS

 

BMW’s Vanthoor leads second Fuji WEC practice

BMW M Team WRT’s No. 15 M Hybrid V8 set the pace in the second Free Practice session of the WEC weekend in Fuji this afternoon. Dries Vanthoor was the hotshoe for the team in the session, setting a 1m29.577s early in the running as part of a flurry …

BMW M Team WRT’s No. 15 M Hybrid V8 set the pace in the second Free Practice session of the WEC weekend in Fuji this afternoon. Dries Vanthoor was the hotshoe for the team in the session, setting a 1m29.577s early in the running as part of a flurry of times which saw three cars complete laps under 1m30s for the first time this week.

Vanthoor’s 1m29.577s was almost a full second quicker than the best time set in Free Practice 1 earlier in the day by his older brother Laurens Vanthoor in the the No. 6 factory Porsche, but just 0.009s up on the No. 5 Porsche that slotted in second this time with a lap from Matt Campbell.

Adding to the encouraging session for BMW was a late long-run from Raffaele Marciello, who completed a series of fast laps in the No. 15 with medium tires on the front and hards on the rear, as the team worked towards nailing in a setup for the race.

Completing the top five was the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series. R, No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari and No. 8 Toyota, all three lapping within three and a half tenths of the No. 15 BMW.

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Like Hypercar, the running order in LMGT3 was significantly different from FP1, with the Vista AF Corse finding speed. Alessio Rovera put the No. 55 Ferrari atop the times with a 1m40.851s. However, Marino Sato’s 1m40.528s from the earlier session in the No. 95 United Autosports McLaren remains the quickest lap of the day from the class.

TF Sport’s No. 82 Corvette finish up second in the afternoon, with the No. 60 Iron Lynx Huracan third. It was extremely close in the category, with 16 of the 18 cars lapping within a second.

There was one notable incident, with Claudio Schiavoni spinning at Turn 10 in the No. 60 Huracán, before receiving a reprimand for an unsafe rejoin.

Track action continues tomorrow with Free Practice 3 at 10:20am local time.

RESULTS

WRT completes driver lineup for multiclass WEC program with BMW

At its annual winter party in Spa, Belgium Friday, Team WRT revealed the remaining names in its driver roster for its upcoming FIA WEC campaign with BMW, which will see it run cars in both Hypercar and LMGT3. Longstanding BMW factory driver Augusto …

At its annual winter party in Spa, Belgium Friday, Team WRT revealed the remaining names in its driver roster for its upcoming FIA WEC campaign with BMW, which will see it run cars in both Hypercar and LMGT3.

Longstanding BMW factory driver Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael (who drove with WRT in LMP2 the past two seasons) and reigning British GT3 champion Darren Leung will drive the No. 31 M4 GT3.

“It’s my third year with Team WRT and it is an honor to be part of this great family and also the BMW M family,” Gelael said.

“I am super-excited. I have been LMP2 vice-champion twice in the WEC. I hope I can get over the hump, and there is one clear goal this year — to get the championship and Le Mans. There are no better team and teammates to go for it.”

Meanwhile, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi headlines the No. 46, with experienced GT racer Ahmad Al Harthy and works driver Maxime Martin.

“I am extremely delighted to be part of an amazing team such as WRT, at such an exciting time for the WEC,” said Al Harthy, who made his FIA WEC debut last season with TF Sport, who he will now compete against in LMGT3 this season.

“I look forward to working closely with my teammates and achieving great results with them. I have worked with Maxime in the past and he’ll definitely help me improve my driving. Sharing the seat with a legend such as Vale…who would have said that a kid from Oman watching MotoGP on TV would end up racing with such an iconic sportsman? I’m pleased to be working with the entire WRT family.”

It will be Rossi’s first WEC campaign and follows his successful 2023 campaign with WRT in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, World Challenge Europe and Road To Le Mans, which saw him win his first races in a GT3 car.

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“The WEC will be new for me. I’ll be with Maxime and Ahmad, and I’m eager to race in the main event at Le Mans, and at places like Austin and Sao Paulo,” said Rossi, who was confirmed for the full WEC season last November. “A brand-new experience for me and hopefully we will be competitive.”

This adds to the previous confirmation of its full Hypercar driver lineup for the M Hybrid V8’s first season in the FIA WEC. The No. 15 will see newly minted BMW factory driver Raffaele Marciello share driving duties with Dries Vanthoor and Marco Wittmann. The No. 20 will be driven by Robin Frijns, Rene Rast and Sheldon van der Linde.

Vincent Vosse, WRT co-CEO, says the upcoming season in the FIA WEC marks a significant milestone for the Belgian team, which is doubling the size of its WEC effort to four cars in the championship after winning the LMP2 title last season.

“As we embark on this exciting journey, many thoughts are coming to my mind,” he said. “Contesting the WEC and Le Mans for overall honors has always been our objective, as a team and mine, personally. Now the dream comes true.

“To be participating with a Hypercar, in what is probably the most competitive era of endurance racing, to defend the colors of a mythical brand [like] BMW, is already an achievement in itself, but of course we want to be successful in this new challenge.

“The entire team has prepared for months for that and we all will give everything to succeed. It won’t be easy, we know, but we have an extraordinary team, incredible driver lineups, a great car and the support of BMW M Motorsport, where we have found many old friends and made new ones.”

Adding to its 2024 commitments with BMW, WRT revealed its plans to contest the World Challenge Europe Endurance and Sprint Cups with the M4 GT3. It will campaign multiple cars in both series.