Thus far the Roar Before the 24 has been a Cadillac showcase. The No. 31 Whelen Action Express Racing Cadillac led the field in the early practice sessions, but come practice sessions 4 and 5 it was clear the other GTP cars started to find a bit more pace. The No. 01 Cadillac V.Series-R piloted by 2023 IndyCar champion Alex Palou ran fastest in the final session of the day; setting the tone heading into the final practice sessions ahead of qualifying tomorrow. The Practice session five was the only night practice this weekend. The drivers won’t be able to practice night rotations again until Rolex 24 race weekend.
The No. 25 RLL Racing BMW M has hovered at the top of the table all weekend so far. The car finished just under three tenths off of the fastest lap set by the No. 01 Cadillac. The battle developing between these two cars may be something to keep an eye on. However, due to the shortcomings the RLL Racing team faced last year with hybrid battery issues during the race. The team will be looking to improve on their 2023 Rolex 24 finish and go the distance. They’ve shown they have the pace. Their real challenge is endurance.
LMP2
In LMP2 the field is heating up with a fierce battle for pole position. Each of the 5 practice sessions had a different car lead the pack. The latest in session five was the No. 20 MDK by High Class Racing ORECA LMP2 07 setting a 1m38.270 lap. Given the number of new entries into the class for 2024. Tomorrow’s qualifying will be the first gauge for what this class looks like at race pace in 2024. The 2023 LMP2 Rolex 24 was decided by 0.016 seconds after 24 hours of racing. Racing fans from around the world can expect a fierce in class battle for the Rolex 24 in class pole tomorrow in qualifying.
GTD/GTD Pro
The No. 09 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren edged out the No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 by just under three one hundredths of a second. The rest of the GTD Pro field fell behind the GTD class in the fifth practice session and never found enough pace to challenge for the fastest lap. The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R(992) led the GTD class setting a 1m46.007 which was the identical time to the second fastest in GTD Pro Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3.
The teams will have one more practice session ahead of qualifying tomorrow.