Weekend Recap: Blomqvist Puts MSR Acura on Rolex 24 Pole
Results from qualifying for the Rolex 24 and latest news from Daytona...
Tom Blomqvist has scored the first pole position of the new GTP era, taking Meyer Shank Racing to top qualifying honors for the 61st annual Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Blomqvist reeled off a best lap of 1:34.031 in the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to edge out the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 of Felipe Nasr by 0.083 seconds.
Ricky Taylor set the two quickest times in qualifying prior to a red flag for an accident by Nick Tandy in the No. 6 Porsche at the Le Mans Chicane with seven minutes to go.
Tandy limped the Porsche to the pit lane with left-front nose damage.
It set up a quick restart that gave a handful of cars one timed lap, including both the Nos. 60 and 7 cars that along with the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-LMDh of Sebastien Bourdais that made improvements.
Blomqvist’s pole came after changing Michelin tires early in the 20-minute session, capitalizing on a new rule for this season.
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Goldburg, Griffin Sweep Opening VP Challenge Weekend
They took different paths, but Dan Goldburg and Billy Griffin completed weekend victory sweeps Sunday in the debut of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.
Goldburg cruised to a dominant win in the LMP3 class while Griffin battled from behind to triumph in the GSX class for GT4-spec cars.
Both drivers started from their respective pole positions in the 45-minute race.
Goldburg, in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08 Nissan, was hounded by Bijoy Garg in the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan until Garg spun in the Le Mans Chicane while working through lapped traffic with 15 minutes remaining.
Relieved of that pressure, Goldburg went on to win by 9.739 seconds over Brian Thienes in the No. 77 US RaceTronics Ligier.
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Mars Leads Mustang GT4 Sweep in Pilot Challenge Testing
Luca Mars ended the three-day Roar pre-season test for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competitors on top, leading a Ford Muatang GT4 sweep of the three fastest times in GS.
Driving the No. 59 KohR Motorsports entry, the 18-year-old’s pace-setting lap of 1:53.042 from the opening session on Friday held up as quickest of the weekend following five sessions at Daytona International Speedway.
It was 0.117 seconds quicker than Ford NASCAR Truck Series driver Zane Smith in the No. 42 PF Racing entry and 0.253 seconds clear of Chad McCumbee in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleeer Racing with Aerosport entry.
The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Daniel Morad was best of the rest in fourth, followed by Spencer Pumpelly, who completed the top five in the No. 83 BGB Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.
Six of the ten fastest drivers were all in Fords during the test.
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