The No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R topped the time sheet for the first practice session for the 72nd Twelve Hours of Sebring. Renger van der Zande led the drivers from the Chip Ganassi Racing squad, posting a best time of 1m48.279s to lead Whelen Cadillac Racing’s Jack Aitken by 0.479s.
Most of the quick times were set early in the 90-minute session that began at 10:05am local time, before the day began to heat up. Nick Tandy set his best lap in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 early, posting a 1m48.941s lap. The two Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06s completed the top five, Brendon Hartley in the No. 10 quicker than teammate Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 by 0.144s.
The No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 struggled a bit in its first official session, with Andrea Caldarelli eventually posting a best of 1m50.962s, 2.683s off GTP class leader van der Zande.
Mikkel Jensen led LMP2 in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA with a 1m51.342s, followed by the pair of United Autosports ORECAs. Paul DiResta pushed the No. 22 to within 0.021s of Jensen’s time to lead the team, Ben Hanley posting a 1m51.558s time for third in class. Colin Braun (No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR) and Paul-Loup Chatin (No. 99 AO Racing) completed the top five.
Lexus was at the top of both GT classes courtesy of Jack Hawksworth and Parker Thompson. Hawksworth led GTD PRO in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing RC F at 2m0.202s to Thompson’s 2m0.666s lap in the No. 12 GTD machine. They were split by Daniel Serra in the Daytona-winning No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3, less than 0.1s behind Hawksworth.
Sebastian Priaulx was third in GTD PRO with a 2m0.798s in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3, with Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports fourth and Ross Gunn putting the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin GT3 Evo into fifth.
Mikael Grenier was second in GTD in the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG at 2m0.951s, followed by Antonio Fuoco in the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296. Loris Spinelli (No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2) and Philip Ellis (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG) completed the top five in GTD.
The session was interrupted by a single red flag early in the session for the No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 stopped on course. That car, apparently the victim of an engine issue, was one of four cars that did not turn representative times in the session. Ryan Dalziel sat in the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA for the duration with Gibson engineers’ computers plugged into the LMP2 machine. The No. 01 GTD PRO Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 went to the paddock and eventually returned to pit lane, but never put in a full lap. The No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 in GTD also had no representative time posted.
Up next: A 90-minute practice session, the second of three for the day, at 3:05 p.m. ET.
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