Alexander Sims set the quickest lap in the final full practice session for the 24 Hours of Daytona, a 1:35.493, driving the #31 Action Express Cadillac V-LMDh.
It was a Cadillac 1-2, the first for Cadillac in the new GTP era, with Scott Dixon, in the #01 Cadillac, just over two tenths back from Sims. In third was Nick Yellowy in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, four tenths off Sims, affirming what BMW drivers had told MotorsportWeek.com earlier in the day: that BMW has found pace since the Roar last weekend.
Matt Campbell was fourth for #7 Porsche 963, while Simon Pagenaud in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06 was fifth. However, late in the session Pagenaud’s teammate Helio Castroneves spun in the pitlane and then drove the wrong way down the lane exit, spin-turning the car and then turning back down the exit. It is yet to be confirmed whether the team will receive a penalty for this.
Alex Lynn was sixth in the #02 Cadillac, with Dane Cameron in the #6 Porsche 963 seventh. Eighth went to Ricky Taylor in the #10 Wayne Taylor Acura, while rounding out the class in ninth was Augusto Farfus in the #24 BMW.
In LMP2, Mikkel Jensen was fastest in the #11 TDS Racing Oreca 07-Gibson, setting a 1:38.052, while Oliver Jarvis in the #11 Era Motorsport Oreca 07-Gibson was second, almost six tenths off Jensen. In third was Ben Hanley in the #04 Crowdstrike Racing Oreca 07-Gibson.
John Andretti was quickest amongst the LMP3 competitors, with the #36 Andretti Ligier JS P320-Nissan driver producing a 1:43.191 to top the class timesheets. In second was Moritz Kranz, behind the wheel of the #13 AWA Duqueine D08-Nissan, with the German one and half tenths off Andretti.
Third in LMP3 went to the sister AWA car, #17 Duqueine D08, with Nico Varrone behind the wheel.
For the third successive session, Mikael Grenier was quickest in GTD – and also overall amongst the GT classes – in the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. The Canadian set a 1:46.375 to go quickest, almost three tenths quicker than his nearest competitor, Jules Gounon in the GTD Pro-entered #79 WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Two more GTD Pro-entered cars followed Gounon, with former F1 driver Romain Grosjean second in class in the #63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, just a few hundredths off Gounon. Owen Trinkler followed in the #64 TGM/TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3, just six thousandths off Grosjean.
Second in GTD, and fifth overall in the GT classes, was Axcil Jeffries in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG GT3, while third went the way of #66 Gradient Racing Acura GT3 EVO22’s Katherine Legge.
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