BMW’s time at the top of the timing screens continued this afternoon in Session 4 at Daytona, with the No. 25 M Hybrid V8 closing the hour-long session first, following a time of 1.36.196 from Sheldon van der Linde.
This time it was a 1-2 for the RLL team, with Dries Vanthoor putting the No. 24 in second place with a 1m36.600s.
“It’s positive to see that all the hard work over the winter is paying off,” Van der Linde said after the session. “It’s just about the Roar. We know a lot of people are doing a lot of sandbagging, but it’s a good way to start the event. The car feels good.
“We didn’t know where we would be, and everyone does something different with programs. But we expect to be stronger this year. The team has taken steps forward, with new engineers transferring knowledge from other cars.”
The two Penske Porsches came closest to breaking the deadlock, with Mathieu Jaminet putting the No. 6 in third and Nick Tandy sending the No. 7 963 into fourth with 1.36.9s and 1.37.1s laps respectively.
The No. 40 WTR Cadillac rounded out the top five, with Jordan Taylor recording the car’s fastest time, a 1m1:37.237s.
In LMP2, Tom Dillmann rode a 1m40.272s in the Inter Europol ORECA to take the lead. Reigning GTP Driver Champion Dane Cameron was also fast, putting the AO Racing “Spike” ORECA in second place with an almost identical time: 1m40.279s.
Elsewhere in the class, the number 22 United Autosports 07 suffered the Roar’s first major incident. Dan Goldburg lost the rear of the car during the Le Mans Chicane and slid sideways into the tires on the driver’s left.
The impact took the rear wing off the car, although damage overall looked relatively minor as the car was lifted onto the loading platform during the subsequent red flag period.
Lamborghini looked strong again in GTD. Andrea Caldarelli set the best time in the GTD PRO-entered No. 9 Pfaff Huracan, a 1m48.049s.
The GTD pacesetter was Michelle Gatting in the Iron Dames Porsche. The Dane’s best lap was a 1m48.173s. Stevan McAleer in the No. 021 Triarsi Ferrari would finish third and within a tenth of Bovy.
During the third and final session of the day, the cars will run in the dark starting at 6:30 PM ET.
RESULTS