Porsche’s Vanthoor Leads Disturbed Final Rolex 24 Practice
Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Laurens Vanthoor showcased his competitive edge in the final practice for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The session, marked by three interruptions, concluded with Vanthoor clocking the fastest lap at 1:36.475 in the No. 6 Porsche 963.
Porsche Dominates Final Rolex 24 Practice
Vanthoor’s impressive time narrowly edged out Ricky Taylor from Wayne Taylor Racing, who finished just 0.066 seconds slower in the No. 10 Cadillac V-Series.R. The top three was rounded out by Dries Vanthoor in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8.
Notable Performances and Class Leaders
- 4th: Julien Andlauer in the No. 7 Porsche 963
- 5th: Louis Deletraz in the second WTR Cadillac
- 10th: No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, which faced challenges
In the LMP2 category, Charles Milesi led the way in the No. 11 TDS Racing Oreca 07 Gibson, achieving a time of 1:39.909, surpassing Enzo Fittipaldi in the No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports entry.
In the GTD Pro class, Maro Engel set the top time with a 1:46.251 in the 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, followed closely by Max Hesse in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin led the GTD category in the DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Session Interruptions
The practice session faced several interruptions. The first red flag occurred when Henrik Hedman stopped his No. 19 DragonSpeed Corvette at the Le Mans chicane. A minor incident involving Jon Field’s No. 37 Intersport Racing Oreca LMP2 also caused a brief halt. The final interruption came from the Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, which faced technical difficulties.
Despite the interruptions, all affected vehicles returned to the track, ensuring competitive times reshaped the leaderboard ahead of the race.
The prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona will commence at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, with teams eager to showcase their performances.
