Castroneves Fastest in Mid-Ohio Warmup

Acura Team Penske took the top two spots in the morning warmup session at Mid-Ohio, with pole-sitter Helio Castroneves setting the pace.

Castroneves’ fast lap of 1:14.124 in the No. 7 Acura ARX-05 was 0.265 seconds faster than Dane Cameron in the sister No. 6 entry.

Colin Braun was third fastest for CORE autosport 0.433 seconds behind Castroneves, while the brace of Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R machines of Felipe Nasr and Filipe Albuquerque checked in fourth and fifth despite an incident in the final 90 seconds of the session for Nasr.

The ex-Formula 1 driver slid off the track in the carousel and made contact with the tire wall, ending the practice early. The damage did not appear to be extensive and Nasr drove the car back to the attention of his crew.

A more significant incident a few minutes prior for the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet did not result in a stoppage, but the Frenchman was forced to drive his car to the garage after backing into a tire barrier.

The car sustained significant bodywork damage but the team is confident the tub, engine, and transmission were not affected and repairs are expected to be complete in time for this afternoon’s race.

The session saw Jesse Krohn set the fastest time in GT Le Mans in the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE for BMW Team RLL. Richard Westbrook was second in the No. 67 Ford GT, followed by Laurens Vanthoor’s No. 912 Porsche.

In GT Daytona, Jack Hawksworth continued the impressive showing for 3GT racing by turning the fastest lap in class in the polesitting No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3.

Alvaro Parente was second fastest in the hometown Meyer Shank Racing No. 86 Acura NSX GT3, while Dominik Baumann was third in the No. 14 Lexus.

The two hour, forty minute Mid-Ohio Sports Car Showdown will get underway at 1:05 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Warmup