CSM’s Burkhard Fastest in Roar Testing

Morgan Burkhard topped the times across three days of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge testing at Daytona International Speedway ahead of next weekend’s four-hour season opener.

GS and TCR competitors were given a total of five sessions across the Roar Before the Rolex 24 weekend, with Burkhard’s benchmark time of 1:52.800 coming during the opening session on Friday.

As a result, the No. 2 CSM Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport was 0.175 seconds faster than the No. 46 Team TGM Ford Mustang GT4 of Matt Plumb, with the sister machine of Hugh Plumb third.

Ford runners occupied all but the top spot in the top five across the weekend, with Clayton Williams fourth in the No. 30 LAP Motorsports entry followed by McCumbee McAleer Racing driver Nate Cicero.

Former NTT IndyCar Series driver Matheus Leist was sixth aboard the No. 7 VPX Porsche, with Gregory Liefooghe slotting into seventh at the wheel of the No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing Mustang.

The overall top ten was completed by the No. 14 Circle H Racing Aston Martin, No. 60 KohR Motorsports Mustang and No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Philip Ellis set the time in the latter car, serving as a stand-in for Daan Arrow as the Dutchman had clashing commitments with Winward in the Michelin 24H Dubai.

In TCR, Honda squads ended testing with a 1-2, led by the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Civic FL5 TCR  driven by Rocco Pasquarella.

Pasquarella reeled off a 1:57.565 in the second session, which left him 0.074 seconds clear of the No. 89 HART entry in the hands of Cameron Lawrence.

Celso Neto was third in the No. 77 Stallion Motorsports with Gou CUPRA Leon VZ TCR, followed by the No. 72 Pegram Racing Honda in the hands of Mario Farnbacher.

With Roar running now complete, the Pilot Challenge teams will return to the circuit for the opening practice session ahead of the BMW M Endurance Challenge on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Daytona Test (Combined)