Blomqvist Quickest for Acura MSR in Opening Day of Testing

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Tom Blomqvist laid down the quickest time in the opening day of track action in the IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway, leading the way in Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The No. 60 Acura ARX-06 that Blomqvist shared with Colin Braun, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist topped the time charts thanks to a 1:35.905 lap set in the second of two sessions on Friday.

It was just 0.025 seconds quicker than the No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 of Andrea Caldarelli, who was quickest overall in the opening session on the Florida high banks.

The pair of Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8s slotted in third and fourth, with times both set by Philipp Eng, while Nick Yelloly was credited with the fourth quickest time in the No. 93 Acura MSR entry.

The No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Jack Aitken completed the top-five in GTP.

Reigning ABB FIA Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein turned his first laps of Daytona aboard JDC-Miller Motorsports’ Porsche 963, which set the sixth quickest time in the hands of Gianmaria Bruni.

Eighth quickest, meanwhile, went to the No. 7 Penske Porsche of Kevin Estre, followed by the Ricky Taylor-driven No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing entry and Julian Andlauer’s No. 6 Penske Porsche, which completed the top-ten.

The new Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH was 12th on the GTP time sheets, with Ross Gunn’s best time more than seven-tenths adrift from Blomqvist’s pace-setting time.

LMP2, meanwhile, was led by the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca 07 Gibson of Malthe Jakobsen, who edged out United Autosports drivers Ben Hanley and Rasmus Lindh to be quickest on the opening day.

The opening session saw two red flags, the first for the No. 74 Riley Oreca that was off course in Turn 5, followed by a separate incident for the No. 99 AO Racing entry in Turn 5.

Friday’s second session ran without any red flags.

Three sessions are on tap for Saturday, which will include the first runs for GTD Pro and GTD class machinery.

RESULTS: Friday Testing (Combined)

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John