Daytona Thursday Notebook

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

***The No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R unofficially topped the time charts after two sessions Thursday in the IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway, with the Scott Dixon, Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais-driven entry setting a pace-setting 1:35.317 in the second session.

***The time was nearly three-tenths slower than Andrea Caldarelli’s 1:35.027 set in the Lamborghini SC63 on Wednesday, which stands as the quickest of the test heading into Thursday evening’s three-hour run that will mark the fifth and final session for GTP and LMP2 entries. Friday and Saturday’s sessions are for GTD Pro and GTD cars only.

***Paul Miller Racing’s BMW M4 GT3 was quickest of the GT cars, thanks to a 1:46.111 lap that edged out the No. 91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R of Trent Hindman. The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R had a best time of 1:46.353, with the No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3 close behind with a 1:46.618, both times also set in the afternoon session.

***Thursday’s morning session featured a red flag for the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 of Marcus Ericsson, who locked up the brakes entering the Le Mans Chicane and made contact with the tire barriers. The NTT IndyCar Series ace drove the car back to the pits with only minimal bodywork damage sustained.

***There was action on pit lane as well, with a small fire for the No. 4 Pratt Miller Motorsports-run Corvette Z06 GT3.R that resulted in an extensive cleanup for the crew in the garage due to the extinguisher residue.

***Tommy Milner told Sportscar365: “We didn’t get a whole lot of running this morning, unfortunately, because of the fire. But the 3 car, they were able to continue on with the test program. Last I heard, the plan was to take some of the work they’ve done and put it on our car and accelerate that, so we’re not too far behind.”

***The afternoon session saw a brief red flag, with details unknown at the time of publishing.

***Toyota WEC protege Ritomo Miyata turned his first laps in Vasser Sullivan’s Lexus RC F GT3 in the morning session, completing two stints at the wheel of the No. 12 entry ahead of a possible debut in the Rolex 24. When asked about Miyata’s chances of taking part in the race, Lexus motorsports senior manager Jeff Bal told Sportscar365 that Vasser Sullivan intends to announce its full driver lineup next week.

***It’s understood that the GTD Pro championship-winning No. 14 Lexus is likely to utilize a four-driver roster for the first time in the class. Reigning champions Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat plus IndyCar ace Kyle Kirkwood are so far confirmed in the car.

***Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid said the atmosphere at this week’s test, one year after the final IMSA-sanctioned test prior to the LMDh platform’s race debut, has a significantly different feel to it from last December, which had nearly the entire GTP paddock with various stages of issues.

***He told Sportscar365: “The pit lane is set up to where all the LMDh cars are down on one end so we can sort of see our competitors and everybody looks a lot more calm and organized and they’re focusing on running the cars and not really scrambling anymore.”

***Diuguid said that Porsche Penske will roll out a new chassis for one of its entries at the Roar and Rolex 24, with the other chassis, which is a few races old, set to start the season.

***Both The Heart of Racing and Magnus Racing are giving the yet-to-be-named Aston Martin Vantage Evo its first laps at Daytona. Heart of Racing team principal Ian James confirmed to Sportscar365 that their car has been upgraded from an existing team chassis.

***There have been few details on the extent of the upgrades, besides the visible bodywork changes that are styled on a yet-to-be-launched road car. “I’ve driven it a little bit in Europe before now and it seems to be a good step forward in some of the weaknesses,” James said. “Drivability seems a little bit better. The driver interface is a step forward.”

***While newly minted Gold-rated driver Roman De Angelis has been confirmed in the No. 27 Aston for the season in GTD, James said his co-driver for the sprint rounds has not been finalized, although indicated that it could still be Zach Robichon, who is set as a designated Silver for the five-round Michelin Endurance Cup. James, meanwhile, has ruled himself out of contesting the sprint races in the car.

***James hinted that there’s a possibility of mixing up its LMGT3 lineup in the FIA World Endurance Championship with multiple drivers sharing a seat over the course of the season due to date clashes with the WeatherTech Championship.

***He said: “We haven’t decided yet who does what with clashes and who misses races. Out of all the drivers, some of them may do some WEC races and some IMSA. The beauty of having four or five drivers on the roster is that we can move them around as we want.”

***Ashton Harrison revealed that her only scheduled race for next year is the Rolex 24, as the fourth driver in the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. Harrison confirmed to Sportscar365 that she will not return to Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS competition.

***Sportscar365 understands that WTR Andretti has ambitions of expanding into a two-car Lamborghini GTD program in 2025, which Silver-rated Harrison has been earmarked for.

***Harrison said: “I’m really focusing on preparing for 2025. My goal is full season in WeatherTech in 2025. Right now making the transition into the Lamborghini program is an exciting time and to be back at WTR Andretti [for Daytona].”

***It’s understood that Sean Creech Motorsport’s Ligier JS P217 Gibson is an ex-ARC Bratislava chassis. The team campaigned Ligiers in the European and Asian Le Mans Series, as well at the 24 Hours of Le Mans prior to a switch to an Oreca.

***An updated full season WeatherTech Championship entry list is expected to be released in the coming days. Sportscar365 understands that at least two additional entries that were confirmed on the Rolex 24 entry list have turned into full-time efforts, pushing the full season entry list to at least 50 cars.

***A total of 14 GTD Pro/GTD cars are set to take part in IMSA’s ‘targeted performance testing’ on Friday and Saturday, featuring one car from each of the 11 GT3 manufacturers with the exception of Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG and Ford, which will each have two cars taking part in the test.

***The list includes entries from Paul Miller Racing, Iron Lynx, Triarsi Competizione, Heart of Racing Team, Korthoff/Preston Motorsports, Winward Racing, Risi Competizione and Kellymoss with Riley.

***Targeted performance test cars and non-targeted performance test cars will participate together in Friday’s two sessions, with targeted performance test cars having been instructed to run with headlights and taillights illuminated at all times.

***Saturday’s running, meanwhile, will be for targeted performance testing-nominated cars only, with the IMSA’s stated goal to “minimize disruption” to the prescribed test car programs, which will see the nominated cars run in various prescribed BoP parameters for runs while making trips through IMSA’s technical inspection center for configuration verification.

***A statement from IMSA provided to Sportscar365 reads: “Clear goals have been set and an increased level of transparency between IMSA, the manufacturers and teams, will allow for the collection of multiple performance data points throughout the controlled testing. This will further compliment this evolution of the BoP process as we work together to define the 2024 Roar and Rolex 24 BoP.”

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