Derani Keeps AXR Up Top as Roar Continues

Pipo Derani kept Action Express Racing atop the timesheets for the second consecutive practice session during the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

The Brazilian racer steered the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R to a best lap of 1:35.372, outpacing Richard Westbrook’s No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 by 0.026 seconds.

Derani’s lap was slightly slower than the 1:35.217 that allowed him to set the fastest time of the opening day of Roar running on Friday.

Connor De Phillippi ensured three different manufacturers were represented in the top three, picking up third behind the wheel of the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8.

Scott Dixon slotted into fourth aboard the No. 01 Cadillac, with Filipe Albuquerque rounding out the top five in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06.

Gianmaria Bruni’s customer Proton Competition Porsche took sixth ahead of the factory Penske machine of Mathieu Jaminet, with WTR Andretti’s Jordan Taylor in eighth.

Matt Campbell and Philipp Eng completed the overall top ten, with just over a second separating the top and bottom runners in the GTP category.

Nicklas Nielsen set the pace in the LMP2 class, with the Ferrari Hypercar driver reeling off a 1:38.576 after just over half an hour to lead in the No. 88 Richard Mille AF Corse Oreca 07 Gibson.

In the process, he dropped TDS Racing’s Charles Milesi to second, just ahead of Malthe Jakobsen in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR entry.

Tommy Milner led the GT field aboard the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, posting a 1:45.844 to go quickest in GTD Pro.

He ran 0.142 seconds faster than the Kyle Marcelli-driven No. 45 WTR Andretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, which topped GTD.

Porsche drivers Thomas Preining and Julien Andlauer took second and third in the class, ending the session just ahead of the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 that ended up second in GTD Pro thanks to Harry Tincknell.

The 90-minute session ran without a red flag and saw few incidents apart from a few spins, most notably for Ben Keating’s No. 2 United Autosports Oreca.

Track action at Daytona continues with the fourth practice session, scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Session 3