Photo: Scott LePage/IMSA
Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia ended the opening day of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR on top, after a hot and humid day in Virginia.
Garcia reeled off a best lap of 1:42.623 in his No. 3 Corvette C7.R, edging out the No. 66 Ford GT of Joey Hand by 0.077 seconds in Friday’s second practice session.
“In normal conditions, I would think it would be mega! But for today, I’m very happy with the track and our Corvette,” Garcia said. “We have some data and other things to analyze, but so far so good.”
The sister No. 67 Ford GT of Ryan Briscoe was third quickest, ahead of the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE, which crashed in the hands of Toni Vilander halfway through the session.
The Ferrari sustained left-side bodywork and suspension damage from the incident, which brought out the session’s only red flag.
The No. 100 BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM of John Edwards completed the top-five overall and in the GTLM class in the afternoon session.
Lamborghini continued to lead the way in GT Daytona, with Bryan Sellers quickest in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Huracan GT3.
Sellers’ 1:44.944 lap was 0.165 seconds quicker than the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R, who ended the day second quickest in class.
Corey Lewis made it two Lamborghinis in the top-three, pedaling his No. 16 Change Racing entry to a 1:45.179 lap.
Temperatures rose to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, with track temps over 130 degrees, during the session.
A final 60-minute practice session is on tap for Saturday at 8 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying at noon-time.
RESULTS: Practice 2
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