Nasr, AXR Fastest in Roar Qualifying

Felipe Nasr turned the fastest lap of the Roar Before the 24 to date and unofficially dipped below the track record in the Qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway.

The session was used to determine pit stall and garage locations for the Rolex 24 at Daytona later this month.

Nasr’s best lap was his last, a rapid 1:35.806 in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R. Tristan Vautier was second 0.231 seconds adrift in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Cadillac.

It was the first sub-1:36 lap time of the modern IMSA era but it’s unclear if it will count toward the official track record.

In all, Cadillac took the top four spots overall with Filipe Albuquerque in third for AXR and Renger Van Der Zande fourth for Wayne Taylor Racing.

Dane Cameron brought the No. 6 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 to the fifth-fastest time in the car’s competitive debut.

Joey Hand was fastest in the GT Le Mans session driving the No. 66 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT, edging Oliver Gavin in the second-place No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R by 0.030 seconds.

Hand’s teammate Ryan Briscoe checked in with the third-fastest time in the No. 67 Ford, followed by Earl Bamber in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR.

The sister No. 911 Porsche did not participate due to what the team termed a technical issue.

Reigning Blancpain GT champion Mirko Bortolotti led the way in the GT Daytona class qualifying in the No. 11 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3, a mere 0.062 seconds faster than Andy Lally in the Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 in the team’s return to IMSA competition.

Patrick Long’s final lap was his fastest and good enough for third in class in the No. 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports.

The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini turned laps in the session while dealing with mechanical issues, and the No. 59 Manthey Porsche also did not venture out on track.

Of the 19 GT Daytona cars that did take part in the session, the top 18 were covered by less than one second.

One session remains at the Roar for the WeatherTech teams coming up 2:45 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Qualifying