Kobayashi Tops Roar Session 1 for AXR

Kamui Kobayashi set the pace for Action Express Racing and Cadillac in the first official on-track running of 2021 at the Roar Before the 24.

The Japanese driver put the No. 48 Cadillac DPi-V.R at the top of the charts with a lap time of 1:35.312, 0.385 seconds faster than second-placed Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05.

Felipe Nasr was third in the No. 31 Cadillac from the Action Express stable, with Renger van der Zande and Jonathan Bomarito completing the top five for Chip Ganassi Racing and Mazda Motorsports, respectively.

Multiple 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Nico Lapierre was fastest in the LMP2 class for defending series champion PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, followed by Ferdinand Habsburg for High Class Racing and Tower Motorsports’ Gabriel Aubry.

The first session for LMP3 machinery in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was led by Laurents Hoerr in the No. 6 Duqueine D08 Nissan for Muehlner Motorsports America.

Scott Andrews was second fastest and just 0.087 seconds off the pace in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 Nissan, followed by Wayne Boyd in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier.

Ferrari topped GT Le Mans in Risi Competizione’s return to the WeatherTech Championship. James Calado was fastest for the Houston-based team and his time of 1:43.680 in the No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo slotted him in just behind the fastest LMP3 time.

Jordan Taylor was second fastest for Corvette Racing while Connor De Phillippi made it three different manufacturers in the top three in class.

The GT Daytona class saw Team Hardpoint EBM driver Christina Nielsen set the fast time by 0.311 seconds over AF Corse’s Matteo Cressoni.

Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, and Patrick Long completed the top five in class for Winward Racing, SunEnergy1 Racing, and Wright Motorsports, respectively.

The session ran without major incident.

Of note, the No. 82 DragonSpeed Oreca 07 Gibson only completed three laps, while the No. 111 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, and the No. 29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca did not turn laps.

Roar practice resumes for WeatherTech Championship teams this afternoon at 4:15 p.m. local time.

RESULTS: Session 1

***This story has been updated at 4:07 p.m. ET to reflect that Kamui Kobayashi set the fast time, not Simon Pagenaud as previously reported. A driver ID mixup caused Pagenaud to incorrectly be listed as the car’s fastest driver.***