Vautier, JDC-Miller Cadillac Quickest in Roar Qualifying

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Tristan Vautier will start Sunday’s Rolex 24 qualifying race from the top position after recording the quickest time in qualifying on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

The Frenchman took his No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R to a best lap of 1:34.034, edging out the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 of Filipe Albuquerque by 0.122 seconds.

An accident for the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Renger van der Zande, whose car touched the barriers in the second horseshoe, resulted in a red flag with five minutes remaining and the deletion of the Dutchman’s quickest time.

The session did not restart.

It promoted the No. 02 CGR Cadillac of Alex Lynn to third, followed by the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac of Tristan Nunez in fourth.

Jimmie Johnson completed the top five in the No. 48 Ally-sponsored AXR Cadillac.

Ben Keating was quickest in the LMP2 class, leading a PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports 1-2 in class.

Keating’s 1:37.296 lap time in the No. 52 Oreca 07 Gibson outpaced teammate Steven Thomas by a considerable 0.637 seconds.

High Class Racing’s Dennis Andersen was third quickest, meanwhile.

LMP3 was paced by the No. 26 Muehlner Motorsports Duqueine D08 Nissan of Cameron Shields, who reeled off a best lap of 1:42.182.

KCMG Porsche Tops GTD Pro; Habul Quickest in GTD

Alexandre Imperatori was quickest in GTD Pro, thanks to a last-lap flyer of 1:46.136 in his KCMG Porsche 911 GT3 R on a drying track.

It was 0.063 seconds faster than the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet, who ended up second quickest.

Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos locked out the front row in GTD, meanwhile, led by SunEnergy1 Racing’s Kenny Habul.

Bronze-rated Habul drove his No. 75 Mercedes to a best lap of 1:46.313, which was less than two-tenths slower than Imperatori’s fast time in GTD Pro and was third best among all GTD entrants.

The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes of Russell Ward was second quickest in class, followed by the No. 59 Crucial Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 of Jon Miller, who ended up third.

Bronze or Silver-rated drivers were required to qualify in GTD while there were no driver restrictions in GTD Pro.

Lamborghini factory driver Andrea Caldarelli put in the third quickest time in GTD Pro aboard the No. 63 TR3 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, meanwhile.

A collision between the No. 15 Proton USA Mercedes of Austin Cindric and Robert Megennis’ No. 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Lamborghini resulted in suspected suspension damage to the Mercedes.

The session also saw a brief spin for Brendan Iribe in the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren.

The 100-minute qualifying race to set the grid for the 60th Rolex 24 at Daytona gets underway Sunday at 2 p.m. ET with live coverage on Peacock.

RESULTS: Qualifying

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