Pipo Derani of the #31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R GTP entrant topped the opening IMSA free practice session at Long Beach with a time of 1.13.477.
The first sprint of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season is set to take place this Saturday 20 April, and so the first of two practice sessions began proceedings.
Reigning GTP champion Derani was fastest towards the end of the 1-hour session, marking a positive start since his race-ending crash at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the previous IMSA round.
The #31 Cadillac raked up 30 laps during the session as second-placed Connor De Phillippi in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 set a 1:13.503 on the 28th and final lap set during FP1.
Chip Ganassi’s #01 Cadillac narrowly took third position with a 1.13.531 by Sebastien Bourdais, although only completed an unusual low count of nine laps in comparison to their rivals.
Nick Tandy claimed fourth for the #6 Porsche Penske 963 after a 1:14.056 lap time. The British driver and his teammate Mathieu Jaminet won the race last year, and are looking to repeat the feat to boost their championship position.
Phillip Eng rounded off the top-five in the GTP category in his #24 BMW RLL machine with a time of 1:14.213.
In the GTD category, AWA’s sole Corvette Z06 GT3.R was quickest over the 17-car field although lap times were equally as narrow on the timesheets.
Matt Bell set a 1:18.911 in their #13 Corvette from 29 laps, followed by Vasser Sullivan’s Parker Thompson in the #89 Lexus RC F GT3 with a 1:19.055.
Third position was claimed by the #45 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 run by Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, as Kyle Marcelli set a 1:19.150.
In fourth was the other Vasser Sullivan Lexus – the #89 – because reigning GTD Pro champion Jack Hawksworth put a 1:19.153 on the timesheets, as he will compete in the GTD category this weekend.
Inception Racing rounded off the top-five in GTD with their #70 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO setting a 1:19.198 in the hands of Frederik Schandorff.
Free practice 2 is set to continue the action with a 1-hour and 30-minute session later on commencing at 8.50pm UK time.
See here for the full classification of results from FP1 for the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
