Dan Harper took GTD Pro pole in the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, with a 1:23.259 for the Northern Irish driver.
He set his original time, a 1;23.337, early in the session, in the first half of the 15 minutes. This would have been good enough for pole, but he then set his slightly faster pole lap in the dying moments of the session after returning to the track from the pits. Regardless, no one was able to better his original time, although many tried.
However, Harper was not quicker than the GTD pole sitter — more on that in a minute. Due to the IMSA rules the GTD Pro cars will start ahead of the GTD cars, regardless of which cars were quicker between the two classes.
So, with Harper on pole for BMW and Paul Miller Racing, Christopher Mies was second in the #65 Ford Mustang GT3, 0.186 off Harper. Mikael Grenier was third quickest in the #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3, a further 0.042 off Mies.
Fourth quickest in the GTD Pro class was Alexander Sims, in the #3 Pratt Miller Corvette Z06 GT3R, while fifth was Andrea Caldarelli in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
Stevenson quickest in GTD
In GTD, it took a little while for the drivers to get the tyres for each car into the window. But once they did, Casper Stevenson, driving the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, set the fastest time of the session — and in both GT classes combined — a 1:23.088.
Furthermore, the Briton’s three sectors were the fastest overall, meaning he had the track’s optimal lap. He also missed the GTD track record by mere hundredths.
In second was Lilou Wadoux, in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, almost two tenths off Stevenson. The young Frenchwoman was followed by Lin Hodenius, in the #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes AMG-GT3, almost half a second off Stevenson’s session-topping time with a 1:23.570.
Fourth was Russell Ward in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes, followed by Manny Franco driving the #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari.
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