The Rolex 24 hours at Daytona grid is set ahead of the American endurance classic on Saturday. Tom Blomqvist, and the championship defending #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura took the first pole of the GTP era, with an absolute monster 1:34.031 lap from Blomqvist at the end of the session.
The Acuras took to the track first, with Ricky Taylor taking the first flyer in his #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura, setting a 1:34.295. The #60 dipped into the pits to change tires and wait for more track evolution after a 1:36.432 lap and 10 minutes left in the session.
With 10 minutes left, the rest of the class made their way to the track and started banging out laps to fight the Acuras for pole. As things started to get going, Nick Tandy in the #6 Porsche 963 had massive shunt at the Le Mans chicane, but luckily he was able to get the car back around the banking to the pits.
With debris on track, front end damage and only six minutes left, the red flag flew. For the #60, as well as the #01 Cadillac, who stood in the pits waiting for a last minute pole lap, the day seemed to be over.
With only enough time for an outlap and a flyer, the track went green. Blomqvist was on a mission and his flyer looked perfect. As the checkered flag flew the British driver crossed the line to jump from 7th to pole position with a miracle 1:34.031 on cold tires.
Behind him will run Felipe Nasr and the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport team who set a 1:34.114 under similar conditions. Ricky Taylor rounded out the top three with a 1:34.198 in the #10 Wayne Taylor Acura ARX-06, while Sebastian Bourdais had no track time before the red flag flew and went out to set a 1:34.262 and secure fourth place for the #01 Cadillac.
LMP2 was also stopped by a red flag when John Farano sent it into the wall on a flying lap, effectively ending the session for the P2s. Ben Keating had his #52 PR1 Mathasen Motorsport on pole at the time with a 1:40.541, so he retained it through the red flag and will lead the LMP2 machines to green.
In LMP3, 18-year-old Chilean driver Nico Pino put the #33 Sean Creech Motorsport machine on pole with a 1:43.197. This pole marks the first pole in the young driver’s career.
The GT classes had a joint 15-minute session to decide pole for both GTD and GTD Pro and continuing form from the 2022 season finale, the GTD drivers out drove the pros over one lap. Phillip Ellis put the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes on pole in GTD with a 1:46.093, making him the fastest of the GT cars overall.
In GTD Pro, Marco Engel put the #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes on pole with a 1.46.784. That lap gave him class pole, but he was only the fourth fastest GT driver, with three GTD cars ahead of the Pro-class driver.
Tom Blomqvist and the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura team will lead the field to green at the 61st running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona next Saturday to kick off the 2023 IMSA season.
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