However, the session started very badly on the BMW side. Sheldon van der Linde, driving the No. 25, stopped on the inside of the track, causing a red flag even though no one had banked a lap. The South African was unable to leave. The propeller firm’s clan could, however, have a smile this Thursday since Dries Vanthoor was the fastest at the wheel of the No. 24, establishing the reference time of the session in 1:33.895.
The Belgian beat Nick Yelloly’s No. 93 Acura ARX-06 by 0.291 seconds. Felipe Nasr placed the No. 7 Porsche 963 in third place, 0.385 seconds from the lead. The first Cadillac finished at the foot of the podium with the No. 31 driven by Jack Aitken, 0.455 seconds behind. The end of the session was lively: Tom Blomqvist (Acura no. 60) and Mirko Bortolotti (Lamborghini no. 63) came very close to a big clash in the banking.
In LM P2, the session ended with a red flag following an exit from the track by PJ Hyett (No. 99 AO Racing Oreca). Pole position in this category went to the No. 22 United Autosports car thanks to Daniel Goldburg. The American beat his compatriots Ben Keating (PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports) and Nick Boulle (United Autosports n°2).
Ford double in the GTD Pro category
The Ford Mustang GT3s put in a great performance in GTD Pro, scoring a double. Mike Rockenfeller set the reference time in 1:45.523. The experienced German beat the Belgian Frédéric Vervish, also on a “Pony Car”, by 0.332 seconds. Dan Harper set the third fastest time at the wheel of the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
In GTD, it was Elliott Skeer who set the best time with the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. The American beat Philip Ellis in the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 by just 0.018 seconds. The category podium is completed by a Lamborghini, the #45 from Wayne Taylor Racing driven by Trent Hindman.
The start of the 2025 24 Hours of Daytona will be given on Saturday at 7:40 p.m. (French time).
ALSO READ > Entries, timetables… The program for the 24 Hours of Daytona 2025
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