IMSA: Blomqvist claims pole at Daytona 24

Tom Blomqvist claims pole position for the Daytona 24-hour in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. 

GTP

With four manufacturers in the GTP class for 2023, tension was built for the first-ever qualifying session for the GTP class. It would be a slow start to the session with Ricky Taylor in the #10 Acura, setting a benchmark time.

Blomqvist would quickly show his pace, slotting into second position behind Taylor. Felipe Nasr would struggle for pace in the early stages in the #7 Porsche, in seventh position. Ahead of Nasr was Nick Yelloly, in the brand-new BMW M Hybrid V8.

With just six minutes to go the #7 car would spin and crash into the barrier, bringing out the red flag. The session would be restarted with just two and a half minutes to go, as drivers headed out for one last run.

The last laps would be frantic, with the ordering styling the same until the final lap of the session. Tom Blomqvist would claim pole position on his final lap of the session by just 0.083 of a second.

LMP2

LMP2 cars would head out for the qualifying session, with drama in the early stages. The #10 Oreca of Steven Thomas was pitching on the Daytona banking, causing the car to have a seesaw-like motion.

Dennis Andersen would lead the session early on, with a 1:44.300 closely followed by Ben Keating. Eric Lux in the #51 Oreca would sit in third position, in the single-make LMP2 field.

Keating would quickly make his way up the order with an incredible lap putting him in a provisional pole position. He would be changed by Francois Heriau and Thomas in the top three, for a final shootout.

A red flag would come out with five minutes to go as the #8 car of Farano crashed and destroy the rear of his car. However, at the same time Fred Poordad in the #55 car, would crash.

Both the #8 and the #55 crash would lose their fastest laps of the session, placing them down in the grid. The session would not be restarted, resulting in Ben Keating claiming the first LMP2 pole position of the year.

LMP3

At the start of the session for the LMP3 class, rain would be reported around the circuit, causing drivers to push early on. The class was highly competitive throughout 2022, with multiple manufacturers.

Early on Luca Mars would top the session in the #85 Duquei D08, with just a 0.286 lead over De Oliveira. With five minutes to go Dickerson would take the top slot by one-tenth of a second.

Nico Pino would take the top spot next time at the line, he would remain in that position for the rest of the session. Dickenson would stay in second position, with Cameron Shields in the #38 Ligier in third.

The pressure would build for Luca Mars, spinning at the end of the qualifying, and would flat spot his tyres, resulting in a second spin a few laps later. The #117 of Antony Mantella would join Mars by spinning in the final moments, after taking too much kerb at the chicane.

GTD

The GTD race was spilt into two classes, the GTD class and GTD Pro this format allows teams to get split up appropriately. They would be the first cars out for their qualifying session, setting up the theme of the day.

The GTD class was dominated by the Mercedes-AMG GT3 early on and would continue that way. Misha Goikhberg in the #78 Lamborghini would spin as the chequered flag waved, leaving the team in 16^th.

However, in the GTD Pro class Mercedes, domination would not continue, with three manufacturers in the top three. The #79 Mercedes would claim pole position in the class, with Ross Gun’s Aston Martin behind. Ben Barnicoat would be the highest Lexus in the field, with a third position for next week’s race. 

The Daytona 24-hour will get underway on the 28^th of January, where the roar will be unleashed at Daytona.