Driving the #911 Porsche 911 RSR, Nick Tandy put together a brilliant lap in qualifying at the Daytona 24 on Thursday when he set a new qualifying record for the GTLM class at Daytona during the 15-minute session of 1:42.257 minutes. This makes Tandy the best qualifying driver in the history of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Earl Bamber qualified the #912 sister car in fifth grid spot.
Clearly Tandy was ‘in the zone’ as everything came together for one perfect lap, as he was able to capitalise on slip-streaming at just the right moment, and the execution of his drive was just right. It’s a long race, make no mistake, but if you start off on the right foot then that is all to the good.
In the GTD class, Porsche test driver Lars Kern secured eighth position on the debut of the new Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by the Canadian team, Pfaff Motorsports. The #73 car run by Park Place Motorsports recorded the tenth fastest time in class while the #540 Black Swan Racing car is three places further back, with the #99 NGT Motorsport car will start from 17th place in class.
In addition, we have compiled a selection of images from the pit lane and around the paddock, sent in by our intrepid all-rounder, Martin. We hope that you enjoy the gallery…
The 24-hour race at Daytona takes off on Saturday, 26 January, at 14h35 local time (20h35 CET). Make sure you have the armchair booked for the start tomorrow, with a good supply of snacks and frosties at your side…enjoy!!
Written by: Glen Smale and Martin Raffauf
Images by: Porsche Motorsport and Martin Raffauf
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