Tandy dominated the 3.56-mile road course, clocking a time of 1m35.617s in his GTP class, driving the Penske-run 963 amid pleasant and warm track conditions.
Last year’s pole time, set by Tom Blomqvist in Meyer Shank Racing’s Acura, stood at 1m34.031s.
Tandy quickly asserted his pace, recording his fastest lap in the factory-entered hybrid prototype during the early minutes of the session. His leading time faced a late challenge when Augusto Farfus piloted his RLL-run BMW M Hybrid V8 to a lap of 1m35.652s, just 0.035s behind.
Nick Yelloly in the sister BMW secured the third-fastest position, marginally over a tenth off the leading pace.
IndyCar champion Alex Palou showcased an impressive performance, claiming the fourth spot in Chip Ganassi Racing’s Cadillac V-Series.R, just under a quarter of a second adrift of the quickest time. Jack Aitken followed closely, two-tenths behind, in the Action Express Racing Caddy.
Colton Herta, among the quick IndyCar stars, outpaced Ricky Taylor to secure the fastest Acura position. Herta lapped his Wayne Taylor-run ARX-06 within half a second of Tandy, with Taylor Jr. a further tenth behind.
Felipe Nasr in the Penske Porsche and Richard Westbrook in the JDC-Miller Porsche secured the eighth and ninth positions, respectively. The session featured a total of 58 cars, with the Proton Competition Porsche 963, driven by Neel Jani in the closing minutes, classified 23rd overall.
The session experienced a red flag just before the 30-minute mark, necessitated by debris at Turn 4. It was halted again with 20 minutes remaining when Dennis Andersen spun his MDK by High-Class Racing ORECA LMP2 car at Turn 5.
In the LMP2 category, Mikkel Jensen initially set the pace in his No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA with a time of 1m40.648s. However, after an early off at Turn 3, Paul di Resta clinched the fastest lap for the class in his No. 22 United Autosports ORECA at 1m39.916s.
Ferdinand Habsburg, in his Tower Motorsports ORECA, came within 0.031s of Di Resta’s time, securing second place ahead of Nicklas Nielsen’s AF Corse version.
Katherine Legge led the GTD category for Acura, posting the fastest time of 1m46.289s in her No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX early in the session. Matteo Cressoni, in his No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan, came closest to the mark, leading the GTD Pro category.
Nico Varrone showcased speed in AWA’s new Corvette Z06 GT3.R, securing the third-fastest time, earning honors for the US muscle car.
The new Ford Mustang GT3s saw Frederic Vervisch setting the quickest time, ranking sixth overall. Andrea Caldarelli’s Lambo and Daniel Serra’s Ferrari were positioned ahead, while contact was reported at Turn 3 between Tommy Milner’s No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and Albert Costa’s No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296, with both continuing.
