Driving the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R prepared by Action Express Racing, the Brazilian driver showcased an impressive performance with a quick lap time of 1m35.708s around the 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway.
The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963, led early on thanks to Felipe Nasr but finished as the runner-up, trailing 0.310s behind.
Sebastien Bourdais, behind the wheel of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R from Chip Ganassi Racing, secured the third position, 0.401s behind the leader.
In fourth place was Connor De Phillippi driving the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 (BMW M Team RLL), posting a time 0.612s off Derani’s pace. The sister No. 24 BMW, driven by Phillipp Eng, claimed the fifth spot, finishing 0.624s behind.
In the LMP2 category, Malthe Jakobsen set the pace with the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2, clocking in at 1m39.166s.
The No. 2 United Autosports USA, driven by Pato O’Ward, secured second place, 0.306s behind the leader. Christian Rasmussen, the 2023 Indy NXT champion, placed the No. 18 entry for Era Motorsport in third, trailing by 0.477s.
During the session, a red flag was raised in the first 15 minutes when the No. 74 Riley ORECA experienced a halt in Turn 6, leading to a brief pause. Additionally, the No. 20 MDK by High Class Racing had a spin in Turn 6 with 34 minutes left in practice but managed to continue.
In the GTD Pro class, Earl Bamber took the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R (Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports) to the top with a lap time of 1m46.770s.
The sister No. 3 Corvette, with Alexander Sims at the helm, secured the second position, finishing only 0.088s slower after missing significant time in both early practices.
Larry Voorde, driving the No. 86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), set the pace among the sole GTD entries with a quick lap of 1m47.075s.
The No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2, driven by Danny Formal, claimed the second spot, trailing by a mere 0.022s.
