DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Tom Blomqvist, a Rolex 24 at Daytona rookie, turned the fastest lap Friday afternoon in the second practice session of the Roar warmup weekend at Daytona International Raceway.
Driving the No. 60 Acura DPi for Meyer Shank Racing, Blomqvist turned a 1-minute, 34.351-second lap around the 3.56-mile road course.
Filipe Albuquerque was second fastest in the No. 10 Acura for Wayne Taylor Racing, which is seeking a record-breaking fourth consecutive victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.
Fastest of the Day: @tom_blomqvist 👏🏻
— Meyer Shank Racing (@MeyerShankRac) January 21, 2022
P1 - 1:34.351-seconds #Roar24 // #DRVPNK // #IMSA pic.twitter.com/aa6ZnB4rRT
The No. 10 of WTR had paced the first practice session of the weekend that will set the starting lineup for the 60th running of the Rolex 24 with a 100-minute qualifying race Sunday.
SESSION II: Click here for the speed chart l Click here for the speed chart by class l Fastest lap by driver l Fastest lap by driver and class after session l Time cards l Best sector times l Fastest lap sequence l Combined practice results
INFO FOR THE 60TH ROLEX 24: Schedules, start times, entry lists
Reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou, who will be making the first endurance start of his career with the Rolex 24, was third fastest in the second practice, turning a lap of 1:34.712 in the No. 01 Cadillac of Chip Ganassi Racing.
“First practice at Daytona; it was a good day,” Palou said. “I’m trying to get used to the track, and it was nice to drive under the lights. The car is fast and hopefully, we can keep improving and get ready for next week.”
Ganassi teammate Earl Bamber ranked fourth and was followed by 2016 Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi, who turned his first laps of the weekend in the No. 10 of WTR.
Jimmie Johnson, who is trying to win his first Rolex 24 in his ninth start, was the 12th-fastest driver in the second practice Friday, turning a lap of 1:35.795 in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac of Action Express (which also fields the reigning DPi champion No. 31).
“I’m very thankful that we came and tested in December, just to get the drivers, especially myself, the reps and up to speed so the limited laps that you get here at the Roar don’t spook you,” said Johnson, who returns with Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller in the car that finished second last year. “I feel very comfortable. We still have a little bit of work to do on the car, but from a new environment with (new teammate) Jose (Maria Lopez) coming on board, the teamwork between the (Nos.) 31 and 48, we’re having a lot of fun, and it’s a very good race team.”
Here were the fastest drivers in other classes during Session 2:
LMP2: Rene Rast, No. 68 ORECA, G-Drive Racing By APR
LMP3: Malthe Jakobsen, No. 33 Ligier, Sean Creech Motorsport
GTD PRO: Mirko Bortolotti, No. 63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3, TR3 Racing
GTD: Raffaele Marciello, No. 75 Mercedes-AMG GT3, Sun Energy 1
There will be another practice Saturday morning before qualifying for the second annual Motul 100 race. Sunday’s 100-minute race (which will be streamed on Peacock) will set the starting lineup for the 60th Rolex 24 at Daytona, which will take place Jan. 29-30.