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Ellis, who will be partnered in the Rolex 24 with Russell Ward, Indy Dontje and Lucas Auer, admitted he took some satisfaction from besting the top GTD PRO entries.
“Of course, it’s nice to be at the very top of the GT field, but it doesn’t really mean much,” Ellis said. “The cars are the same; we have the same BoP (Balance of Performance), so it’s not like it used to be with the old GTLM (GT Le Mans class).
“So this is the icing on the cake, but it doesn’t mean anything for the racing, unfortunately. It’s a completely different animal to go through the 24 hours.”
Engel – who along with Ellis, Ward and Dontje won the 2021 Rolex 24 in the Winward GTD entry – similarly downplayed the interspersing of GTD and GTD PRO cars in qualifying. Also a first-time IMSA pole winner, Engel’s co-drivers this year in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes are Cooper MacNeil, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon. |
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“We definitely have an amazing car,” Engel said. “The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is a car that’s well adapted to all forms of GT racing, whether long-distance or the sprint rounds. It’s always a car that gives the driver confidence, and I think all four teams did a really good job today.
“There was some room for me to improve in that qualifying session, but it was still good enough for pole,” he added. “So that’s great. It’s a huge field of GT cars, and being at the sharp end is good for the start and trying to stay out of trouble.”
The fastest non-Mercedes qualifier was Ross Gunn in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the GTD PRO class at 1:46.825. Kyle Marcelli, who set the early pace at 1:46.867 in the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR Acura NSX GT3 (GTD), rounded out the top six.
Cars with new models for 2023 to the WeatherTech Championship include Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche. The top Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 qualified 14th among the GT cars (Andrea Caldarelli in the No. 63 for Iron Lynx, 1:48.233, sixth in GTD PRO), one spot ahead of the highest-placed Ferrari 296 GT3 (Antonio Fuoco, 1:48.309, in Cetilar Racing’s No. 47 GTD entry).
The seven examples of the new 992-generation version of the Porsche 911 GT3 R all qualified toward the back, led by defending Rolex 24 GTD class winner Jan Heylen and the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche with the 21st fastest lap (148.942). Last year’s GTD PRO winner at Daytona, the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche, qualified 22nd Sunday by Laurens Vanthoor (1:48.977).
All cars are idle now until practice for the 61st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona begins Thursday. Live race coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC.
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