P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Mike Rockenfeller headed Ford Multimatic’s first front-row knockout in qualifying for the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s 24 Hours of Daytona.
Rockenfeller secured his first IMSA pole position since 2006 at Homestead, leading the 37-car field of GTD and GTD Pro cars at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. The GTD Pro class saw intense competition with Ford claiming both the pole and front-row positions in the GT field. A notable change this year is that GTD Pro cars will start ahead of the GTD field, a departure from the previous combined classification. Rockenfeller’s #64 Ford Mustang GT3 clinched pole with a 1:45.523 lap time, ahead of teammate Vervisch. Harper, in the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, took third in his IMSA debut qualifying session. Sims’ #3 Corvette and Calderelli’s #9 Lamborghini rounded out the top five in GTD Pro.
