There is nothing quite like the frantic energy of a season finale, and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta has wasted no time turning up the heat. Porsche Penske Motorsport flexed its muscle right out of the gate on Thursday as Julien Andlauer rocketed to the top of the timing charts during the second of three 90-minute practice sessions. It is a stunning way to kick off the legendary Motul Petit Le Mans, even if the championship math remains a brutal mountain to climb for the No. 7 crew.
Andlauer punched in a blistering 1 minute, 10.639-second lap around the 2.54-mile road course, averaging 129.446 miles per hour in humid and sunny conditions. That put him just ahead of Laurens Vanthoor, who managed a 1:10.683 in PPM’s sister No. 6 Porsche 963. BMW M Team WRT wasn't far off either, with Sheldon van der Linde guiding the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 to within 0.088 seconds of the leading benchmark.
For Laurin Heinrich, the weekend is all about fighting to the very end despite facing a massive 147-point deficit to Jack Aitken in the Grand Touring Prototype driver standings. Heinrich, who has raced across three different Porsches this year, knows his fate is ultimately out of his hands. “Even if we win the race, we are still depending on outside factors which are not in my control, which means the No. 31 has to finish ninth or lower,” Heinrich said. Defending winner Aitken shares the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R with Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, with Vesti taking ninth in the afternoon session.
The morning running belonged to Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, where Nick Yelloly paced the field in the No. 93 machine with a 1:11.506 lap, a microscopic 0.003 seconds faster than teammate Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60. The sessions also welcomed back heavy-hitting endurance drivers like Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, who jumped back into the IMSA fray for the first time since March at Sebring.
Elsewhere on track, the classes were fiercely contested. Inter Europol Competition led the LMP2 battle as Tom Dillmann laid down a 1:12.628 in the No. 43 ORECA. That session wasn't without drama, as the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA triggered a red flag after nosing into the Turn 5 tires, costing the car its fastest qualifying lap. In the GT categories, Thomas Preining brought out another red flag when his No. 911 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R stopped on course, while Daniel Serra set the pace for GTD PRO in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari.
Ultimately, it was a pair of GTD machines that stole a march on the stopwatch by the end of Thursday afternoon. Aaron Telitz broke into the 1:18s with a 1:18.930 in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, closely followed by Lorenzo Patrese in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari. With class qualifying slated for Friday afternoon and the grueling 10-hour battle kicking off on Saturday, October 3, the stage is set for absolute chaos.
