Cadillac Whelen dominated the opening Free Practice session for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, with the two Acura Meyer Shank Racing vehicles following closely in second and third places. Jack Aitken made headlines by clocking the fastest time in the red No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, completing a lap in 1m34.584s—just four-tenths off the GTP lap record—following a challenging time at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Nick Yelloly in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 obtained the second-fastest time at 1m34.966s, barely edging out Tom Blomqvist in the blue No. 60 Acura. Championship leader Nick Tandy placed fourth while driving the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, ahead of Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac. Marco Wittmann represented the BMW M Hybrid V8 fleet, with his No. 25 Team RLL car rounding out the top positions.
The LMP2 category saw Felipe Fraga, co-leader of the early championship, achieving the best time in the No. 74 ORECA 07-Gibson at 1m35.798s. However, the session was interrupted by two red flags, one due to the Riley machine stopping on the back stretch and another caused by John Farano’s spin in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA. Multiple procedural penalties plagued the session, with drivers receiving drive-throughs for violations concerning track limits and pit lane actions.
In GTD PRO, Andrea Caldarelli and Pfaff Motorsports made an impressive mark with the plaid No. 9 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, recording a top lap of 1m45.912s. Ben Barnicoat returned from a mountain biking accident to finish second in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. Laurin Heinrich and Sebastian Priaulx completed the top four for the category.
In the GTD class, Scott Andrews stood out, setting the best time across both GT divisions with his No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 at 1m45.867s. Other notable mention includes the No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in second, followed by Magnus Racing’s No. 44 Aston Martin and the Vasser Sullivan Lexus.
Unfortunately, the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports could not set a competitive time, completing just three installation laps before suspecting gearbox issues.
With more action anticipated, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event continues with Practice 2 scheduled for tomorrow at 9:00 AM ET, followed by qualifying at 2:20 PM ET. This race promises to deliver excitement as teams sharpen their skills on the track.