Ford’s four-car assault on the Rolex 24 at Daytona stepped into high gear at the Roar before the 24 on Saturday with the blue oval brand finishing one-two-three in night testing and setting the overall fastest time of the day.
British ace Andy Priaulx set the fastest time of the night ahead of teammates Olivier Pla and Richard Westbrook.
In the overall times for the day, IndyCar ace Scott Dixon was the fastest man – setting a time of 1:44.558 in the morning session.
“I think the whole program – especially with the mix of four cars here now – everybody’s been meshing quite well, trying to get through the test plan,” Dixon said.
“Lap times are always funny, especially running here. It’s just maybe you’re in the right spot at the right time.”
Damp conditions and freezing temperatures greeted teams throughout the day but New Zealander Dixon was pleased with the opportunity to experience those conditions.
“I think it’s good to have the opportunity to run the car in those options,” he said. “That’s a bonus of having a four-car team – you can really look into those options. But any weather condition, anytime you can be on the track, it’s a good time.”
Corvette Racing continued their battle against Ford in night testing with Tom Milner (No.4) and Mike Rockenfeller (No.3) heading the chasers of the Fords with the fourth and fifth fastest time.
Fred Makowiecki began to make progress in the new mid-engined Porsche 911 – moving up to sixth fastest and only .431 of a second off the fastest time of the night.
The 11 cars from Priaulx’s Ford down to the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella were covered by only .874 of a second.
Teams will have two final chances to turn laps at Daytona today with two sessions scheduled from 10:20am to 12:05pm and 2:45pm to 3:45pm.
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