Action Express Cadillacs to start 1-2 for Rolex 24

Joao Barbosa on the pole winning Cadillac

All Photos: LAT for IMSA

Despite a test in December followed by the Roar Before the Rolex 24 after the New Year, it wasn’t clear who would be fastest in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s premier class, Prototype (P), when they hit the track this weekend.

Sometimes teams and drivers are reluctant to show their hand too early, a game of motorsports poker that is especially telling in this case. For the first time in WeatherTech Championship history, the P-class cars are all-new for 2017. And they finally showed what they are capable of Thursday afternoon in qualifying for the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona endurance race that will be broadcast on FOX at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday

In those pre-season practice days, the No. 13 Rebellion ORECA was consistently the quickest, but in qualifying, driver Neel Jani was only able to run the third-quickest lap

The quickest two cars? The two-car team formerly known as Action Express Racing, which won the WeatherTech Championship Prototype title all three years since the series was formed, gave the new Cadillac V-8 engine the front row in its first time out. On the pole was the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPI-V.R driven by Joao Barbosa with a blistering lap of 1:36.903

Right behind Barbosa was Dane Cameron, driver of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac, just 0.070 seconds back. And third was the Rebellion car, thanks to Jani’s best lap of 1:37.123. Fourth was the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac of Ricky Taylor, who had the fastest car for most of the qualifying session before pitting before time ran out. NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon will serve as a co-driver on the No. 10

Barbosa, who hasn’t qualified on a WeatherTech Championship pole since 2014, was a bit surprised. “We generally race better than we qualify," he said, which could be a cautionary warning to the rest of the field. “This is going to be a tremendous race with the new Prototypes.

"The pole is a little unexpected," Barbosa said. "It is great to get Cadillac the first pole position of this new porotype era. The car was really stable and fun to drive. It feels good, but doesn't really matter where you start, but where you finish. It was really the first time that I pushed the car for a time and reacted getting the pole.

"To get both Action Express Cadillac DPi-V.Rs on the front row is a great result for the team. It is always good to know that you have someone you trust starting next to you for a big race like this. We will have a team strategy for the start to get through the first laps trouble free. We have a fast car and I think a really good car for the race."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]There are 12 cars in the Prototype field – there were 11 qualifiers, as the very fast No. 81 DragonSpeed ORECA uncharacteristically crashed in practice earlier in the day with Loic Duval behind the wheel, and couldn’t be fixed by qualifying

The Prototype Challenge (PC) class is making its final appearance at the Rolex 24 before it is discontinued at the end of the season.

James French was fastest in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09, with a lap of 1:42.559. Second was veteran Johnny Mowlem in the No. 26 BAR1 entry with a best lap of 1:43.396, snapping Mowlem’s Rolex 24 pole-winning streak at two consecutive races. Third was 1994 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice with a lap of 1:43.515 in the second BAR1 car.

The Scott Dixon and Richard Westbrook Ford GT will start 2nd in GTLM

The world debut of the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT race car came at the 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona, but it was a race Ford would rather forget, as both cars suffered from mechanical issues that ruined their chances for a solid finish.

Of course, the team made up for that with a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the 50th anniversary of the race victory of the original Ford GT, and put together a solid 2016 season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

For the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Ford and Ganassi are serious about winning. How serious? Not only did they bring the two U.S.-based cars – the Le Mans-winning No. 66, and the team car, No. 67 – they brought the two Europe-based Ford GTs, No. 68 and No. 69.

And it appears they are ready for the challenge, qualifying first, second, third and sixth in the 11-car field Thursday afternoon.

On the pole was the No. 66 driven by Joey Hand, one of the drivers who won at Le Mans. “We feel like we’re more prepared this year," he said. And how does he feel about the fact that his central competition may be his three teammates? “Well," he said, “you just want to be the fastest bullet in the gun!" Hand’s best lap was 1:43.473 seconds, just ahead of Richard Westbrook’s 1:43.704 in the No. 67. Third was Olivier Pla in the No. 68, whose best lap was 1:43.987. Pla’s best lap was on the fourth tour around the circuit, which was lucky, as he later spun off the track and sat in the grass for most of the session.

Fourth was the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE, with a lap of 1:44.121 by Toni Vilander. He said he well realizes the challenge the Ford contingent presents, but says, “We have a strong lineup of drivers, and we’re looking forward to the race. We won Petit Le Mans last year," referring to the WeatherTech Championship 10-hour season finale at Road Atlanta, “And everything we have is the same or better. We’re the lonely riders – the only Ferrari in the class."

The Corvette's won the last 2 years despite starting just 7th and 8th. The Ford's will have to keep their eyes on the rearview mirror

The GT Le Mans class is mechanically much the same as it was in 2016, with one major exception. The No. 911 and No. 912 Porsche 911 RSRs run by the Porsche GT Team are all-new, with the most significant change being a shift from the traditional 911 rear-engine configuration to more of a mid-engine layout.

The rest of the cars – the Ford GT, Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, BMW M6 GTLM and the Ferrari 488 GTE are expected to benefit from having at least a year of competition behind them.

The Porsches were quick, but not quick enough: Patrick Pilet was fifth in the No. 911 car, and Kevin Estre was eighth in class in the No. 912.

Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler won last year’s Rolex 24 in GTLM in a thrilling race that saw the two Corvettes separated by just 0.034 seconds at the finish. Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller were runners-up a year after the No. 3 Corvette C7.R won the race in 2015.

For reference the two Corvettes qualified seventh and eighth last season, and the gap to the class pole-winner was much closer Thursday.

Alessandro Pier Guidi

In GT Daytona, it was Ferrari, Ferrari and Aston Martin. The front row in the class will be the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3, courtesy of Alessandro Pier Guidi, whose best lap was 1:47.099. “Ferrari and the team did a great job for me," Pier Guidi. “I’m here for them." He was not able to make pre-season testing at Daytona, so the pole win was impressive.

Close behind – very close, in fact – was the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 driven by Alessandro Balzan who, with co-driver Christina Nielsen, won the 2016 WeatherTech Championship season GTD title. The veteran Balzan’s best lap was 1:47.117, which he set in a Hail-Mary last lap that nearly earned him the top spot. “Scuderia Corsa gave me a really good car for qualifying, Balzan said. “There’s a good energy here for the team."

Third was the No. 98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage, driven by Marco Sorensen to a lap of 1:47.734. His Aston Martin was followed by the No. 59 Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Matteo Cairoli, the No. 11 Lamborghini Huracán of Christian Engelhart, and the No. 29 Audi R8 LMS GT3 piloted by Connor De Phillippi.

The new Michael Shank Racing Acura NSXs were seventh and ninth. The similarly new 3GT Racing Lexus RCFGT3s were 13th and 20th. And the three Mercedes AMG GT3s – while not an all-new car, are new to the GT Daytona class – were 18th, 19th and 24th in the field of 27 entries.

The 55th Rolex 24 at Daytona gets underway Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage on FOX.

Qualifying Results