As darkness fell over Road Atlanta, teams geared up for the pivotal night practice session at Motul Petit Le Mans. With the race ending in the cooler temperatures of the night, this 1-hour-30-minute session was the last chance for teams to fine-tune their setups before Friday’s qualifying. Drivers and engineers alike recognize its significance, with Bryan Sellers of Paul Miller Racing emphasizing the session’s importance in revealing the final race pace.
“This is the telltale session of what everybody really has,” Sellers said, as he prepares for his final race with the team in the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3. “You’ll see fuel runs, quali simulations… it’s an opportunity to squeeze more lap time. Most importantly, the end of this session shows where everyone’s race pace really is. The race ends at night, so the car must perform well in those conditions.”
Cadillac Racing’s No. 01 team, led by Renger van der Zande, dominated the night session, posting a 1m11.626s lap—fastest of the day—showing their V-Series.R can handle both day and night conditions. Andrea Caldarelli of Iron Lynx’s No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 was second, clocking in at 1m11.988s, confirming the car’s prowess in cooler temperatures. Porsche Penske Motorsport filled the next two spots with Felipe Nasr and Mathieu Jaminet’s 963s, while Ricky Taylor rounded out the top five for Wayne Taylor Racing’s Acura ARX-06.
In the LMP2 category, Ben Hanley in the No. 2 United Autosports ORECA set the pace with a 1m13.178s lap, narrowly edging out Tom Dillmann in the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen entry. The competition was tight, with the top six LMP2 cars separated by just 0.2 seconds.
GTD cars led the charge among the GT classes, with Robby Foley’s No. 96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 topping the session at 1m19.195s, besting both GTD and GTD PRO competitors. Laurin Heinrich, debuting at night around Road Atlanta, led GTD PRO with a 1m19.273s in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3.R. Madison Snow and Nicky Catsburg followed closely in the No. 1 BMW and No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, respectively.
The GTD class saw Klaus Bachler in the No. 86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R take second, just ahead of Simon Mann in the No. 21 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. The top five were completed by Scott Andrews in the Lone Star Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 and Parker Thompson in the Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.
The session wasn’t without incident, as two red flags interrupted the action. A Turn 4 collision involving Daniel Juncadella’s Corvette and Loris Spinelli’s Lamborghini brought a 13-minute stoppage. Shortly after, Romain Grosjean’s spin and stall in the No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 caused a brief halt.
With practice concluded, teams now face a critical window until 3:25 p.m. ET Friday to finalize their preparations for qualifying, where they’ll set the grid for the iconic endurance race.
