BOWMANVILLE, Ontario — Opening practice for the Chevrolet Grand Prix saw a pair of Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) regulars lead the way – in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class. With the GTP class not racing at CTMP, four full-season drivers worked their way into LMP2 lineups for the weekend and two – Louis Deletraz and Renger van der Zande – were quickest on Friday.
Deletraz topped the speed chart with a lap of 1 minute, 7.895 seconds (130.383 mph) in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 he’s sharing with PJ Hyett this weekend. Deletraz was a scant 0.003 seconds better than van der Zande in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA he’s in this weekend with John Farano.
Making his first visit to CTMP (other than recent LMP2 testing), Deletraz said going fast on the high-speed, 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit is all about confidence.
“Turn 1 is flat, turn 2 is almost flat – could be, might not be, we’ll see,” he said with a chuckle. “Turn 3 is definitely for me the toughest corner on this track because it’s blind. I think turn 3 is one of those where you can make a lot of lap time, but overall if you have confidence, you’re going to gain half a tenths everywhere, and at the end of a lap, three or four-tenths on this track is a lot.
“Just high-speed confidence and I really love that in the P2; it’s such a great car for the high-speed corners. For sure it’s a good start for us.”
Alexander Sims was fastest among the GT cars, turning a lap in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R at 1:15.696 (116.946 mph) to head up the GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class. Robby Foley led GT Daytona (GTD) with a lap of 1:16.024 (116.422 mph) in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, fourth quickest among GT cars.