DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Olivier Pla placed the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest machine atop the time charts Friday during the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Roar Before the 24 test at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Pla posted a best lap of one minute, 35.794 seconds (133.780 mph) to lead a 1-2 sweep of top speeds for the team.
“Well, it was a good session and a nice way to rebound after we missed some time in the first practice,” said Pla, who joins Jarvis and Tristan Nunez as co-drivers of the No. 77 Mazda after sharing the team’s No. 55 entry in 2019. “We still have a long way to go and the team is working very hard to continue to improve the car, but obviously the Mazda RT-24P is working very well.
“This is a good first day of working with my new co-drivers, Olly and Tristan. We worked together a lot last year even though we were in different cars, but I am enjoying being in the No. 77.”
Last year, Jarvis ended the Roar weekend with an unofficial track record in the No. 77 machine, before officially breaking P.J. Jones’ 26-year-old track record three weeks later en route to the Motul Pole Award for the 57th Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Jarvis was .080 seconds quicker than teammate Jonathan Bomarito in the No. 55 Mazda. Bomarito’s best lap was a 1:35.874 (133.669 mph) in the car he is sharing with Harry Tincknell – who led the day’s first practice session – and former IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Simon Trummer led the way in the LMP2 class, posting a best lap of 1:38.315 (130.350 mph) in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA 07. Trummer’s co-drivers are Nick Boulle, Gabriel Aubry and Ben Keating.
Defending Rolex 24 GT Le Mans class winner Colton Herta was quickest in class aboard the No. 25 BMW Team RLL M8 GTE. His best lap in the car he is co-driving with Connor De Phillippi, Philipp Eng and Bruno Spengler was 1:44.239 (122.942 mph).
Whereas the fastest laps of the day in DPi, LMP2 and GTLM all came in the second session, the quickest lap in GT Daytona was achieved in the first session by Jack Hawksworth in the No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. Hawksworth, who is sharing the ride with Parker Chase, Michael De Quesada and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, posted a best lap of 1:47.031 (119.735 mph).