Petit Le Mans: AXR Cadillacs continue their rebound in FP3
Action Express Racing continued to look strong in third practice at Road Atlanta, as Felipe Nasr clings to hopes of retaining the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype crown he earned with Eric Curran.

While Acura Team Penske’s Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya need only finish in the top eight in Saturday’s Petit Le Mans to earn the title, Pipo Derani – new to the AXR squad this year – ensured the team topped two of today’s sessions at the 2.54-mile Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Derani sent the #31 Whelen Engineering-backed Cadillac DPi-V.R around in 69.455sec to eclipse teammate Filipe Albuquerque by approximately 0.2sec.
Helio Castroneves grabbed third Acura in the car he will share with Ricky Taylor and Graham Rahal this weekend. Teammate Montoya set the fastest time in the #6 ARX-05 but it was good enough for only ninth.
Tristan Vautier again put JDC-Miller in the spotlight by clocking fourth in the #85 Cadillac ahead of Oliver Jarvis’ #77 Mazda and the Colin Braun-steered CORE autosport-run Nissan DPi.
Returning after its big shunt is the Juncos Racing team, for whom Spencer Pigot was 10th-fastest.
In GT Le Mans, the Ford GTs were again fast and finished 1-3, split by Tom Blomqvist’s best effort in the BMW M8 GTE and chased hard by Mike Rockenfeller in the #3 Corvette C7.R.
IMSA Radio reported that Daniel Serra’s reduced number of laps in the Ferrari 488 GTE of the returning Risi Competizione squad was due to a drivetrain issue that saw the car – not seen in IMSA since the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January – taken back behind the wall for much of the session.
For the second time in three sessions, Bill Auberlen sent Turner Motorsports’ trusty BMW M6 GT3 to the top of the GT Daytona times, albeit less than a tenth of a second quicker than Jeroen Bleekemolen’s Mercedes AMG-GT3 run by Riley Motorsport, and Spencer Pumpelly’s Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
Fourth practice begins at 11.15am local (Eastern) time on Friday, with qualifying commencing at 3.55pm.
Read Also:
Session results:
Cla | Num | Driver | Class | Chassis | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 31 | | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'09.455 | |
2 | 5 | | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'09.653 | 0.198 |
3 | 7 | | DPi | Acura DPi | 1'09.728 | 0.273 |
4 | 85 | | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'09.935 | 0.480 |
5 | 77 | | DPi | Mazda DPi | 1'09.941 | 0.486 |
6 | 54 | | DPi | Nissan DPi | 1'09.992 | 0.537 |
7 | 10 | | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'09.998 | 0.543 |
8 | 55 | | DPi | Mazda DPi | 1'10.253 | 0.798 |
9 | 6 | | DPi | Acura DPi | 1'10.294 | 0.839 |
10 | 50 | | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'10.555 | 1.100 |
11 | 84 | | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'10.813 | 1.358 |
12 | 52 | | LMP2 | ORECA LMP2 | 1'11.689 | 2.234 |
13 | 38 | | LMP2 | ORECA LMP2 | 1'11.731 | 2.276 |
14 | 66 | | GTLM | Ford GT | 1'16.552 | 7.097 |
15 | 25 | | GTLM | BMW M8 GTE | 1'16.789 | 7.334 |
16 | 67 | | GTLM | Ford GT | 1'16.808 | 7.353 |
17 | 3 | | GTLM | Corvette C7.R | 1'16.869 | 7.414 |
18 | 62 | | GTLM | Ferrari 488 GTE | 1'16.936 | 7.481 |
19 | 912 | | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | 1'17.113 | 7.658 |
20 | 24 | | GTLM | BMW M8 GTE | 1'17.123 | 7.668 |
21 | 911 | | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | 1'17.151 | 7.696 |
22 | 4 | | GTLM | Corvette C7.R | 1'17.165 | 7.710 |
23 | 96 | | GTD | BMW M6 GT3 | 1'19.311 | 9.856 |
24 | 33 | | GTD | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | 1'19.375 | 9.920 |
25 | 44 | | GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 1'19.408 | 9.953 |
26 | 48 | | GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 1'19.732 | 10.277 |
27 | 29 | | GTD | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | 1'19.856 | 10.401 |
28 | 63 | | GTD | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 1'19.897 | 10.442 |
29 | 14 | | GTD | Lexus RC F GT3 | 1'20.065 | 10.610 |
30 | 86 | | GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 1'20.081 | 10.626 |
31 | 9 | | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1'20.319 | 10.864 |
32 | 57 | | GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 1'20.530 | 11.075 |
33 | 47 | | GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 1'20.804 | 11.349 |
34 | 12 | | GTD | Lexus RC F GT3 | 1'20.865 | 11.410 |
View full results |

Previous article
Petit Le Mans: Title favorite Cameron leads FP2 for Acura
Next article
Petit Le Mans: Sensational Nasr puts AXR top again in FP4

About this article
Series | IMSA |
Event | Road Atlanta |
Author | David Malsher-Lopez |
Petit Le Mans: AXR Cadillacs continue their rebound in FP3
Trending
24 Hours of Daytona Video Recap
24 Hours of Daytona: Fourth Place for Ferrari
Watch the entire Rolex 24 in just over a minute
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
Nine things to watch at the 2021 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
After a 100-minute sprint race to whet the appetite, the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship gets underway properly this weekend. With plenty of significant changes during the winter, here are the key points you need to keep an eye on
Why Magnussen is relishing a fresh start in sportscars
Having gone over seven years without a race win through spells with McLaren, Renault and Haas, Kevin Magnussen's departure from Formula 1 for IMSA with big-hitters Chip Ganassi Racing could give him what he craves most - a chance of success
Oliver Gavin's Corvette Racing highlights
Oliver Gavin has stepped down from the full-time Corvette Racing line-up after a stellar career with the team spanning nearly 20 years. He looks back on a stint that encompassed, among other successes, five Le Mans 24 Hours victories.
How Tandy joined an exclusive club of endurance legends
Victory at last year's Spa 24 Hours meant Nick Tandy had completed the unofficial sextuple crown of the world's six biggest endurance races, becoming the first Briton to do so. Ahead of his fresh start with Corvette Racing, he explains how he did it…
The 12 greatest Sebring 12 Hours ranked
The 2020 edition of the Florida sportscar classic is finally taking place this weekend, eight months after its traditional date in March. That meant there was plenty of time for Motorsport.com to pour over its previous 67 races and select the best.
Tony Kanaan’s top 10 races – in his own words
The 2004 IndyCar champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan probably hasn’t yet driven his final IndyCar race, but we still asked him for the 10 most significant races of his career. He explained his choices to David Malsher-Lopez.
Why the GTE ruleset looks to have run its course
The GTE ruleset has served sportscar racing in both Europe and the United States well over the past decade. But now there are clear signs that the end of its life is in sight as manufacturer support continues to fade.