BMW Team RLL to start from 10th and 11th.
It was a difficult first qualifying session of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) for BMW Team RLL in Daytona.
In the 15-minute session at the classic ‘Daytona International Speedway’, Bill Auberlen qualified tenth for the 24-hour race at the wheel of the number 19 BMW M6 GTLM Art Car, designed by John Baldessari. The experienced BMW driver set a personal best time of 1:44.759.
In the number 24 BMW M6 GTLM, John Edwards posted a time of 1:44.974. This put him in eleventh position on the Rolex 24 grid, while Ford’s Joey Hand secured pole position at the wheel of the number 66 car, clocking a time of 1:43.473.
Over the course of the IMSA season opener, Auberlen will share driving duties in the 19th BMW Art Car with Alexander Sims, Bruno Spengler and Augusto Farfus. Edwards will join forces with Martin Tomczyk, Nick Catsburg and Kuno Wittmer over the 24-hour marathon in Florida.
In the GTD category, the number 96 BMW M6 GT3 of Turner Motorsport finished 17th in qualifying with Justin Marks at the wheel. His team-mates on Saturday and Sunday will be Maxime Martin, Jens Klingmann and Jesse Krohn.