Rolex 24 starting lineup: No. 31 Cadillac on pole position after record lap by Pipo Derani
Pipo Derani and Whelen Action Express Cadillac Racing will start the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona in the same position where the team ended last year.
With a track-record lap of 1 minute, 32.656 seconds in the No. 31 V-Series.R at Daytona International Speedway, Derani put the reigning Grand Touring Prototype championship team on pole position to open the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
"We are all very excited from winning the championship last year, and I think the team is geling even more together," Derani told NBC Sports' Brian Till on Peacock.
STARTING GRID: Click here for the Rolex 24 lineup l Lineup by car number
QUALIFYING: Click here for results l By class l Best sector times l Fastest lap sequence
"It's been a hell of a season last year but with lots of little things to improve. I think we're focused on that, and here we are starting the year with pole position. We couldn't be any happier."
Sebastien Bourdais qualified second (1:32.727) to complete a front row sweep for Cadillac.
HOW TO WATCH THE ROLEX 24: TV information, schedules, start times and entry lists
During a brisk Sunday on the 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course, Derani went a full second faster than the previous track record of 1:33.695 seconds that was set by Oliver Jarvis with a Mazda in 2019. It's the 10th pole position in IMSA for the Brazilian.
"Really proud moment with a team that has worked really hard," said Derani, who has won two championships with Action Express in the past three seasons. "I think we showed today we won last year because of a reason, and the reason is hard work, and here we are starting Daytona with a pole position."
Felipe Nasr, Derani's former teammate, qualified the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 in third (1:32.876) ahead of the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 driven by Connor De Phillippi.
Acura, which is trying to win a fourth consecutive Rolex 24, captured the third row with Wayne Taylor Racing Andetti's pair of ARX-06s.
Pole qualifying in other categories:
LMP2: Ben Keating qualified first for United Autosports USA in the No. 2 ORECA LMP2 07. Keating, who also is part of the No. 85 Porsche lineup in the GTP category, will start on the LMP2 pole at Daytona for the second consecutive year after beating Nick Boulle (No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA) by a tenth of a second.
GTD Pro: Earning his first IMSA pole position, Seb Priaulx qualified first in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) with a lap (1 minute, 44.382 seconds) that just nipped Jack Hawksworth in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 (1:44.462).
GTD: Vasser Sullivan's Parker Thompson qualified just behind Hawksworth (1:44.494) to earn the pole position and third overall among the GT cars.
The 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 27 on NBC and Peacock.
