Porsche Penske Motorsport Completes Successful First Day at Daytona

The much anticipated debut of the Porsche 963 in competition was off to a roaring start on Friday afternoon and evening, with both Porsche Penske Motorsport cars timing in in the top-five during the first day of practice at the Roar Before the 24 at Daytona International Speedway. 

Both the No. 6 and No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s began the day timing in the top-five in the first practice session, with Felipe Nasr (Brazil) turning in the second-fastest lap in the session, completing 24 laps in the No. 7. Mathieu Jaminet (France) was fifth on the speed charts after turning 20 laps in the No. 6.

„Our first day in running at the Roar in preparation for the 24 Hours of Daytona was good. Days like today is why we are glad we are here for almost two week sometimes,“ said Jonathan Diuguid, Porsche Penske Motorsport Managing Director. „Both cars ran in both sessions, maybe not as smoothly as we would have liked them to, but the drivers are pretty happy with the speed and performance there. We have a few things we need to continue working on, but it was a good start here at Daytona.“ 

During the evening session, the No. 6 experienced suspension issues, forcing the car to spend most of the session in the garage area and only completing just nine laps. Michael Christensen, driving the No. 7, was the fourth-fastest car on track after running 35 laps in the session.

The Roar Before the 24 continues on Saturday afternoon with three more practice sessions before Sunday’s qualifying sessions.