IMSA | Priaulx is the surprise in the Pole kick of 'Rexy'

'Rexy''s first push of 2024 arrives in the Qualifying of the 24h of Daytona, with the Porsche taking the Pole Position in the GTD PRO Class.

A super performance not only by the 911-992 #77 prepared by AO Racing, but also by Sebastian Priaulx, the young son of an artist who drove the Tyrannosaurus car to first position with an excellent time of 1'44″382. standing out in a very short ranking among all the GT3s.

The party at Porsche was completed by the nice second place obtained in the GTD Class by Klaus Bachler with the #86 car of MDK Motorsports, narrowly beaten by Parker Thompson who will start alongside him in the Lexus at the start.

“I didn't expect it! I gave everything I had and ended up on Pole, you can see it was my day! Everything worked perfectly, now we have a long race ahead of us, but every outing on the track is important!” says Priaulx, who will share the wheel of 'Rexy' with Laurin Heinrich and Michael Christensen.

“Obviously with a race like this ahead of us, Qualifying doesn't matter much, but we have a good car and we are increasingly confident, so I will keep my concentration high.”

“We must not let the grid position distract us from the big challenge next weekend. However, it is always nice when you can face it with good feelings and on the wave of enthusiasm!”

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

#86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R: Kerong Li, Anders Fjordbach, Larry ten Voorde, Klaus Bachler

Bachler, who will have Kerong Li, Anders Fjordbach and Larry Ten Voorde as colleagues, adds: “It was a fantastic qualifying and I thank the team: it's the first time I've worked with them. Now we can continue preparing with concentration for the race.”

“Although there are still some things to do on the list, second place in qualifying shows that our Porsche is already fast, at least at low temperatures.”

“Now we have to make sure that continues to be the case even with the warmer weather forecast for next weekend. It will be a long race, with many challenges and a lot of strategy. We aim to fight for the class victory.”