Ben Keating scoring his fifth consecutive pole
The 13-car Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) field for the Rolex 24 was dominated by Ben Keating scoring his fifth consecutive pole (four with #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports between 2020 and 2023) during ROAR LMP2 qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway.
Ben Keating, driving the #2 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07, earned the class Motul Pole Award by setting the class Benchmark at 1:38.501 during LMP2 qualifying session.
Keating, the 2021 and ’23 IMSA LMP2 class champion, will be the busiest man during the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway as he is also part of the driver line-up for JDC-Miller Motorsports’ #85 Porsche 963 in the GTP class.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. Porsche 911 GT3 R #77.
“The track was unbelievably fast today, almost perfect conditions,” Keating observed. “I was shocked; I couldn’t believe how quick it was. When I did that lap, I didn’t expect anybody to be close and I thought we might as well pull over. But Nick Boulle was just a tenth of a second behind me. That speaks to the high level of competition in LMP2 this year. As I look across the 2024 LMP2 field, two-thirds of the cars are really strong,” Keating said. “It’s going to be an epic year, and I’m looking forward to it.” Source: IMSA
Ben Keating will share driving duties in #2 ORECA with Nico Pino, Ben Hanley and Patricio O'Ward.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #52 Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA.
Nick Boulle in the #52 Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA (Keating’s car during the four last seasons) was 0.101 seconds shy of Keating’s fastest lap. Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Clément Novalak will co-drive the #52 ORECA.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA.
George Kurtz was third-fastest in the #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA, still 0.751 seconds off Keating’s pole lap. Last year's overall winner Colin Braun, Toby Sowery and Malthe Jakobsen are sharing the #04 wheel with Kurtz.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. #74 Riley Ranch Resort ORECA.
Gar Robinson was the last driver to get within one second of Keating’s fastest lap driving the #74 Riley Ranch Resort ORECA he’ll share with former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa, Felipe Fraga and Josh Burdon.
LMP2 Qualifying results
Source: IMSA
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