Day 1 part 2
GT Le Mans was led by Corvette Racing in lap time (1m45.442s for the No. 3 C7.R) and the number of laps (73 for the No. 4 C7.R). Ford's No. 67 GT (-0.193s) was second followed by the No. 4 Corvette and the No. 66 GT.
The new GTLM cars from Porsche appeared halfway through the session. The best of the shapely mid-engine 911 RSRs was 1.5s behind the leading Corvette.

GT Daytona featured plenty of action from the three new brands—Acura, Lexus and Mercedes-AMG—as their respective teams were rarely on pit lane. The Dream Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 was fastest in the class (1m46.957s) and had a steady contingent of Audi R8s and other Huracáns in tow.
NO LONGER SEEING RED
IMSA has turned a new leaf for 2017 by removing the requirement for its Prototype entries to use the color red on mirrors, windshield banners, and rear wing endplates (below).

The previous mandate called for Prototypes and GT Le Mans cars—IMSA's full professional WeatherTech SportsCar Championship classes—to use red in those areas and for its two pro-am classes, PC and GT Daytona, to use green for the sake of differentiation. With the move to closed-cockpit cars in Prototype, a color-based system to call out any similarities to the open-top PC cars was no longer needed.
At present, only Prototype has been exempted from the mirror/banner/endplate color program; GTLMs continue to carry the red while PC and GTD continue with that unmistakable green.
TRUTH SERUM
Today marks the first time warring Daytona Prototype international manufacturers will share the same track since IMSA's new formula was announced, and with the steps the series has taken, it's clear the Daytona-based sanctioning body wants its DPi entrants to play fairly.
RACER will take a much deeper look at the new onboard data and performance monitoring systems IMSA has placed inside the cockpit of each DPi in the weeks ahead, but for now, it's safe to say the days of artful sandbagging—of hiding performance through slow driving and/or manipulating sensors to give false information to technical inspectors—will be harder than ever to replicate. IMSA's loggers have their own power distribution unit, master GPS receiver, pitot tubes, and more.

That's not to say it will be altogether eradicated, but with IMSA in a much stronger position to act as a real-time watchdog, most efforts to run slower (and later ask for performance breaks) will be flagged as it happens.
It means that what we see on the time sheets from this week's test should be a more truthful representation of each DPi's outright capabilities than some of the grossly underplayed pre-race performances we've seen in recent years. And with the 2017 WEC-spec P2s also required to carry the same data monitoring systems, IMSA will be incredibly busy charting the progress and potential of each entry.
AU REVOIR SEB
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing GT driver Sebastien Bourdais is notably absent from this test, but it's for a good reason. "I'm missing this one because I'm taking the family home to France for the holidays, but I'll be back for the Roar test in January," the Frenchman told RACER. "I'm not worried; all the regular drivers are going to be there, so they don't need me!"
December will go down as a month where the four-time Champ Car champion, who won his first 24 Hours of Le Mans in June with the Ford team, turned zero miles. In addition to skipping the Daytona test, his Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar team waited and watched for conditions to improve last Friday at Sebring, but the day was eventually cancelled due to non-stop rain...
...AND PAGS
IMSA is only down one Frenchman on a temporary basis with Bourdais, but his friend and countryman Simon Pagenaud, the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series champion, is planning for a lengthier hiatus from the series.
After joining the No. 31 Action Express Racing Corvette DP team for the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup Rounds last season, Pagenaud added to his open-wheel success by helping Dane Cameron and Eric Curran win the Prototype championship. Pagenaud, the 2010 ALMS Prototype title winner, has a deep affinity for sports cars, which made his decision to stand down from the TPNAEC drives with AXR in the new Cadillac DPi-V.R a surprise.
The reasoning behind Pagenaud's choice, however, especially with an IndyCar championship to defend, makes perfect sense.
"It's difficult to get prepared [for IndyCar] when you're that busy," he said. "I've been busy with a lot of days away from home and need to relax physically and mentally. I pushed myself very hard this year. I need to take care of myself and start fresh in 2017. I'm going to prioritize on the IndyCar season with team Penske, which is my main program, and just focus on being ready for St. Pete this year."
In Pagenaud's absence, AXR signed Toyota LMP1 driver Mike Conway to share the Whelen-sponsored Cadillac DPi-V.R.
RILEY FIRST LOOK
The Riley/Multimatic MK. 30 WEC P2 car is on display for the first time. The rear suspension carries over one of the Riley Mk III innovations with the coil springs carried separately from the dampers.

MID-PORSCHE
Porsche's brand-new mid-engine 911 RSR will also turn laps over the two-day test.

NEW MAZDA AERO
Mazda's new RT24-P Daytona Prototype international is sporting new flow conditioners for the air exiting the keel and flowing through the gap between the front fenders and sidepods. The "boot cutter" is likely the first of a few new DPi aero pieces that will emerge in the tests leading up to the rolex 24 at Daytona.