ACI Motorsports, Smooge Racing and Carrus Callas Raceteam Fastest in Practice 1 at Indianapolis

ACI Motorsports, Smooge Racing and Carrus Callas Raceteam Fastest in Practice 1 at Indianapolis

The bright sun set the scene for an exciting first Practice session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thirty drivers hit the asphalt at the iconic Brickyard for the first time this weekend, all vying for the best times ahead of the final two rounds of the season.  

Tyler Gonzalez, co-commanding the No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO with Corey Lewis, set the fastest time in the Silver class. However, it was Kay van Berlo's Pro-Am entry that set the overall best time aboard his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS. Carrus Callas Raceteam was the BMW M4 to beat in the AM class. 

Silver Class

Tyler Gonzalez took the early lead within the first opening laps of Practice 1, with a flying lap time of 1:30.721 putting himself above the rest of his Silver class competitors in his No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO.

RS1 made steady progress throughout the session, gradually moving their No. 28 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport up into second in class, just a mere 0.027 seconds ahead of championship rivals Random Vandals Racing in the No. 97 BMW M4 GT4 G82.

The No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb was in contention as well, slotting themselves marginally in front of Zac Anderosn in the No. 51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82. 

Pro-Am Class

The Pro-Am class kicked things into high gear from the get-go, with several teams all vying for the top spots on the leaderboard. After jostling for positions lap after lap, in the end it was Kay van Berlo who went quickest in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, claiming the fastest time overall with under 5 minutes left on the clock.

Dario Capitanio put in a strong performance with his No. 102 TPC Racing McLaren Artura GT4 to finish second in class and third overall, while Matheus Leist was only an additional 0.094 seconds further behind in the No. 89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4. 

RS1’s Pro-Am entry also clocked in good times as Austin and Roland Krainz concluded their morning in fourth place with their No. 18 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, while Alex Vogel and Matt Bell made a top 5 appearance of their own with the No. 43 P1 Groupe Mercedes-AMG GT4. 

Am Class

Chris Walsh was leading the way in the Am class with his No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82, sitting a couple of spots ahead of Jaden Lander in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

A little further behind, Lee Carpentier sat third in class with the No. 52 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, while championship hopeful Kris Wilson followed in fourth with his No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82. Finally, the top 5 was completed by Nick Longhi in the No. 80 Orlando Motorsports Services McLaren Artura GT4. 

Let’s Get Racing

The Pirelli GT4 America field will return to the track for Practice 2 later in the afternoon on Thursday, October 3rd at 5:40 PM ET. 

If you can’t make it to IMS, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free livestreams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #Indy8H.