Auberlen Paces Pirelli GT4 America Sprint/SprintX Field in First Practice Session at Sonoma

Auberlen Paces Pirelli GT4 America Sprint/SprintX Field in First Practice Session at Sonoma

Sonoma, CA - Bill Auberlen, in the #82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4, set the fastest time in Thursday morning's combined Pirelli GT4 Sprint/SprintX practice session at Sonoma Raceway. Jen Heylen in the #37 RS1 Porsche Cayman CS MR had the second fastest time of the session, while Colin Mullan in the Andretti Autosport #18 #CheckIt4Andretti-Military To Motorsports GT4 Sprint McLaren 570S completed the top three.

SprintX Pro/Am competitor Auberlen paced the field with a time of 1:46.758, ahead of fellow SprintX Pro/Am driver Heylen (1:46.828). SprintX Silver division competitor Mullan ran a time of 1:46.944. The fastest Sprint competitor in the session was Michael Cooper #10 Blackdog Speed Shop McLaren 570s GT4 with a 1:47.561, good for 7th fastest of the session.

The 60-minute combined practice at the 2.5 mile, 12-turn natural terrain circuit in Northern California was held under overcast 69-degree Fahrenheit conditions.

Early on in the session, Sprint Pro driver Spencer Pumpelly, in the #66 TRG-The Racers Group/LaSalle Solutions Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 topped the overall charts with a 1:48.565, followed by SprintX Pro/Am driver Andy Lee in the #8 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 (1:48.681).

A few laps later, Heylen went to the top with a (1:46.885) followed by Lee who went quicker to a 1:47.036. Heylen then improved his time to a 1:46.828. Mullan then slotted into second overall with a 1:46.944.

The top times held until with under 20 minutes in the session, Auberlen eclipsed Heylen's mark with a 1:46.758. Mullan's time was also fastest in the SprintX Silver division. The fastest time in the Sprint Am division was set by Paul Terry, in the #59 Rearden Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (1:48.278), while the top SprintX Am division time was a 1:48.457 for Kris Wilson in the #16 Rearden Racing #16 Mercedes AMG GT4.

Pirelli GT4 Sprint and SprintX competitors now get set for the second combined practice session of the day, Thursday afternoon at 2:30 Pacific/5:30 Eastern.

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