Sonoma Raceway Practice Two with Pirelli GT4 America: ACI Motorsports Sets the Pace

Sonoma Raceway Practice Two with Pirelli GT4 America: ACI Motorsports Sets the Pace
  • Hanley Motorsports, Toyota, quickest in Silver
  • ACI Motorsports fastest in both Pro-Am and overall
  • Carrus Callas Raceteam soar to the top in Am
  • Provisional Results

As the track temperatures began to drop as the evening approached, the Pirelli GT4 America took over Sonoma Raceway for one last practice session before qualifying on Saturday morning. An early red flag plagued the session, but drivers were able to rejoin the track eight minutes later and set some impressive flying laps across the board. 

Silver Class
The No. 999 ​​Hanley Motorsports Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 of Canadian driver Parker Thompson and Daniel Hanley topped the charts in the Silver class, but missed out on first place by a mere 0.635 seconds, finishing third overall. The pairing finished second in the first free practice session, and will be looking to carry this momentum into qualifying tomorrow. 

Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb set the second-fastest lap time with their No. 34 Conquest Racing / JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4, ahead of No. 19 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Francis Selldorff and Andrew Davis. These three teams are sure to give crowds an exhilarating performance this weekend as the competition continues to heat up. 

The Top 5 was rounded off by Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm in the No. 92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 and the No. 96 OGH/Valkyrie Velocity Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport co-driven by Chris Walsh and Dominic Starkweather. 

PRO-AM Class
The practice session was nothing short of action-packed in the Pro-Am field, as the leaders kept swapping places all throughout the 45 minutes of track time. With a few minutes remaining on the clock, Kay van Berlo set the fastest lap-time overall with an impressive 1:45.813 attained on the 13th lap in his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. 

Only 0.509 separated John Geesbreght from van Berlo, as the Smooge Racing driver clocked the second-fastest lap time of the session in his No. 68 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4. Rounding off the overall Top 5, but third in class was the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 entry of Aaron Povoledo and Ross Chouest.  

Tim Pappas and Netherlands native Jeroen Bleekemolen set the fourth fastest lap time in their No. 54 Black Swan Racing McLaren Artura GT4, ahead of No. 8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT of Andy Lee and Elias Sabo. 

AM Class 
Carrus Callas Raceteam soared to the top of the leaderboard once more in the Am class, expanding on their successful running in the first practice session earlier today. Nicholas Shanny and Terry Borcheller are proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the No. 20 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4, separating themselves from their next-closest rivals by nearly a full second. Their best time of the session was 1:46.522, which was also the fourth fastest time overall.

The No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 followed behind in second position, co-driven by Rianna O'Meara-Hunt and Hannah Grisham. Kyle Washington and James Sofronas secured the third spot in the Am class, with the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport having been just narrowly edged out by 0.0013 seconds. 

The Am field is shaping up to be as intense as ever, with the remaining competitors all within striking distance. Very little time separated the teams, with fourth-place finishers Paulo Carcasci and Custodio Toledo, who co-drove the #35 Conquest Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4, finishing just over a second ahead of Chris Allen and Robert Mau in seventh place, who are newcomers to the Am field in the No. 438 STR38 Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. With four teams all fighting within a second of each other, qualifying is going to be a make-or-break moment for each of them. 

Qualifying starts at 10:40 AM PT, followed by Race 1 at 4:50 PM on Saturday, April 1. 

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