The Pirelli GT4 America field has a very busy schedule this weekend at Sebring International Raceway, and they kicked things off with a late-afternoon practice session on Thursday in the sweltering Florida heat. As they took to the track for Practice One, dark clouds began to loom overhead, but the eternity of the 45-minute session remained green, allowing drivers and teams alike to collect valuable data in preparation for their triple header weekend.
Silver Class
The No. 34 Conquest Racing / JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb rose to the top of the timesheets early in the session, followed closely by the No. 88 STR38 Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 and the No. 92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4. As the session progressed and the laps continued to accumulate, the three teams exchanged spots back and forth on the leaderboard.
As the session neared the final minutes, it was the No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO of Daniel Hanley and Parker Thompson who claimed the top spot with a rapid time of 2:11.144, just a mere 0.200 seconds ahead of Chandler Hull in the STR38 Motorsports machine. Conquest Racing’s Michai Stephens followed in third place.
Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm concluded the session in fourth position for Random Vandals Racing, with the No. 19 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Andrew Davis and Francis Selldorff wrapping up the day in fifth place.
PRO-AM Class
BimmerWorld were quick to impress in the PRO-AM class, as the No. 82 BMW M4 GT4 of James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie soared to the top of the leaderboard early on, but soon found themselves challenged by the likes of Kay van Berlo and Curt Swearingin in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with Tyler Stone and Bryan Heitkotter joining in on the fun as well in the No. 23 TechSport Racing Nissan Z GT4.
The running order remained relatively unchanged throughout the session, until Andy Lee rocketed to the top of the leaderboard in his No. 8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, with a lap time of 2:11.023 securing him the fastest time in the both the PRO-AM class and overall.
The No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Ross Chouest and Aaron Povoledo finished in fourth place, followed by the No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Gray Newell and Roman DeAngelis.
AM Class
Nicholas Shanny put the strengths of his No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO on full display around Sebring International Raceway, and held the fastest lap in the AM class for a significant portion of the session before Austin Krainz came swooping in with the No. 18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport to snatch away the top spot, bumping Shanny to second.
Juan Pablo Martinez and Nelson Calle followed in third on board their No. 83 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with the remaining spots in the Top 5 consisting of Charlie Postins and James Clay in the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4, and the No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Hannah Grisham and Rianna O'Meara-Hunt.
Let’s Get Racing
The series returns to the track tomorrow at 12:00 p.m ET for Practice Two. Fans can follow progression with Griiip Live, live timing. The studio makes it easy to follow class battles, lap times, and pit strategy for the five SRO America series.