Rain began to trickle down over the Brickyard late Thursday morning, but it was not enough to deter the Pirelli GT4 America field as they clocked in for their first practice session of the event. A total of 35 cars across three classes made their way around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, gingerly testing their limits around the slippery track for the 45-minute session.
Silver Class
It was a tricky session as the intensity of the rain continued to ramp up as time progressed, with drivers tasked with navigating the road course under wet conditions and dark skies. As the precipitation persisted throughout the entirety of the session, teams across the board had to adjust their approach.
The No. 92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Kenton Koch earned the top time in the Silver class, with the No. 19 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Francis Selldorff following suit in second place, further followed by the No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO of Parker Thompson in third.
The Top 5 was completed by the No. 34 Conquest Racing / JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Jesse Webb in fourth, while fifth place belonged to JCD Dubets in the No. 51 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4.
PRO-AM Class
Jason Bell set the fastest PRO-AM and overall time of the session in the opening laps, clocking in a time of 1:34.391 in his No. 2 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 before the heavier rain began to fall. He was followed by the second Flying Lizard Motorsports entry, with Elias Sabo following suit in second place in the No. 8 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
Gray Newell accounted for Aston Martin’s third entry within the Top 5, sitting third in class in the No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, while Kevin Conway slotted himself into fourth position on board his No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO. Meanwhile, Johan Schwartz concluded the gloomy session in fifth in his No. 44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M4 GT4.
AM Class
As for the AM Class, it was Joey DaSilva who came out on top in the No. 67 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO, while Roland Krainz persisted in the No. 18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport to follow suit in second place. Hannah Grisham concluded the session in third for the Heart of Racing Team team on board the No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
The remaining spots in the Top 5 consisted of Chris Allen in the No. 438 STR38 Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, accompanied by Anthony Geraci and Jaden Lander in the No. 72 KRUGSPEED Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO.
Let’s Get Racing
The series returns to the track later today at 5:45 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.