- Hanley Motorsports Set Best Time Overall
- Blackdog Speed Shop Fastest in Pro-Am
- Rotek Racing On Top in Am Class
- Unofficial Results
As the sun reached high noon, the Pirelli GT4 America field proceeded to make their claim over Sebring International Raceway for their first practice session of the day. With a total of 29 cars on track across three classes this weekend, the competition is already shaping up to be extremely fierce.
Parker Thompson was the one to beat in the No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO, with a rapid lap time of 2:11.097 making him the fastest in both the Silver Class and overall running. Max Root went quickest in the Pro-Am Class in his No. 9 Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4 with a time of 2:11.543. The best time in the Am Class was set by Jaden Lander in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport with a time of 2:12.421.
Silver Class
There were multiple competitors in contention to be the frontrunner in the Silver Class, with three different manufacturers battling at the top of the timesheets. Michai Stephens set the pace early in the session in his No. 23 TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4, before being leaped by Floridian Eric Filgueiras in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport at the 20 minute mark.
However, Parker Thompson went on to make his mark in the No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO just a couple of laps later, setting the fastest overall time in Practice 1 with a flying lap time of 2:11.097.
Filgueiras followed in second, just 0.130 seconds away from Thompson’s time, and Stephens sat another mere 0.057 seconds behind in third. Zac Anderson also joined the mix in the No. 51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) to place fourth in the Silver Class, with the Top 5 being completed by John Geesbreght in the No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO.
Pro-Am Class
The No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 (G82) of Tyler McQuarrie was the fastest Pro-Am car on track early on and looked to be steadily in the class lead for the majority of the session. With just 5 minutes remaining, Max Root soared to the top of the class leaderboard in the No. 9 Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4, going quickest in Pro-Am and setting the fourth fastest time overall.
McQuarrie finished the session second in class, with Eric Powell as the next closest behind in third in the No. 22 TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4.
Roman De Angelis and Matheus Leist were also very close in the timesheets in the No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 and No. 89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4, with very small margins separating the entirety of the Top 5.
Am Class
Newcomer to the series Jaden Lander set an impressive pace to move up to fastest in the Am Class in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with a lap time of 2:12.421 also putting him within the Top 15 overall.
Austin Krainz began to close the gap later on in the session in the No. 18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, slotting himself into second, just 0.073 seconds behind Lander. James Clay was the third-fastest in class with the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 (G82), followed by Terry Borcheller in the No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 (G82) and Hannah Grisham in the No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
Let’s Get Racing
The Pirelli GT4 America field will return to the track for Practice 2 later in the afternoon on Friday, May 3rd at 5:15 PM EST.
If you can’t make it to Sebring, 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 #GTSebring.