- Sofronas, Audi Rises Above in SRO3 Class
- Sherman, Porsche On Top in GT4
- Unofficial Practice 1 Results
The GT America powered by AWS field kicked off the action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an early morning practice session. The beginning of Practice 1 was briefly interrupted by a red flag, but the field were able to get back to work shortly after as they continued to test the limits of their machinery.
James Sofronas and Isaac Sherman have set the early benchmarks in the SRO3 and GT4 classes, as the GMG Racing and Rotek Racing drivers led the way as the sun continued to rise over the Brickyard.
SRO3 Class
Justin Rothberg set the pace early on in his No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, with championship leader Jason Daskalos sticking close to him on the timing sheets with the No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Halfway through the session, James Sofronas jumped up to the top of the leaderboard with his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 with a flying lap time of 1:25.064. His rapid pace allowed him to put half a second between himself and Rothberg, followed by fellow GMG Racing teammate Kyle Washington, who settled into the top 3 in the latter half of the session with his No. 32 Porsche 992 GT3 R.
Daskalos was just a mere 0.004 seconds further behind, proving that the competition is already incredibly tight. Johnny O’Connel rounded off the 30-minute session in fifth on board his No. 3 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3.
For the GT2 field, Dan Knox and CJ Moses were in the mix in their respective No. 10 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2 and No. 58 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2. Notably, Moses clocked in the second-largest number of laps across the session, getting himself very familiarized with the road course layout.
GT4 Class
Isaac Sherman proved once again why he is championship-winning material, soaring to first place in the GT4 class with his No. 098 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, slotting himself just ahead of Curt Swearingin in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.
Swearingin and Gray Newell, driver of the No. 25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, were neck and neck throughout the majority of the session, with the former having a slight edge.
Damir Hot followed suit in fourth in the No. 5 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4, and it was a solid morning for McLaren, with Alan Grossberg completing the top 5 with the No. 102 TPC Racing McLaren Artura GT4 entry.
Let’s Get Racing
The GT America Powered by AWS field will return to the track for Practice 2 on Thursday, October 3rd at 2:20 PM ET.
If you can’t make it to IMS, 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 #Indy8H.