- JMF Motorsports, Mercedes Fastest in Pro and Overall
- AF Corse, Ferrari Quickest in Pro-Am and Am
- Practice 1 Results
The sun came out just in time for the first official practice session of the weekend for the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship. It was a great session that saw 17 machines hit the track across all three classes. It was impossible to predict the outcome of the one-hour practice as several teams were vying for the top spot on the board. In the end, the Pro class entry of JMF Motorsports went fastest, edging out the AF Corse Pro-Am Ferrari by a mere 0.080 seconds. AF Corse also went quickest in the AM Class with their No. 163 entry.
PRO Class
The margins were incredibly slim across the board, but the Pro class in particular proved that it would be a very tight race to the front of the pack. Numerous teams were all in contention for the top spot on the time charts, and were swapping places back and forth on the leaderboard as they continued to clock in more laps.
As the session came to a close, it was Michai Stephens who went on to set the best time of the morning with a 1:35.107 in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Kenton Koch and his full-season teammate Connor De Phillippi followed closely, sitting second in class and third overall with their No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, separated by 0.136 seconds. Their RVR counterparts, Varun Choksey and Bill Auberlen, were one position behind in the No. 51 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
The new RS1 pairing of Alex Sedgwick and Jan Heylen finished the session in fourth place in class on board the No. 18 Porsche 992 GT3 R, and took the checkered flag in sixth overall.
PRO-AM Class
It was a showdown in the Pro-Am class, as multiple competitors exchanged positions at the front of the timing board. However, the No. 16 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, co-piloted by Marcelo Hahn and Allam Khodair went fastest. They not only clocked in an impressive lap time of 1:35.187, but also scored the second-best time overall.
The Canadian entry of LAB Motorsport by GT Racing secured second place in class. Kyle Marcelli and Jean-Frédéric Laberge are co-commanding the No. 92 Porsche 992 GT3 R for their first full season in GT World Challenge America following select appearances the year prior.
Rounding off the Top 3 in Pro-Am was the brand-new No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R, with seasoned drivers Ross Chouest and Aaron Poveledo at the helm of the machine.
The top of the Pro-Am charts was contested by the No. 27 CRP Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Jason Daskalos and Isaac Sherman, a new pairing that is sure to see success this season. Ultimately, they finished the session in 5th place, right behind the No. 8 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Elias Sabo and Andy Lee.
Let’s Get Racing
The GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will return to the track for Practice 2 on Friday afternoon, March 28th at 4:00 PM PT.
If you can’t make it to Sonoma Raceway, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTSonoma.