- Koch, De Philippi Quickest in Pro
- Kurtz, Braun Top Pro-AM Charts
- Qualifying 1 Results
- Qualifying 2 Results
It was impossible to predict who would come out on top in the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Qualifying sessions, as the order on the leaderboard continued to change drastically with every minute that passed.
A red flag emerged in Qualifying 2 due to Kyle Marcelli going off track in his No. 92 LAB Motorsport Porsche 992 GT3 R, which brought the session to an early end. Several competitors had opted to take to the track later, which prevented them from setting a lap time in the session.
Random Vandals Racing were the leaders in the Pro class, earning double pole positions. In Pro-Am, it was a Mercedes showdown as Regulator Racing will start from the front row for Race 1, with CrowdStrike by Riley doing the same for Race 2.
Pro Class
Kenton Koch got his elbows out in Qualifying 1 and muscled his way to the very top of the overall and Pro class charts in his No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, continuing to show the team’s strengths as they have consistently been standouts as frontrunners.
RS1’s Alex Sedgwick continued to improve throughout the session in his No. 18 Porsche 992 GT3 R, inching closer and closer to Koch’s top time. However, it was ultimately Michai Stephens who put in a late flying lap that earned him second place in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, relegating Sedgwick to third in class.
In Qualifying 2, Connor De Phillippi picked up right where his teammate Koch left off, securing another first place finish in the Pro category for Random Vandals Racing. Meanwhile, RS1 and JMF Motorsports swapped spots, with Jan Heylen placing second ahead of Mikael Grenier in third, although both drivers were impacted by the red flag.
Pro-Am
Philip Ellis went for a wild ride in his No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the opening Qualifying session, but ultimately found a great deal of speed as he clocked in the best time in class, which also earned him a front row position for Race 1, starting second overall.
Allam Khodair also showed great pace on board his No. 16 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, earning the second-quickest Pro-Am time, and he will line up fourth overall this afternoon.
Blake McDonald had a strong performance in his first ever Qualifying session in the series, putting the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R into third place in the Pro-Am category for Race 1.
Colin Braun wasted no time getting up to speed in Qualifying 2, putting his head down and setting a good lap around Sonoma in his No. 04 Crowdstrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 to score himself a spot at the front of the grid for Sunday’s race.
Regulator Racing’s Jeff Burton will be starting alongside Braun in his No. 91 machine, with Robby Foley No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 setting the third fastest lap time, both overall and in the Pro-Am class.
Let’s Get Racing
The GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will return to the track for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, March 29th at 3:15 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.