- Pro-Am Porsche Sets the Pace Overall
- Mercedes-AMG Strongest in Pro Class
- Ferrari Finds Pace in Am Class
- Practice 1 Results
The opening GT World Challenge America powered by AWS practice session at Barber Motorsports Park set the stage for a competitive weekend for the The UAB Medicine GT World Alabama benefiting Teal Wings of Hope event, as all three classes showed close margins and some Southern speed around the 2.38-mile circuit.
Pro Class
JMF Motorsports established themselves as the frontrunners in the Pro class, with Michai Stephens setting the pace early before teammate Mikaël Grenier climbed aboard the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG GT3. The pair remained atop their class for the entirety of the session and fell just 0.034 seconds shy of the outright fastest lap of the morning.
RS1’s Jan Heylen and Alex Sedgwick found speed as the session wore on, securing second in class and fourth overall with their No. 18 Porsche 992 GT3 R. Both Random Vandals Racing entries followed, with the No. 99 BMW M4 GT3 of Connor De Phillippi and Kenton Koch finishing third in class ahead of the No. 51 sister car of Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey.
Pro-Am Class
The Pro-Am runners proved to be just as competitive, with Tom Sargent delivering a standout performance in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R. His early flyer of 1:21.357 secured top spot in class and stood strong as the quickest time overall. Sargent’s co-driver Kyle Washington later built on the momentum to keep the Porsche at the top of the charts.
The No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Philip Ellis and Jeff Burton followed closely, going second-fastest in class and third overall, while Archangel Motorsports’ Todd Coleman and Aaron Telitz continued to show promise in their No. 88 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO after a challenging Road America outing, finishing third in the Pro-Am ranks.
DXDT Racing’s Blake McDonald and Matt Bell slotted their No. 11 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R fourth in class and eighth overall, just ahead of Turner Motorsport championship contenders Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley in the No. 29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Am Class
The Am category delivered one of the closest margins of the session. The No. 163 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 of Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri narrowly topped the class charts, finishing just 0.030 seconds ahead of the No. 16 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 shared by Scott Dollahite and Eric Powell.
With competitive gaps across all three classes and multiple teams showing front-running pace, anticipation builds for the remainder of the weekend as drivers and crews prepare for tomorrow’s qualifying and race action in Alabama.
Let’s Get Racing
The GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will return to the track for Practice 2 on Friday afternoon, September 5th at 2:15 PM CT.
If you can’t make it to Barber Motorsports Park, 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 #GTBHM.