Marcelli Quickest Across Thursday Practice Sessions

Kyle Marcelli set the pace for KohR Motorsports across the first two IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge practice sessions at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Marcelli, driving the KohR team’s No. 60 Ford Mustang GT4, captured the fastest outright lap in the day’s second session with a time of 1:25.671.

This put the VIR-winning machine, which Marcelli shares with Nate Stacy, two-tenths of a second up on the No. 09 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 which led Practice 1 in the hands of Akhil Rabindra.

Rabindra was the only other driver to break the 1m 26s barrier around the 2.5-mile Road Atlanta course, with the next-best effort being a 1:26.034 set by Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 18 Moorespeed Audi R8 LMS GT4 during Practice 1.

Completing the top five in the GS class were Corey Fergus in the No. 69 Motorsports in Action McLaren 570S GT4 and Indy Dontje in the No. 33 Winward Racing/HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4.

The championship-leading CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi did not take part in either session after the team elected to save its car heading into the final race of the season.

CarBahn’s drivers Tyler McQuarrie and Jeff Westphal currently hold a large 34-point advantage, with 35 points at play, which essentially means they only need to start tomorrow’s FOX Factory 120 race to clinch the title.

In the TCR class, Trenton Estep put KMW Motorsports out front with the 19-year-old posting a time of 1:28.261 aboard the No. 3 Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR.

This lap came during the morning session, as did the category’s second-best time of the day courtesy of Stephen Simpson in the No. 54 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR.

Next up for the Pilot Challenge field is a brief third practice session which leads into qualifying at 4:35 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Practice 1
RESULTS: Practice 2