Kay van Berlo was quickest in the first of two Pirelli GT4 America practice sessions at Barber Motorsports Park in preparation for this weekend’s racing action.
Van Berlo, in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, recorded a best lap of 1:28.437 in Friday morning’s 45-minute opening practice session.
It was 0.67 seconds quicker than second-placed Matheus Leist in the No. 89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4, who stood atop for the majority of the running until the Dutchman’s late-session improvement.
Roman De Angelis, debuting a brand-new Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo for Heart of Racing Team, was third on the time sheets.
The No. 28 RS1 Porsche of John Capestro-Dubets and Eric Filgueiras led the way in the Silver class with the fifth quickest time overall, behind Tyler McQuarrie’s No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 in fourth.
It came before Filgueiras pulled off track with a suspected mechanical issue that brought out the session’s second red flag with less than ten minute left on the clock.
Am class honors went to the No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW of Chris Walsh.
The session saw a red flag early for debris, which was followed by by a second stoppage for Filgueiras’ RS1 Porsche, which saw track action resume with five minutes left on the clock.
The second practice session is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. CDT.
RESULTS: Practice 1