K-PAX McLaren Tops Free Practice 1 in Sepang

Photo: Dirk Bogaerts/SRO

K-PAX Racing has topped the time charts in the first official Free Practice session for Saturday’s Intercontinental GT Challenge season-ending Motul Sepang 12 Hours.

Alvaro Parente took the American team’s McLaren 650S GT3 to a quick lap of 2:03.468 in the two-hour session, edging out the No. 35 HubAuto Ferrari 488 GT3 by 0.168 seconds.

Parente will share driving duties with fellow McLaren GT factory drivers Come Ledogar and Shane van Gisbergen.

His time, however, was still more than a half-second slower than the best unofficial time set by the No. 15 Audi Sport Team Phoenix Audi R8 LMS of Laurens Vanthoor in the Paid Practice session, at a 2.02.925.

The No. 911 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was third quickest, followed by the No. 50 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 and No. 88 JLOC Lamborghini Hurcan GT3, which completed the top-five.

The session saw only a single red flag, for the No. 65 Vaper Niza Racing Seat Leon TC, which stopped on track.

A second two-hour Free Practice session gets underway at 10:15 p.m. local time.

RESULTS: Free Practice 1

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John