Marciello Keeps GruppeM on Top in Night Practice

Photo: Dirk Bogarts/SRO

Raffaelle Marciello kept GruppeM Racing on top at Suzuka following Night Practice for Sunday’s Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli round.

Marciello took the defending race-winning No. 999 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to a quick lap of 2:12.954 in the 90-minute session, which was again run in nearly full wet conditions.

It continued the streak of the Hong Kong-based team topping every timed session on Friday.

Marciello’s time was 0.277 seconds quicker than the No. 912 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Dirk Werner, who ended the day second on the time charts.

The No. 27 HubAuto Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3, featuring ex-Formula 1 star Heikki Kovalainen, was third quickest, ahead of the Silver Cup pace-setting No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Merecedes in fourth.

Craft-Bamboo Racing’s entry, meanwhile, made it three Mercedes in the top-five overall.

A final Free Practice session is on tap for Saturday at 9:15 a.m. local time followed by qualifying and the Top-20 Shootout in the afternoon.

RESULTS: Free Practice 2

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