Mapelli Leads Opening Hour at Indy

Photo: Regis Lefebure/SRO

Marco Mapelli has put K-PAX Racing out front in the opening hour of the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.

The Italian in the No. 1 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo holds a narrow one-second lead over the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Daniel Serra, who charged through the field after starting 18th.

Serra got around the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari of Alessandro Balzan for second on Lap 30 and closed the gap to the Lamborghini during the Brazilian’s impressive stint.

The pole-sitting No. 33 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo led early in the hands of Russell Ward, who lost the top spot to Balzan on Lap 12 prior to Mapelli’s move to the front eight laps later.

Ward currently runs in fourth, with the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Nick Wittmer fifth overall in the lone Silver class entry.

The No. 42 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 of Michael Cooper leads Pro-Am following an early drive-through penalty for Mario Farnbacher in the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura after contact with Misha Goikhberg’s No. 3 K-PAX Lamborghini early on.

Goikhberg has dropped a lap behind as a result of damage to the left-front bodywork of the car.

Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Pro-Am title contenders CrowdStrike Racing with Riley Motorsports and Wright Motorsports collided on the pace lap, in the only other notable incident of the race which has run caution-free.

George Kurtz and Charlie Luck run further behind in the pack of the 25-car starting field.

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