Lazzaro Tops Friday Practice at Mid-Ohio

Photo: John Dagys

Anthony Lazzaro topped the time charts in opening practice for this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge double-header at Mid-Ohio.

The R. Ferri Motorsports driver reeled off a best lap of 1:21.580 in his No. 61 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3. Lazzaro edged out the No. 31 EFFORT Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ryan Dalziel by 0.358 seconds.

Dalziel, making his return to World Challenge competition, was second quickest, followed by the returning Alex Figge in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren MP4-12c GT3 in third.

Butch Leitzinger (Dyson Racing Team Bentley) and Mike Skeen (CRP Racing) completed the top-five in the GT class, which was represented by five different manufacturers.

Reiter Engineering’s Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis led the way in the GT-A class with a best lap of 1:22.991, having posted the 10th quickest time overall.

The pair of Cadillac CTS-V.Rs, meanwhile, were 8th and 9th best, while the debuting RealTime Racing Acura TLX GT of Peter Cunningham posted the 22nd quickest time.

Lawson Aschenbach, meanwhile, led the way in GTS, taking his Blackdog Speed Shop Camaro to a quick lap of 1:28.440.

Andy Lee (BestIT Racing) and Nic Jonsson (Kia) completed the top-three in class.

The 45-minute session saw a brief red flag early to retrieve the No. 89 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Fred Roberts. It otherwise ran without incident.

Qualifying is on tap for Saturday at 8 a.m. ET, with the first 50-minute race taking the green at 11:55 a.m. ET.

RESULTS: Practice

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