Marcelli Tops First Practice at VIR

Kyle Marcelli topped the times in the first GT World Challenge America powered by AWS practice session of the weekend at Virginia International Raceway.

Connor De Phillippi initially jumped to the top of the times early, reeling off a then-session-best lap on his fourth attempt aboard the No. 99 Random Vandalls Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO he shares with Kenton Koch.

In the final 15 minutes, however, an improvement from Marcelli brought the Pro-Am class No. 92 LAB Motorsport by GT Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R to the top of the times, with his 1:46.455 lap proving 0.033 seconds clear of Pro class De Phillippi’s BMW.

GMG Racing was third fastest overall and second-quickest in Pro-Am, with Tom Sargent’s best lap in the No. 32 Porsche a mere 0.001 seconds off of the Random Vandals BMW and just 0.034 seconds down on Marcelli’s session-topping benchmark.

The third fastest Pro-Am time was set by Matt Bell in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R he co-drives with Blake McDonald.

Aaron Telitz locked in the fifth-quickest time overall in the session and was fourth-best in Pro-Am in the No. 88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo he shares with Todd Coleman.

Random Vandals went 1-2 in Pro with the No. 51 entry of Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey, who recorded the eighth overall best time .

Oswaldo Negri led the Am class in the No. 163 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 he shares with Jay Schreibman.

Eric Powell, meanwhile, turned his first official practice laps in GT3 machinery in the No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 he shares with Scott Dollahite and finished the session second in Am.

Practice running was interrupted by a red flag 14 minutes in when the No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Jeff Burton stopped in Sector 3 after a gearbox issue.

Running resumed six minutes later, allowing drivers just under half an hour to record the rest of their practice laps.

Christian Hahn later stopped in the first sector after going off track in his freshly delivered No. 16 Ferrari after a Thursday-ending crash in the day’s second test session necessitated a new car being delivered overnight.

The Brazilian’s stoppage did not impact running, however, and the session stayed green, despite Hahn’s Ferrari requiring recovery from track workers.

Practice 2 is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST ahead of Saturday’s Qualifying sessions and Race 1.

RESULTS: Practice 1