R. Ferri Quickest as Bentleys Struggle in Opening Practice

Photo: Brian Cleary/SRO

Toni Vilander led the way in the first practice session of the weekend for Blancpain GT World Challenge America competitors at Road America.

The R. Ferri driver reeled off a best time of 2:06.120 in the 60-minute session, outpacing the No. 43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo of Dane Cameron, who was also quickest of the GT3 Pro-Am class entries.

Championship contenders K-PAX Racing struggled in the session, with its pair of Bentley Continental GT3s ending up 10th and 12th overall out of the 14-car field.

It comes following mandatory tire pressure and camber settings imposed by SRO America and Pirelli for this weekend, which is believed to have affected the Bentley more than other GT3 cars.

The No. 80 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura was third overall on the time sheets, followed by fellow Pro-Am class competitor Wright Motorsports in fourth with its No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Ryan Dalziel completed the top-five in the No. 63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche of Patrick Long and Scott Hargrove was second quickest in the Pro class although 8th overall.

A second and final practice session is on tap for 3:50 p.m. CT.

RESULTS: 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