- Provisional Qualifying 1 Results
- Provisional Qualifying 2 Results
- Provisional Qualifying 3 Results
- 8 Hour Race Provisional Qualifying Average
Following two practice sessions, the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and Intercontinental GT Challenge teams set off around Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon for three qualifying consecutive sessions to see who would stand above the rest. With Pro, Pro-Am, and Am competitors sharing the track, the sessions featured decisive performances and tight gaps that set the stage for an exciting Pole Shootout to come this evening ahead of Saturday’s Indianapolis 8 Hour.
Pro Class
Raffaele Marciello set the early benchmark in the Pro class, commanding the No. 777 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 with a 1:23.072. The No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Lin Hodenius went second-quickest overall, followed by Chaz Mostert in the No. 75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO.
On the GT World Challenge America front, Michai Stephens placed sixth in class aboard the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, followed by Alex Sedgwick in seventh in the No. 18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R, and Varun Choksey in eighth with the No. 51 Random Vandals BMW M4 GT3.
Qualifying 2 was dominated by Lone Star Racing, as Maxime Martin piloted the No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO to the top of the charts, also making him the first driver to dip under the 1:22 mark. Ricardo Feller followed closely, placing second overall and in class aboard the No. 61 Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche, with Augusto Farfus rounding out the Pro top three in the No. 777 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3. Canadian Mikaël Grenier set the fifth-fastest Pro lap of the session for JMF Motorsports.
Q3 began with a red flag after Alessio Picariello’s No. 18 RS1 Porsche stopped on track, halting the session midway. Once the green flag waved again, Maro Engel went quickest overall in the No. 888 Team GMR Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Lucas Auer elevated the JMF Motorsports Mercedes to second overall. Connor De Phillippi rounded out the top three in the No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3.
Pro-Am Class
Blake McDonald impressed early, topping Q1 in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. He edged out Dustin Blattner in the No. 21 Blattner Company by Herberth Motorsport Porsche and Gray Newell in the No. 24 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO. Championship leader Justin Rothberg secured the sixth-fastest Pro-Am time in his session aboard the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.
In Q2, Klaus Bachler set the pace for the Pro-Am category, placing the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche first in class and fourth overall. Patrick Gallagher continued Turner Motorsport’s strong form with the second-best Pro-Am time and seventh overall, while Alec Udell went third in class and eleventh overall for DXDT Racing.
Turner Motorsport stayed at the front in Q3, with Robby Foley leading the Pro-Am field and placing sixth overall. Robert Renauer followed in second for Herberth Motorsport, slotting the No. 7 Porsche into ninth overall, while Zach Robichon took third in class for The Heart of Racing Aston Martin, just 0.054 seconds adrift.
Across combined qualifying times, Turner Motorsport emerged as the standout, breaking into the overall top ten and advancing to the Pole Shootout.
Am Class
The No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 dominated across all sessions. Scott Dollahite opened Q1 by going fastest in class and tenth overall. In Q2, Stefano Gattuso continued the team’s strong form, again topping the Am charts and placing fourteenth overall. Eric Powell completed the sweep in Q3, setting the nineteenth-fastest overall time.
The No. 163 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 remained consistent, with Jay Schreibman, Oswaldo Negri, and Conrad Grunewald each placing 22nd overall across their respective sessions.
Let’s Get Racing
The top 10 cars overall from the combined Qualifying sessions will return to the track for Pole Shootout later this evening on Friday, October 17th at 5:45 PM ET.
If you can’t make it to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, watch all the action live on RACER TV, or tune in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #Indy8H.
Additionally, viewers can watch the brand-new multi-viewer streaming experience in partnership with Vbrick and GPX Stream. This innovative platform gives fans unprecedented control over their race day experience, allowing them to seamlessly switch between multiple live onboard streams in real time for GT World Challenge America powered by AWS while simultaneously accessing the live leaderboard, race broadcast, and Twitch chat.