Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS had a final 60-minute practice session at Road America with cloudy skies overtaking as evening hours encroached. Practice Two closes out Friday as teams pack up to attend the State of the Series held at the local Osthoff Resort.
The State of the Series features a presentation on the future of GT racing presented by SRO Motorsports America CEO and President Greg Gill and SRO Motorsports Group founder Stephane Ratel. The Fanatec GT World Challenge America series is a key ingredient in continuing the evolution of motorsports, as seen by SRO.
Hearing about the development direction of the leading series in GT racing in North America at Road America, America’s National Park of Speed is a match well made. Practice Two highlighted the marvel and excitement the drivers of the series bring.
PRO Class
Chandler Hull and Bill Auberlen in the No. 94 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT3 topped the PRO Class and finished Practice Two third overall with a lap time of 2:03.445. Manny Franco and Alessandro Balzan found their stride and set a 2:03.871 lap time in the No. 21 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3. The Ferrari was second in class and seventh overall. They were followed by Jan Heylen and Madison Snow in the No. 45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. The pair finished practice one and two third in class. In Practice One their Best Lap was a 2:03.822, showing consistency they paired it with a 2:04.004 in Practice Two.
PRO-AM Class
The PRO-AM Class led the session with Anthony Bartone and Adam Christodoulou in the No. 43 RealTime Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, turning a 2:03.234. The RealTime Racing is in its element, with Sheboygan being home for the team. Daniel Morad was second fastest in the PRO-Am Class and third quickest overall. He and teammate Ziah Ghandour pushed the No. 9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 to turn a 2:03.349. They were followed by the No. 19 Esses Racing with Mercedes-Benz of Austin Mercedes-AMG GT3 re-emerging from its two-month break as third in the class. Driving duo Will Hardeman and Adam Carrol had a Best Lap time of 2:03.835.
The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Elliot Skeer and Adam Adelson stopped on track midway through the session, bringing out the only red flag of the session. It was recovered quickly and the session resumed.
Let’s Go Racing
The first thing on the Fanatec GT World Challenge America docket powered by AWS on Saturday, Aug. 19, is qualifying. The session is split in two in order to accommodate both drivers. Driver One qualifying begins at 9:05 a.m. CT, with Driver Two getting qualifying immediately following the session at 9:25 a.m. Race One for the series goes green at 3:10 p.m.