With the additional time provided by a relatively late and leisurely start to Thursday’s track activities, our intrepid correspondent had time to rest a bit more in the morning before heading to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After breakfast at Founders Grounds Coffee, a local favorite, and a stroll down Main Street in the city of Speedway, past the Dallara IndyCar Factory, the headquarters of AJ Foyt Racing, and other local racing businesses, it was time to begin the first day of competitive practices. .
It was a cold and cloudy start to the day. There was a light shower overnight and patches of rain this morning, but by noon these conditions calmed down into beautiful sunny weather and comfortable temperatures.
The first order of business was to head into the paddock for the Indianapolis 8 hour race, where AF Corse-Francorchamps is back in full force!
The team’s pit crew, drawn from its operations in Italy and the United States, spent the entire day preparing their number 51 backup Ferrari 488 GT3 for Pierre Ragues, Miguel Molina and Davide Rigon.
This car will race for the first time tonight during free practice at 6:30 pm EDT.
A final entry list for GT4 America, which now has 33 cars, has been released. One of the additions is the #2 GMG Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Jason Bell (the current GT America GT4 class points leader) and Andrew Davis.
The other is from a team from our correspondent’s former residence in Chattanooga, Tennessee – ACI Motorsports. Owner/driver Curt Swearingin makes a one-off appearance in the #7 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Swearingin finished fourth in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro-Am standings this year.
And they have recruited reigning PCCNA Pro Champion, Parker Thompson of Canada, to join the team as part of a Pro-Am lineup.
Dexter Racing will race in GT4 America as confirmed in the provisional entry list, but it will be with their #112 Toyota GR Supra GT4 driven by Dominic Starkweather and Ryan Dexter, rather than their #60 Ginetta G56 GT4 that was on the previous entry list.
FINAL GT4A ENTRY LIST >>
A final GT America entry list has also been released, featuring 25 cars, including Jasons Daskalos and Harward’s two first-generation Audi R8 LMS Ultras (car number #888), at SRO3.
Kyle Washington is driving the #032 red, white and blue Porsche 911 GT3-R for GMG Racing for the third time this season, and CJ Moses will also represent GMG Racing in his unique #58 Audi R8 LMS GT2.
In the GT4 class, unique entries include GT4 America Pro-Am title contenders Scott Noble (#47 NOLASPORT Cayman RS) and Tom Capizzi (#52 AutoTechnic Racing M4 GT4), while Gray Newell (#25 Heart of Racing Team Vantage GT4) is back after a weekend suspension, but still owes a ten-place grid penalty for Race 1.
The battle for the GT4 championship in this bronze speed series will be something to watch this weekend as five drivers – Bell, Adam Adelson, Moisey Uretsky, Ross Chouest and Robb Holland – remain mathematically eligible.
GTAM FINAL ENTRY LIST >>