Chevrolet Sets Early Pace in SRO3
Aston Martin Narrowly Ahead of Toyota in GT4
Practice 1 Results
It was a foggy morning at Circuit of the Americas as the GT America powered by AWS field set off for their first official practice session of the weekend. The competitors had an early start to their day, with 30 minutes on the clock to get more and more familiarized with the high-speed track.
Young talents Blake McDonald and Max Hewitt were the standouts in Practice 1, going quickest in their respective SRO3 and GT4 classes.
SRO3 Class
Memo Gidley set the pace early in the session in the No. 56 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVOII, consistently topping the charts for much of the running, showcasing his championship-winning expertise as he adjusts to new machinery this year.
However, Blake McDonald steadily found his rhythm behind the wheel of the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, gradually getting more comfortable as the session progressed. McDonald eventually climbed to the top of the timesheets, taking over as the fastest in the session with a lap time of 2:05.170.
In the closing ten minutes, Elias Sabo made a late charge in the No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 EVO, delivering a strong lap that vaulted him into second place, pushing Gidley down to third. As the session drew to a close, Ross Chouest secured the fourth-fastest time with a solid final effort in his No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, narrowly ahead of Justin Rothberg, who rounded out the top five with his No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
GT4 Class
In the GT4 category, the No. 69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 of Anthony McIntosh emerged as the one to catch for the opening half of the session, with local driver Max Hewitt, a Houston native, being McIntosh’s closest rival. The two went back and forth throughout Practice 1.
In the end, it was the Texan in the No. 39 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO who had the final say at his home circuit, clocking in a class-leading lap time of 2:14.486. Michael Auriemma delivered a consistent showing to complete the top three in GT4 in his No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, securing a solid position heading into the rest of the weekend’s action.
Let’s Get Racing
The GT America powered by AWS will return to the track for Practice 2 on Friday afternoon, April 25th at 1:30 PM CT.
If you can’t make it to Circuit of the Americas, be sure to 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 #GTCOTA.
