Indianapolis 8 Hour: Thursday Paddock Notes
With the extra time provided by a relatively late and leisurely start to Thursday track activities, our intrepid correspondent was afforded time to rest a little more in the morning before heading out towards Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After a breakfast at local favourites Founders Grounds Coffee, and a walk down Main Street in the town of Speedway – past the Dallara IndyCar Factory, AJ Foyt Racing headquarters, 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 rain shower overnight and spots of rain this morning, but by noon, these conditions subsided into beautiful, sunny weather and comfortable temperatures.
First order of business was to head towards the Indianapolis 8 Hour Race paddock, where AF Corse-Francorchamps are back to full strength!
The team’s crew of mechanics, pooled from their Italian and American operations, spent all day preparing their backup #51 Ferrari 488 GT3 for Pierre Ragues, Miguel Molina, and Davide Rigon.
This car will run for the first time tonight during Free Practice at 6:30 PM EDT.
A final GT4 America entry list has been published, which now has 33 cars. 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 old residence of Chattanooga, Tennessee – ACI Motorsports. Owner/driver Curt Swearingin is making a one-off appearance with 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’ve recruited reigning PCCNA Pro Champion, Parker Thompson from Canada, to join the team as part of a Pro-Am lineup.
Dexter Racing will be running 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, instead of their #60 Ginetta G56 GT4 which was previously listed.
Alex Premat has also been confirmed as the second driver of the #71 GMG Racing Cayman RS alongside Jay Logan.
A final GT America entry list has also been published, featuring 25 cars including the two first-generation Audi R8 LMS Ultras of Jasons Daskalos and Harward (carring car number #888), in SRO3.
Kyle Washington is running the red, white, and blue #032 Porsche 911 GT3-R for GMG Racing for the third time this season, and CJ Moses will also represent GMG Racing in his sole #58 Audi R8 LMS GT2.
In the GT4 class, one-off 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 one-weekend suspension but still owes a ten place grid penalty for Race 1.
The GT4 Championship battle in this all-Bronze sprint series will be something worth watching this weekend, as five drivers – Bell, Adam Adelson, Moisey Uretsky, Ross Chouest, and Robb Holland are still mathematically eligible.
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