Kevin Estre left it late to set the fastest lap in Friday’s opening 90-minute practice for the TireRack.com Battle of the Bricks at Indianapolis. The Frenchmen lapped the 2.45-mile circuit in his No. 6 Porsche 963 with a time of 1:15.764. Tom Blomqvist ended the session second for Meyer Shank Racing with his No. 60 inside a tenth of Estre’s time. BMW Team WRT rounds out the top 3 with Sheldon van der Linde lapping at a 1:16.088 in the No. 24 M Hybrid V8.
While Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 car had a strong session, the sister No. 93 could not say the same. Half an hour into the session, Renger van der Zande beached the car in the gravel at Turn 4 and brought out the session’s sole red flag. Therefore, the No. 93 Acura will lose its fastest lap during Saturday’s qualifying session per the rulebook.
In LMP2, Tom Dillmann and InterEuropol Competition continue to keep the rest of the class on notice. The Frenchmen topped the session with a 1:16.545. Paul Di Resta and the No. 22 United Autosports Oreca was second, only three thousandths ahead of Alex Quinn. The championship leaders from Crowdstrike by APR round out the top three in class.
Pratt Miller Motorsports, Wayne Taylor Racing Lead GT Classes
The No. 4 Corvette is fast early at Indy – Photo Courtesy: Corvette Racing
Meanwhile in GTD PRO, Nicky Catsburg leads a Corvette Racing 1-2 in class. Both the Dutchman and teammate Alexander Sims finished within a tenth of a second. Catsburg turned a 1:23.567 in the No. 4 compared to a 1:23.645 from Sims in the No. 3 Corvette. Max Esterson and the RLL McLaren was a distant third in the session, half a second off the Corvettes. Surprisingly, the other two championship contenders – the Paul Miller BMW and the Pfaff Lamborghini – were eight tenths slower. This is telling because the race will be run during this same time window on Sunday.
Following Catsburg on the time charts overall was Trent Hindman. The No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan’s 1:23.630 was the pacesetter in the GTD class. Championship leaders Winward Racing were second quickest with Russell Ward’s 1:23.786 a tenth and a half off. Matt Bell put 13 Autosport into the Top 3 with the Brit lapping at 1:23.971, three tenths off Hindman’s benchmark. Winward’s rivals, however, were a little off the pace. Barichello turned the fifth fastest lap for Heart of Racing while Robby Foley could only get Turner seventh.
Finally, Dragonspeed did not turn a timed lap in the session due to gearbox problems with their No. 81 Corvette.
Cars return to track Saturday morning at 10:45am local time for Free Practice 2.
Full Practice 1 Results: CLICK HERE
Headline Photo: The No. 6 Porsche 963 – Photo Courtesy: Porsche Newsroom
