> Hindman leaves it late to beat factory car in battle for top spot
> Results: Pre-Qualifying
Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli debutant Racers Edge Motorsport secured top spot in this morning's Indianapolis 8 Hour Pre-Qualifying, leading a Honda/Acura one-two at the Brickyard.
The #93 NSX GT3 Evo posted the quickest time in the final moments of the 90-minute run, edging out the #30 Team Honda Racing machine. The factory car had been in control since the early stages, with first Renger van der Zande and then Mario Farnbacher registering benchmark times.
They looked set to remain unbeaten until Racers Edge made a late bid for top spot. Trent Hindman went second-quickest, 0.034s shy of Farnbacher, before finding a few more tenths and posting a session-leading 1m22.857s.
Hindman and regular teammate Shelby Blackstock have swept the board in the GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS Silver Cup class this season, claiming five overall wins in the process. They are joined for the #IntGTC weekend by experienced Road to Indy racer Robert Megennis, who makes his GT3 debut at the Speedway.
Third spot went to the #20 Wright Motorsports Porsche, with Jan Heylen posting the time in the car he shares with Fred Poordad and Max Root. The #31 Audi Sport Team Hardpoint WRT entry was fourth courtesy of an early lap by factory ace Mirko Bortolotti, followed by Walkenhorst Motorsport's #34 and #35 BWMs respectively.
SunEnergy 1 Racing was the best Mercedes runner and the leading Pro-Am class car in sixth, while the K-PAX Racing Bentley was only seventh after topping yesterday's Group Test and Free Practice sessions.
As was the case on Friday, Patrick Gallagher led the GT4 class for Notlad Racing by RS1. The #33 Aston Martin was 0.764s clear of the #2 GMG Racing Porsche, while the same gap covered the next five GT4 machines.
Qualifying will follow at 12.10 ET (16.10 GMT) with three sessions establishing the 10 cars that will contest the Pole Shootout (17.30 ET/21.30 GMT). All sessions will air live on Intercontinental’s website and Facebook page, as well as SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.