Heylen Tops Opening Sebring Practice in RS1 Porsche

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Jan Heylen set the fastest time in the opening practice session for the second round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season at Sebring International Raceway.

The Belgian, piloting the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS, posted a best time of 2:10.076 to outpace Gregory Liefooghe’s No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4 by 0.750 seconds.

Robin Liddell took third aboard the No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo, with Spencer Pumpelly and Aaron Povoledo completing the overall top five for BGB Motorsports and CarBahn, respectively.

Matt Plumb slotted into sixth aboard the No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin, leading the No. 67 Czabok-Simpson Motorsport Porsche driven by Morgan Burkhard.

Sam Paley picked up eighth in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford, while Daniel Morad’s No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 and the No. 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO rounded out the top ten.

In the TCR class, Honda runners occupied two out of the first three positions, led by the No. 93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR of Karl Wittmer.

The Canadian reeled off a 2:13.104 that left him 0.309 seconds clear of James Vance’s No. 52 Baker Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR.

Tim Lewis was third in the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda, while Eric Powell was the best-placed Hyundai runner in fourth.

Powell’s time of 2:13.422, set at the wheel of the No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR, fell behind Wittmer’s benchmark time by 0.608 seconds.

The one-hour session was interrupted by two red flags, the first triggered by the No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford of Billy Johnson at Le Mans corner within the first 20 minutes.

A second stoppage, this time for Werner Neugebauer’s No. 54 Panam Motorsport Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO at pit entry, brought the session to a premature end when it was halted with five minutes remaining on the clock.

Track action for Pilot Challenge resumes on Thursday at 8 a.m. EST.

RESULTS: Practice 1