Loris Spinelli remained at the head of the order in Pre-Qualifying for the 2026 DESDER Indianapolis 8 Hour, keeping the #64 Chicago Performance and Tuning Co. Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 fastest for a second consecutive session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After setting the pace in Thursday evening’s Free Practice, Spinelli lowered his benchmark to a 1:23.503 during Friday morning’s 90-minute session. The official timing placed him 0.119s ahead of Chris Mies in the #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO, with Alessio Picariello taking third and leading the Pro category in McCann Racing’s #8 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo. SRO America
Ayhancan Güven continued GMG Racing’s strong weekend by taking fourth in the #32 Porsche, while Laurin Heinrich completed the top five for Wright Motorsports. The session ran without any red flags or significant incidents, allowing all 28 entries to complete running before Friday afternoon’s qualifying programme. Intercontinental GT Challenge
Spinelli lowers benchmark after Free Practice success
Spinelli had already established Chicago Performance as a contender by recording a 1:23.686 under the lights in Free Practice, but the Lamborghini factory driver found another 0.183s during Pre-Qualifying. His 1:23.503 came on lap 11 of the #64 car’s 46-lap programme and represented the fastest time of the weekend’s official practice sessions.
The result continued a strong progression for Chicago Performance after the Lamborghini finished seventh in the opening test and 24th in Test 2 before jumping to the top of the order once the weekend moved into its official sessions. Spinelli, Nicolai Elghanayan and Mads Siljehaug will compete in Pro-Am on Saturday, with the Italian’s pace giving the relatively new GTWC America operation another encouraging benchmark before qualifying.
Mies remained Chicago Performance’s closest challenger. The German recorded a 1:23.622 aboard the Dollahite Racing Ford, improving from third in Free Practice to second and leaving the leading pair separated by just over a tenth.
Picariello leads Pro field for McCann Racing
Picariello put the #8 McCann Racing Porsche third overall and fastest in Pro with a 1:23.707, only 0.204s away from Spinelli. The result represented a significant improvement from Free Practice, where the Porsche had finished 12th overall.
McCann’s Michael McCann Jr., Zachary Vanier and Picariello form one of the five Pro crews eligible to fight for overall honours, while Vanier also enters the weekend as one of the leading contenders in the SRO GT Academy competition.
Güven followed in fourth with a 1:23.759 for GMG Racing. The Turkish driver had topped both Indianapolis test sessions before Spinelli moved ahead during Free Practice, but the #32 remained firmly among the leading cars as the weekend progressed.
Heinrich completed the overall top five aboard the #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche with a 1:23.858. His performance also kept the Pro-Am championship-contending crew near the front after the drivetrain issue that severely restricted its running during Wednesday’s opening test.
Fontana leads Independent Cup entries
Alex Fontana placed the #79 Tsunami RT Porsche sixth overall with a 1:23.865, making it the highest-placed Intercontinental GT Challenge Independent Cup entry. The Porsche finished only 0.362s away from the outright benchmark and continued a weekend in which it has regularly appeared towards the sharp end of the times.
Danny Dyszelski produced a late improvement to move the #28 RS1 Porsche into seventh on a 1:23.891. His lap pushed Turner Motorsport down to eighth, although Connor De Phillippi’s 1:23.916 still made the #29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO the second-fastest Pro entry.
Turner’s pace carries added significance as Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley pursue the GTWC America Pro championship. The pair enters the season finale seven points away from the lead and will share the BMW with De Phillippi during Saturday’s eight-hour race.
Colin Braun put the #017 Kellymoss Porsche ninth with a 1:23.920, while Jesse Krohn completed the top 10 in the #14 Riley Technologies BMW on a 1:23.933. Just 0.430s separated Spinelli from Krohn at the end of the session.
Porsche fills much of leading order
Porsche machinery featured prominently throughout the classification, with six 911 GT3 R Evos inside the first 12 positions. Picariello led the manufacturer’s contingent in third, followed by Güven, Heinrich, Fontana and Dyszelski from fourth through seventh before Braun appeared in ninth.
The #88 Kellymoss Porsche of Loek Hartog, Aaron Jeansonne and John Gilliland added another in 12th, while several more appeared throughout the tightly compressed midfield. Only 0.806s covered the first 25 cars, illustrating the depth of the field before qualifying determines the starting positions for the 28-car grid.
Marcus Ericsson and Random Vandals Racing narrowly missed the top 10, taking 11th with a 1:23.949. The #99 BMW completed only 26 laps but finished just 0.446s away from Spinelli.
Stolz 17th ahead of IGTC title decider
Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing finished 17th with the #80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Lin Hodenius, Luca Stolz and Álex Palou. The crew recorded a 1:24.084 after recovering from the brake disc failure that curtailed its Free Practice running on Thursday evening.
The weekend carries particular importance for Stolz, who is one of three drivers capable of overhauling absent championship leader Maro Engel in the IGTC title decider. Maxime Martin’s #34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports entry finished 24th, while Heinrich’s fifth-place effort put the other remaining championship challenger considerably further up the Pre-Qualifying order.
Those times do not determine any part of the starting grid, but they provided the final opportunity for teams to refine their packages before each driver takes part in the three qualifying segments later on Friday.
Dempsey leads Am category
Peter Dempsey set the quickest Am time aboard the #11 MAD Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, placing the car 26th overall with a 1:24.619. The performance came after the entry failed to record a lap during Free Practice and gave the crew a representative benchmark ahead of qualifying.
The #163 AF Corse USA Ferrari followed with a 1:25.266, while the #67 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari completed only four laps and recorded a non-representative 4:53.333. The latter still appeared in the classification after failing to complete enough meaningful running to challenge its Am rivals.
2026 Indianapolis 8 Hour Pre-Qualifying full results
The official Pre-Qualifying results show all 28 entries recording a time, with Spinelli leading Mies by 0.119s and the opening 10 covered by 0.430s.
- #64 Chicago Performance and Tuning Co. Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 — Pro-Am — 1:23.503 — Nicolai Elghanayan / Mads Siljehaug / Loris Spinelli
- #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO — Pro-Am — 1:23.622 — +0.119 — Scott Dollahite / Alex Sedgwick / Chris Mies
- #8 McCann Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro — 1:23.707 — +0.204 — Michael McCann Jr. / Zachary Vanier / Alessio Picariello
- #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:23.759 — +0.256 — Kyle Washington / Riccardo Pera / Ayhancan Güven
- #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:23.858 — +0.355 — Dave Musial Jr. / Ryan Yardley / Laurin Heinrich
- #79 Tsunami RT Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:23.865 — +0.362 — Johannes Zelger / Fabio Babini / Alex Fontana
- #28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:23.891 — +0.388 — Danny Dyszelski / Daan Arrow / Jan Heylen
- #29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO — Pro — 1:23.916 — +0.413 — Justin Rothberg / Connor De Phillippi / Robby Foley
- #017 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:23.920 — +0.417 — Michael Clark / Lars Kern / Colin Braun
- #14 Riley Technologies BMW M4 GT3 EVO — Pro-Am — 1:23.933 — +0.430 — Slade Stewart / Jesse Krohn / Andy Lee
- #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO — Pro-Am — 1:23.949 — +0.446 — Derek DeBoer / Hampus Ericsson / Marcus Ericsson
- #88 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.016 — +0.513 — John Gilliland / Aaron Jeansonne / Loek Hartog
- #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R — Pro-Am — 1:24.019 — +0.516 — Ross Chouest / Aaron Povoledo
- #999 GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.045 — +0.542 — Marvin Klein / Patrick Charlaix / Jordan Boisson
- #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.046 — +0.543 — Frank DePew / Andrew Davis / Robin Liddell
- #69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.068 — +0.565 — Todd Coleman / Aaron Telitz / Thomas Fleming
- #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Pro — 1:24.084 — +0.581 — Lin Hodenius / Luca Stolz / Álex Palou
- #13 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.149 — +0.646 — Todd Parriott / Riley Dickinson / Kay van Berlo
- #27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.151 — +0.648 — Jason Daskalos / Wyatt Brichacek / Philip Ellis
- #9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.153 — +0.650 — Brayton Williams / Indy Dontje / Daniel Morad
- #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro — 1:24.155 — +0.652 — Thomas Merrill / Morris Schuring / Kévin Estre
- #12 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Pro — 1:24.192 — +0.689 — Matías Pérez Companc / Nicklas Nielsen / Frederik Schandorff
- #86 High Class Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.207 — +0.704 — Kerong Li / Anders Fjordbach / Hongli Ye
- #34 Mercedes-AMG Team JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Pro — 1:24.277 — +0.774 — Michai Stephens / Mikaël Grenier / Maxime Martin
- #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 1:24.309 — +0.806 — Ralf Bohn / Alfred Renauer / Robert Renauer
- #11 MAD Joker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Am — 1:24.619 — +1.116 — Marc Austin / Ben Keating / Peter Dempsey
- #163 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Am — 1:25.266 — +1.763 — Jay Schreibman / Oswaldo Negri / Benny Simonsen
- #67 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Am — 4:53.333 — +3:29.830 — Mitchell Green / Jamie Morrow / Conrad Grunewald
The class benchmarks were Picariello’s 1:23.707 in Pro, Spinelli’s 1:23.503 in Pro-Am and Dempsey’s 1:24.619 in Am. The timing sheet recorded dry track conditions throughout the session.
Qualifying next at Indianapolis
Pre-Qualifying completed the final 90-minute preparation session before the starting order begins to take shape. Qualifying gets underway at 15:35 ET on Friday, with each member of the three-driver crews required to take part before the fastest cars progress to the Pole Shootout. The session will be streamed live through the GT World YouTube channel. Intercontinental GT Challenge
Spinelli therefore carries the final practice benchmark into qualifying after leading two consecutive sessions, but the margins remain small. Mies sits only 0.119s behind, Picariello has put a Pro car firmly into the leading group and less than half a second separates the first 11 entries, leaving the fight for the front of the Indianapolis grid wide open.
