iRTES Homestead Practice Report: GermanPitbullzRacing Sets the Early Benchmark as Teams Prepare for July 12 Feature
The Champion Motorsports iRacing Team Endurance Series has completed its first two free practice sessions for the upcoming Homestead-Miami Road Course B event, giving teams their first serious look at race preparation ahead of the four-hour feature on July 12.
With the Road Course B layout combining infield rhythm, technical braking zones, and portions of the Homestead oval, teams used Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 to begin building their programs around lap time, traffic management, consistency, and setup direction. The first two sessions featured a focused group of GTP and GT3 entries, with several teams collecting meaningful mileage before the final practice and Sprint Race arrive on July 11.
Overall Practice Picture
The fastest lap of the opening two practice sessions came in Free Practice 2, where Leon Friedrisczyk, driving for GermanPitbullzRacing Alpha, put the Porsche 963 GTP on top with a 1:07.547. That lap lowered the weekend benchmark by more than six tenths compared to the fastest time from Free Practice 1.
Free Practice 1 was led by Tarcisio Carvalho, representing the cmsracing.com endurance entry group, with a 1:08.213 in the Acura ARX-06 GTP. That time held up as the second-fastest lap across the two practice sessions, just ahead of GermanPitbullzRacing Bravo driver Christopher Kindler, who posted a 1:08.283 in Free Practice 2.
Behind the single-lap pace, the early mileage story was just as important. Several drivers completed 35 or more laps across their respective sessions, giving teams useful data before the July 11 final practice and Sprint Race.
Free Practice 1 Recap
Free Practice 1 opened the Homestead preparation window with a GTP-focused session led by Tarcisio Carvalho for the cmsracing.com endurance group. Carvalho’s best lap of 1:08.213 came on lap 9 of a 21-lap run, setting the early target for the field.
Douglas Hintze, also tied to the cmsracing.com endurance group, was second quickest in the session with a 1:08.496 in the Acura ARX-06 GTP. Hintze completed 40 laps, making his run one of the strongest mileage efforts of the day and giving the team a solid data set for both pace and durability.
The Organization Racing brought a two-driver effort to Free Practice 1 in the BMW M Hybrid V8. Eric Bruecker delivered the team’s fastest lap at 1:08.574, while Evan Bruecker followed with a 1:08.897. Together, the pair combined for 52 laps, the largest team mileage total of the session.
James Sauceman, another driver associated with the cmsracing.com endurance GTP effort, closed out the Free Practice 1 timing sheet with a 1:09.397 while completing 41 laps in the Acura ARX-06 GTP. Sauceman’s run added another strong long-run sample for the Acura group as the team continues to build toward race day.
Free Practice 1 Driver Times
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Class | Car | Best Lap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarcisio Carvalho | cmsracing.com endurance | GTP | Acura ARX-06 GTP | 1:08.213 | 21 |
| 2 | Douglas Hintze | cmsracing.com endurance | GTP | Acura ARX-06 GTP | 1:08.496 | 40 |
| 3 | Eric Bruecker | The Organization Racing | GTP | BMW M Hybrid V8 | 1:08.574 | 19 |
| 4 | Evan Bruecker | The Organization Racing | GTP | BMW M Hybrid V8 | 1:08.897 | 33 |
| 5 | James Sauceman | cmsracing.com endurance | GTP | Acura ARX-06 GTP | 1:09.397 | 41 |
Free Practice 2 Recap
Free Practice 2 changed the tone at the top of the timing sheets as GermanPitbullzRacing arrived with immediate pace in the Porsche 963 GTP.
Leon Friedrisczyk led the way for GermanPitbullzRacing Alpha, setting a 1:07.547 on lap 22 of a 24-lap run. That lap was the fastest of the first two practice sessions and established the new GTP reference heading into the second half of the event build-up.
Christopher Kindler made it a GermanPitbullzRacing one-two in Free Practice 2, posting a 1:08.283 for GermanPitbullzRacing Bravo. Kindler completed 27 laps and finished just 0.736 seconds off Friedrisczyk’s session-leading mark.
Free Practice 2 also featured the first GT3 representative in the attached practice results, with Dave Nelson logging a strong preparation run for cmsracing.com AM in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. Nelson posted a 1:15.782 and completed 37 laps, giving the GT3 field an early reference point for the Homestead weekend.
Free Practice 2 Driver Times
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Class | Car | Best Lap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leon Friedrisczyk | GermanPitbullzRacing Alpha | GTP | Porsche 963 GTP | 1:07.547 | 24 |
| 2 | Christopher Kindler | GermanPitbullzRacing Bravo | GTP | Porsche 963 GTP | 1:08.283 | 27 |
| 3 | Dave Nelson | cmsracing.com AM | GT3 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1:15.782 | 37 |
Combined Practice Times
Across the first two practice sessions, GermanPitbullzRacing holds the overall benchmark, while cmsracing.com endurance and The Organization Racing both showed useful early GTP pace and strong mileage. In GT3, cmsracing.com AM currently holds the only posted reference time from the attached practice results.
Combined GTP Practice Order
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Session | Best Lap | Laps in Session |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leon Friedrisczyk | GermanPitbullzRacing Alpha | Porsche 963 GTP | FP2 | 1:07.547 | 24 |
| 2 | Tarcisio Carvalho | cmsracing.com endurance | Acura ARX-06 GTP | FP1 | 1:08.213 | 21 |
| 3 | Christopher Kindler | GermanPitbullzRacing Bravo | Porsche 963 GTP | FP2 | 1:08.283 | 27 |
| 4 | Douglas Hintze | cmsracing.com endurance | Acura ARX-06 GTP | FP1 | 1:08.496 | 40 |
| 5 | Eric Bruecker | The Organization Racing | BMW M Hybrid V8 | FP1 | 1:08.574 | 19 |
| 6 | Evan Bruecker | The Organization Racing | BMW M Hybrid V8 | FP1 | 1:08.897 | 33 |
| 7 | James Sauceman | cmsracing.com endurance | Acura ARX-06 GTP | FP1 | 1:09.397 | 41 |
Combined GT3 Practice Order
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Session | Best Lap | Laps in Session |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Nelson | cmsracing.com AM | Porsche 911 GT3 R | FP2 | 1:15.782 | 37 |
What We Learned
GermanPitbullzRacing has the early headline pace. Friedrisczyk’s 1:07.547 was the clear benchmark from the first two sessions, and Kindler’s 1:08.283 gave the team two cars near the top of the combined GTP order.
cmsracing.com endurance gathered valuable Acura data. Carvalho, Hintze, and Sauceman all logged meaningful running in Free Practice 1, with Hintze and Sauceman each completing 40-plus laps. That mileage could be valuable as the team moves from single-lap pace into race setup and traffic planning.
The Organization Racing showed useful depth. Eric Bruecker and Evan Bruecker both posted competitive laps in the BMW M Hybrid V8, while the team completed the most combined mileage of any single listed team in Free Practice 1.
cmsracing.com AM has the early GT3 reference. Dave Nelson’s 1:15.782 in the Porsche 911 GT3 R gives the GT3 class its first posted benchmark from the attached practice files, and the 37-lap run suggests the team was able to collect meaningful race-prep data.
Next Up: FP3, Sprint Race, and the Main Event
The Homestead build-up continues on July 11 with Free Practice 3. That session will be followed immediately by the Sprint Race, giving teams one final chance to sharpen racecraft, traffic management, driver rhythm, and setup direction before the feature.
The main event takes place on July 12, with event activities beginning at 15:30 GMT and the green flag scheduled for 17:00 GMT.
With GermanPitbullzRacing setting the early outright pace, cmsracing.com endurance banking significant Acura mileage, The Organization Racing building a two-driver program, and cmsracing.com AM establishing the first GT3 marker, the stage is beginning to take shape for what should be a fascinating four-hour iRTES feature at Homestead-Miami Road Course B.