PWC: Cooper, Long lead Monterey GT practices

Cadillac Racing's Michael Cooper was the man to beat Friday morning at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with his Cadillac ATS-V.R in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class, and in the afternoon, championship contender Patrick Long took control of GT in his Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

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Cooper's No. 8 Cadillac was the fastest PWC GT entry of the day with his 1m23.986s lap set in the cooler a.m. conditions, second went to Long with a 1m24.130s in the No. 58 Porsche and Kyle Marcelli was third in the early session with a 1m24.561s in CRP Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3.

With temperatures rising in the afternoon, Calvert Dynamics driver Michael Lewis led most of the session in the No. 98 Porsche 911 GT3 R until Long jumped to the top with his 1m24.856s. Lewis held onto second with a 1m25.106s and Marcelli was third once again with a 1m25.137s.

Cooper's afternoon outing was curtailed with an off and the subsequent need to inspect the front suspension in the paddock while the rest of the field lapped the 2.2-mile road course.

Long, who is fighting for the GT championship with K-PAX McLaren driver Alvaro Parente, was highly encouraged by the pace his Porsche demonstrated ahead of qualifying.

"Extremely happy but very focused," said Long. "You can't take today as anything but something good to build on tomorrow in qualifying. There's lot of work still to be done, but right now I feel like I'm at the front of the pack, it's the middle of the race, and I'm breathing easy. The boys did their homework and we've unloaded right."

Michael Schein led the final GTA practice in his No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (1m26.041s) and Corey Fergus headed the GT Cup class in his No. 00 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry (1m29.369s).

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 10: 25 a.m. PT