It is time now, for the big boys and the big toys to go at it in anger for the first time in 2021 at Sonoma. GT3 cars for GT World Challenge America, take to the track, next! Sonoma Raceway has been open since 1968. 32 years ago, in 1989, it hosted the first World Challenge race. We have Ryan Myrehn and Amanda Busick, along with John Watson on commentary. Our pal Calvin Fish, is recovering from kidney stones right now, and we hope to see him fit and well for commentary duties later in the season. This is the first race for the global championship with Porsche, Mercedes, Lamborghim, Ferrari, BMW, and more, competing worldwide in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. This track is four kilometers, two and a half miles. Easy for defending, tough for overtaking. We have many fine GT racers with the return of the Pro class to the series in 2021. Robby Foley is ready to go, sharing with Michael Dinan, new to the BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsports. Another debutant in GT3 is Ian Lacy Racing, the Aston Martin to be shared by Drew Staveley and Frank Gannett.
They are right in the deep end, starting with the GT3
car. TR3 Racing wants to do well after
an electrical mishap in qualifying.
Giacomo Altoe sharing the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with Ziad Ghandour. We miss legendary broadcaster Gregg Creamer,
who anchored this series from the broadcast booth, for many decades. Gregg, we know you are watching. So, the cars are behind the Lamborghini Urus
safety SUV. Ten cars are in this motor
race.
Erin Vogel must start caboose on the field, but she and
co-driver Michael Cooper in another DXDT Mercedes are going to be quick. Winward Racing with the previous generation
Mercedes AMG GT3 are fast too. Fred
Poordad and Jan Heylen in the #20 Wright Motorsport Porsche will be another one
to watch. Here we come for the
start. Green flag, and away we go! Caldarelli takes the lead from Vioanni
Venturini with Michael Dinan in third.
George Kurtz in the pit lane to repair a damaged right rear
Pirelli P Zero tire and also a possible broken suspension. There are a few places where commitment to
the corner is key. Jeff Burton is
pressing Fred Poordad as George Kurtz is a lap down already. Fred Poordad won the Am class championship in
GT World Challenge America last year.
Burton, another driver racing GT America earlier as Taylor Hagler and
Erin Vogel, two of the female drivers in the series, racing each pother hard
for position already. Taylor Hagler
sharing with Dakota Dickerson.
Fred Poordad and Jeff Burton continue to tussle, and we see
once more the battle between Taylor Hagler and Erin Vogel. The K-PAX Lamborghini’s dictate their own
pace. But there’s a long race left. A safety car will throw things into a totally
different direction. Good scrum now
between Michael Dinan and Russell Ward.
Ward won with his team at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in a different
championship, back in January. Russell
Ward is really becoming a great driver.
Ward has the car that is quicker over a lap while the BMW has speed in a
straight line.
Think through the layout of this track. Sonoma Raceway is oh so technical. Think about each corner in advance. Erin Vogel, meanwhile, has moved up six
places in the first 15 minutes. AF Corse
were up late last night preparing the car after a crash in Free Practice 1. Again, the Ferrari was in tatters. But, Jean Claude Saada and Conrad Grunewald are
in the race. Andrea Caldarelli leads the
motor race with 16 minutes on the board, ahead of Corey Lewis. Lewis runs second. Caldarelli won the sprint and endurance
championships in GT World Challenge Europe in 2019.
Maybe there is a tire issue on that Mercedes. Does she think the tire is deflating or wobbling around? Maybe the logo of the Pirelli tire has been rubbed off of one of the tires. George Kurtz and David Askew collided earlier and now, Erin Vogel has woes. They moved the team from Utah to North Carolina. Now, Vogel may be back at full song. She has been trying to adjust the car, but is now in pit lane for service. Maybe the pit crew said, “Erin, come in. We need to find out what is wrong.” The pit crew is conferencing with Erin right now to find the issue. Meantime, Fred Poordad is moving away from Jeff Burton. Burton is pushing the Porsche ahead. Erin Vogel was dealing with loose seatbelts, and the belt may have come out of the buckle. Under braking you lurch forward and are really uncomfortable, not able to drive the car. She will have to recover and see how co-driver Michael Cooper drives when he takes over the car on the pit stop. Meantime, Jeff Burton is continuing to press hard, having begun in a Lamborghini Super Trofeo car. He has run in GT4 as well to gain more experience but now he is ready for the bigtime.
He is chasing Fred Poordad.
Poordad has the psychological advantage.
Rodrigo Sales is running very well, and Compass Racing is back in SRO
GT3. They’ve been racing McLaren’s in
other championships. They were based in
Canada for years but moved to California even before the pandemic began. So, we still watch this scrap between Poordad
and Burton. This is a fascinating scrap
indeed. Rodrigo Sales is pressing
hard. Poordad runs behind Sales, the
Mexican driver. Sales is nine seconds up
the road while Jeff Burton is pushing for the undercut.
Andrea Caldarelli continues to lead with an hour to go. He is 12 seconds ahead of Corey Lewis in the sister car. Caldarelli is driving smart. He is doing so in a metronomic fashion, leading by over 12 seconds. Corey Lewis is in his first sprint race for Lamborghini having run endurance with them in another series. Every single evo trim Lamborghini Huracan is here at Sonoma this weekend. Jordan Pepper is in his first race in North America for Lamborghini. Many of these Huracan GT3’s were in private hands but have now been turned over to race teams in a number of championships and every one of the cars will be raced. Porsche and Ferrari, as well as BMW have been running factory cars for what seems like forever. Now, Lamborghini have come to the fore in GT racing. …And, in a very brief frame of time. This is a road going car adapted to the racetrack. Meantime, Russell Ward is falling behind. Russell Ward will soon hand the Mercedes to Philip Ellis. Frank Gannett in the Aston Martin is making progress in this huge step for he and co-driver Drew Staveley who move up from the GT4 championship and the Ford Mustang GT4.
Turner Motorsport, by contrast has been racing forever in
the BMW M6 GT3. This race is 35 minutes
old and we have about ten or so minutes to the halfway mark. Don’t go out and nail it at first. Take care of the tire, control it. George Kurtz moved by Frank Gannett for 11th
a moment ago. Jeff Burton is up to
sixth, second in Pro Am, passing Fred Poordad and Rodrigo Sales is the next car
on his shopping list. George Kurtz will
hand the car to Colin Braun. Kurtz and
Braun raced with other Mercedes factory drivers, last October at the 24 Hours
of Spa. He wants to go back to the 24
Hours of Spa and get the full experience, in late July or early August.
Taylor Hagler, meantime, is being monstered by David
Askew. Hagler keeps Askew at bay. Hagler is a graduate of the HPD GT3 Driver
Academy, with Dakota Dickerson as co-driver.
She will also share with another HPD graduate, Jacob Abel, later in the
season. Pit stop time coming soon. Just in a minute or so, a mandatory pit stop
for fuel, tires, and a driver change, in a ten minute window. Andrea Caldarelli has been perfect thus far,
before Jordan Pepper gets into the car.
Now, we have our first takers with the Racer’s Edge Acura and the DXDT
Mercedes.
The Pro drivers will get an extra lap in the motor race
before it is finished. There is a
minimum pit stop delta of 87 seconds from pit in to pit out, with a 50
kilometer an hour speed limit. Four
tires, fuel, and a driver change. Dakota
Dickerson will hit the track now in the Racer’s Edge Acura. The Pro teams can be more flexible. Here is Andrea Caldarelli as Jeff Burton also
is in the lane but may go down a lap if he isn’t careful. Service going on for the Mercedes and the #3
Lamborghini. Jordan Pepper is in the
car, four tires, and fuel, and he is down and away. They sat stationary to avoid a penalty. The crew did well and left nothing on the
table.
He is clear ahead of the Acura of Matt McMurry. McMurry replacing Rodrigo Sales in the #77
Compass Racing Acura as the #6 K-PAX Racing Lamborghini is in the lane, with
Giovanni Venturini taking over. Oh
dear! The Compass Racing Acura loses the
left rear wheel and is stopped cold on the road! Just 45 minutes remaining in the first race
of the weekend. We will see if we have a
safety car or a Full Course Yellow.
Venturini is now on the button after heading out of pit lane. Drew Staveley has taken over the Ian Lacy
Racing Aston Martin ahead of Pro Am leader Jan Heylen in the Wright Motorsports
Porsche as Jordan Pepper is leading, the South African driver. His dad Ian is a South African touring car
racing veteran and his sister Tasman raced in the W Series for lady racers.
Jordan Pepper is booking it, definitely. The Acura is still stranded causing a local
yellow flag. Race Control are covering
the incident with a local yellow. Ryan
Dalziel reeling in Dakota Dickerson.
Dickerson is being hounded by Dalziel.
How close will Dalziel be? No
dice yet. Through the cicane, and into
the hairpin at turn 11. A Full Course
Yellow will appear at the end of the pit window. Try to pass if the field is bunched up under
the safety car. Dakota Dickerson is
coming from open wheel cars into sports cars.
Rodrigo Sales is not happy after the tire flew off the car
and now we have that Full Course Yellow.
The gap built by the Lamborghini boys, has evaporated. Pepper leads, with the lapped Aston Martin
behind. Drew Stavely is caboose on the
field now that Matt McMurry is out of the race.
Andrea Caldarelli has had an exceptionally clean race thus far. He seems to be relaxed but of course, Jordan
Pepper is in his first race as a Lamborghini driver. Take care of the rear Pirelli P Zero tires. Caldarelli is making his debut in SRO
America. At the Race Director’s
discretion, there can be a wave by, but we are not sure if that rule is in
effect or not.
Giovanni Venturini in the sister Lamborghini is second and
K-PAX might go for the 1-2. Look out for
the #96 BMW M6 GT3, Robby Foley at the wheel of it, for Turner Motorsports, the
car he is sharing with Michael Dinan.
They won together, the SprintX Pro Am championship in GT4 America. Michael Dinan is learning to be consistent as
a newly minted Pro driver, to learn things about racing these cars. Race two tomorrow, Dinan knows he will have
more traffic to contend with. Dinan was
the winningest driver in SRO America last year, 17 wins, six Sprint wins and 11
SprintX wins.
In the old days, drivers learned on their own, but now, veteran drivers are paid to help young guys jump start their careers. We are back to green now, with just under 30 minutes to go. Pepper leads over the two lapped cars we mentioned earlier. Watch out for the races further back in the pack. Giovanni Venturini and Robby Foley are second and third. Venturini is being monstered by Ryan Dalziel. Venturini is now behind Dakota Dickerson. He wants to get by the Acura and get to Dalziel. Dalzile now runs second in Pro Am over Dakota Dickerson.
Uphill at turns 3 and 3A. Down to turn four and through five, up the crest and downhill through six, The Carousel. Phil Ellis had been running well, but there was a battery short for the Winward Mercedes. Game over for those boys. Foley is moving in on Venturini while Dalziel has gone around Dakota Dickerson. This is the Pro Am battle, between Dalziel and Jan Heylen. Jan Heylen has helped Fred Poordad. Poordad was running with Max Root last year and had Jan Heylen come in when Root raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Root, Poordad, and Heylen shared as a trio last fall at the 8 Hours of Indianapolis in Intercontinental GT Challenge. Now, ther’es debris as the left front of the Merfedes is crunched, and the BMW was compromised, the Mercedes hits the back of the BMW, shattering the bodywork on the left front corner. That was the #04 Kurtz/Braun car. Braun has damage and Vesko Kozarov was at the front of the queue while there was a stack up behind. That was a nightmare. The BMW was compromised and the Mercedes had no place to go. An accordion effect indeed.
The Turner BMW did have a check over in pit lane before heading out as Robby Foley was the last car on the lead lap. We have an internecine battle with the Mercedes AMG GT3’s at DXDT. Both had similar incidents as the sister car has now been taken over by Michael Cooper after Erin Vogel finished her stint. Cooper is having woes it seems. He is slowing down a wee bit. Less than 18 minutes on the clock. After winning GT America, George Kurtz and company at DXDT are making amends for what is going on and getting ready for racing action tomorrow. Kurtz and Askew are teammates but also great friends.
The gap is closing as Giovanni Venturini is chasing Jordan Pepper. Colin Braun and Michael Cooper continue to fight. The GT3 cars don’t like going slow around the hairpin, the second to last corner on the circuit, at turn ten and into the final turn at turn 11. Giovanni Venturini runs 13 seconds behind the sister Lamborghini of leader Jordan Pepper. The only Am/Am pairing in the race this weekend is the #61 Ferrari for AF Corse with Jean-Claude Saada and Conrad Gruenwald. Dakota Dickerson who started his sports car racing career is running well.
The Acura and the Ferrari race closest to open wheel cars. The Ferrari especially, is comfortable as a car for more senior drivers. The battle rages on between Colin Braun and Michael Cooper. Cooper is a GT3 SprintX champion in a Mercedes. Drew Stavely in the Ian Lacy Aston Martin is ahead of the two DXDT Crowdstrike Mercedes AMG GT3’s. Through the Carousel they go. Staveley wisely moves out of the way. All three cars run a 4-liter AMG turbocharged engine. The Mercedes AMG GT3 has a superior chassis, while the Aston Martin needs to be fine-tuned. Actually, the Mercedes, I believe has a bigger motor, a 6.2-liter V8.
Seven and a half minutes to go. C.J. Moses, who races in in GT America is not here because of kidney stones. Everyone is on equal footing. No team orders at DXDT. We wish C.J. Moses and, SRO broadcaster, Calvin Fish, well, as both of them recover from kidney stones. Ouch! Get well, boys. Venturini moves past the Rearden Racing Lamborghini, Vesko Kozarov at the wheel of it. Jan Heylen, the Belgian, leads Pro Am over Ryan Dalziel as co-driver Fred Poordad looks on. The Porsche 911 has won at the 24 Hours of Spa and the Kyalami 9 Hours.
Ah. A developing story for Robby Foley and BMW. They are off the pace dropping from third to ninth, still third in Pro Am. Of course, Phil Ellis and the Winward Mercedes had trouble and they are out of the motor race. But there’s lingering trouble from contact for Foley and company. The right rear tire was touching the bodywork someplace. Just a handful of laps remain in three or so minutes. Jordan Pepper had a stirring run in the rain on slick tires at the Indianapolis 8 Hours for Bentley last fall. Pepper was extremely quick.
He has jumped into a Lamborghini for the first time. They are both cars from Volskwagen Audi, but they are totally different cars. The Bentley is front engine with a turbo V8 and the Lamborghini mid-engine with a normally aspirated V10 motor. Top pro drivers adapt very quickly as the Turner BMW is off the pace making it to the end. White flag. Final lap in race one for Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS. Giovanni Venturini is in second also for K-PAX Lamborghini. Jan Heylen will hold off Ryan Dalziel in Pro Am.
Conrad Grunewald leads Am. Pepper and Andrea Caldarelli, for the final time, come through and the South African in his SRO America debut, wins the first race of the weekend at Sonoma Raceway! Wow! Jan Heylen holds off Ryan Dalziel for Pro Am honors. In the Am class, we will see what happens. Colin Braun is going to best Michael Cooper for fourth in class, fifth overall. Conrad Grunewald eight, wins in the lone Am class car in the field. So good to have the Pro class back in action in 2021. What a fabulous performance by the boys from K-PAX. We look ahead to tomorrow at Sonoma, and race two. Andrea Caldarelli gets pole, fastest lap, and the win, on their home ground. They know Sonoma Raceway like the back of their hand. Track time is valuable, and it shows.
Overall/Pro: #3 Caldarelli/Pepper K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo
Pro Am: #20 Heylen/Poordad Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
Am: #61 Grunewald/Saada AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3
So, K-PAX goes 1-2 with Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan
Pepper. A great race. Get a good night’s sleep and we will see you
tomorrow for more action.
So, K-PAX goes 1-2 with Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan
Pepper. A great race. Get a good night’s sleep and we will see you
tomorrow for more action.
No comments:
Post a Comment