Another day, another race for GT World Challenge America, at Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas. Race two of the weekend is getting set for blastoff. It is all about today. The professional driver in the Pro-Am combinations will start the race, and in this 90 minute motor race, of course, there is a mandatory pit stop between the 40 and 50 minute mark. 45 minutes, being bang on the money for the halfway mark in the GT World Challenge America race today. The minimum pit stop delta is 77 seconds. Refueling and driver changes are obviously a part of that.
The same is true with tires.
Now, Inception Racing, these chaps are going to be ones to watch. This is the McLaren 720S GT3, car #70 for
American Brendon Iribe and Brit Ollie Milroy.
Yesterday, they did well and had lots of speed. Here we go.
They come through turn 20. Philip
Ellis in the Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, car #33, on pole. Giacomo Altoe in the #9 TR3 Racing
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 to his outside.
Green flag! It’s go time for race
two at Austin! Robby Foley once again,
is shot from a cannon at the start of the motor race! He is flying ‘round the outside, going to the
flank of the McLaren already!
Ellis leads the motor race with Giacomo Altoe in the
Lamborghini and Jan Heylen in the Porsche in hot pursuit. Uh oh!
Two cars off the road already!
Giacomo Altoe in the Lamborghini and Colin Braun in one of the
CrowdStrike DXDT Mercedes’. The Pirelli
P Zero tires are still cold, and Madison Snow is dropping down a shade. Ellis and Heylen 1-2. The Porsche is on song early in the
going. Giacomo Altoe and Colin Braun
both go deep into the braking zone. Robby
Foley in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 is scrapping with Michael Cooper
in the second of the CrowdStrike DXDT Mercedes entries.
That is the #19 entry he shares with Erin Vogel. Ellis defends for the lead on Jan Heylen. Two cagey drivers pressing each other. Heylen lunges to the inside in the stadium section and they are still wheel to wheel but Heylen has to know that discretion could become the better part of valor. They are both holding off the challenge from Ryan Dalziel in third spot. Dalziel aboard the third CrowdStrike DXDT Mercedes, the #63 car he shares with David Askew.
Poor old Andrea Caldarelli is down the order, and it’s three wide! Madison Snow, stuck in the middle. Just like the song says, “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.” Foley coming back on the outside! These are not clowns. They are racing drivers. Well, clowns, only in certain circumstances, but let’s not go there. Foley can out accelerate the Lamborghini’s up the hill into turn one. Vesko Kozarov and Drew Staveley, in the meantime, have their own battle. Staveley sharing with Frank Gannett in the #12 Ian Lacy Racing Aston Martin. Vesko Kozarov, at the wheel of the #91 Rearden Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
It’s still three wide with some fender clattering at turn
one! Jeepers creepers! Are these blokes out for blood today, or
what? Andrea Caldarelli will have to
settle in and ride for a wee while. He’s
not used to being the cork in the bottle, nor is he used to just rumbling
around in mid pack. Caldarelli pokes the
nose inside on Foley who is quick in sector one while the Lamborghini has the
edge in sector two. Caldarelli moves
past Kozarov in the identical Lamborghini, and Kozarov just grazes Foley’s
BMW. We can see Ollie Milroy also in
this scrum.
Speaking of scrums, the battle for the lead is still on the intense heat level. This action is hot! Philip Ellis is trying to get the best of Jan Heylen for the lead of this motor race. He goes inside, swinging wide. Be careful of track limits there, Phil! He has the lead. Heylen is not ready to give it up. Ryan Dalziel is moving in and he and Colin Braun are both in the top five for DXDT. Altoe and Braun are fourth and fifth and Caldarelli is pushing, but he’s got something wrong with the car. K-PAX Racing has said they may have a power issue with both cars and can’t put their finger on what it is.
Caldarelli sharing the #3 K-PAX Lamborghini with Jordan
Pepper and of course, there is the sister car, the #6 which is in the hands of
Corey Lewis, the American driver, and another rapid Italian, Giovanni
Venturini. Caldarelli is dropping like a
stone. Corey Lewis though, is pushing,
pushing, pushing. Corey Lewis is looming
large, climbing up 130 feet of elevation and diving back down. Flowing corners and elevation changes are a
mega challenge here at COTA. Jan Heylen
in the Porsche, squaring off the corner.
Ellis defends.
But Phil Ellis can only throw the block, once. Per the rules, you are permitted to make one
move on your opponent. No weaving all
over the road. That is bad sportsmanship
and will be noted by the stewards.
Oh! What did I just say? Ellis is mad.
He slams into Heylen’s Porsche!
You cannot move back in retaliation after you have committed. Ellis shuts off Heylen into turn 12 and
maintains the lead. A battle for third
ensues as well. Altoe, the Italian in
the Lamborghini is pressurizing the Scotsman, Ryan Dalziel, in the
Mercedes. Ellis might be able to gap the
rest of the field.
Jordan Pepper is not happy.
He says, “to be honest, I don’t know what is going on. Many guys in the midfield are racing like
it’s the last lap of the race on the first lap, disrespecting track limits, and
overtaking off the track. Plus, we are
struggling in a straight line with speed.
It’s early days still.” Pepper
and Caldarelli have won every race so far in 2021, dominating the series. But Andrea Caldarelli is languishing now, in
12th spot behind Matt McMurry.
McMurry starting the #77 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 that he is sharing
Mexican driver Rodrigo Sales.
You must make hay while the sun shines. Dalziel is moving in. Giacomo Altoe is pushing Dalziel into this
scrap as we see Ellis putting daylight between himself and Jan Heylen in the Porsche. Ryan Dalziel is pressing Jan Heylen, two of
the most experienced drivers in this field.
Colin Braun is in the fight and so is Corey Lewis, as we have been
racing now for merely ten minutes. It is
not over by any means. Phew! Finally, we can catch out breath! Egad!
This race has been unbelievable.
Settle down, lads. Manage the
tires. Are the pressures up? How are the grip levels?
Problems for a couple tail enders. Vesko Kozarov is in the pit lane early in the #91 Rearden Racing Lamborghini and so is the #93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3. Jacob Abel at the wheel of it, sharing the car this weekend with Taylor Hagler. Dakota Dickerson of course is the other driver who rotates to share the car with Hagler depending on rounds of the championship. It is Jacob Abel’s turn, here in Texas. Jacob Abel is having his first chance to race. The car is in the lane, and there is trouble on the right rear. Is it suspension or a wheel speed sensor?
Racer’s Edge has won championships in GT3 and they have young drivers from the GT3 Academy. By coaching, they have other drivers working with them, drivers like Ryan Eversley, and even Ricky Taylor, who is a prototype driver for Acura in another sports car championship, assisting these young drivers with how to improve in their chosen profession. Philip Ellis gets loose and goes sideways. This has brought Jan Heylen right up to and on his six.
Pieces of bodywork are in the corners. We have seen argy bargy at turn 11 and that might be where the debris is. Heylen, weaving and darting, pressurizing Philip Ellis. Heylen is keeping Ellis honest. He is messing with Ellis’ rhythm. Ellis went sideways over a sausage curb and had his hands full. Jan Heylen turned 41 years old yesterday, on Saturday. He is a plug and play driver, leading the championship with Fred Poordad who drove with Max Root in this series, last year. Heylen goes to the inside and here comes Ellis again. He is observant and proactive.
Heylen is going to try moving back by barely on the racing surface, out on the paint. Is there dust and debris? Ellis tries the move and can’t make it. Here comes Ryan Dalziel. If these chaps take each other out, Giacomo Altoe can pounce. Heylen, Ellis, Dalziel, Altoe. Wow. A great bunch of drivers who know how to race hard and fair. But it is early doors yet. Now, we must check in on the Andrea Caldarelli story with power loss for the K-PAX Lamborghini. Last time by, Caldarelli uncorked the fastest lap of the motor race. 2:08.4. The leaders are lapping at 2:08.6.
Caldarelli is 2/10ths faster than anyone else on the road. He has moved past Ollie Milroy in the Inception Motorsports McLaren, for tenth spot. Maybe whatever has ailed the Lamborghini has now been remedied? Caldarelli has been within two or three kilometers per hour of the rest of the field. Pushing early on, he ended up on the back foot for a wee while. Robby Foley is the target of Andrea Caldarelli who will hand over to Jordan Pepper who we saw the interview with. The South African is quick.
Michael Cooper and Madison Snow in Pro Am are racing each other with Robby Foley next up, in a Pro class GT3 car. That is the BMW. K-PAX Racing wants to make the right calls when pit stop time comes and it won’t be long. Andrea Caldarelli is still pushing hard. Jordan Pepper had a cut tire in qualifying but nipped pole before the session ended. Caldarelli has cleared Ollie Milory. There’s a long way to go. K-PAX has great people on their team who can really make things work on the strategy. After a fraught race in the opener at Sonoma Raceway, Turner Motorsports are coming back here in Texas. They’ve tested and are really working on how the tire can be adapted to the BMW M6. The Pirelli P Zero tire.
Robby Foley has a lot of experience in the BMW M6 in other championships while Michael Dinan has moved into GT3 after winning 17 races last year in a McLaren in GT4 competition. His psyche has had to change. The pressure is higher. The competition level has stepped up tenfold. Top speeds see Robby Foley fastest at 160 miles an hour and the Lamborghini at 157 miles an hour. 157-160 miles an hour. A brake line needed to be replaced on the Racer’s Edge Acura and they also needed to change a tire in addition.
Fred Poordad is watching intently, how Jan Heylen is doing. Watching a teammate race is harder than being in the car. The car ahead was blocking. Poordad is confident, the defending Am champion, now a Pro Am level driver. Giacomo Altoe is so close, but he is content to stay where he is. He will finish his stint and hand the car to Ziad Ghandour. We have seen Altoe racing in Europe, but he is a new face to American audiences. Does he go for it right from the green? Or does he sit back, play the long game, and wait for his opportunity?
Altoe raced torung cars and was racing TCR touring cars in TCR Europe Trophy in 2017. But his star began shining when he entered the Lamborghini Super Trofeo one-make championship. Altoe was drafted in as a junior driver for Lamborghini and is now a factory Lamborghini driver. Robby Foley is being monstered by Andrea Caldarelli who makes the pass. Foley does not have enough steam to push just yet. Racing in the wet has brought out the best in the BMW. Racing in the dry, it has been more difficult. But they do have the speed at least in sector one. Sector three with the twisting corners, are harder for the BMW to negotiate. Soon, Brendon Iribe will take over the Inception McLaren, car #70, from Ollie Milroy. They were impressive in the wet yesterday, taking the win in the Pro-Am division.
Giacomo Altoe is pouring it on going after Ryan Dalziel. Andrea Caldarelli and K-PAX Lamborghini are coming back to the fore, or so it seems. They are making inroads, showing lap time. Giacomo Altoe is a good driver. 20 years old, from Italy. We do not know him that well, in the United States, but he is making a name for himself today. He has raced with Lamborghini in GT World Challenge Europe. He is from a racing family, and lives near Venice in Italy. He shortcuts the track, trying to move in on Ryan Dalziel in this warm weather.
The torrential rain we have seen has wiped the track surface clean and today is bright, sunny, and hot. Ryan Dalziel is a busy man, racing in prototype competition here in the states and also racing in GT World Challenge both in the U.S. and in Europe. Meanwhile, Altoe wants to make a move on the Scotsman. Dalziel and Altoe are side by side and Altoe retains the spot, but Dalziel wants to do the crossover and can’t quite make it. The Italian is poised and now he has made the move and we’ve been racing now for 26 minutes.
Strike while the iron is hot. That is what you have to do. How hard you push and when, is a major conundrum. Andrea Caldarelli has moved up to eighth overall, passing Madison Snow. Meanwhile, Michael Cooper in the Mercedes, he has his hands full with Andrea Caldarelli in the Lamborghini. Cooper raced GT4 last year, but he has won the GT World Challenge America championship four times and did so with the Cadillac factory team several years ago, racing for GM. Cooper also raced for CRP Racing in the previous generation Mercedes AMG GT3.
Andrea Caldarelli though, is turning it on. The car has found it’s sweet spot and Caldarelli bish bash boshes his way to seventh overall. Andrea Caldarelli is still pushing. The issue, whatever they were dealing with, has disappeared. Now, Jan Heylen leads the motor race over Phil Ellis, with Giacomo Altoe third. With the Pro-Am cars, in ten minutes, the Pro Am drivers will do the driver change on their scheduled pit stops. Fred Poordad does not have the same experience or speed but has the determination.
Colin Braun is really pushing and chasing after teammate Ryan Dalziel. George Kurtz will be next into the car as we watch Corey Lewis in the sister #6 K-PAX Racing Lamborghini. Giovanni Venturini will be next into the car, a professional driver, racing against Am drivers. Corey Lewis has raced here at Circuit of the Americas before. He is the reigning champion in Lamborghini Super Trofeo with just under an hour to go. Giacomo Altoe has cleared Ryan Dalziel now and has opened a gap up on his competitor.
Heylen and Ellis are still 1-2. They are quicker and Ziad Ghandour is readying for his stint at TR3 Racing. Ziad Ghandour says Giacomo Altoe, his co-driver, is amazingly fast. He’s right. Having a great professional driver on your team is so incredibly beneficial to the amateur level driver. Data and instruction for how to drive the race car are such valuable tools. As they get more mileage, amateur drivers move into a comfort zone. Philip Ellis is closing up on Jan Heylen, bit by bit. This race is not over for the lead of the motor race. They might stretch it towards the back end of the pit window but have to be in the lane before the clock says 40 minutes on the board.
Ellis could stay with Heylen in a long, green flag run. Racer’s Edge has the #77 Acura NSX GT3 back on track after their woes with a brake line. But driver Jacob Abel is nine laps down. Sadly, it is game over for Rearden Racing. Vesko Kozarov is still listed in the pit lane with bodywork damage to the automobile. Ellis is moving in non Heylen. Porsche vs. Mercedes AMG. Mercedes has a huge global footprint, and they are racing in SRO endurance as well as DTM which has gone to a GT3 formula. Now, Michael Cooper is still fending off the challenge of Madison Snow.
We hear that the Rearden Lamborghini was damaged by hitting a curb. The car is back in the paddock, in the garage. Game over. Madison Snow clips a curb and is moving in on the Michael Cooper driven Mercedes Benz. Zelus Motorsports, the team running Madison Snow and co-driver Jason Harward, will be taking delivery of a new chassis, soon. In fact, it is the same car that is being run in this race by TR3 Racing. They will have a second chassis, and they have been using this same chassis for both GT World Challenge America and GT America as well.
Madison Snow is so knowledgeable with the Lamborghini. He is team leader and is also the engineer and the driver on the car. He is sixth in Pro Am and ninth overall, in car #88. The pit window is coming soon. What will Winward or K-PAX do to use the pit window and their all-pro drivers to their advantage? Anticipate the Pro-Am drivers keeping the professionals in the car as long as possible. K-PAX strategist Thomas Blam wll be hard at work. Russell Ward at Winward said that he is worthy of being a professional driver. Does the team have the opportunity, to let Russell Ward match Phil Ellis’ pace?
Andrea Caldarelli still has the fastest lap of the race, but I am not sure of the tiume. Now, Giacomo Altoe is looming large, coming fast, closing in on Phil Ellis and Jan Heylen. Will he have enough in the locker before the pit window opens? We shall see. Jan Heylen leads Phil Ellis. Giacomo Altoe, coming, and fast. Heylen leads the motor race. Heylen leads Pro Am. Ryan Dalziel, Colin Braun, Corey Lewis, Andrea Caldarelli. Pit window open. What will Andrea Caldarelli do?
Will he do the undercut and pit early? He will hand over to Jordan Pepper and put new tires on the car. Giovanni Venturini is a very quick driver. Here comes Lewis to the lane in Lambo #6. On a warm day, and with tire blankets, this will keep the tires hot on a relatively warm day. The tires are going to be ready to rumble immediately. The tires are set in the blankets 25 degrees below the maximum operating temperature. The temperatures are off set between each end of the car.
Now, Giacomo Altoe is really closing in on Philip Ellis as Jan Heylen continues to lead. Giovanni Venturini will get back on track and rejoin the scrap. Ryan Dalziel is closing up on Giacomo Altoe. When the clock hits 40 minutes, you will have to at least be in the lane to complete service. Here comes Andrea Caldarelli. Jordan Pepper will get into the #3 Lamborghini. Fuel and Pirelli P Zero tires. 77 seconds including service, is the pit time delta. Pepper is back on track. Pepper and Foley pitted at the same time.
Michael Dinan is now in the BMW. How will Dinan perform? His ability is obvious. Jan Heylen is using all the road through turn 19 and he is within track limits. All you need to do is be in the lane when the pit window closes. Can anyone give K-PAX Racing a run for their money? Will Jan Heylen and Wright Motorsport pit? Giacomo Altoe is absolutely glued to Phil Ellis. The Pirelli P Zero tires are right in their sweet spot. Heylen and everyone else, squeezing energy out of these tires before pitting. They are maximizing every bit of drive time for Altoe and Heylen, both.
Oh dear! Tire, or wheel trouble for the #77 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3! They did have this same trouble at Sonoma in the opening round of the championship. There goes the wheel. You’ve picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel. We see now, the #19 DXDT Mercedes in the lane. Erin Vogel takes over from Michael Cooper. She had a great battle with Taylor Hagler at Sonoma last time out. More pit callers as we speak. We have Madison Snow in the pit lane as well as Brendon Iribe in the McLaren for Inception Racing, car #70.
Conrad Grunewald brings the AF Corse Ferrari to the lane as well, the #61 car. I believe Jean-Claude Saada will take over that automobile. They are the lone Am class car in the race. They must pit now, the leaders. It will be a land rush into the lane. Jan Heylen and others are coming in. 2:08.8 for Jordan Pepper, a second quicker over Giovanni Venturini. Heylen is squirming all over the road, maximizing time on pit entry. Heylen and Wright Motorsports are in the lane, with Fred Poordad taking over. Poordad was anxious, but he is calm, and zoned in on keeping the team and the car in the lead of the motor race.
The car is released, and this is close for Winward and the Mercedes. George Kurtz is now in the DXDT Mercedes going past the TR3 Lamborghini, and we see trouble for Erin Vogel in the #19 Mercedes. What is wrong there? We’ll answer that in a minute. The car is stalled. Pepper at 2:08.46. Oh dear. The Mercedes is stalled in the lane, but the battle for the lead is on. Fred Poordad leading, Russell Ward pushing hard for the lead of the motor race.
Russell Ward was a class winner, in a GT3 Mercedes, at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the crown jewel event for another major North American sports car series. Russell Ward is going to have his hands full with Fred Poordad. Russell Ward has a bead drawn on the Porsche. Pressure time and wisely, Poordad gives the place to Russell Ward. Full Course Yellow on the speedway. What is happening? The field is going to close up because of this. How did it happen? Maybe it is for cleaning debris from the track and there is a loose wheel. A wheel sitting right in the middle of the road. But it will not be an issue.
We prepare now, for a restart. This is going to get spicy, and Jordan Pepper is now back in the game. The #6 team though, even though they support their teammates, Corey Lewis and Giovanni Venturini, they want a win. Venturini has not had the same pace as Pepper, but, he might just turn it on when we head back to green flag racing here. 35 minutes left on the board. Lots to play for both overall and in class. Maybe the Lamborghini’s can start moving up.
The Lamborghini’s could easily have an opportunity to pass Fred Poordad and Russell Ward, and get into the pound seats for having the lead of the motor race and the lead in the Pro class. It sounds like the TR3 Racing team and the Lamborghini of Giacomo Altoe have been snookered. Altoe was up at podium level. But Ziad Ghandour, having taken over, he can’t make hay while the sun shines yet. George Kurtz is also moving up in the #04 CrowdStrike Mercedes AMG GT3. They lost a place to their team car, car #63. That is the Askew/Dalziel entry.
Winward have been at the sharp end all day and to see the safety car, they must be gutted, because they know they must get back into the game and we have just over 30 minutes on the board before this race is done and dusted. 34 minutes and change to be precise. Jordan Pepper is going to pushing hard, getting up on the wheel. Timing and scoring has cycled and again, TR3 got snookered on the driver change to Ziad Ghandour. Maybe that is a strategy call and George Kurtz has also moved through on his out lap, or rather, on the out lap of the Lamborghini.
The boys at K-PAX are going to charge and poor old Russell Ward is going to have his hands full. How do you handle this? Pepper and Venturini are going to be coming after the rest of the field like hungry wolves chasing down a pack of deer or elk. This is going to be mega. In replay, we watch the Compass Racing #77 Acura’s incident that brought out the yellow when it lost a wheel off the right front. It ended up at the side of the road off the racing line.
The gaps and cushions have been altered and the K-PAX Lamborghini’s are back in the game as we said earlier on. They struggled mightily in qualifying. In the first half of the opening stint, Andrea Caldarelli plummeted like a stone. They’ve clawed their way back into the game, striking fear into their competition. Never give up. That’s what it is. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Caldarelli is only about a tenth or two off Philip Ellis and Jan Heylen. That is one lap pace in the first stint. We might be able to see what happened to the Lamborghini.
So, Andrea Caldarelli says the first lap was very intense, and he got hit by three or four cars and lost time and started well to recover. It is Caldarelli’s first race at Circuit of the Americas. Now, there is no mechanical difficulty to be worried about. Andrea Caldarelli just got swamped by the rest of the field early on. Half an hour to go. This is a sprint to the end. Russell Ward leads the race as they accelerate again. Look at Giovanni Venturini going after David Askew up the hill! Jeepers Jenny! He’s going to go for this one!
Venturini is now third. Pepper has to be patient, caught up behind David Askew and now, Venturini moves past Fred Poordad and is going after Russell Ward for the race lead. Russell Ward is going to get tested, big style. Fred Poordad stacks everyone up ahead as David Askew and George Kurtz are a couple drivers battling in the pack at the lower half of the top ten. Lamborghini vs. Mercedes as Kurtz is putting himself in position to follow Pepper. David Askew has been thrown into the hornet’s nest, to quote lead commentator Ryan Myrehn, and he has Michael Dinan right next to him now!
This is a massive scrap. Jordan Pepper absolutely screams past Fred Poordad in the Porsche. George Kurtz, too, makes a move and displays loads of speed moving ‘round Michael Dinan. Kurtz is a former GT4 champion in the series back when it was known as Pirelli World Challenge. George Kurtz, it has taken him a while to get his head around the beast that a GT3 car is, but he has indeed done so and now is one of the top names in the championship. Colin Braun has coached him, and he is also very comfortable with the evo version of the Mercedes AMG GT3.
K-PAX run second and third overall and in class. Deary me! David Askew in another of the DXDT Mercedes’ has spun! He will have to recover and does so. Russell Ward still leads Giovanni Venturini, Jordan Pepper, George Kurtz, and Fred Poordad. This motor race is getting tasty as we get towards the conclusion. Michael Dinan is also a man on a mission. Russell Ward is going to have to push, push, push, to fend off the raging bulls. Russell Ward, 2:10.4. Venturini, 2:09.9. Pepper, 2:09.1.
Russell Ward has run SRO America, has run in GT4, GT World Challenge Europe, and at the Rolex 24. The mindset of having the confidence factor is the biggest deal. Jordan Pepper, though, is the fastest bloke on the circuit now. Here he comes, and bish, bash, bosh, he moves past Giovanni Venturini. Pepper is a good enough driver, that his third lap out of the pit lane at Sonoma last time out, was within a second of his best he had turned there in the wine country of northern California, all weekend.
Pepper is phenomenal at passing. K-PAX, over the last number of years, has been a team that has found factory drivers who, even if they don’t stay with a certain brand, they might stick with the team, no matter what car platform they are running. At K-PAX, drivers like Alvaro Parente and Jordan Pepper both come to mind. Pepper is not a Lamborghini factory driver, but he could very well be being looked at by the folks in Bologna. He has been racing Bentley’s, but they are two different cars even if they are both built by VW.
Russell Ward leads Jordan Pepper, and he has surprised Giovanni Venturini, and took Venturini by surprise. Brendon Iribe, making his series debut is running well. Pepper is on a mission! He has Russell Ward in sight. OK. Boom. He stuck that pass like gum on a shoe. Bish, bash, bosh. He’s in the pocket and gains the lead of the motor race. Goodness me! That move was epic! Russell Ward wants t move back by Pepper, and here comes Giovanni Venturini. He smells blood and here he goes. Will it be a Lambo 1-2? Ward runs wide. Ward is going to fight, and Giovanni Venturini makes it work!
Ward is back to third place. What an incredible performance for Jordan Pepper. Wow. He has had great runs in many of the SRO endurance events like the Bathurst 12 Hours, the 24 Hours of Spa, and the Indianapolis 8 Hours. Pepper and Andrea Caldarelli are really running well. In the Pro Am division, it is a battle between Brendon Iribe and George Kurtz. Kurtz leads the class and it is actually a scrum between Iribe and Fred Poordad. Iribe and Ollie Milroy really showed their stuff, and they’ve had a new lease on life after the yellow.
Ditto for K-PAX. A good scrap between Poordad and Iribe nearing the front section of the lap, in the stadium section, through turn 15. 110 miles an hour through the apex. This section of the course is like the Indianapolis corner at Le Mans. The Zelus Lamborghini is closing fast, Jason Harward at the wheel of it. He is really pressing the mor experienced drivers and going to school as well, learning a ton. George Kurtz leads Pro Am, and Harward spins the Zelus Lamborghini! Ugh! The commentator’s curse, strikes again, look.
Jason Harward is back on the track without losing too much time as Jordan Pepper leads this motor race with just 18 or so minutes on the clock yet. The lead battle between Pepper and Venturini remains hot and heavy. Venturini is keeping Pepper in his sites. There should not be any real team orders this early in the season. By and large, K-PAX lets their boys race. Venturini must prove he has the faster race car compared to Pepper. Venturini’s car is handling better. These GT3 cars are dependent on aerodynamics. Russell Ward is staying in the picture.
Jason Harward is back on the track without losing too much time as Jordan Pepper leads this motor race with just 18 or so minutes on the clock yet. The lead battle between Pepper and Venturini remains hot and heavy. Venturini is keeping Pepper in his sites. There should not be any real team orders this early in the season. By and large, K-PAX lets their boys race. Venturini must prove he has the faster race car compared to Pepper. Venturini’s car is handling better. These GT3 cars are dependent on aerodynamics. Russell Ward is staying in the picture.
Ward, on the most recent lap, had the fastest time compared
to the Lamborghini’s. Fred Poordad
continues to lead Pro Am ahead of Brendon Iribe. Pepper has the pace and is pulling a gap on
Giovanni Venturini who got loose and has lost time. He is 8/10ths or so slower than he was on the
previous lap. Good battle for Pro Am in
second, third and fourth. George Kurtz
leads in the class while the scrap is really and truly for second position
between Brendon Iribe and Fred Poordad.
Mercedes vs. McLaren vs. Porsche.
George Kurtz was able to pick up to places. Colin Braun says Kurtz has elevated his game
as a driver. Kurtz has not been racing
well in race one of the weekend but in race two, he’s found something. They won race two at Sonoma and could do so
here. The gap is closing up as Giovanni
Venturini has set his personal best lap time, shaving 9/10ths of a second off
the gap to Jordan Pepper and he is right on Pepper’s six. The car has had power issues, Pepper’s
Lamborghini, and Russell Ward is lurking.
He made reference to contact at the beginning of the race, bouncing
‘round like a pinball.
The one and only Am class car is the Conrad Grunewald/J.C. Saada Ferrari for AF Corse, car #61. They knocked a wing off the car in qualifying but in the races, they have been doing well. Grunewald was a drifter in that form of motorsports, for a decade. Grunewald and Saada are campaigning the only Ferrari GT3 car in North America, this year, in the SRO. George Kurtz is very much comfortable with the car. He is 8.6 seconds behind Russell Ward. He does have Michael Dinan in the BMW closing, but not for class position and class honors.
Down to the nitty gritty now as Jordan Pepper leads Giovanni Venturini in an all Lamborghini show at the sharp end, by half a second. The repaired Rearden Racing Lamborghini is logging laps with Jeff Burton at the wheel. This is a test session for them as well. The intimidation factor is a big deal. It is like Ayrton Senna, Michael Andretti, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., lots of drivers in several types of racing, can strike fear into their competitors.
Pepper has really come on strong. He ran well at the California 8 Hours a few years back, but now, he is right on the money and cut his teeth last year in GT World Challenge Europe with K-PAX. Just over six minutes to go as Jordan Pepper’s lead has ballooned to two seconds. 2:09.8 while Giovanni Venturini has clocked a 2:11.1. Perhaps the track is getting greasy. We thought Jordan Pepper’s tire pressures were wrong, but no. The delta jumps up and goes back down again. Another K-PAX Lamborghini 1-2 is shaping up. They did not get it in the rain yesterday but had perfect races at Sonoma in March.
Pepper/Caldarelli, they will be formidable. Turner Motorsports and Winward Racing know they will have a long road to beat the K-PAX team. But they can still try. They can still give it everything they have. K-PAX were way down the order in eighth and ninth. If we’d not seen the yellow flag earlier, the Winward Mercedes would have been in the catbird seat. George Kurtz leads Michael Dinan in Pro Am. Nothing has changed. The Fred Poordad and Brendon Iribe battle is still close. Pepper seems to be fighting the car, for some reason.
The lap times are fluctuating so much which is really odd among professional drivers lap to lap. J.C. Saada is running well in Am. He and Conrad Grunewald met in Ferrari Challenge. David Empringham, the standout single seater and sports car driver, from Canada, is now a driver coach. Michael Dinan goes way outside track limits in turn 20. But there is no gain. All the stewards are former drivers and will be willing to look at it if there is no gain and it’s only a mistake. Venturini has made his move trying to reel in Pepper on the final lap. The Lamborghini’s for K-PAX are nose to tail.
K-PAX are a quality team and have been in the game for years racing with several brands. Volvo, Porsche, McLaren, Bentley, and now, Lamborghini. Venturini is ;looking to the inside and Pepper gives it to him! Say what? That was too easy, but Pepper is going to try. They are team mates. Could Jordan Pepper just let Giovanni Venturini drive by? Gracious. Jeepers Jenny! No dice for Pepper, and Giovanni Venturini wins it! They got the photo finish, but it is the green car over the black car. Wow! Wow! Wow!
George Kurtz wins Pro Am along with Colin Braun and DXDT
Racing. Did Pepper assume they were
going to hold station? Venturini just
went for it. Jean Claude Saada and
Conrad Grunewald win Am for AF Corse and Ferrari.
Overall/Pro: #6 Lewis/Venturini K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
Pro Am:
#04 Kurtz/Braun DXDT Racing Mercedes
AMG GT3
Am: #61
Grunewald/Saada AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3
What an incredible finish to race two of GT World Challenge America here at Circuit of the America's. Next up, is a race weekend at the picturesque and challenging Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, coming up, in the second weekend of June. Excited to bring that one to you as well. After today's smashing motor race, we are excited to find out what VIR has to offer. So long, for now, from Circuit of the Americas, everyone. Take care.
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