Welcome back, to St. Petersburg, Florida, and the St. Petersburg street circuit for race two of the season opener for SRO GT America in 2022. Yesterday, we saw an absolute sizzler of a 40-minute motor race. Today, should be no different. Starting from pole in today's motor race is yesterday's race one winner, Jason Daskalos. He is at the wheel of the #27 Daskalos Motorsports Audi R8 LMS. Yesterday's race was a street fight. Today will be no different with another 27-car grid answering the bell today. Yesterday's race was a hoot. Excited to see how things will pan out today. Daskalos and Scott Smithson really battled hard yesterday. Jason Daskalos won yesterday but will start fifth today. The grid for race two is set by fastest laps in race one.
Jeff Burton is caboose on the field and not just behind the rest of the GT3 field. Thankfully Zelus Motorsports and team boss Ty Isaac, did not have to go to a brand-new car. Marko Radisic podiumed in GT4. Derek DeBoer hung onto second in GT4 while he was being harried by Moisey Uretsky. GT America has an eight-round schedule in 2022. Yesterday's race start in turn one was carnage. Let's hope we do not have a repeat. George Kurtz set fastest lap yesterday and really turned it on. Mirko Schultis in the Callaway Corvette, he too will be up there, with the Callaway Corvette C-7-R. Once you see green, you can pass, even before the start/finish line. Scott Smithson aboard the #08 Mercedes turns the car but has to do a three-point turn to get out of the paddock and onto the track.
The cars are driving out to the track now. That Callaway Corvette is a beautiful race car. Mirco Schultis won in class at Petit Le Mans, eight years ago, in a very different car. The Callaway Corvette did not arrive until a couple Friday's ago and cleared customs last Monday. This is a sleeper for the win today. Row two has both the DXDT Racing Mercedes AMG GT3s. Masters championship win yesterday went to David Askew. Forgot to mention that yesterday.
Scott Smithson, he has poise to go for it, and will better time his traffic runs today. Smithson and Bryan Sellers will team up in GT World Challenge America. Smithson has only been racing for three years, starting in TCR. David Askew invited him to a track day in 2020 and he got the racing bug. George Kurtz, on the pole, now racing under the Riley Motorsports banner after racing for a number of years through last year with DXDT Racing. Bill Riley and Riley Motorsports have loads of experience with the Mercedes AMG GT3. Colin Braun is mentoring him and will be his co-driver.
Marko Radisic is eighth on the grid and back in SRO GT4 for the first time since 2020. Marko Radisic, from Serbia, he lives in Sarasota, Florida, not far from the St. Petersburg street course. Radisic is a wheel man and is fit as a fiddle. SRO America President and CEO Greg Gill is stunned with how well this race weekend has gone. He is very excited. There's wind in the sails of the SRO America championship. We have seen growth and we have a normal season opener. The rest of the series will start at Sonoma Raceway in March.
This track at St. Petersburg has been around since the 1980s and is a fan favorite. The weather is wonderful and the setting is spot on. There is an energy to this race that we have never seen. Chris Cagnazzi will not race today as he has a sore back and needs to rest up before the rest of the season. So, Chris, we hope you are watching. 14 turns, 1.8 miles, is the length of this street course. This is a very flowing track with many high speed turns along with surface changes and those dreaded concrete walls.
Many rookies are in the field today. The cars roll off single file on the recon lap. We have GT3 and GT4 cars in this race of course. A real assorted candy dish of motorcars. 25 cars on the grid. Safety car driver Mike Stillwagon turns the field loose and we have a green flag and we're underway! George Kurtz leads and Smithson and Askew press on. Mirko Schultis spins and had contact with a couple other cars. Derek DeBoer and Jason Bell scrap in GT4. Shuffling too for Scott Smithson who gets dropped down the order in that Mercedes AMG GT3. Another driver who had a poor start, Justin Wetherill in the Ferrari 488 GT3.
Ziad Ghandour is back for TR3 Racing this year as George Kurtz makes good his escape. Ghandour wants by Smithson. If you try giving the spot on the inside to another driver, you will be in the barriers. The stewards are likely studying that incident from earlier as George Kurtz is putting a massive amount of daylight between himself and the others. In replay, C.J. Moses it looks like, may have nudged Schultis. These GT3 cars have ABS taking braking away across the paint. ABS helps in some ways and hinders in others. George Kurtz is flying right now, a second and a half quicker and five seconds clear of David Askew.
Justin Weatherill is now ahead of GT4 leader Derek DeBoer. DeBoer racing the GT4 Porsche Cayman for The Racer's Group. Todd Coleman is off the road in turn ten, car #69, the Smooge Racing Toyota Supra GT4. Jason Bell in the Aston Martin, he has left front damage, but is chasing Derek DeBoer. Chris Gumprecht next up in another Mercedes AMG GT4. Gray Newell in the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for The Heart of Racing is also in the fight. There is no class split in GT America. Smithson is pushing, screaming around St. Petersburg uncorking the fastest lap of the motor race so far, not sure what the time is.
Smithson says that this track at St. Petersburg is intimidating but he is dealing with the traffic right now. Timing the passes is the major factor. 1:14 dead for Smithson, and 1:15.1 for Kurtz while Jeff Burton resets fastest lap, caboose on the grid, in the #191 Zelus Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Burton will be co-driving with Corey Lewis in GT World Challenge America starting at Sonoma Raceway in California, next month. Moisey Uretsky in the Toyota Supra wants to keep Gray Newell at bay in the Aston Martin. Game over for yesterday's winner, Jason Daskalos. He is upset as drivers think they can come inside but on the paint they are in no man's land.
There's always the next race. Daskalos says he has learned a lot about the car getting the win, and they'll move on. Bryan Putt is off the road in the B-Sport Racing Aston Martin, car #15. Massive fight for the GT3 podium as Ziad Ghandoor is hanging on by his fingernails over Scott Smithson. 29 minutes on the board yet. Game over as well for Mirko Schultis and the Callaway Corvette team. David Askew has spun off the road and is now back on, after nosing into the tires. Where is Jeff Burton? He is who we are looking for. Jeff Burton, Justin Weatherill, and Jason Harward have all made a pass.
Poor old Askew went down the escape road. George Kurtz continues to lead. Kurtz has been running long distance IMSA races in addition to his GT3 experience. Kurtz was on the podium in LMP3 in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and he will be racing again at the 12 Hours of Sebring next month. Clutch woes for Mirko Schultis and the Callaway. Game over. Jason Bell was upset yesterday, and his co-driver/driver coach Andrew Davis has to reassure him. Go quick, no mistakes, but improve your race craft. It is very hard to pass on a street course. Moisey Uretsky in the bright yellow Toyota Supra is still being chased by Gray Newell. Newell started racing in 2021.
Ian James, Heart of Racing team boss, he is a coach and mentor for Gray Newell. He had a big wreck on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, last summer. Gray Newell also ran the 24 Hours of Dubai in an Aston Martin and he finished second in class. Seat time is key. Don't take any risks. Marko Radisic is catching Moisey Uretsky. He has kept it clean. Plenty of time left on the board as we are just near halfway through this motor race. Jeff Burton might be having an issue. Ah. Pass under yellow, drive through penalty. Burton is pinged.
David Askew has passed Jason Harward as well. Ziad Ghandour and Scott Smithson are scrapping hard. All of this action behind George Kurtz, leading the motor race by nine seconds. Ziad "Z Hog" Ghandour is really pressing hard. The GT3 and GT4 cars have horsepower but the GT4 boys do not have the downforce that the GT3's do. Marko Radisic is chasing Gray Newell. Radisic is indeed right on Newell's six. Full Course Yellows eat up the time in these sprint races as we are halfway home. Crossing over the paint, roll off the brake pedal for a locking wheel. Many drivers overcommitting to the corner.
Justin Wetherill will be sharing with Ryan Dalziel in GT World Challenge America this year. He has been a winner in Ferrari Challenge before. Wetherill was a businessman who went on to be a racer and is a Ferrari fan. Ghandour and Smithson, close to the wall, maximize the corner radius. There is a crown on the street that drains rainwater. But you don't want all the clag in that crown for the race car. That's for dead sure. Ziad Ghandour goes inside sSMithson, missing the braking zone and, Scott Smithson to P2. Book it. Smithson has the preferred line.
George Kurtz, with 17 minutes on the board, is whistling into the distance. Mercedes vs. Mercedes, but with two different teams. Kurtz is a definite performer when he is right on the money and in his sweet spot. Deary me. Jason Harward, game over for the #88 Lamborghini which crashed yesterday and had to be repaired. The new invitational class Porsche Cayman GT4 is really running well and needs to be homologated before Sonoma next month. That is Rob Holland. Harward smashed the wall in turn 14. Ouch. Hope he is OK. Wetherill, Uhler, C.J. Moses, the battle is on. Wetherill passes Moses and we could have Ziad Ghandour spun.
He did. He spun off turn 14 and has it back in the race. Smithson and Wetherill fight for second and Wetherill has uncorked a new fastest lap, 1:13.6. 1:13.9 was the fastest lap set yesterday. 1:13.667 as Wetherill goes purple. No one has been able to touch George Kurtz. The Wetherill and Smithson battle is what we are watching. Kurtz is 20 seconds ahead. Jason Bell has a torn up splitter and a lot of damage on that Aston Martin. It could hinder and help at the same time. Ghandour is making his recovery.
Ross Chouest in the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 is pressing hard, under Chouest Povoledo Racing. Paul Sparta next up in the BMW M4 GT4 for Random Vandals Racing. Chouest, a graduate of Ferrari Challenge, from New Orleans, Louisiana. He holds the record in Louisiana, for high school basketball. So, he has been an athlete for a long time. Paul Sparta is running well, in his second year of professional racing. The bonnet of the Mercedes is fluttering a bit but not badly. Less than ten mnutes to go. Keep your focus.
Keep in mind, we are racing on city streets at 135 miles an hour on streets that are normally 30 miles an hour. Derek DeBoer loses a place to the RENNTech Mercedes of Chris Gumprecht. DeBoer washes out wide into the clag on the outside of the track and Gumprecht takes the spot. It's deja vu all over again as Moisey Uretsky chases Derek DeBoer. 20 of the GT4 Toyota Supra's have been sold in the United States, ex McLaren Formula 1 enginner, Steve Hallam is the team boss at Toyota customer racing. Gumprecht slows into one of the corners, and Moisey Uretsky says, "thanks, mate" and presses past Derek DeBoer!
DeBoer to the outside and slides wide! Jeepers creepers! Total commitment! Gray Newell is pressing and George Krtz is also going to be in this shemozzle and Newell spins out! DeBoer's radiator leaking, and... crunch! DeBoer in the fence with five minutes left right in front of the leader! That part of the course will be a skating rink! We stay green. No we don't. Full Course Yellow now. You are in no man's land and Greay Newell just needed to give it up. Two cars tried to go for a spot where there's only room for one.
The track marshals are cleaning up. I don't think we are going to be able to restart this race. Jason Bell runs first in class. Bell's home is here in St. Petersburg. Celebrate a little harder tonight with a beverage and a good meal. George Kurtz has come back from an iffy start of the weekend. Good rebound. Justin Weatherill records the Crowdstrike fastest lap. Next month's race at Sonoma Raceway will be wild. White and yellow flags. This is the final lap behind the safety car. Give a call too, to Rob Holland with the new Porsche Cayman pseudo GT4 cars, which is soon to be homologated. They raced a Ford Mustang GT4 last year.
The points battle begins in earnest at Sonoma. Teams can drop two races but it is unclear about choosing certain races per weekend or certain rounds of the championship. Victory goes to George Kurtz, his third GT America win and his first for Riley Motorsports in 2022. GT4 goes to Jason Bell, from the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg area. Sonoma Raceway in California is a very different challenge, a natural terrain circuit. Low grip, elevation change, and it will be a massive weekend of racing.
Overall/GT3: #04 George Kurtz Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3
GT2: #58 C.J. Moses GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2
GT4: #2 Jason Bell GMG Racing Aston Martin AMR GT4
The GT2 cars are amazing with loads of power and less downforce. They will be very competitive at natural terrain circuits. So, the St. Petersburg GT America doubleheader is in the bag. Sonoma will be fun, next time out. We will see you in a month. So long for now, from St. Pete. Take care everybody.
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