The big boys in the big toys, in the Big Easy! It's GT World Challenge America racing GT3 style. It's live, and it's, next!
We have a few minor driver swaps to speak of. Michele Beretta joins Andrea Caldarelli in the #1 K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 while the sister #3 entry will have Jordan Pepper swapping over from #1 to join Misha Goikhberg. Altoe takes over the #9 Lambo for TR3 Racing sharing with Lebanese driver Ziad Ghandour. All other driver lineups are the same and the Winward Racing #33 Mercedes AMG GT3 along with the #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 are not here at NOLA this weekend. Those two teams have been racing in other worldwide champipnships that also include GT3 cars. So, with that out of the way, it is time to go racing.
It's hot and humid and we could see rain here in the bayou in race one of the championship as we join Ryan Myrehn, Calvin Fish, and Amanda Busick, as always. This morning's qualifying has produced a wild grid for both races, the one we will race in a few minutes, and tomorrow's event. Should the rain come, we'll see. Here's the track preview as Robby Foley takes us around. In turn one, sixth gear, a great passing zone, use all the track. Hit turn two flat out in fifth gear, late braking to turn three. Pick up the throttle early, to the left for turn four. Set up for the exit. Fourth gear into turn five, light braking, and similar into six. Through the esses we go, sixth gear, brake and go down to fourth.
Use this like a slalom course. Fifth gear. Heavy braking for turn 12, down to second gear, hook the curb in 13 to turn the car. Turn 16, the last turn, back to power early and right to the wall down the front straight. No elevation change to speak of but lots of corners. A field of 18 cars in the GT3 class are ready to go. Robby Foley giving co-driver Michael Dinan last minute instructions. It is hot, humid, and overcast, and we could see rain. So the Pirelli P Zero rain tires will be ready to go. Be flexible with strategy and try to stay out under Full Course Yellow if there s one. Watch that pit stop window between 40-50 minutes into the motor race.
Michele Beretta, debuting for K-PAX Racing, he is in it. He ran with TR3 at Sonoma. It is mandatory now in SRO that a Silver driver has to be alongside a Pro. Giacomo Altoe is Gold rated and he moved to TR3. It's been musical chairs since we saw the car races at Sonoma, California, back in March. Loris Spinelli in the #6 U.S. Racetronics Mercedes AMG GT3 will be on the pole for tomorrow's race with Steven Agakhani as well. These two are also going to be ones to look out for. We are getting closer and closer to a race start here at NOLA Motorsports Park. This is round three of the championship.
Ashton Harrison in the Acura is on pole in the Pro-Am class. Wet weather Pirelli P Zero tires are ready. The reigning champs are split up. Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper will both be pushing hard. The engines have fired. Jordan Pepper says that for now they are split in their driver team and it is annoying after only one round of racing. The goal is to do the best possible. Caldarell and Pepper will share at the big endurance race, at the 24 Hours of Spa later this summer. Formation laps are underway and we ready to race.
Ashtyn Harrison for Racer's Edge Motorsports, they are running well, and Harrison along with Spinelli are racing Lamborghini Super Trofeo here at NOLA but the cars are totally different, the Super Trofeo Lamborghini's and the GT3 machines. Chandler Hull is sixth overall and second in Pro-Am along with Bill Auberlen. Charlie Scardina at Triarsi Competition, he is really going to go for it as well sharing the csr with Ryan Dalziel. Overcast, warm, humid. Will we see rain or not? Onto the second of two formation laps before we start this race.
Try and stay out on track at the midpoint of the race. Watch out for a possible red flag if the rain gets really bad. There are three grip levels. New asphalt, shaved asphalt, and old, worn pavement as well. The safety car is in the lane. Noah's Ark formation, 18 cars. Green flag, and away we go at NOLA Motorsports Park! Big jump from Michael Dinan right off the bat almost hitting the wall! Agakhani was not on the button at all. You are allowed to pass on the initial start. What will the stewards say? Chandler Hull to the inside as Charlie Luck and Jason Harward both spin! Bodywork on the road and damage to the Porsche! Oh dear. Trouble as well, and a flat left rear on Scott Smithson's Mercedes, car #08.
Then comes George Kurtz in the #04 Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3. Michael Dinan to third. He is fourth, actually, behind Misha Goikhberg at the moment. A frantic first lap as Michele Beretta leads Misha Goikhberg. Full Course Yellow now. Full Course Yellow now. Charlie Luck is stranded on the road and so it will be a DNF for Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen! Both drivers coming off championships for the son-in-law/father-in-law team. Jeepers creepers! Wright Motorsports will do all they can to get that car fixed for tomorrow's race.
Beretta takes off like he got the green properly down the wide front straight here at NOLA. Luck, hard to see what happened to him. Ah. There was contact there, look, with Scott Smithson. Luck on cold tires overcommitted. Smithson did nothing wrong. Luck made a mistake in qualifying. He wanted to go for it and biffed his way through. He will be ruing that start, having to clear his mind, and get ready to go for tomorrow's race. Scott Smithson has arrived at DXDT Racing to look at damage and there's big damage as well to the #45 Porsche, the Wright Motorsports entry. Smithson was looking for a reset on the DXDT team car.
Bryan Sellers is Scott Smithson's co-driver and he is none too happy. It looks like it is game over for the #45 today. They will gain little by trying to get back out. John Wright is an experienced campaigner in endurance racing. Maybe they can use the last half of this race at a test session to see where they are for tomorrow. Luck is the 2021 GT America SRO3 champion in GT America for GT3 and GT4 cars. Luck is out of the car and the track is getting cleaned up. Michael Dinan in third, he will be chasing after both K-PAX Lamborghini's for Michele Beretta and Misha Goikhberg. George Kurtz is moving up and so are Chandler Hull and Ashton Harrison in Pro-Am.
Michael Dinan is always up on the wheel on starts and restarts. He will be right on Misha Goikhberg's six very soon. He was very aggressive in the race at Watkins Glen International Raceway in upstate New York last fall. Race Control says the start is under investigation. The rules say that at the start, you cannot poke your nose out to pass. The polesitting Lambo jumped while Agakhani did not accelerate. Dinan in the BMW M4 GT3, reacted. You don't want to get too good a start. That's not the thing to do. Splitter damage for the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Scott Smithson has a new left rear tire.
At the green flag, Michael Dinan had to jink left to miss crunching into the Mercedes. We are back to green flag racing with an hour and 18 minutes to go. Dinan wants by Goikhberg and here he comes! Misha Goikhberg sweeps across as Chandler Hull is swallowing up poor old Steven Agakhani. Agakhani has a snarling pack of GT3 cars behind him. Chandler Hull behind Agakhani. Goikhberg, you know he is going to go for it. Incident between #08 and #45 under review as Erin Vogel has moved the #43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 from 16th to 11th overall. The team had a fuel pump issue yesterday.
Vogel sharing with Michael Cooper. Her old boss, David Askew is pushing hard, teamed up with Dirk Muller in the #63 DXDT Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. Ryan Dalziel is the former team mate of David Askew. Askew is fitter than ever and wants to go for it. He wants to clean up his errors, being encouraged to stay on the road by Dirk Muller and team manager Stefan Pfeiffer. Turner Motorsports with the new BM2 M4 GT3, they are in learning mode, Michael Dinan and Robby Foley. This is indeed a new car. Steven Agakhani is beginning to find the pace, making inroads of Michael Dinan and moving away from Chandler Hull, leading the Pro-Am class in the #94 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT3. Hull sharing with Bill Auberlen.
Erin Vogel is being chased by both David Askew and Jeff Burton. Wow! Askew bounding into the dirt in turn five and keeps it together! Phew! That was close! Burton passes and Erin Vogel has more daylight to work with. The curbs are very usable at NOLA in a GT3 car. Michele Beretta leads Misha Goikhberg by 2.7 seconds. Chandler Hull leads Pro-Am over Ashton Harrison by 3.7 seconds. So close races in both driver ratings classes. Keep in mind, every car on the track is indeed a GT3 entry. Michele Beretta is in control of the motor race right now. This is great pace from Misha Goikhberg to stay with Beretta. Goikhberg has pace, and has run prototypes as well.
J.C. Saada in the AF Corse Ferrari went off the road in the #61 AF Corse Ferrari. Scott Smithson was off the pace and maybe had to do a reset before continuing, a Control, Alt, Delete. Aghakani is pressing Dinan and he gestures to Dinan, hey you, move over. Why did you block me?! Dinan might be losing the handling on the BMW M4 GT3. Agakhani is coming back after Dinan. You can see that Agakhani really wants to make a move, driving like an Italian with those hand gestures. He wants to go for it and Dinan is holding him up.
Just a wee bit over an hour left in the motor race. You knew Agakhani was going to use the chrome horn as well. The two K-PAX Lamborghini's are charging, eight and a half seconds up the road. Ziad Ghandour is being monstered by Charlie Scardina and his team mate, Justin Wetherill. Scardina was invited to a shootout with the Porsche factory a decade ago plus. Dinan runs wide and Agakhani tries to dive into the turn and spins off! Loris Spinelli, his co-driverm will be beside himself! Sauper deep on entry for dDinan, tries to tuck inside the corner and the dust is there, and the tires scream enough. David Askew off the road and back on.
Turn five is calamity corner. Chief Steward Brian Till says going over that corner has limits, but be careful and do not use the paint. If you get too far off, there is a big hole before the entry to turn six and Scardina spins and almost gets chopped by the sister car! Scardina into the turn, Ghandour in deep, and Scardina pinches it down and rotates! That turn is fast. Yikes. Agakhani is down to seventh. Scardina, we do not know where he rejoined. Askew drops to 16th. Jeff Burton loses places. Misha Gokhberg running behind Michele Beretta in a K-PAX Lamborghini 1-2.
Goikhberg is losing time to Beretta. Loris Spinelli says they lost places at the start but it is very hard to overtake here at NOLA with faster cars. They won't give up and the car is running well, and on pace. Agakhani is 19 years old and wants to push. He ran very well in Lamborghini Super Trofeo as well and is learning the Mercedes AMG GT3. It is a learning process indeed. The two drivers enjoy the same kinds of setups on the car. Pointy and loose, or understeer, are two different handling situations. But the two drivers in the #6 car like a similar setup. The pit window will open in just over ten minutes. So we have a way to go and the plot thickens.
More trouble for DXDT Racing as Scott Smithson is off the road, spinning into the grass. That is bizarre, spinning around in the other direction. Did he get an armful of opposite lock? Now, the #45 Porsche is back on track with Charlie Luck at the controls, 13 laps down, stone last in the field. They need to get to 70% of the race distance. Jason Harward in the lane with the #88 Zelus Motorsports Lamborghini as David Askew, too, is in the lane with trouble with less than an hour to go. Beretta leads Goikhberg by ten and a half seconds and Michael Dinan is third.
Chandler Hull and Ashton Harrison, scrapping for fourth and fifth, for first and second in Pro-Am. Wisely, she is following Chandler Hull around the track. After the pit stops, we will have Bill Auberlen and Mario Farnbacher, two of the best GT3 drivers on the planet. Tomorrow's grid will be a candy dish between pro and Pro-Am drivers. Harrison wants past Hull and soon. She is heaping the pressure onto the two BMW's ahead. Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley are regular team mates in GT3 in a different series, and they are coming off of a big win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last weekend.
Racer's Edge team boss John Mirachi says that the setup on the car helps maintain the tires so they don't fall off. Harrison and Hull are younger drivers. Both have done a lot of racing in a short period of time. They bring speed and experience and have co-driver's with a wealth of experience in both teams. They are being mentored by their co-drivers. Ashton Harrison is in her first full year of GT3 and was part of the Honda Performance GT3 Academy. Mario Farnbacher, Ryan Eversley, Ricky Taylor, and others are a part of that mentorship program helping the young drivers.
Harrison is pressing Chandler Hull in the BMW. Harrison became the first woman to win a Fanatec GT World Challenge America race at the three hour mark of the Indianapolis 8 Hours last fall with Racer's Edge. We are minutes away from the pit window opening which shall turn this motor race right on it's head for dead sure. Michael Dinan is falling into the clutches of Chandler Hull and Ashton Harrison as well, look. Minimum pit stop delta here at NOLA is 79 seconds with a one second joker that can be used just once a weekend, so only in one of the two races.
Pit work is massively important in GT3 in SRO racing. The teams must execute in the pit window. Who will blink first? Wait for the window to open. Doing the undercut, with the driver change, and fresh Pirelli P Zeros that can be warmed in the tire warmers now. The psychology will be reversed for tomorrow when the Pro drivers start the motor race. Michele Beretta's lead, meanwhile, is now 19 seconds. Beretta followed by Misha Goikhberg. Pit window open. Jordan Pepper will take over from Misha Goikhberg.
Into the lane comes Beretta. Does Goikhberg follow? Erin Vogel, Charlie Scardina, J.C. Saada, Misha Goikhberg, and more, are in. Time for Michael Cooper to take over the #43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3. If RealTime wins this race, this will be the 100th track they've won at. In 2019, they won at Road America with Mike Hedlund and Dane Cameron. Racer's Edge and K-PAX both in the lane. Mario Farnbacher into the #93 car. The Lambo is in, the #3, and Pepper is in the car. Now, Andrea Caldarelli is in the #1 but they had a slow stop. Wow. BMW on BMW. Auberlen vs. Foley, racing against one another.
These two blokes, as we said, are teammates in a different championship. They race in IMSA but now in SRO are competitors. Wow. Loris Spinelli wants in on this fight as well, look. Spinelli is moving in on Dinan. So, it is BMW on BMW. Don't get stymied by the cars ahead. A slow transition at Ferrari between Justin Wetherill and Ryan Dalziel. Jason Harward also had a slow stop when he was being swapped into the car after Madison Snow's stint. Loris Spinelli is a multiple champion in Lamborghini Super Trofeo in the domestic championships in America and Europe and in the Italian World Final.
Spinelli has also raced for Mercedes in International GT Open and in Italian GT. So, the frontrunners have all pitted. Racer's Edge got snookered on their pit stop and have fallen to sixth place. Past halfway through the race nw. Mario Farnbacher is pushing, pushing, pushing, in maximum attack mode. Caldarelli, 1:35.1. Pepper, 1:35 flat. Spinelli uncorking fastest laps as well. He is fourth at 1:35.1. The top eight drivers in this race are within a second of each other. Spinelli, carving the turns, and the Mercedes is very balanced through the turns.
Bill Auberlen is like a vintage red wine, getting better and better with age and he still has the desire to win. The number of wins he has had in a BMW are astonishing and off the charts. Auberlen drove for Mazda earlier in his career, but he is synonymous with BMW. Caldarelli, Pepper, Foley, Auberlen, Spinelli, Pepper, and Colin Braun who scores the fastest lap so far. Not sure what the number is. In the horses for courses battle, the Mercedes might just be showing it's hand here at NOLA. Colin Braun, fastest lap at 1:34.952. George Kurtz started the car and drove to third.
The Riley Motorsports, Crowdstrike team flew under the radar but are now on the button indeed. Spinelli wants by Auberlen who udnersteers through the turn as the pit window is now closed. Spinelli, the Italian, is pressing hard on Auberlen. He hopes the tire degradation will be stronger for the BMW. He is going to go to the inside and Auberlne gives him racing room thrpough five and six. Auberlen opens the wheel into five and into six he goes past Spinelli. Spinelli will be going bananas trying to move in on the two BMW's ahead. Auberlen is the Pro-Am leader and Spinelli is Pro rated. Mario Farnbacher is coming in a hurry as Onofrio Triarsi leads in the Am class in the Ferrari, the 488 GT3, car #23.
Triarsi has a massive margin over Conrad Grunewald in the second Am Ferrari for AF Corse. Jordan Pepper working his way through traffic. Triarsi wants to beat AF Corse in Am and want that feather in their hat. Giacomo Altoe runs fastest lap of the motor race. Tring to tell what the purple time was. We are still watching this massive fight as Jordan Pepper clears Drew Staveley in the #12 Ian Lacy Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Charlie Luck crashed right in front of George Kurtz. Kurtz says that the team had a decent start and he knew Luck was going to divebomb him. They want the points and a podium place at Riley Motorsports and Crowdstrike Racing.
Rain could very well be around tomorrow. Spinelli has the advantage, in replay, through the final turn to pass Auberlen in replay. The Mercedes has a massive compliance advantage over the curbs while the BMW M4 GT3 has understeer to dial out. Farnbacher is moving in and fast. Robby Foley is scrapping with Loris Spinelli and Bill Auberlen and Mario Farnbacher as well. Giacomo Altoe resets fastest lap at 1:34.800 but is well behind Colin Braun. This year's competition level in 2022 in SRO America is unbelievable.
Race Control says no action taken on the start of the race. So, no worries. A fascinating matchup between the BMW M4 GT3 and the Mercedes AMG GT3. The BMW has a straight line speed advantage over the Mercedes. The Mercedes carves corners and handles far better than does the BMW. Trouble in paradise for DXDT Racing and their Mercedes as the sister car is being thrashed on in the pit lane with Bryan Sellers at the wheel of it. It's been a hard day for DXDT. What will they do in the race tomorrow? Ryan Dalziel all over Michael Cooper. Acura vs. Ferrari as we are within the final 30 minutes of race one in GTWC America here at NOLA.
Caldarelli, Pepper, Foley, 1-2-3. Loris Spinelli is also in the battle. You better believe it. Bill Auberlen has found clean air and will gain more speed, dropping Mario Farnbacher out of the picture. Farnbcher was really going for it but now he is losing time. Pepper's gap is 4.3 seconds to Caldarelli. The two K-PAX Lamborghini's have been trading best laps all day so far. Mario Farnbacher, the German, comes from a racing family. He has also been a major part of the HPD GT3 operation. He is the leading light for them in GT3 globally in SRO and IMSA just the same. Farnbacher also won the Porsche Cup class in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2016.
Loris Spinelli right on Robby Foley's gearbox! Holy smokes! This could be the race to watch with 26 minutes to go. Foley is pushing hard and not making any mistakes. Foley was a GT4 champion in 2020 alongside Michael Dinan as they are now. Andrea Caldarelli is motoring away from everyone. K-PAX set the table in qualifying this morning. Spinelli to the inside of Dinan, but no dice. The Mercedes does not have the straight line speed the BMW does. Maybe he can accelerate off the corner but runs out of steam down the straight compared to the BMW. Look out! They scream past Onofrio Triarsi and Spinelli was checked up on, and here comes Auberlen in the Bimmerworld BMW. Race Director Brian Till will not like Spinelli's reactive move to Auberlen.
Side by side and Foley is going to try shutting Spinelli off, but no. This is massive. Watch out so he does not get balked. Auberlen is going to want a bite of the cherry. This is a massive battle with just over 20 minutes left in the race. The Pro-Am lead fight is also hot and heavy. Auberlen vs. Farnbacher. Great duel. The speeds are between 157-158 miles an hour and the BMW's are quickest, but the Acura's are right in the fight. Top speed is not as relevant as we may think. Foley was being coached by Bill Auberlen years ago but now he is a veteran and is likable too.
He is also an athlete, a football player, who had a knee injury curtailing his football career, doing homeschooling, and he talked his parents into doing a session at Skip Barber Racing School and caught the racing bug. Racing will take you in different directions. Why weren't you in school today, kiddo? I was racing! Erin Vogel says there have been struggles with setup on the Acura NSX GT3 at RealTime Racing. Keep your noses clean. They are relying on luck and hard work hoping Michael Cooper can stay ahead of Ryan Dalziel. It is mentally harder to balance the car with the racing. Spinelli, door to door with Foley. Auberlen in on this. Speinelli forces Foley out wide and cuts down a tire! Safety car!
Robby Foley stranded in the gravel trap. That one went both ways. Spinelli says, "I have had it with your antics, you fool!" Somehow, I don't think these two blokes will be exchanging Christmas cards. Foley in the gravel trap. Full Course yellow. That was forceful driving for the Pro category podium. 13 and a half minutes to go, still under the safety car. Caldarelli leads over Pepper. Turner Motorsports team boss Will Turner says the left front suspension is damaged. It was good, clean racing for the most part. Spinelli was anxious. Turner calls him "Spaghetti" in an obvious jab. Racing is full of highs and lows.
It is what racing is all about. Spinelli is carving the corners better as we see the replay, and goes to the inside of Foley, being forced wide. It's 50/50 honestly. The track cleanup continues before we finish race one for GTWC America at NOLA. K-PAX Lamborghini lead the motor race closing in on the finish. The safety car laps are taking three minutes and we could have a lap dash here in N'awlinz. We've seen sunshine and no rain yet. The BMW is headed back to the paddock for repairs. Ian Lacy Racing, give those boys a shoutout. The #12 Ian Lacy Racing Aston Martin, with Frank Gannett and Drew Staveley. Ian Lacy is a former racing driver himself. They are supported well by Aston Martin Racing too.
Eight minutes left on the clock still under safety car procedure. We will have one more lap of Full Course Yellow. Yes indeed, incident between #6 and #96 under review by the stewards. There's a lot of marbling with the tires. Surprised not to see more weaving to clean the tires. Ride the brake pedal against the gas pedal to generate heat into the tire. But that won't clean them. There's nothing worse than having tire clag all over the shop and you dive to turn one and nobody's home. That's a nightmare. Safety car lights out. Mike Stillwagon, the safety car driver.
Green flag. Caldarelli punches it. The Pro-Am fight is on between Dalziel and Cooper. Jordan pepper wants it. Farnbacher forced wide 'round the outside and here comes Auberlen and Braun. Spinelli is in the fight too. This is a fair fight indeed. Auberlen gets dropped two places. Farnbacher second. Colin Braun and George Kurtz have the Pro-Am lead. Cooper was confused by Caldarelli's move. Caldarelli was too slow. Less than three minutes to go as the Lambo skips away while Cooper and Dalziel stymie Pepper. Auberlen had a run on Spinelli. No dice. Spinelli's car's alignment is out of whack, perhaps.
Colin Braun uncorked a really fast lap that was bettered by Giacomo Altoe. Corey Lewis is up to tenth overall sharing with Jeff Burton, seventh in Pro-Am. The competition is unreal. White flag lap this time by with one minute to go. Flagman Tom Hansing has the white flag. Caldarell;i leads by 3.5 seconds. Cooper is doing all he can to maintain the spot in Pro-Am ahead of Ryan Dalziel. Dalziel is running strongly in several cars in different championships. It is hard to focus if you are in position and the car just isn't handling. Last time through the esses.
Caldarelli leading. Pepper caught by Braun with Farnbacher on the gas as well. The win goes to K-PAX Racing, with Michele Beretta and Andrea Caldarelli. Colin Braun and George Kurtz win Pro-Am and the Triarsi Ferrari wins Am. The incident between Spinelli and Foley reviewed, no action taken by the stewards. Just hard racing. Caldarelli is bang on the money again today no matter if he has a new teammate and goes to a new track. However, in qualifying, they got the track position and maintained it. The traffic between he and Pepper also helped.
Overall/Pro: #1 Caldarelli/ Beretta K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo
Pro-Am: #04 Braun/Kurtz Crowdstrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3
Evo
Am: #23 Triarsi/Scardina Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020
Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen finished more than 70% of the race, ended up tenth, and got the points they needed. Andrea Caldarelli and Michele Beretta, the all-Italian tandem win their first race together here at New Orleans. Tomorrow' a whole other race. See you on Sunday for race two. More racing to come today yet with GT4 America. Stay tuned for that, on a hot, humid, sticky day here in New Orleans.
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