Welcome back to the bayou, and the second day of racing for SRO GT World Challenge America at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. Can Michele Beretta and Andrea Caldarelli do the double today and continue K-PAX and Lamborghini's sheer dominance of GT3 sprint racing in North America? Will another team, manufacturer and driving duo step up to the plate? You are about to find out as GT3 racing from Cajun country is straight ahead. It's live, and it's next! We are just south of New Orleans. Yesterday, as we said, K-PAX ran 1-2. But they are down the grid for race two. It's hot, 87 degrees, and weather could be a major deal.
This track is going to be unreal. The Pro drivers start, and so, we have a stacked field of 18 cars. 16 turns, 2.75 miles the layout. Robby Foley, Michael Dinan, and the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 are looking to rebound after the battle with Loris Spinelli yesterday. Loris Spinelli on the pole for today's race. After contact yesterday, Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen are on the final row of the grid, taking a penalty. The two Lamborghini's are mired in the middle of the pack for race two at NOLA today. U.S. Racetronics and Loris Spinelli are on the pole. Spinelli sharing with Stephen Agakhani. George Kurtz and Colin Braun will be ones to watch as well.
Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper have of course been split up. Caldarelli and Beretta are both Italians and have both been racing at Lamborghini for a number of years. Jordan Pepper of course, now paired up with Misha Goikhberg. It will be the first time we see Caldarelli and Pepper, going at it. They are buddies off track, golf buddies. But they are rivals on the track. The field is very strong as we said. The cars roll of onto their formation laps. NOLA is a great track to race on. Oh boy. Mother nature has thrown a wrinkle and here comes the rain in New Orleans! Holy cow!
We probably won't get a break from the weather. This is going to be a wet race. Look out. Just outside of the broadcast booth, no rain. This rain is at one end of the speedway. Presumably everyone is starting on slick Pirelli P Zero tires. The grip on track is good. We won't have a skating rink but the pressure will be on. Tiptoe through sector one and the rest of the track will be fairly dry. Build brake and wheel temperature by running the brake and the gas pedals together, and then adjust your brake bias, your sway bars and so on. Mixed conditions are going to be very difficult for the drivers. We thought we'd see the rain later in the day. Not so.
Buckle up. Cinch down those belts. Let the electronics take over if there is wheelspin. Lights out on the safety car. Rain dissipating. Green flag! Race two for GTWC America at NOLA is underway! Spinelli rockets out of the gate. Bryan Sellers wants by Giacomo Altoe too, look. Dry track and Mario Farnbacher slides into fourth in Acura #93. Sellers gets passed under braking. Altoe second. Major scramble for traction as Colin Braun and Jordan Pepper are both pushing. Pepper on the attack against Braun in the Crowdstrike car. Look at the spray!
Unreal. This is a wild start. Bryan Sellers being monstered by Jordan Pepper. He has run very well in the wet at Spa Francorchamps and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The K-PAX Lamborghini's are going for it already. They want to double up at NOLA. One lap on the board as Mario Farnbacher moves to third place. Mario Farnbacher is a rainmeister too, someone to watch. Giacomo Altoe is pressing Loris Spinelli side by side, look. Farnbacher wants in as well and here he comes! Wow! Farnbacher looking for the lead.
The Acura NSX GT3 thrives in mixed conditions. Spinelli leading the motor race while Giacomo Altoe is all over Mario Farnbacher as Loris Spinelli is running away. Great three way battle. Spinelli fast in free practice and in qualifying yesterday. Robby Foley passes Colin Braun and Mario Farnbacher uncorks fastest lap so far. Jan Heylen is going to dive inside Bill Auberlen and the #08 Mercedes AMG GT3, that is Sellers. Jan Heylen 12th sharing with Charlie Luck for Wright Motorsports. The Porsche 911 GT3R is good in these damp conditions with the drive weight over the rear wheels.
These first minutes of race two have been unreal. Altoe hanging tough and so is sellers and Pepper. Spinelli will really put the welly down if it stays dry. Jordan pepper, though, resets fastest lap at 1:36.9. Unbelievable! Bill Auberlen has dropped three places and he will not like that. He will want to move up and get back in contention. Tough sledding for Bill Auberlen sharing the car at Bimmerworld with Chandler Hull, the #94 BMW M4 GT3. Spinelli leading Pepper, Caldarelli, and Foley. The track is now drying up and the lap times are getting faster as we speak. Pepper uncorking fastest laps like crazy.
Pepper wants to go for it. Pepper and Altoe were team mates at Sonoma Raceway and now, Altoe is at TR3 Lamborghini. So, big rivalry between the two Lambo teams. Robby Foley in seventh. He is fourth in class, keeping pace with Caldarelli. What will the long green flag run be like unless we get more rain? The track has rubbered in. The lap times are consistent and we saw that in the GT4 and TC races earlier this morning. 1:35.6, 8/10ths quicker than Farnbacher, and Loris Spinelli 2.3 seconds to the good over everyone else. Colin Braun, eighth overall, fourth in Pro-Am, buried in the pack.
Mario Farnbacher has become the cork in the bottle somehow. Giacomo Altoe and Jordan Pepper chasing. Mario Farnbacher is right on the edge. A great driver lineup in SRO GTWC America this year. In race two of the weekend, the Pro drivers start. You must have minimum of one Silver driver aboard, Pro-Am, one Bronze, and in Am, two Bronze drivers. Jordan Pepper is hanging back watching Altoe and Farnbacher and Altoe took a lunge but had to give it up. Ashton Harrison will be taking over the #93 and she has also run very well this weekend in Lamborghini Super Trofeo at NOLA. Farnbacher pacing the Pro-Am field.
Pepper, Sellers, Caldarelli, coming into the picture. Bryan Sellers used to drive with K-PAX. Caldarelli and Sellers ran endurance races together for Paul Miller Racing in the past in the IMSA series. Now they are separated of course but they know each other. Race hard but be respectful. Don't look at another driver as a total enemy if they are a rival. Sellers has driven for K-PAX before with Bentley and McLaren. Sellers is also a driver coach in multiple SRO America championships. Coach, driving partner, mentor.
Bill Auberlen uncorks a fastest lap of 1:35.4. Onofrio Triarsi in the Ferrari leading Am, ahead of Michael Cooper in the #43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3. Erin Vogel, Cooper's co-driver says the handling isn't working. They are wrestling the car around. Vogel is taking it in stride and learning how to drive a GT3 car. It's been a wretched time for the boys and girls at RealTime and they will test at Road America close by their base in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lots of life left in these tires as the rhythm of the race comes in. Will the undercut work, pitting early? The Pro drivers will go deep into the pit window.
Jan Heylen and Bill Auberlen are both showing their speed, down the order. Porsche #45 vs. BMW #94. Ryan Dalziel ahead in the second Triarsi Ferrari sharing that entry with Justin Wetherill. Hard to make the move stick. Turn one is probably the best braking zone but it is mega fast too. Auberlen wants by Heylen. Andrea Caldarelli is pressuring Bryan Sellers. Sellers can see the sister K-PAX Lambo whistling off into the distance. Mario Farnbacher, second overall and leading Pro-Am. Ashton Harrison says she has run a number of laps around NOLA this weekend. Mario Farnbacher has really helped Ashton Harrison and she is looking forward to her stint.
She will keep up driving hard for a win even if the rain comes. That is the attitude to have. She has been running really well in multiple sports car championships as we see Loris Spinelli continuing to lead the motor race in the #6 US Racetronics Mercedes AMG GT3. US Racetronics are the team that have been pushing K-PAX to their limit. Riley Motorsports and DXDT are both in the fight too but it is U.S. Racetronics that are the top contender from Stuttgart. Spinelli uncorks the fastest lap fo the motor race at 1:35.3.. What will happen when the more amateur drivers take over the cars" We'll wait and find out.
Jan Heylen and Bill Auberlen have both passed Ryan Dalziel. Ferrari, Porsche, BMW. Auberlen and Robby Foley won with the BMW M4 GT3 for Turner Motorsports in a different sports car championship. No ST Racing here at NOLA this weekend as they could not get spare parts for their BMW M4 GT3. They will be back soon and are headed to Spa Francorchamps for the 24 Hours of Spa later this summer. BMW have also been prepping for the big 24 Hours of the Nurburgring comng up soon. That race is next weekend I believe, and trust me, you will hear more about it.
Meantime, Mario Farnbacher and Giacomo Altoe continue their scrum in Pro-Am. So many GT3 championships globally are set up to compromise between drivers depending on their levels. They need and have generally, a major sweet spot. Man oh man. Finally, Andrea Caldarelli has cleared Bryan Sellers. The s curves at NOLA, at first we did not think much of them, but they are a far more challenging set of turns than we thought. It is like a slalom run in downhil skiing and the gates they run through.
It feels like a number of different tracks but NOLA is flat as a pancake. Little to no elevation change. Scott Smithson is showing speed, but it is Bryan Sellers who is really going for it at DXDT. DXDT, both cars were down the order yesterday but they are coming back to the fore today. Dirk Mueller, a driver who has had a bunch of success with the factory Ford GT program among others and he is well down the order trying to dig his way through. Bryan Sellers is very composed and able to help Scott Smithson who was upset about yesterday's incident. Sellers and Smithson are looking for a podium but more importantly, they want a clean race.
Loris Spinelli has led the race since the green flew. He is building a gap, however, we can see Jordan Pepper reeling him in little by little. Caldarelli and Foley also in the picture. How will Stephen Agakhani do? Ashton Harrison, Ziad Ghandour, Scott Smithson, some talented Am drivers ready to get into these cars as the pit window is coming soon. We'll see the Pro drivers race for another 15 minutes. K-PAX can pull off the undercut. That would be a candidate, with the #1, the Caldarelli/Beretta duo. Michele Beretta has a lot of experience. Mario Farnbacher is withstanding the pressure from Giacomo Altoe.
The German vs. the Italian. Farnbacher developed the evo kit for the Acura NSX GT3 for SRO and for other GT3 championships. Bill Auberlen ran wide earlier and has been doing all he can to claw back track position. He cannot go on the attack, somehow or other. That's how stacked these drivers are and the BoP is equal. At tun 16, trap speeds are between 65-67 miles an hour. That is the final turn that launches onto the front straightaway. Robby Foley monstering Bryan Sellers. Dirk Muller to the lane and they had a right rear Pirelli tire losing pressure and they will have to pit again because the pit window is not open yet! Good grief! What a shame for David Askew and Dirk Muller.
Pit stops coming and so is the halfway mark in the motor race here in New Orleans. Loris Spinelli's lead has ballooned to 6.3 seconds from being at 4.8 seconds a wee while ago, so, by a second and a half. Mariop Farnbacher just uncorked his best lap fo the day. After ragging these Pirelli tires, they still have speed in the P Zero's. Farnbacher in putting the lap together, he has built a massive cushion over Giacomo Altoe. Some teams may still be able to use their one second joker on the pit stop but if it has already been used yesterday, you can't use it again. Jordan Pepper keeping pace and Andrea Caldarelli is moving in, before he hands over to Michele Beretta.
Spinelli still leads over Farnbacher, so you have missed nothing at the sharp end. Pepper has been stuck behind Altoe. Altoe is the cork in the bottle. Pit window open now. We expect drivers t hit the lane a few laps into the window. Loris Spinelli now leading by eight and a half seconds. This Mercedes has been the class of the field all weekend here at NOLA. Riley and DXDT are racing well but it is amazing to see US Racetronics have raw pace like this. The other Benz teams are going to be pushing. Madison Snow and Zelus Motorsports pit, sharing with Jason Harward. Michele Beretta is suited and booted, ready to go.
Misha Goikhberg is not suited up just yet. He is chilling out. K-PAX strategist Thomas Blam is not here this weekend as his daughter Alliana is graduating high school. K-PAX, when they ran Bentley's, Blam was sent to the 24 Hours of Spa to call the race for the M-Sport factory Bentley's back in the day. That is how good he is. Zelus gave up some time pitting early. Jason Harward needs more seat time today. He is new to this, running GT America and GTWC America last year. He is still learning how to be a racing driver. He has major aspirations and a mentor in Madison Snow, his co-driver. Caldarelli is is chipping away the gap. Bill Auberlen has moved past Jan Heylen.
Auberlen in the lane now. Chandler Hull will take over. He has been very impressive. Andrea Caldarelli is in and so is Corey Lewis. He will be turning that car over #191 over to Jeff Burton. One rattle gun and the tire carriers, fueler, and the driver change. Sit and wait, don't leave the lane too early to run afoul of the delta. Use the joker. That's what K-PAX did. We are past halfway. Jordan Pepper is applying the pressure to Giacomo Altoe. Bimmerworld had a good stop as well, executing on a high level and gaining experience with the BMW M4 GT3. They succeeded a bunch in GT4 and are delivering in GT3. Erin Vogel takes over the #43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3. The Corey Lewis and Jeff Burton pit stop at Zelus Racing ran long.
Loris Spinelli in. Mario Farnbcher stays out for one more lap but the pit window closes in 90 seconds. Doing the overcut seems to work though. Loris Spinelli turns the race leading car over Stephen Agakhani. They have an issue with the rattle gun. They cannot get the wheel off. The spindle is broken. Oh man! It is all coming apart for US Racetronics. The nut was threaded wrong. Michele Beretta heads to the lead and Misha Goikhberg goes to second. Ziad Ghandour next up and Stephen Agakhani is finally back in the race. 1:55 for a stop that should have been at 1:19. Man oh man. Thought there was an issue on the left front.
Maybe the rattle gun got damaged. Who knows. Racer's Edge into the lane changing to Ashton Harrison and she has not used the joker. Harrison to the lead of the motor race. Holy cow! So, Racer's Edge and Acura lead at NOLA Motorsports Park with 38 minutes to go. Tire warmers are in play in GTWC America unlike most domestic racing in North America. Michele Beretta in second. Beretta will be flying. Look at the big picture. Settle in, hit your makrs, don't fight it. A different class of car behind you insofar as driver ratings.
Harrison has won an overall race at last year's Indianapolis 8 Hours where she was credited to overall winning for Compass Racing after the GTWC America component of the IGTC Indianapolis 8 Hours. US Racetronics and Stephen Agakhani is down to tenth place. Unreal. Michael Dinan holding off Chandler Hull. Turner Motorsports vs. Bimmerworld. 35 minutes left in this motor race as Ashton Harrison is the overall ace leader. The pit window has cycled through. Michele Beretta, turning it on, turning on the juice.
Racer's Edge jumped up from GT4 to GT3 just as Bimmerworld is doing this year. Kyle Marcelli and Martin Barkey were two of their top drivers years ago and the same with Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock. Harrison scything through the back markers. Wow. Racer's Edge ran the 12 Hours of Sebring earlier in the year and will be back at Sebring with SRO later in the year. Chandler Hull scrapping with Charlie Luck. Jan Heylen is in the sweet spot of his career. Beretta dives inside Harrison and so, Ashton Harrison moves to second place. Racer's Edge are in position for a win in Pro-Am. Settle in and see if she can learn anything from Michele Beretta.
At US Racetronics, the left wheel nut was on that right front tire. Steven Agakhani was looking around wondering what was going on. Loris Spinelli cannot believe it. It is frustrating for the US Racetronics team and after starting from pole they had high expectations. He thanks the team despite their mistake. They will be back. Half an hour to go. Problems for Michael Dinan in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. He ran wide and has crawled to a halt. Game over. Chandler Hull to the inside of George Kurtz and makes the pass. Next up for him is Scott Smithson and then he will go after Ziad Ghandour.
Ziad Ghandour off the road at turn 13 and 14. Massive shemozzle here, look. Chandler Hull passes Ziad Ghandour as George Kurtz passes Scott Smithson. Stephen Agakhani is in recovery mode indeed. With Foley out of the race, the order is shuffled. Steven Agakhani tosses it inside Kurtz and made the move stick. He is driving angry so he is making massive moves. How do you purge negative thoughts? Stay positive. Wow! Charlie Luck dives in late on Smithson and George Kurtz too, got snookered by Agakhani.
Agakhani pressing Gandour trying to clear the Pro-Am traffic. The action is hot and heavy at NOLA Motorsports Park before this motor race ends. Ziad Ghandour feeling the heat from George Kurtz. Kurtz, yesterday's Pro-Am winner with Colin Braun. Charlie Luck at Wright Motorsports is moving ahead. Ghandour keeps overcooking it in turn 12. Now, Scott Smithson is pushing hard. Just a wee bit over 20 minutes to go. Chandler Hull has bolted away from the rest of this group of cars. From Turner Motorsports, we hear a transmission issue. "Meet me at the bar", Will Turner says. Agakhani is running faster than Misha Goikhberg and Goikhberg will be under pressure soon as Charlie Luck is off the road.
What is the scoop here? He has spun and is now getting back into the race. He gets squeezed and three into two won't go. He spun, got hung up on the wet grass, and then thankfully continued. Loris Spinelli lowers fastest lap to 1:35.183. Eighteen minutes left on the board. We have rain coming back into the picture. Agakhani now 9.3 seconds behind Goikhberg as Charlie Scardina leads Am for Triarsi Competizione. Mother nature wants to put a damper on the closing stanza of this motor race. For wet weather Pirelli's. the full speedway has to be wet. Time to break out the wet tires? We'll see. Ashton Harrison leads Pro-Am and she is just six and a half seconds behind Michele Beretta. She has a significant advantage over Misha Goikhberg.
The rain is here at NOLA Motorsports Pakr with just a wee bit over 15 minutes left. Michele Beretta won a European Le Mans Series championship in 2020 for Dempsey Proton Porsche. Beretta won the Silver class in GTWC Europe Sprint in 2016 as well. Ashton Harrison is well ahead in Pro-Am of Chandler Hull. Misha Goikhberg, second in Pro and third overall, very experienced in prototypes but gaining experience in GT3 cars as well. He ran successfully in prototypes with JDC-Miller Motorsports, and ran with Meyer Shank Racing and with Grasser Racing in GT3. Steven Agakhani still in recovery mode.
Aghakani is flying, making inroads. Michele Beretta 9.3 seconds ahead of Ashton Harrison. Misha Goikhberg is being reeled in by Steven Aghakhani. In Am, Charlie Scardina continues to lead the Am division sharing with Onofrio Triarsi who won in class yesterday. They look to be double up and J.C. Saada is next up in the other Am Ferrari for AF Corse. Goikhberg has Aghakhani on his tail. The Mercedes has amazing grip though. The over under is not quite there. But the Mercedes can maintain a tight corner radius. Goikhberg drops a wheel. Here comes Aghakani and he does. Goikhberg goes wide and hits the clag on the outside almost going off the road! Yikes!
It is like a pencil eraser and seeing the shavings on a piece of paper. Aghakani has really been running well and converts frustration to speed. Aghakani is closing up on Ashton Harrison. Michele Beretta seeks his second overallm win stateside in GTWC America. Andrea Caldarelli is on for his fourth win of the season. Ashton Harrison had two podiums in Lamborghini Super Trofeo this weekend as well. Ghandour loose out of the final turn and Scott Smithson will make the pass. He does. Ziad "Z Hog" Ghandour, was drifting the car, much like in his earlier career as a rallying driver.
Colin Braun and George Kurtz are looking for their fourth podium of the year. As a driver pairing, they have had good results and good speed, but the consistency is coming. The team is still learning. Bill Riley has experience with the Mercedes AMG GT3 but on a completely different tire. In the esses, Michele Breetta is fastest at 112 miles an hour while everyone else in the top speed top five is at 111 miles an hour. We ought to see the white flag next time 'round.
Charlie Scardina and Onofrio Triarsi have done very well. They are going up against the likes of AF Corse, Jean-Claude Saada driving for AF Corse in the Am class sharing with Conrad Grunewald. A few other cars who have not had the weekend they've wanted. Jason Harward moving in on Erin Vogel. Vogel and Michael Cooper did have a great Saturday race. Vogel runs wide. RealTime Racing have had success in World Challenge at 27 different tracks and will learn NOLA. So, Lamborghini look like they are going to win again.
Michele Beretta and Andrea Caldarelli claw their way back from sixth, to their fourth overall win in this series in 2022. Holy smokes. Michele Beretta through turn 16, to the checkers. Andrea Caldarelli and Michele Beretta stay perfect! In Am, Triarsi Competizione win, Charlie Scardina and Onofrio Triarsi. Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher get the Pro-Am win for the first time.
Overall/Pro: #1 Caldarelli/Beretta K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo
Pro-Am: #93 Farnbacher/ Harrison Racer's Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
Am: #23 Scardina/Triarsi Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020
So, that's all she wrote from New Orleans. Will we see this track back on the schedule in the future? Many drivers surely hope so. Next up, Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, on Father's Day weekend. We'll see you then. So long from The Big Easy everybody. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.
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