We saw a low-speed parade of these gorgeous GT3 cars to the village of Elkhart Lake. But now, it is time to race for the first of two, 90-minute motor races at Road America, a thrill and a challenge in equal measure. We join Ryan Myrehn, and Calvin Fish in the booth, and Shea Adam in the pit lane, for the action. Mercedes have had a front row lockout for both of the races. We may see raindrops before this race is over. This track is so special. High commitment and high speed. Four miles of road. Three times, the GT3 cars will be hitting 165+ miles an hour. We go for a lap for the track preview with Erin Vogel. Down the front straight, brake hard to turn one.
Now then, wide over the rumble strips into turn two and three. Braking zone downhill. Onto the long straight to relax and collect your thoughts and check traffic. Drive the shortest line poossible to turn five. Hold the brake, and then, uphill to turn six. Through turn seven, lift, and back to power. Turn eight, downhill, over the rumble strips again, to the Carousel, short shift, and stay on the throttle. Add throttle down the straight, a little lift into The Kink and down the straight to Canada corner. Check the brakes, and then bend it in under braking and up the hill to lift and go through turn 14. Use the access road and through to the final corner. Keep the car balanced and fly up the hill past the pit lane.
RealTime Racing, the hometown team. In 2019 with Mike Hedlund and Dane Cameron, they won their 100th race here at Road America, but have not had the best season this year in 2022. Not the season they wanted especially with Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper driving. Another team not finding their footing is K-PAX Lamborghini who have dominated for a long time. Team strategist Thomas Blom says that they just can't get a hold on the car between Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper. Caldarelli had won ten straight races. He wants to bounce back indeed. Jordan Pepper sharing with Misha Goikhberg. Michele Beretta teaming with Andrea Caldarelli.
Mercedes Benz at the top of the shop. Winward and U.S. Racetronics, both. Hello to Shea Adam in the pit lane. We are also looking at Bimmerworld in the BMW M4 GT3 with Chandler Hull and Bill Auberlen. This team is praying for rain. They could be in the pound seats. The skies may open before this race is over on this Saturday afternoon. Halfway home means pit stop time. Do you wait for the pit window or come early If there is rain coming, you might want to stay on the road as long as possible. Charlie Scardina starts sixth overall in the Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 in the Am class.
Justin Wetherill and Ryan Dalziel will not race this weekend. George Kurtz fresh off a runner up finish in GT America and nearly won it. He is driving with confidence, testing a Mercedes Formula 1 car and coming off an overall race victory at Watkins Glen and a class win at the 24 Hours of Spa three weeks ago. Experience is the key with Riley Motorsports supporting this Crowdstrike Racing entry. Russell Ward on pole in the #33 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 sharing with Philip Ellis. Michael Dinan and Robby Foley lost a half shaft in Free Practice 1 yesterday.
Kyle Washington and James Sofronas making their 2022 GTWCA debut as the cars are lined up to race for the first time this weekend. Get ready. Safety car to the lane. We've got a green flag and we're underway! Punch it, ladies and gentlemen! It's on! Russell Ward to the lead over Steven Agakhani as everyone else is fighting hard. Michael Dinan beginning to push past Charlie Scardina and here comes Michele Beretta. BMW vs. BMW and Steven Agakhani spins after dropping and wheel and both Erin Vogel and George Kurtz are involved. Michael Dinan, too, also in this mess! Turner Motorsports leading over K-PAX. Full Course Yellow. Full Course Yellow.
George Kurtz, the whole right front wheel is broken. That will be nil points in Pro-Am and Charlie Luck came through in the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R he is sharing with Jan Heylen. Kurtz was avoidin the other Mercedes but got clipped by Erin Vogel. Poor old Michael Dinan was absolutely an innocent bystander. So, Vogel's Acura NSX GT3 just has bodywork damage or so it appears. Agakhani, on the power, lost the rear end. Cold tires? No. There are tire warmers in GT World Challenge America. Loris Spinelli cannot believe what he is seeing! Why does this keep happening to me?! He must be wondering why.
Ashton Harrison has moved up and so has Jeff Burton who is now racing with a different team. Erin Vogel said this car is driveable at RealTime. Game over for the Crowdstrike Mercedes and bad damage reported by Robby Foley in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. There's just not enough spares available. Turner Motorsports just got a spare car. Will they participate in the race tomorrow? That is the question. Russell Ward now leads the motor race. Erin Vogel is back on track so she can stay on the lead lap. All you have to really do in an hour and a half, is stay on the lead lap. Only seven minutes now on the board.
In replay, we can see that Andrea Caldarelli made a big move on Chandler Hull. Agakhani loses the rear end, clipped by Dinan and then, Erin Vogel clips George Kurtz, and it's a mess. Ker-runch! That was a big hit for the BMW M4 GT3. The front bulkhead and the chassis is completely busted as we still have supply chain woes to deal with. Everything is at a premium. Misha Goikhberg has maybe run over some debris. A lot of carbon fiber on the road. Charlie Scardina is the best placed Am class car with competition from the Porsche 911 GT3R of GMG Racing with Kyle Washington and James Sofronas sharing the car.
Sofronas and Washington, James Sofronas leads his team with customers. James Sofronas is getting back into shape. He won a title in 2017 in the old Pirelli World Challenge GTA class. He is focusing on the customer component of his business and is now back in it in the #032 Porsche. Kyle Washington's background is in off road racing, in Trophy Trucks doing long haul desert races. Erin Vogfel back in the lane getting tweaks done on the Acura during the safety car scramble. Make sure the bodywork is as flush as possible because Road America is such an aerodynamically sensitive circuit.
Again, game over for Michael Dinan and Robby Foley, George Kurtz and Colin Braun, and Loris Spinelli and Steven Agakhani. Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher, they have really been improving this year. Farnbacher, mentoring Ashton Harrison. She is working hard, honing her skills and she is doing it right, putting in the effort. Racer's Edge Motorsports are coming back into the championship conversation now that the Riley Motorsports Crowdstrike Mercedes team is out. Chandler Hull and Bimmerworld are now the Pro-Am class leaders, and they are surely in the picture as well. Charlie Luck driving with son-in-law Jan Heylen. Heylen and Fred Poordad won the Pro-Am title in 2021.
Michael Cooper says the incident was unfortunate and they got collected and have significant damage. They won't be 100% again today. But they will be plugging away. RealTime Racing let all the fans at the parade sign the hood, and they will hang that hood in the shop after this weekend's races are complete. RealTime Racing are based in Milwaukee. 20 minutes now on the board as the opening stints have been whittled away under this Full Course Yellow. If you use an eraser on a pencil when drawing, those shavings are a lot like the junk we see coming off the tires of the cars. So, we are ready to go back to green.
Russell Ward is going to assume the lead. The #33 Mercedes AMG GT3, they have the two K-PAX Lamborghini's right behind. New team boss Ed Hall, Bryce Ward (Russell Ward's father), he is running this team and they are tied in with HTP Racing in Europe. Bryce Ward caught the racing bug living in South Africa and hearing the race cars zooming around the Kyalami circuit. Just over an hour to go and we do have the impending threat of rain. Green flag. Russell Ward leads Michele Beretta and Misha Goikhberg ahead of Chandler Hull. Charlie Luck passes inside Ashton Harisson for second place in Pro-Am.
He has a big gap separating him from Chandler Hull in Pro-Am. Ashton Harrison wants the slipstream through the Moraine Sweep. No room given for Harrison and she takes a late lunge on Charlie Luck who slams the door in her face. The pit window will open soon as Scott Smithson is rnning well, too, sharing the #08 Mercedes AMG GT3 with Dirk Mueller. Harrison, book it, one spot up to second place. Goikhberg pressurizing Beretta and here comes Chandler Hull yp the hill. Goikhberg balked by his teammate, Michele Beretta. Beretta washes out wide giving Goikhberg and Hull racing room. Misha Goikhberg has to know how to fight. Oh dear. Spin there for Jeff Burton sharing the #91 TR3 Racing Lamborghini of Corey Lewis.
Game over. Full Course Yellow. Burton has had another heavy smash. Good grief. Lewis will not even get to drive today. Maybe they will come back tomorrow. Misha Goikhberg is a very fast driver and we have seen his speed in the prototype ranks. Potential rain in half an hour, beyond the pit window and so we will see tire changes late in the game as Jeff Burton pulls the Lambo behind the fence. Will the skies open? If Russell Ward keeps the track position, Phil Ellis will have something t work with. Then you have Bill Auberlen, Jordan Pepper, Jan Heylen, Bryan Sellers, Dirk Mueller, I mean... top quality drivers. Overall top speeds are between 160-163 miles an hour. Misha Goikhberg, 1t63 miles an hour in three different places on the road. Turn one, turn five, and Canada Corner.
Incident under review between Jeff Burton and Scott Smithson. Green flag and now, Russell Ward is your leader but Beretta, Goikhberg, Hull, and Scardina are next up. Misha Goikhberg efends. Will Michele Beretta have anything in the locker? Chandler Hull is moving in fast. Goikhberg to the isndie in turn five. No dice. Harrison has passed Scardina in the overall. So, Ashton Harrison right on Chandler Hull's six. Harrison wants to win and always wants more. Game over for TR3. Jeff Burton says he was hit. Game over for he and Corey Lewis. Something flapping from the left front of the Acura.
Erin Vogel wants by David Askew and gets by. Frank Gannett off the road in the Aston Martin. Erin Vogel has made up two places. Russell Ward leads Beretta, Goikhberg, and Hull. Chandler Hull now has a cushion over Ashton Harrison. Road America is a very abrasive circuit and of course the track will be resurfaced for 2023. Through The Carousel they go. Scott Smithson and Jeff Burton remain under investigation for contact between the two, by the stewards. Just 55 minutes left on the board. This race has surely been run to a staccato pace but is now into a rhythm as Russell Ward has fastest lap at 2:08.164. Anything can happen with the weather. e will have to see. It takes two minutes to get around. It could be raining on one side and dry on the other. So, we will see rain in about 17 minutes or so.
Into the brake zone, you hear a scraping sound when the cars drag on the pavement. Beretta is watching the Mercedes like a hawk but you can see that Ward is scampering away. Chandler Hull and Bill Auberlen are working every strategy possible. Chandler Hull, an Am driver, but someone that the Bimmerworld team is confident in. Bill Auberlen, his co-driver, and team boss James Clay. Weather predictions coming in and we could see rain after the pit window closes as Jordan Pepper will be coming into the race soon, replacing Misha Goikhberg. We have not seen a real duel between Caldarelli and Pepper.
Russell Ward, driving a bucking bronco over the bumps in turn 14. Usually, the pit lane call is fairly early to get the Pro drivers into the cars. Drivers suited and booted, ready to go. Will someone roll the dice to catch the rain? You need the car in the lane by the time the clock hits 40 minutes. You have to break the beam on the pit entry. Minimum pit stop delta with everything to do, is 86 seconds. There is a one second joker I beleive. 2:08 dead. 2:08.091, fastest lap of the motor race uncorked by Michele Beretta. The Lamborghini has found the sweet spot, with Chandler Hull continuing to push. Pit window now open and Russell Ward pits from the lead. Beretta, Goikhberg, Hull. Everyone in the lane now. Kyle Washington is the erstwhile leader. Tires changed. Fuel added. Driver changes.
Decent stops for everybody. Bill Auberlen now at the wheel of the #94 BMW. Racer's Edge uses their joker, one stop under the minimum time by a second. DXDT, Wright Motorsports. Smithson and Bryan Sellers have had a slow stop which will cost them a place for the #08 DXDT entry. Onofrio Triarsi now being monstered by Michael Cooper who wants to get by and chase down Jan Heylen. Kyle Washington bringing the GMG Porsche in to hand over to James Sofronas. Everyone has pitted early due to the tire drop off. The tires falling off a cliff already. If we see rain, they will pit again. We're just going to have to see in the second half as we are halfway through the motor race now.
RealTime (Cooper), passes DXDT (Bryan Sellers). Chandler Hull says that he has had an incredible amount of fun, the most fun driving the BMW M4 GT3 as it has been all season. Will we see raindrops? Either way, it will work for Bill Auberlen because he is so amazingly experienced. There's a rainy front coming, it is south of the circuit. We will just have to see in these final 42 minutes. Phil Ellis leads Andrea Caldarelli by 3.7 seconds. Caldarelli has Jordan Pepper right on his six, setting fastest lap at 2:05.8 and change. The Italian vs. the South African. Bryan Sellers is the shark chasing Michael Cooper, the minnow.
Cooper would like rain, but maybe not with a wounded car. The Mercedes is looming large on the Acura. The Acura had intercooler trouble but not much crash damage earlier. Sellers is looming large though as we said. Aero wash through the turns, and Sellers to the inside passes by Cooper. Now then, maybe Cooper has exceeded track limits. Sellers on defense through the braking zone for turn five. DXDT team boss Stefan Pfeifer, he has engineered a lot of cars and has been in the SRO America paddock for a long time. The Wright Motorsports Porsche team, are saying to Jan Heylen, rain coming in seven to nine minutes as Bill Auberlen leads Pro-Am. Look for a class victory. Be smart. Don't burn the tires off if the rain jumps past us.
Caldarelli running wide and Pepper staying online. Caldarelli's car, the stealth black car, is much looser than the green sister car for K-PAX Lamborghini. They feel the Lambo is a good car in the wet. Caldarelli wanted to go defensive and is feeling the pressure from Jordan Pepper. You know Pepper wants to show he is the top dog in the K-PAX camp. If Caldarelli keeps exceeding track limits, he will get pinged. Jordan Pepper at 74 and a half miles an hour is fastest through turn three along with Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen. Two strikes for track limits from Race Control. Turn one is the place to have a Captain Cook at track limits.
Pepper is pushing the grip limits as well. Off Canada Corner, right in the hatch marks, the tire has to touch the line, but if they are outside, that's track limits. These chaps are right on the limit, and we can see that Ellis is now almost five and a half seconds up the road. Caldarelli keeps it in the lines and Pepper goes wide. Pepper trying to give Caldarelli the rough end of the pineapple, but he will have tu sue his two milligans there. Charlie Scardina and Onofrio Triarsi are really pushing. Triarsi got a win and a second place in Nashville in GT America two weeks ago. Side by side, look, between Cooper and Mueller. Mueller has won at Road America with Joey Hand for both BMW and Ford factory teams.
Onofrio Triarsi is being closed in on by Bryan Sellers. Sellers and Smithson could match their best finish of the year, earlier in the year they did so at NOLA. Sellers ran with K-PAX in their McLaren days years ago. He is a quality driver with lots of speed and can mentor younger drivers. He wants a spt from Onofrio Triarsi. He is flashing the lights telling Triarsi, "I am still here." We are seeing the weather change in the last half hour. Rain is coming in a hurry. Summer in the midwest, you never know if or when the rain is coming. Bryan Sellers is the 2002 Formula 2000 champion and he has made the move for the long haul into sports cars and now, Pepper makes a move on Caldarelli almost crash into each other! The K-PAX management of Jim Huey, Thomas Blam, and Darren Law, will have their collective hearts in their throats!
Nine times out of ten that ends in tears. Onofrio Triarsi is still pushing in Am. Charlie Scardina, his co-driver says that he is fortunate and blessed to be sharing a car with his brother-in-law. They want to move up and are looking at overall results. They could unofficially clinch their title this weekend. Scardina is a wheel man. We have seen that all year. On his return to racing, he still has the pace. Auberlen under pressure for Pro-Am victory from Mario Farnbacher. Auberlen has to push. Raindrops in turn five that the cars just passed through. It could be raining on one side and dry on the other.
We might see rainfall as the skies are dark with 24 minutes to go. Mario Farnbacher matching Phil Ellis' times. Chandler Hull and Bill Auberlen want the win. They really do and are fourth in the overall. Farnbacher, the German, is coming in a big hurry. Ashton Harrison, wondering how "Super Mario" her co-driver will do. Wide and on the paint, getting into the brakes. Racing is in the blood of Mario Farnbacher along with his brother Dominik, his father Horst, and his uncle Herman. Tire degradation for the Pirelli P Zero's has been a big deal even though we will see a full repave at Road America in a couple months.
You might just keep the driver in the car and keep it on the island. There is a massive pit delta of 40 seconds and if it gets greasy out there, you might be in a wee spot of bother. I like to know the big picture but not to be totally bombarded with information. 20 minutes to go. Jordan Pepper is quicker than Philip Ellis and the lead is down to six and a half seconds. Corner speeds through the kink, right around 120 miles an our for Ellis, Pepper, and Auberlen alike. Pepper, carving time out of Ellis. He is aggressive and wants to grab the win. Ellis though has experience, talent, and headspace to not take risks.
Auberlen digging deep for the Pro-Am victory ahead of Mario Farnbacher. Farnbacher struggling in the aero wash of the BMW. This has been a major step for Bimmerworld, stalwarts of touring car and GT4 racing. The GT3 cars are so much more complex. But Chandler Hull and the team know how the GT3 game works. Farnbacher is closer and wants to take Bill Auberlen by surprise. That's going to be a hard thing to do. It is squeaky, squeaky time now. Mario Farnbacher has a ig run coming through Canada Corner and then into the final corner up the hill.
Just 15 minutes to go. The sword of Damocles over the #08 Mercedes. Non action. Never mind. Put the sword of Damocles back in the sheath. Farnbacher has the exit speed and is right on Auberlen's six! Auberlen slams the door in Farnbacher's face! Barely! Farnbacher, right, left, and center. No dice! Will Farnbacher try to come back. Auberlen is a wily old fox. The track surface is like a cheese grater. The tires slide around. No pun intended being in Wisconsin dairy country. Ellis leads by 6.3 seconds to Pepper. Caldarelli all by his lonesome in third place. Farnbacher trying to make hay while the sun shines. No sunshine right now. The BMW punches a hole in the air the Acura can poke into.
Onofrio Triarsi leading Am, in the pit lane. Trouble in paradise. Shea Adam reports they had a refueling issue and the tank was not full. We are going to be safe to the end with no rain with just over ten minutes to go. Auberlen's BMW M4 GT3 is putting power down well. Mario Farnbacher committed, trying to put the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle. Farnbacher gets the run. Auberlen defends to the inside. Door to dooor to turn five. Auberlen gets smoked by Farnbacher under braking! Wow! Farnbacher may have come in too deep but kept it under control.
Lapped traffic ahead, the GMG Racing Porsche of James Sofronas. Onofrio Triarsi and Drew Staveley also ahead. Farnbacher clears the traffic and making good his escape over Bill Auberlen. Philip Ellis leading Jordan Pepper now by seven some odd seconds with Andrea Caldarelli on the final step of the podium. Ellis and Ward had a class win earlier in the year and in about ten minutes they could indeed score a win in the overall. Jordan Pepper is putting in the maximum here at Road America. The setups have to be a compromise between Misha Goikhberg and Jordan Pepper as Jan Heylen uncorks a 2:07.8 and a 2:09.7 for Bill Auberlen who is slower than we expected to see, for second in the Pro-Am class. A big opportunity for Wright Motorsports to score points with the trouble for Colin Braun and George Kurtz.
The Triarsi Competizione pit stop is under review maybe for a fuel top up which I don't think they were allowed to do. The final pit stop is actually under review. So we don't quite know. Five minutes to go. Winward and U.S. Racetronics were the class of the field but when Steven Agakhani had his troubles, Russell Ward and Philip Ellis knew they were in the clear. 2:07 flat for #33 on the most recent lap. In Free Practice, tire deg was a major issue. But the Pirelli tires are now holding up. Pepper and Goikhberg have had a good race today after looking like they were off in the weeds early doors this weekend. Recall K-PAX ran from 30th up to the front at the 24 Hours of Spa, in the strongest, deepest GT3 race in the world, they did an amazing job.
Jan Heylen now closing on Bill Auberlen. Just a minute and a half now to go. These two are duking it out just as they have in the past. They also raced last year against each other in a GT4 championship sanctioned by a different series. Philip Ellis has managed the gap for his whole stint. No worries about weather. It has skirted the track here at Road America as Racer's Edge with Mario Farnbacher and Asthon Harrison, about to get the Pro-Am class win with some quality driving. We are going to see another race tomorrow, and then, two races at Sebring, and the finale, the Indianapolis 8 Hours with double points on offer.
Winward Racing are going to win here at Road America! Phil Ellis and Russell Ward take their first overall win at Road America in 2022!
Overall/Pro: #33 Ellis/Ward Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo
Pro-Am: #93 Harrison/Farnbacher Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
Am: #23 Triarsi/Scardina Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020
Crowdstrike Fastest Lap for Jordan Pepper at 2:05.837. Another race for GT World Challenge America at Road America tomorrow. Really looking forward to seeing what will happen on Sunday. So long for now, from America's National Park of Speed. Pirelli GT4 America race one, up next.
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