It is the penultimate round of SRO GT World Challenge America here at a legendary circuit, the great Sebring International Raceway nestled among the orange groves and Spanish moss of central Florida. Winward Racing and Mercedes are coming into the event with a hat trick of wins. 70 years of history make this place a fixture of the road racing scene in the United States, Alec Ulmann changing Hendricks Field, a B-17 bomber training base, into a raceway. We are ready for GTWC America. Here's a tour of the track with Ashton Harrison in the Racer's Edge Acura. Down the front straight, prepare for turn one, a super late braking zone and super fast corner. Eyes up. Punch the throttle into the bumps. Turn three, square the car up and set up for turn five. Slippery there. Through to turn seven. Prepare for battle into the hairpin. Big old braking zone.
Big power on the exit and watch for the sand. Turn ten, late braking, square the car up again. Flat out into turn 13 in a GT3 car. The bumps can really upset the car. Through Bishop Bend, flat out, late braking to turn 15, understeer to 16 to set up for the Ulmann straight, and nail Sunset Bend, turn 17. Late on the brakes, heavy, eyes up, watch the bumps. Back into the throttle and get back to the front straight. That's a lap of this legendary, wonderful track. Pro an Am titles done and dusted. The scrap will be in Pro-Am with Jan Heylen and Charlie Luck. It is a slender lead. They lead by two points over Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher where they swept class wins at Road America last time out.
Colin Braun and George Kurtz, four points down but they had a dreadful weekend at Road America. Kurtz dominated GT America that we saw the race for earlier and clinched the title. Colin Braun did not qualify well for race two tomorrow. But they can pick up places. Wright Motorsports will be on the Pro-Am pole. Ashton Harrison in third behind Kurtz and Heylen. Conquest Racing and Manny Franco are here as a new team, teaming with Alessandro Balzan. Franco got demoted to Bronze rating. Because of the derogation they were moved down. But the derogation is revoked and he is a Silver so he can race in the Pro division in GT3.
It will be hot and sticky today. Track and ambient temps will be a factor. K-PAX Racing on pole. But Michele Beretta and Andrea Caldarelli have been on the back foot. They had a horrid race at Road America in August. US Racetronics with Loris Spinelli and Steven Agakhani are not competing here at Sebring. Turner Motorsports will only run this race. Tomorrow, Michael Dinan cannot race as he has previous commitments. Robby Foley and Michael Dinan will only race today. Bimmerworld tested well but they are going to start caboose on the field due to trouble in qualifying, Bill Auberlen teaming up with Chandler Hull.
Dirk Mueller is running with the #63 DXDT Racing Mercedes. David Askew and Dirk Mueller and the team car with Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson. Jeff Burton and Corey Lewis changing to TR3 Racing with Lamborghini after starting with Zelus Racing. TR3 led by the Romanelli brothers. We also have the #34 Ferrari for Manny Franco and Alessandro Balzan, that is the #34 car for Conquest Racing.
Two teams absent today and tomorrow are the Mercedes teams from Winward Racing and US Racetronics. They are focusing on the finale, the Indianapolis 8 Hours next month. The heat will be a major factor for everyone. Stay cool. Prepare, hydrate, and eat well. It is cooler than yesterday, and it was horrid heat here yesterday on Friday. The track will feel very different in the race compared to the cool of the morning for qualifying. Thinner air means less downforce. Drivers will be worn out after this event. Watch Michael Dinan who will only race in this event. Andrea Caldarelli is now a prototype driver for Lamborghini when they go prototype racing in 2024.
Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull will be caboose on the grid for both races because of electronics issues in the BMW M4 GT3. Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper in the #43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 have struggled this weekend and this whole season. Ashton Harrison for Racer's Edge is eighth. Watch for the #13 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 of Justin Wetherill and Ryan Dalziel too. Wehterill is a great young driver and nothing phases him despite having trouble at Road America last time out. The cas are now on track, on the formation laps.
Chandler Hull, again, caboose on the grid. We do not see him at the back of the crocodile. Bimmerworld in trouble. Issues with cam timing and the engine has gone to reduced boost on the turbocharger. That is not good. Game over in race one for Bimmerworld? No. He is actually back on track behind Frank Gannett. Thank goodness. He is in this motor race indeed. Everything working fine on the Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT3 as we have an hour and a half of racing coming up. Chandler Hull has indeed caught up to the tail end of the field.
Safety car lights off. The field in Noah's Ark formation. Here they come. Michele Beretta and Mchael Dinan on the front row. Green flag from Tom Hansing! Away we go! A spin at the back for Erin Vogel and has crunched the wall and Chandler Hull is in that mess! Oh man! The fight is on for third as Manny Franco wants by Misha Goikhberg! Wow. Unreal. Frank Gannett takes a spot away from David Askew. Oh man! Everyone got stacked and Chandler Hull and Erin Vogel went for a move, and it didn't work. Crunch! He has to be absolutely gutted! They did not even make t to the start/finish line.
What a shame to see Bimmerworld out of this first race of the weekend. Game over for Hull and Auberlen. Man, oh man! Full Course Yellow. Safety car deployed. Michael Dinan had a great start challenging for the lead. This Full Course Yellow might just allow him to go for it. He was a great driver in Pirelli GT4 America as well. He will give it a go. Robby Foley has become an important part of Turner Motorsports in multiple championships and Michael Dinan has moved up through both GT4 and GT3 and is now one of the top drivers. Erin Vogel has brought the #43 RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 to the pit lane. At Bimmerworld it has to be even more frustrating.
Chandler Hull was absolutely raging on the radio with frustration, and for good reason. They had completed every lap of every race so far but not today. Bimmerworld and Turner Motorsports have been very close on pace in GT World Challenge America in 2022. The field continues to circulate behind the safety car. When it is green on the initial start you can pass. Chandler Hull jumped around Erin Vogel and she was trying to also pass David Askew. A huge lick on the left front of the #94 BMW M4 GT3. We are set to for a restart. Michele Beretta, Michael Dinan, Misha Goikhberg, Manny Franco, Scardina, the top five. Charlie Luck, Ashton Harrison, George Kurtz, the top three in Pro-Am, liner stern.
Green flag back out. It is a drag race to turn one as Ashton Harrison wants by Charlie Luck. Luck and Harrison banging wheels into Kristensen corner. Wow. Harrison fifth and now, George Kurtz is right on Charlie Luck's six. Manny Franco in his GT3 debut for Conquest Racing holding the fort in fourth place. He loves to race, having competed in Ferrari Challenge. Charlie Scardina right up behind Manny Franco. Beretta being monstered by Dinan through Sunset Bend, turn 17. Beretta ran five years ago in the 12 Hours of Sebring in IMSA.
Goikhberg steps out big style in turn one! Yikes! He is now third dropping behind both Beretta and Dinan. David Askew and Frank Gannett have both passed Justin Wetherill. Into turn ten, Cunningham Corner. Great flow and rhythm to these corners on the back part of the circuit before you hit the Ulmann straightaway and now, into turn 17, Sunset Bend, which has that name for a reason. There is a Sunset corner at Kyalami in South Africa but that is a totally different track and corner entirely. Charlie Scardina is beginning to push. 13 of the 15 cars still in the race. AF Corse and GMG have been in the Am class but the #23 Ferrari is the only Am class car this weekend for Charlie Scardina and co-driver/team owner Onofrio Triarsi.
15 minutes now on the board with Michele Beretta leading Michael Dinan by 6/10ths of a second. Michele Beretta setting fastest lap of the motor race thus far and he is half a second up on Michael Dinan while Misha Goikhberg is running in third place followed by Manny Franco. Scardina, Harrison, Luck, Kurtz, and Burton are in a Pro-Am hornet's nest. Franco will hand the #34 Ferrari to Alessandro Balzan for the second stint. Manny Franco has been racing a Ferrari 488 in Ferrari Challenge but that car is oh so different compared to a 488 GT3.
Misha Goikhberg has had a couple great co-drivers including Giacomo Altoe and after the regs change for driver lineups, he has been teamed up with South African Jordan Pepper. Manny Franco had an incident at VIR and in Sonoma, in the final U.S. Ferrari Challenge race, he won the race and was extremely happy. Franco continues monstering Goikhberg and he is a quick study indeed. Franco really pressing Misha Goikhberg. Tne American driver vs. the Canadian driver. Manny Franco is not sure of the rest of the year. The Conquest Racing team will be on the grid for the Indianapolis 8 Hours but we need to find out the driver lineup.
Franco has been suffering from physical ailments after his accident, but he could indeed be there. The GT3 cars are very aerodynamically dependent and that makes running in traffic a major deal. Frank Gannett wiggles a bit and Justin Wetherill has a bite of the cherry. He wants to get back into the groove here. He shrugged off the incident last time out at Road America. Wetherill is quicker than Gannett is, and we just don't know how he lost track position. Wetherill wants it through Cunningham Corner, but Gannett is not intimidated. This is his second year in GT3 having raced a Ford Mustang GT4 for a few years. Teammate Drew Staveley is also running well.
They tested with Canadian Aston Martin star Roman De Angelis. But they still cannot get the Aston Martin to run well enough without the ultimate lap time. Ashton Harrison leads Charlie Luck and George Kurtz in the Pro-Am class. Just over an hour to go in this event. Ashton Harrison looking to be the first female champion in SRO which has been around for 30 years. Charlie Luck is pushing Ashton Harrison into turn seven. That lunge costs Luck momentum and now George Kurtz is pressing hard. Acura, Porsche, Mercedes. Kurtz, biding his time, sussing it out.
Racer's Edge, Riley Motorsports, and Wright Motorsports, all three of these teams are at the top of their game. Mario Farnbacher outqualified both Jan Heylen and Colin Braun in qualifying this morning. 11 minutes away from the pit window opening for ten minutes. Execution will be critical. 80 seconds, the minimum pit stop delta. You have to be on pit lane within the ten-minute window. Kurtz is looming. 165 miles an hour under braking to Sunset Bend in a GT3 car. Racer's Edge, based here in Florida, has run in the 12 Hours of Sebring before. You never take Sunset Bend the same way twice during a race here at Sebring. Racer's Edge based here in Florida, they ran with Wayne Taylor Racing in the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Cool suits were installed in the car after the extreme heat at NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana earlier this spring. The cool suit adds more complexity. Oh dear! Charlie Luck spins right in front of George Kurtz! Yikes! Charlie will be ruing that one, hitting the curb and getting hooked in turn 14, 15 or something. Scott Smithson now is right on Luck's six. The pit window is coming very soon. This deep into the run, the Pirelli tires, in this heat, they are holding up as the fuel burns off. Michele Beretta leads Michael Dinan by eight seconds and Dinan has Misha Goikhberg on his gearbox and still in fourth it is Manny Franco in his first stint as a GT3 driver. That car will start from pole with Alessandro Balzan for race two tomorrow. Balzan is going take the car over on their pit stop in about five minutes.
Manny Franco is really performing as we also see Misha Goikhberg going for it to try and pass Michael Dinan. Beretta's lead has ballooned to nine seconds. In the past few weekends, they lost their pace from earlier in the year. That was really mysterious. It was impossible to drive that car quickly last time out at Road America. Goikhberg, a quick peddler in his own right and he is right on the tail of Michael Dinan. It will be two laps before the leaders pit. The leader does not have to have the first crack at it anymore. Pit window to open in two minutes. Dinan has second and Goikhberg wants it. Someone has gone off the road and I believe it was David Askew in the #63 Mercedes, plowing into the dust through Le Mans corner, turn 16.
Askew will hand that car shortly to Dirk Mueller. Jordan Pepper will take over the #3 Lamborghini from Misha Goikhberg on the pit stop as the pit window opens now. Beretta and K-PAX to the lane. He will turn over to Andrea Caldarelli. Dinan, Goikhberg, Franco, in the pit lane and Charlie Scardina in Am takes over the overall lead. Ferrari in P1, the erstwhile leader. Pit stop time, four Pirelli tires, VP Racing fuel, and the driver change. 80 seconds minimum delta from pit in to pit out with a one second joker in one of the two races at the team's discretion. Caldarelli is back out. Robby Foley takes over the #96 BMW and Alessandro Balzan now at the controls of the Ferrari. Dinan heads out and so does Goikhberg.
Pro-Am leaders' nose to tail. Mario Farnbacher vs. Colin Braun. Robby Foley into the race as well. Both top two Pro-Am teams at Racer's Edge and Riley Motorsports have already used their joker! Wow! They cannot do it tomorrow. Scardina in the lane handing the Ferrari over to his brother-in-law, Onofrio Triarsi. They were going for it. It is a 35 second pit lane delta. Braun has work to do to catch and pass Mario Farnbacher. Kurtz had a better handling car than Ashton Harrison did in the first stint. K-PAX Racing executing perfectly as Andrea Caldarelli is in the car en route to his second consecutive North American championship crown in SRO.
Caldarelli cannot clinch the title today but maybe shall do so tomorrow, so they have no pressure headed to the Indianapolis 8 Hours. Marco Mapelli will join the #1 with Beretta and Caldarelli, and Franck Perera should be the third driver in the #6 car with Goikhberg and Pepper. Oh boy! Pepper catches a bump and gets off in the dirt, saving it! That was a close one! A rodeo ride! Pepper was identified by Bentley and did well with them as a factory pilot. Then, when K-PAX changed brands to Lamborghini, they signed him as a team driver to make the switch to Lamborghini and that relationship has borne fruit indeed.
They did the same with Portuguese driver Alvaro Parente who was with McLaren. Pepper has repaid them hand over fist. You have continuity with a driver, to a team, instead of being a factory driver. Caldarelli and Beretta, the two Italian drivers at K-PAX though, are Lamborghini factory drivers. Overall top speeds, Michael Dinan is fastest at nearly 160 miles an hour, at 159.6 and his co-driver Robby Foley punched in the second fastest speed at 157.8. The rest of the top five are tied at 157.2 miles an hour and those are Justin Wetherill in the Ferrari, Frank Gannett in the Aston Martin, and Ashton Harrison in the Acura NSX GT3.
This is according to Race Vision powered by AWS. We'll see how the fuel burnoff goes. Four brands close together in the top five. No one is ever totally happy with Balance of Performance as we look at Alessandro Balzan in the #34 Ferrari for Conquest Racing. Tire degradation is something to look out for as I think the pit window will close soon. Foley and Pepper have some breathing space over Balzan. The Pro drivers in these cars are cutting personal best laps. Last time by, nine of 13 cars cut their personal best lap as we see Mario Farnbacher being held up by the Am class leading Triarsi Competizione Ferrari, of Onofrio Triarsi.
Colin Braun smells blood in the water. He is coming, fast. Farnbacher too, is being balked by Triarsi. No one else to race in Am with the #23 team and so they don't want to interfere with the championship or the lead battle, but it is hard not to get in the way. Triarsi goes into no man's land and had to give it up. Colin Braun makes the pass as Farnbacher has lost oodles of time and is trying to gain it back, going deep into the hairpin. A lot of the drivers run depper into the corner through turn seven. Colin Braun is right on Farnbacher's decklid.
Well, that is actually the bonnet for the Acura. Acura leads Mercedes with 38 minutes left in race one at Sebring. Andrea Caldarelli at the front with 12 and a half seconds in hand over Robby Foley working his 24th lap. Foley is half a second ahead of Pepper and Alessandro Balzan is closing up and within two seconds of the second place scrap. Pepper wants to pass on the inside. That hairpin at turn seven is a great passing zone but it is tight in apex and exit, and is bumpy. Watch for those bumps so you don't hit the ABS too quickly.
36 minutes left on the board. Pepper wants to be in this fight. He started as co-driver with Andrea Caldarelli at Sonoma Raceway, but the team split them up later in the season and he goes right on the ragged edge and into the dust on the Ulmann straightaway! Pepper is doing all he can. He knows Caldarelli is going to take the title. Meanwhile, in Pro-Am, Mario Farnbacher has some daylight between himself and Colin Braun, but Braun is closing and fast. Give Onofrio Triarsi credit as he too is right on the pace with the Pro-Am cars. Triarsi, we shall see where they will be come 2023 and what ranking they will have. Farnbacher and Braun are fifth and sixth overall, first and second in Pro-Am.
They are right on the ragged edge. Ashton Harrison is in her first full season in a GT3 car but she tested a bunch last year. She and Mario Farnbacher can challenge for a championship. Manny Franco, making his debut in GT3, he says he couldn't have done better and is extremely happy, exhausted, and blown away. The massage he will have today is well earned, and he is digging this GT3 racing. He stepped out of the car of course after an accident. He ran GT4 earlier in the year but now he is stepping it up. We have also seen him in a Ferrari Challenge car running for team boss Eric Bachelart.
After qualifying they were going to be in Pro-Am but now they are in Pro and they would have had a win in the locker if they'd kept that class place with the organizers at the SRO. Foley is really doing what he needs to do in order to defend from Jordan Pepper who is squeezing the gap. Andrea Caldarelli though is out for a Saturday drive as he leads Robby Foley now to the tune of 14 seconds. Just a shade over half an hour to go. So, we're coming to the 2/3rds mark of the race. K-PAX Racing and car #1 have dominated to this point and Jordan Pepper is closing in on Foley while Alessandro Balzan is closing in on Pepper, too.
Balzan is a former 12 Hours of Sebring class winner and Robby Foley has been here more recently. Balzan is a three-time GT3 champion in North America and scored the debut win for the 488. Christina Nielsen will partner with Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher at Racer's Edge in the Indianapolis 8 Hours. Through Big Bend, Pepper is nipping at the heels of the BMW but the M4 GT3 has gobs of speed. It is hard to miss that bright, lime green Lamborghini. 29 minutes left as the tussle for second place is still intense. Foley and Pepper half a second apart. Both of these chaps are turning it on. Alessandro Balzan is moving in. He has his target sighted.
Pepper must do the same with Foley. He has to acquire that target and absolutely nail it or he will lose a podium on this Saturday afternoon and you know that is not what he wants. Balzan, the Italian, is coming in a hurry as the Lamborghini hugs the inside of Sunset Bend with bumps all over. You just can't avoid those bumps even if you want to. Caldarelli has set fastest lap of the motor race and did so earlier at 2:00.479. I think that time is under the previous record around Sebring for a GT3 car held by Patrick Long and of course there are a couple of championships that come to Sebring and run GT3 machinery.
Foley is playing defense and cannot fully (Foley) focus on lap times. Foley focused? Pun totally intended. Hardy har har. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. With that, Pepper, will be very, uh, hot. Wait. Say what? 26 minutes on the clock. Strike while the iron is hot. Pepper just has to go for it as Balzan is right in his mirrors. Pepper was hopping over the bumps. Balzan is reeling in the South African. This duel has not let up either between Mario Farnbacher and Colin Braun. Charlie Luck spun and Jan Heylen cannot make a meaningful dent in this scrap. Farnbacher could very well be vulnerable. The Crowdstrike Mercedes I think will have a bit more left in the locker.
Heylen must work his way past Onofrio Triarsi in the Ferrari for Triarsi Competizione. The manufacturers are different but all the machinery is built to the GT3 specification and that is what makes the competition so tough. All these motorcars are so equally matched no matter their engine layout and overall design. If Colin Braun gets around Farnbacher, the championship will tighten up going into tomorrow's second race of the weekend. No one has been able to seize control of Pro-Am and run with it. This might be a championship decider here at Sebring and we'll have to see how Indianapolis shakes out when that race comes.
Mario Farnbacher has been pushing and Ashton Harrison too, she was under duress after passing Charlie Luck. Balzan has fallen back a wee bit. We are nearing the final 20 minutes here at Sebring on Saturday as Caldarelli leads by 17 seconds while Foley and Pepper have their elbows out scrapping for second spot. Jordan Pepper, through Kristensen corner, he is closing up on Robby Foley. He is in the slipstream through turn six, flat out. No way to make a lunge in the hairpin at turn seven. The Lamborghini is more effective with cornering than the BMW is.
Will he need a surprise? Straight line speed edge goes to the BMW. It was not long ago Foley was learning from Bill Auberlen but then he began coaching Michael Dinan in GT4 and they have moved up to GT3. Foley has stepped up to the plate and gone head to head with his sensei and been able to best Bill Auberlen on a few occasions. Pepper is close and he is going to try a late move into the hairpin and Foley slams the door in Pepper's face! Pepper is as close as he's been yet. Wow. This space is getting hot. Pepper has made his presence known indeed.
Don't just obliterate your rival. That would be a boneheaded move. The BMW M4 GT3 has to be driven on a more classic racing line where, if we were in racing school and I were teaching you how to find the preferred line around the course, the line is drawn on a piece of paper and you would follow it when driving on the circuit. Well, the BMW is running that classic line. Pepper, by contrast, he has the ability to bob, dart, and be more cut and thrust with the approach, on entry and exit of each of the corners. That Lamborghini is definitely more of a point and shoot kind of race car.
Our leader, Andrea Caldarelli is 20 seconds up the road. Since Beretta and Caldarelli have been a duo, this has been a dominant performance after not winning four events earlier in the season. Caldarelli comntinues to push and the Pirelli tires have pace too. This is remarkable to watch. Will Turner had a birthday here yesterday. Engineer Jay O'Connell looking on. 15 minutes to go. Foley has to defend the line on Pepper. Foley guards the line and Pepper wants it. You know he is pushing hard. Where else can Jordan Pepper strike? He has to do it on his own without traffic.
Foley is keeping the momentum. Foley is flowing speed through the corners. Unless he makes a mistake, and he has not done so yet. Ryan Dalziel in the pit lane, the #13 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari that is supposed to be outside the front row for tomorrow's race. Disappointing and strange but keep an eye on the Ferrari for tomorrow. Jan Heylen continuing to recover after Charlie Luck's spin. Jan Heylen has fastest trap speed through turn one at 109.9, almost 110 miles an hour and is followed by Corey Lewis in the Lamborghini at 106.8, Onofrio Triarsi's Ferrari at 105.6 miles an hour, Caldarelli at 105 even and Jordan Pepper at 104.3 miles an hour.
Jan Heylen third in Pro-Am and seventh in the overall. Alessandro Balzan has caught both Foley and Pepper. This is for overall position and in the Pro division. Pepper has to watch and think about where Balzan is going through the rearview camera. The Lamborghini can cut corners more effectively than the BMW. ABS kicking in through the hairpin. Foley, Balzan, and Pepper are running remarkably identical lap times. Lamborghini, BMW, Lamborghini, Ferrari, as Caldarelli now has 20 seconds in hand in the race lead with about ten minutes before this race concludes.
Pepper to the inside of Foley coming back to the hairpin. BimmerWorld who had the incident at the start, they tested here at Sebring befre this race. Jan Heylen is catching Mario Farnbacher and Colin Braun hand over fist. These position switches will turn the championship on it's head with one race to go here at Sebring tomorrow and then the Indianapolis 8 Hours. Balzan cannot get closer to Foley and Pepper which makes me wonder if he is getting the aero wash off the Lamborghini. He reels in the Lambo and then stalls out and cannot get any closer.
The learning curve is there trying to get the setup in hot conditions. Eric Bachelart and Conquest have a great engineering staff. They have done so well since turning up here at Sebring. The box score will not tell the decisive story of this team as we get closer to the end. What do they have in the locker for tomorrow? Farnbacher and the Acura is twitchier and keeping the lead in Pro-Am as Heylen eats 4/10ths out of the margin to Braun. Jordan Pepper deep on the brakes in the hairpin and Robby Foley stays in front.
It is hard to be mistake free under pressure and Robby Foley has been able to do that. Foley has won boatloads of races in many divisions. He is still graded as a Silver driver and could be bumped up to Gold. Pepper creates a shortcut but is that track limits? Is it a save? We should have two laps to go including this one. So we may see the white flag next time by. Can Caldarelli be told to manipulate his pace so Jordan Pepper has a sniff? Balzan could move in for it. Stewards, track limits warning to Pepper. Don't do that again. Race Director Brian Till will be pressing hard on this stuff. White flag.
White flag. Robby Foley vs. Jordan Pepper. Balzan down a tad. It is time to go full send. Believe me. This is the money lap. Balzan in the Conquest Ferrari has a head of steam! He is going to try passing Pepper! Balzan in the gray Ferrari vs. Pepper in the green Lambo. This is going to be madness! Balzan on debut with this team at Conquest. Pepper slams the door in Balzan's face. Robby Foley has to be cackling like a madman inside his helmet as he has oodles of space. Pepper playing defense. Balzan has saved his stuff.
It is time to pull the pin. Pull the trigger. It's the shootout at the OK corral right now. BMW vs. Lamborghini vs. Ferrari. All evenly matched, and that is what is so fabulous about this GT3 platform. Andrea Caldarelli and Michele Beretta are back in business. K-PAX wins race one at Sebring amid the orange groves of central Florida! The clock right at zero when Caldarelli crosses the start/finish line. Now, the Pro-Am scrap is not finished yet. We still have another story to tell. Farnbacher vs. Braun vs. Heylen. Heylen has a look. No dice. Farnbacher escapes. Foley fends off Pepper. Balzan fourth. Heylen can't make it and Farnbacher gets the space. They win on home soil in Florida.
Second place in Pro-Am to Colin Braun and George Kurtz for Crowdstrike with Riley Motorsports and the Mercedes. Third place to Wright Motorsports and Porsche with Jan Heylen and Charlie Luck.
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 Triarsi/Scardina Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020
Scardina and Triarsi uncontested in Am, finish tenth in the overall. K-PAX snuck it in right under the gun, 15 thousandths of a second shy of a full 90-minute motor race. Would Jordan Pepper have wanted another lap? Maybe it was best case scenario for him to finish in third spot and he could not have caught Foley and would have lost a place to Balzan. Four wins on the year and a hat trick for Racer's Edge Motorsports. They will lead by eight points over Wright Motorsports and nine points over Crowdstrike with Riley Motorsports with another race here tomorrow.
The top three in points finish 1-2-3 here on Saturday at Sebring. We will see you tomorrow for race two. Pirelli GT4 America race one is coming up next and so, stay tuned for that one. One hour of motor racing left to come from Sebring on Saturday. As for GT3, we will see you tomorrow for more racing action and another intense hour and a half of competition. It'll be fun. Bye bye for now, from the orange groves of central Florida.
No comments:
Post a Comment