It is time now, for the big boys and the big toys to come out and play. It is time for the GT3 cars in full, to open the 2023 season here at Sonoma Raceway in the California wine country. A new season begins today at one of the top road courses in North America. Sonoma Raceway is the place. The atmosphere is electric. We are ready to roll. The work is getting underway preparing the cars for the starting grid. Seven manufacturers and two new cars in the form of the Ferrari 296 GT3 and the new 992 iteration of the venerable Porsche 911 GT3R. Before we get started, let's look at the Fanatec track preview and go for a ride around the circuit here at Sonoma Raceway. Our chauffeur will be Stevan McAleer, driving the #28 RennSport 1 - CBW Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Across the start finish line, turn into turn one up the hill, flat out, fifth gear. Break for turns one and two with a little understeer to overcome in the center of the corner. Use the traction control to help you, get back to power, shift to third gear. There's compression through this next corner, make sure the front end of the car does not wash out through here. Hard braking again, get into the traction control. Lots of blind corners and blind brows around the track here at Sonoma Raceway. Up over the blind crest for the Carousel. Keep your momentum up and get back to power once you've made it through this long, winding, downhill corner.
Up to fifth gear again, aiming for turn seven. The braking zone is bumpy and so that drivers will have to use caution coming in here. Second gear corner. Don't cross over the white line on the apex. Back to power and go full speed ahead through the esses. Dab the brakes, but the aerodynamics on these GT3 cars are so good that you can take this section of the course flat out. Hard braking at the 2 and 1/4 sign marker, downshifting to first gear, using all the road and over the curbs. Back on the power again, easy right, and then, head up to the final corner on the course.
Step on the brakes and downshift into second gear and then into first. Be patient through this last turn. Don't overcook this one. Back to power and punch it down the straightaway again. So, there is your lap around Sonoma Raceway. Now is the time, and we are ready to go racing. 12 corners, 2.5 miles long, and 160 feet of elevation change. So many unknowns with the beginning of a new season. We have 18 cars entered this weekend with seven manufacturers represented. Five Pro category cars are in the field including Racer's Edge Motorsports and Acura stepping up to the Pro class.
The Ferrari 296 GT3 is making it's global debut in SRO GT3 racing and one of the cars to watch for will be the #34 entry driven by Manny Franco and Alessandro Balzan who debuted impressively at Sebring International Raceway last fall. They will be driving car #21 for Conquest Racing. They will be the main challenger to the 2022 champions in the Pro-Am division, the #93 Racer's Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GTE Evo22 in the hands of Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher. Meanwhile, we also have a dozen cars ready to race in the Pro-Am GT3 division.
These are all GT3 cars with the differences being in the driver lineups. Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen are back for Wright Motorsports aboard the #45 Porsche 911 GT3R and they too have one of the new generation 992 Porsche 911 GT3R's to drive. Wright Motorsports have a two car team this year. The sister car is a generation 2 991 model 911 GT3R that will be driven by former Pirelli GT4 America stalwarts Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer, jumping up to the big game in GT3 for the 2023 season. The third big name contender in the Pro-Am class is the venerable #04 Crowdstrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo to be driven again by George Kurtz and Colin Braun.
These two have raced together for many years. We have a great field pit side and ready to go. We are joined again by Ryan Myrehn, Calvin Fish, and Amanda Busick. Coming into a new season there are tons of unknowns. New cars and driver lineups. If you saw the video of qualifying from earlier this morning, you saw it was an abbreviated session. Eric Filgueiras was at the top of the shop and kept it. No one else could touch him. The Filgueiras/McAleer duo are used to winning races. These two blokes won a bucket load of races in GT4 in 2022. But, this is a different level and a whole new ballgame when it comes to racing with the big dogs in GT3.
Finding success at Sonoma means finding speed, and execution during the race. Our drivers we have seen on the front row, we know they have the speed;. But they will have to perform during the hour and a half of racing that we have coming up in mere minutes. At the 40 minute point in the motor race, that is when the pit stop window opens and you want to be able to execute. No jokers allowed this year and we'll get to that as the race goes on this afternoon as I am getting a wee bit ahead of myself. The amateur drivers are starting the cars and they will have a chance, but you want to play the strategy by maximizing the allotted drive time for the Pro driver on your team.
That is how these events work. These are sprints, not endurance events like we will see in a short time when the GT World Challenge SRO season in Europe starts in a handful of weeks. This is a tricky track and low grip. Tire management of those Pirelli P Zero tires is going to be big and this motor race will be fun to watch! I can't wait! I must say, the most exciting car we have on this whole grid has to be the new Ferrari 296 GT3. After so many years and several iterations of the venerable 488 GT3, Ferrari have decided to launch a brand new platform for their GT3 race car and fine looking motorcar it is, too.
This car has a brand new motor. The 3.9 liter turbo V8 has been replaced by a new 3 liter turbo V6 engine. A number of the cars we are seeing in GT3 racing now have V6 power or flat six power in the case of the Porsche's and of course, we have V8 power with the Mercedes and the Aston Martin and we have V10 power in the lone Audi R8 in the field. No Lamborghini's this year as the K-PAX Racing Team who are based right here at Sonoma Raceway and dominated the board all of last year, have moved on to the European series that we talked about a short time ago that we will be following here again, starting in just a few short weeks.
We saw a driver's eye view with Stevan McAleer of the course here at Sonoma Raceway but as we look again at the map, we have at least two sectors around this two and a half mile, 12 turn road course with tons of elevation change. The lap record still stands at a 1:37.208 set by the European bound K-PAX Racing team with their Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the hands of the rapid Italian Andrea Caldarelli, last year. Nearly 15 stories of elevation change between turn three and turn ten. Look for a straightaway on the track map. Have you found it yet? Keep looking. Diligence, diligence. Ha! I have fooled you, mate. There is only a single straightaway on this course.
There is no place to rest. You are on full attack mode around this circuit at Sonoma for the entire race. It is time for the command to go racing. Driver's start your engines! The cars roll off behind the safety car for the first of two formation laps. A great mix of GT3 cars. Mercedes Benz undoubtedly the best represented marque and two Porsche 911's on the front row. However, they are two different variations, two different flavors of the same car. You have the brand new 992 generation going head to head with the 991 Generation 2 911 GT3R from a few years past.
Eric Filgueiras has the new platform and Adam Adelson has the 991 model. Both are extremely quick. They are your Rowe Motor Oil polesitters. A new oil and lubricants supplier for the championship for this year. Safety car lights off. We are getting ready to go racing. The excitement and anticipation is high. Two drivers at the front have the credentials to lead the race but will be the ones under a microscope. Racer's Edge team boss John Mirachi says they have a fast race car at Acura. They are the 2022 Pro-Am class champions. The field of 18 are ready to go. The safety car is in the pit lane and now, they come around the final turn.
The field is formed up, accelerating, and we are ready. Green flag! We're off! Good start from Eric Filgueiras. Adam Adelson in the second spot, with no grip on the outside. Chandler Hull in the #94 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT3 is glued right to the back of that Porsche and has no chance of making a ove up the hill for the first time. George Kurtz is now fourth. Adelson and Kurtz I believe are just a handful of the drivers in this field who had the benefit of racing GT3 cars in the GT America event you have read about on the blog that took place earlier today. Seth Lucas makes a bold move to the inside aboard the #53 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R he shares with Trenton Estep.
Trouble early doors for Scott Smithson aboard the #08 DXDT Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. He is off in the fuzz on the uphill section. The fuzz being the grass which is wet. There's been a boatload of rain in the Sonoma, California, area in recent weeks. Some cars that have gone off the road have been stuck. Fulgueirras leads the motor race. A bold move, look, by Charlie Luck who dives inside Samantha Tan and Jeff Burton at the wheel of the #91 Mercedes AMG GT3 goes with him. Burton and co-driver Corey Lewis have changed over to the Mercedes from the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and are now racing with the DXDT Racing Team.
Samantha Tan, look, forced three wide, and drops a couple more places. So she is not having the race she is looking for early doors before handing over to co-driver John Edwards later on. John Edwards is on pole for race two here at Sonoma, tomorrow. A fairly clean opening lap save for Scott Smithson running off the road and the tires are going to be in their pressure and temperature sweet spot right about now. Eric Filgueiras leads his first race in a GT3 car! Brilliant performance by him right now as we see the scrap for second between Adam Adelson in the Porsche and Chandler Hull in the BMW. Adelson, again, off in the fuzz somewhere, and as he runs wide, Hull says, "thanks very much, mate" and steals a spot.
Chandler Hull is now a Pro rated driver after competing as a Pro-Am driver in SRO the last few years. He has focused on fitness over the offseason and is right on the money. Your fitness regimen is very important in these races. George Kurtz in the Mercedes is now monstering Adam Adelson for second after Hull's shemozzle that we just saw. The top three Pro-Am level cars are together with the Pro cars still leading. Adelson, Kurtz, Sofronas glued together in a train. Now, again, these are all GT3 cars, but as we talk so often about in sports car racing, the driver levels are different based on experience and based on where the FIA, the French motorsports world governing body, classifies you as a driver on their precious metals rating system.
Bronze and Silver are more amateur drivers while Gold and Platinum are professional level drivers and this applies across the board in all kinds of racing but is most prevalent in the sports car ranks. James Sofronas is now right up behind George Kurtz. That is a 5.2 liter V10 powered car, the Audi. Sofronas sharing the sole Audi R8 in this motor race with Tom Dyer, the #14 Pro-Am entry for GMG Racing. Kurtz continues chasing Adelson. Sofronas made his debut with that Evo Audi on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in GT America competition.
This is a really cool battle to watch in Pro-Am between three German manufacturers. Porsche vs. Mercedes vs. Audi. George Kurtz's Mercedes is handling well. Oh no! Jeff Burton off the road and in the barriers earlier in this race! So, DXDT's race has gone pear shaped not once, but twice already! Dear me! Burton spun going up the hill and gave that tire barrier a big clonk. The car is still stationary and we may need a snatch vehicle to bring it to safety and hence also to neutralize the race behind the safety car. The stewards are going to have to communicate with the team and ask if the car is mobile under it's own steam.
Oh criminy! Here's a penalty for you. Race Control to all teams. Car #14 drive through penalty, tires not properly mounted at the scheduled time. That is James Sofronas. In the buildup to the race, you must have the tires out of the tire blankets and bolted onto the car, five minutes before the command is given to start engines. Three minutes before the command, the car must be down off the air jacks and on the track surface ready to race, and clearly the GMG Racing team ran afoul of those rules. That is surprising because GMG Racing are a highly experienced team. The safety crews are currently rescuing Jeff Burton from the mud. He has gone a lap down to the field.
Eric Filgueiras is two footing it trying to keep the temperature in the wheels. That constant revving of the motor you hear on the onboard camera, that is the driver tapping the accelerator and braking hard at the same time to maintain tire temperature and generate heat into the brakes and into the suspension system. You will hear the engine revving and the brakes squeaking at the same time. Then the drivers will weave around to clean the pickup, the clag, off the tires. Eric Filgueiras has done extremely well thus far and Stevan McAleer says everything is going well. The RS1 team are doing what they can to control the race in the opening stanza.
Filgueiras studies data and video, maybe even too much. Everything seems to go well and the team wants the race to continue under green. The field is so close together. Manage expectations. McAleer and company are here to win this race and not to finish down the order. Any series McAleer raced in he was running at the top of the shop. We saw him here in Pirelli GT4 America in SRO. We saw him in the top tiers of IMSA competition. He did a bunch of racing in 2022. Most of McAleer's GT3 experience is in a Mercedes rather than a Porsche but he can clearly drive both. He was just a smidgeon off the top rows but qualified 12th for race two tomorrow. This is the mud we are seeing on the screen and the track workers are out there shoveling it away.
Rain may be good for the garden, but trust me, here on the race track, gardening is the least of things we have on our minds. Yet, the track crew has to shovel this mud off the racing surface. These GT3 cars do not make very good off road vehicles. Jeff Burton has rejoined the race. He is two laps down and has damage on the back to the rear diffuser under the car. You'd think Jeff Burton would want to get laps. You have to run 50% of the laps of your class leader to be classified. This will be a test session today for race two tomorrow. Samantha Tan knows she wants to move up and get into the fight.
Perhaps she was in a discretion is the better part of valor situation, or maybe the handling on the BMW M4 GT3 is just not there yet. Maybe she got left out in the shade in the opening stanza of the motor race. There's plenty of time. Stay clean and keep going. Poor old Jeff Burton has made it to the pit lane but that Mercedes has been an unintended off road vehicle and is caked in mud. It isn't a Unimog. It is a GT3 race car that was the world's fastest bulldozer for a wee while. Who says it doesn't rain in California? Well, it does and certainly it has been here at Sonoma Raceway. Teams were here last Wednesday to do testing runs and the rain was so bad that it was a washout.
You are stuck in the garage all day running strategy or playing gin rummy waiting for what on earth Mother Nature decides to do. Eric Filgueiras is still learning this Porsche 911 GT3R and of course he put it on pole. The teams and drivers who were here last year have a hypothetical edge. But let me tell you, that edge is hypothetical and it all rinses out in the wash as the weekend goes forward. Expect change in racing. It is not often that it stays constant. We are ready to go back to green flag racing so we can talk about the motor race itself and not my incessant yapping. OK. Time to go back to green! Let's go!
Filgueiras steps on it and Chandler Hull is right on his six. Adam Adelson is struggling for grip just a bit. For Chandler Hull, he has raced and won in the Asian Le Mans Series and won at both Daytona at the Rolex 24 and the 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway. Now, I am not going to tell you how the Asian Le Mans Series came out. For that you will have to wait until next week as I hope to bring you all the coverage of the races that took place in that championship. It is coming soon and you will not want to miss it. With that preview out of the way, we can return you back to your regularly scheduled programming right here on The Sarcasm Channel.
In the meantime, look, James Sofronas applying the blowtorch to George Kurtz, and we have a spin for Charlie Luck in the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche! Yikes! That is coming out of The Carousel and it looks as if he spun all by his lonesome and did not hit anything. Not sure what caused that. Maybe he dropped a wheel. I was right. He just lost it, spinning out on cold tires. Luck is languishing in 17th place as James Sofronas is serving his drive through penalty. We are also seeing a battle between a couple new drivers in SRO GT World Challenge America with Seth Lucas in the #53 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R (a 992 model) up against Will Hardeman in the #19 Mercedes-AMG Austin with Esses Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo.
Hardeman is sharing that car with British driver Adam Carroll who we have seen race in the SRO GT World Challenge Europe championship before. I think Seth lUcas has made a pass and in Pro-Am it is Adelson and Kurtz followed by Manny Franco and Will Hardeman. Ashton Harrison is beginning to push and has picked up six spots, up to eighth after starting 14th on the grid. She is fifth in the Pro class and will hand over to co-driver Mario Farnbacher later in the race. Harrison very much the meat in a Porsche sandwich between Seth Lucas in the MDK car and Pedro Torres, the Swiss driver, at the wheel of the #16 car, the ACI Motorsports Porsche.
Some damage or the graphic wrap coming loose off the front of the Acura on the right front corner. Sonoma Raceway is not a top speed track necessarily. Handling and grip are what you need. Adam Carroll I believe is an Irishman. Hardemann and Carroll had never met. It is like "hello, I am your teammate for this year. Let me buy you a coffee and we can discuss strategy for the season." Esses Racing has four races planned this year and could be a two car team by next year. Manny Franco is really beginning to impress. He has a Ferrari Challenge background and had raced a GT4 car before but stepped into the GT3 ranks late last year and has taken to it like a duck to water.
Manny Franco did only a year of Ferrari Challenge and then stepped into the Ferrari 488 GT3 last year and put the car on the front row at Sebring International Raceway. He did not compete in the Indianapolis 8 Hours enduro last fall and instead watched the team race trying to decide which driver of the three they hired for the 8 Hours, he wanted to team up with for this year. Well, he liked what Alessandro Balzan had to offer and now, they are indeed teammates for the 2023 campaign. Franco and Balzan do not have a lot of seat time in the new Ferrari 296 and are definitely in a learning curve. They are third in the Pro class and fifth in the overall as we speak.
No change at the top of the shop. Filgueiras leads Hull and are glued together. The Pro-Am battle continues hot and heavy between Adam Adelson and George Kurtz. Kurtz is looking solid early doors and very consistent. He also raced in the GT America event we talked about earlier. George Kurtz did some laps in a Formula 1 car for Mercedes last year, and did driving on the simulator and had World Champion Lewis Hamilton coach him. He ran 30-40 laps in the Formula 1 car. Will Hardeman is running very well and is someone who co-driver Adam Carroll has been singing the praises of. Seth Lucas, too, he has come on like gangbusters.
He won in class at the Indianapolis 8 Hours last fall and ran very well in Pirelli GT4 America last year. Lucas also finished second in class in the Creventic 24 Hours of Dubai back in January. Lucas is only 17 years old after racing a Toyota Supra with Hattori Racing in GT4 in Pirelli GT4 America and GT America. Lucas is being harried by Ashton Harrison in the #93 Racer's Edge Motorsports Acura which is being assisted by a couple well known teams in Wayne Taylor Racing from the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in IMSA and from Andretti Autosport of IndyCar fame who have put their fingers in several racing pies over the years.
Harrison has gained six places in 22 minutes. Target acquired as she is chasing Seth Lucas. ACI Motorsports with Pedro Torres and Spencer Pumpelly, they are flying as well. They have acquired a couple of cars from the KCMG team who have raced Porsche's globally in the SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge of course. They have a British engineer who used to work for KCMG. Ashton Harrison has already run with Racer's Edge in the opening endurance events for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Spencer Pumpelly is very excited as the team at ACI Motorsports are drinking from a firehose but they really are coming to grips with the GT3 racing formula. Samantha Tan is chasing down Derek DeBoer. The Racer's Group ran a factory affiliated Aston Martin team in the past I believe in the IMSA series and now they are back with Aston Martin in SRO competition. This is the #007 (what else), Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 for Derek DeBoer sharing with experienced Aston Martin factory driver Ross Gunn from England. Derek DeBoer has mostly been running GT4. Ross Gunn is signed up for most of the races and for those that conflict with another championship he is running in, there will be another Aston Martin factory driver to partner Derek DeBoer.
However, we do not know who the other driver will be. It's like Racer X, the older brother of Speed Racer, Rex Racer. Derek DeBoer chasing Ziad Ghandor in the orange and gray #9 TR3 Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. It is odd that we see TR3 racing a Mercedes because we associate them with Italian supercars in the GT3 ranks here in SRO with Lamborghini and Ferrari. The Mercedes is a suitable car for Am drivers. Ghandor's co-driver is Daniel Morad from Canada. Morad absolutely drove the wheels off the winning car that won the Indianapolis 8 Hours last fall.
Derek DeBoer slides in turn one and now has to defend from the BMW! Samantha Tan at the wheel of it. Don't go off the road at turn two. That's an iffy corner, sometimes. Behind her, the lone Am class racer is Anthony Bartone, from the drag racing family. Anthony Bartone at the wheel of the #43 Bartone Bros. Racing with RealTime Mercedes AMG GT3, he is in a scrap with the similar car, the #08 DXDT Mercedes AMG GT3 in the hands of Scott Smithson. Smithson is pushing and now, Bartone is being stymied by Smithson and right behind these two chaps, Charlie Luck in the Porsche.
At the top of the shop, Eric Filgueiras is gapping the field. Chandler Hull was matching the pace but he has fallen behind by 2.6 seconds with just over an hour remaining. Eric Filgueiras has now found his feet in motor racing networking with his dad to get into racing ad has now come to the top level in GT3 with sponsorship from Community Beer Works. Maintain the lead, get a cushion, and I can go for it. Filgueiras will hand over to Stevan McAleer. Filgueiras says the operators manual is the biggest change swapping over from the Porsche Cayman GT4 to the Porsche 911 GT3R. Studying the operators manual to find out how to work this race car is the biggest deal.,
These GT3 cars are very sophisticated machines. Manny Franco still running third in Pro and fifth in the overall. There is an overall category in Europe, Asia, and Australia in SRO. The battle pack is becoming compressed as Samantha Tan is being harried by a number of drivers including Scott Smithson, Anthony Bartone, and Charlie Luck. One hour of racing still to go in this one. Ziad Ghandour too is also in the fight ahead of DeBoer, Tan, Smithson, Bartone, and Luck. One long conga line of GT3 cars.
Samantha Tan is now a BMW brand ambassador. They will be racing too in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup for Ferrari. That will be a totally different car. It will be interesting to see the Vincent Van Gogh starry night livery on a Ferrari instead of a BMW. Chandler Hull still running second. He has really stepped up the game with his fitness regimen and is partnered up with Bill Auberlen of coruse. Adam Adelson is third overall leading Pro-Am and George Kurtz is glued to Adelson. Colin Braun will take over the car soon. Kurtz and Braun will be competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans later this summer aboard an LMP2 car.
This is a team with continuity. They won races in 2022 but did not have the consistency they wanted. They have forged this alliance with Riley Motorsports though and that seems to really help. Second drviers getting suited and booted. Colin Braun has his Fermin Velez inspired helmet. We lost Fermin Velez several years ago. The Spaniard was great driver in sports cars and IndyCars alike and surely a wonderful human being. Rest In Peace, Fermin Velez. A true motor racing legend. Colin's father Jeff Braun worked with Fermin Velez on Andy Evans' Scandia Ferrari team in the IMSA championship in World Sports Cars.
Watch that curve down the hill through the esses. Manny Franco being harried by Seth Lucas in the Pro class for third in the category, fifth and sixth overall. Seth Lucas is finding his rhythm. We are five minutes or so away from the pit window opening which will last for ten minutes. Get the Am driver out and get the Pro in to maximize the drive time. Subtle changes in the rulebook. Under Full Course Yellow, you cannot pit. Another thing is there are no jokers this year. That rule about joker pit stops has been eliminated. Look at the rulebook and see what it allows you to do. The pro division requires a Silver or below graded driver has to run in the Pro class and the Silver drivers are starting the race. Again, that one second joker on the pit time has disappeared.
Be more circumspect and stay with the program. Three minutes from now the pit window shall open. The leader used to get first dibs on pitting. But that has also disappeared. The pit lane will be open for service for anybody. Scott Smithson has fallen down the order while Charlie Luck is beginning to move up after his spin. Luck sharing the car with Jan Heylen. This is his second year racing at the top level and a couple years ago he raced for Wright Motorsports in GT America and he and Heylen are now in the same team and they are father-in-law and son-in-law. Turn ten here at Sonoma is an amazing corner and so is turn one. It is challenging over the umps and as you are cresting the hill, the elevation change is amazing before you plunge down the other side.
Derek DeBoer has been a stalwart contender in GT4 and has gone all in to the GT3 car this year. Ross Gunn of course is the factory driver and they are working with Mike Johnson who has worked with Archangel Motorsports and with Magnus Racing. Pit window now open and our first taker is the MDK Motorsports Porsche. The dominos are indeed going to begin to fall. Pitting early is a good thing because of the higher tire degradation here at Sonoma Raceway. It is an 87 second minimum pit delt including service, driver change, tires, and fuel. Pit stops determine these races and how they work out.
Eric Filgueiras in the lane, along with Chandler Hull and everyone else in the top six. Ashton Harrison staying out an extra lap. Try a different strategy. Ross Gunn gets back on track and now Ashton Harrison is back on track. Driver change and service going on here for RS1. Eric Filgueiras hands off to Stevan McAleer with an 8.6 second lead and there was hang up with the rattle gun on the left front. Elliott Skeer now at the wheel of the second Wright Motorsports Porsche and Bill Auberlen has taken over from Chandler Hull at the wheel of the #94 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT3. Trenton Estep has also taken over the #53 MDK Motorsports Porsche. Racer's Edge are now indeed in the lane.
Harrison's pace was good on worn tires and she will hand off to Mario Farnbacher for the second half of the race. Elliott Skeer is in the #120 Porsche. We have had driver ID issues on timing and scoring. As mentioned, Mario Farnbacher now into the Acura. Elliott Skeer does get by Bill Auberlen. Skeer is finally in a GT3 car and he measures himself against some of the best GT3 drivers in the world with Colin Braun and Bill Auberlen. If there is overlap at pit out it will be a penalty from the stewards. Make a decision quickly and Auberlen I think has to give a spot back and does so. This goes back to how they are released from the lane. If there is overlap between the slow and fast lane, the car in the fast lane has the right of way.
Halfway home in race one. That alleviates any crackups in the lane. There's still life in the old girl with the 991 version of the 911. These GT3 cars are extremely fast. Auberlen chasing Skeer in Pro-Am with Stevan McAleer nine seconds to the good in the lead of the motor race. Be patient through The Carousel. Settle the car down and don't chase the throttle. Everyone has now pitted at this juncture. 17 of 18 cars still in the race. Jeff Burton retired after his accident. Stevan McAleer ahead of Elliott Skeer by eight seconds in the overall. Skeer leads Colin Braun with Bill Auberlen in the middle.
McAleer is looking after his tires to see if he has something left in the locker before we get finished here in race one. New names in the series this year and Elliott Skeer, he could surely have a shot at battling the veterans of GT3 racing and he is doing so, keeping Auberlen at bay and chasing down Stevan McAleer. Patrick Long was a mentor of Elliott Skeer and Skeer disappeared but has returned to a prevalent position in GT racing as we see Colin Braun uncork fasted lap of the motor race so far at 1:37.764.
Skeer and Adelson are pals and are agreeable about car setups and they are both science fiction fans. They are also mechanically minded. Colin Braun is really pushing matching Auberlen and Skeer. Trenton Estep too, came up the Porsche Pyramid. He too is running well and now we see Alessandro Balzan in the Ferrari running of course with Manny Franco. Some top drivers battling as Spencer Pumpelly is right on top of Alessandro Balzan presently. Balzan runs wide and slams the door in Pumpelly's face but you know Pumpelly is bullish on the prospects of ACI Motorsports for 2023. Guess who is lurking back there? It's that pesky German Acura pilot, Mario Farnbacher. He is reeling in both Balzan and Pumpelly hand over fist, look.
Pumpelly slices through The Carousel and blitzes Balzan into the turn! Pumpelly can brake super deep into the turn. We are early in the tire stint but the Porsche is bang on the money. Balzan is being harried by Farnbacher indeed. He takes a look but cannot quite get there. I think he is playing mind games with Balzan. He just forces his way through and poor old Balzan is in survival mode as Farnbacher twitches and almosts loses control of the car! Ashton Harrison looking on along with Honda HPD boss Lee Niffenegger. He is bullish on Mario Farnbacher for sure and has had a lot of stout co-drivers in endurance sports car racing through the years.
Mario Farnbacher's dad Horst, his uncle Herman, and his brother Dominik were all top flight racing drivers in their own right. Adam Adelson remains at the top of the shop in Pro-Am. Nothing has changed there. Excuse me. That is Elliott Skeer. Ugh. I had a wee brain fade there. In replay, Alessandro Balzan was passed by Spencer Pumpelly and then by Mario Farnbacher. I think the Ferrari 296 GT3 is struggling for grip. The SRO tech stewards adjusted the ride height on the car. Spencer Pumpelly has passed Trenton Estep for overall position in a battle between the two generations of the Porsche 911 GT3R, the new car vs. the old car.
But the old car is still relevant. You can teach an old dog new tricks. Meantime, Stevan McAleer and Eric Filgueiras continue to lead and Filgueiras had the cushion after his stint ended. Filgueiras says the team had a goal to gain clean air. Aero grip goes away if you follow another GT3 car. RS1 have jumped in at the deep end and are flying right now. They tested at Concours Club in Miami, Florida, before the start of the season. Community Beerworks owner Tom Kopchinski is a massive believer in Eric Filgueiras as a driver. Skeer and Auberlen are both catching McAleer but McAleer is giving it everything.
We resume the battle ebtween Trenton Estep and Mario Farnbacher. MDK is run by Mark Kvamme, a racer in his own right. They started in motocross but have expanded into sports car racing running Porsche Cup cars and other championships quite recently with a GT3 spec Porsche. They operate out of the former shop of Meyer Shank Racing in Columbus, Ohio, the IMSA team. Yikes! Mario Farnbacher sliding around, slithering through The Carousel. He is loaded up, and losing grip trying to chase the Porsche! That was close!
Meanwhile, the battle is also on between Ross Gunn and Jan Heylen. The professional drivers in this field is stacked with heavy hitters in global GT racing. Unbelievable to watch. I believe Heylen was scored ahead of Ross Gunn the previous time by. This is Ross Gunn's first race at Sonoma Raceway and he shall also concurrently race in British GT. He is one of the best drivers Aston Martin has to offer, the 2015 British GT GT4 champion teaming up with Jamie Chadwick, current Indy Next driver. He was sponsored by the Beechdean ice cream company. Ross Gunn used to race against some of the current Formula 1 drivers like George Russell, Lando Norris, and former F1 driver Alex Albon.
Jan Heylen reeling in Adam Carroll, for Esses Racing and this team has definitely been drinking from a firehose to learn. Carroll opens the door and then closes it in Heylen's face again, so Ross Gunn could see an opportunity. Don't get too feisty even though we are closing in on the finish of race one here. Esses Racing is a brand new team with team boss Dave O'Neil who engineered in A1 Grand Prix for Adam Carroll on Team Ireland in the old AI Grand Prix series. This team are running four races this year for the most part as Carroll wants to bring his family to the races to watch.
They will build up to full seasons in the near future. Carroll has the race craft to keep Jan Heylen at bay and for Heylen, Adam Carroll is a tough nut to crack. RS1 have dominated this motor race so far. The battles are hot and heavy indeed. This is fourth, fifth, and sixth in Pro-Am. Colin Braun is chasing down Bill Auberlen for third spot. Elliott Skeer continues to lead in the Pro-Am class. For Colin Braun he knows he needs to pass Bill Auberlen ASAP. He is really chasing down Adam Adelson. At 54 years old, Bill Auberlen stil has it, having run over 500 races with BMW. There was a time, a long time ago when Bill Auberlen raced other cars besides BMW's in the world of sports car racing.
Auberlen ran wide in turn 11 and that could open the door for Colin Braun. Risk and reward factors into this stuff. Auberlen is six and a half seconds down on Stevan McAleer. Just over 20 minutes of racing remaining before this races ends. McAleer needs pace. Everyone will be ganging up on the Scotsman soon. George Kurtz has shown to have a great drive here in race one at Sonoma. That is for dead sure. He is a class winner at the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa, last year in the Am class for SPS Automotive Performance. Auberlen is a very feisty driver and will truly go for it. He has a wealth of experience in prototypes and GT cars alike.
The lap times pretty even between the top four. Coling Braun tries it to the inside on Auberlen. It is a derag race. BMW straight six vs. Mercedes V8. Auberlen goes ahead of the Benz and Colin Braun is going to keep pushing like mad through the elevation changes in sector one here at Sonoma. 15 stories of elevation change from the highest to lowest point espcially through turn six, The Carousel. John Edwards is in pit lane, troubles for Samantha Tan Racing. John Edwards ran with Turner Motorsports at Indianapolis, in the Indianapolis 8 Hours last year. Edwards has run with BMW in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in the past. But there is a clash between the Nurburgring and the SRO GTWC America schedule in 2023 which precludes him from doing so this year.
SRO America will be racing at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on the same weekend as the Nurburgring 24 Hours which also means there is a clash in our coverage at the Nurburgring. But yours truly will straighten things out and try his best to bring you coverage of both events. This battle is going nowhere. All of the top four clocking similar lap times. We have seen timing and scoring errors so far. We have the names of some of the co-drivers on the pylon who have already completed their stints. The Pirelli tires seem to be giving up a bit and starting to squirm a bit. 1:41.3 for McAleer, personal best a 1:38.3 which means tire deg taking three seconds out of the lap time! Egad!
Bill Auberlen chasing Elliott Skeer and we have a savvy veteran vs. a rookie. Bucket loads of opposite lock for Colin Braun! Yikes! Ross Gunn pressing Adam Carroll and Bryan Sellers too, wants a bite of the cherry. Daniel Morad in the picture as well battling for fifth in the Pro-Am class. Morad sharing the #9 Mercedes with Ziad Ghandor. Morad only raced four events in a GT3 car. Morad filled in at Winward Racing when Lucas Auer was hurt before the Rolex 24 back in January. Morad was a successful open wheel driver in Canada. A bit of a wriggle for Trenton Estepp and now, Mario Farnbacher makes a move., Yikes! There was a width of a piece of paper between those two cars!
Skeer leading Auberlen and Braun. A young driver leading a couple of savvy veterans. There was a close shave there between Farnbacher and Estep. McAleer loses half a second at the top of the shop. Adelson is not in the same class of course. Excuse me. Skeer! He won't be able to put up a fight because he is in a different class. Colin Braun at the exit of the chicane, he makes the pass. This is not for class placing but it is for overall placing and Bill Auberlen got loose getting into the ABS and washing out wide. Braun is going to make hay while the sun shines with less than ten minutes on the board. Skeer can push and try to run away from Colin Braun.
Ross Gunn and Adam Carroll are really fighting fpr it and Daniel Morad too, is right on Gunn's six. Spencer Pumpelly also in a podium fight. What does he have left in the locker? Morad at 1:37 dead and Spencer Pumpelly is really turning it on as well. Pro vs. Pro-Am. Adam Carroll has made good his escape as Morad is all over Ross Gunn like a cheap suit. Pumpelly and Auberlen, they have raced against each other for a long time. Bring it home. Don't do anything silly. These are two of the more prolific sports car drivers of the past 20 years.
Morad to the inside of Gunn trying to pass. No dice. Treis the other side and makes it stick. Nope. Gunn does the crossover and can't quite get by. Five minutes left in race one of the weekend here at Sonoma. No K-PAX Racing in this championship in 2023 vying for honors in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup instead. New drivers and new teams popping up and veterans are back. No clue who is the best. Q1 really put the cat among the pigeons as well of course. Spencer Pumpelly dirt tracks it through the exit of The Carousel. Auberlen gets passed by Pumpelly. Don't fight it. Just gain the points.
Something may be amiss with Ross Gunn. I think the handling has faded and when the tires plummet performance wise, you are in a world of pain. Morad late move into the hairpin at turn 11. Good racing with a wee bit of argy bargy tossed in. TR3 vs. Esses Racing. Two drivers with open wheel roots who have found a home in GT racing indeed. This is the battle for fifth in Pro-Am. Adam Carroll is really putting it in and getting the best out of his race car. We should see the white flag this time by. RS1 are going to continue their success. Two laps to go. 2.2 seconds in the lead for McAleer over Skeer. RS1 with a debut lineup. Wright Motorsports with a debut lineup and one in Am for the Bartone brothers. We could have six fresh faces on the top steps of the podium when this race is done and dusted here this afternoon.
Braun closing on Elliott Skeer but he could run out of time. White flag. One lap to go. Keep digging. He will have to earn it. Another two and a half miles. Eric Filgueiras in GT3 for the first time and he could win. Elliott Skeer not blinking and keeping Colin Braun at bay. The gap is still 1.7 seconds. Through the esses for the final time. We have been clean and green save for one Full Course Yellow. This is it. Final lap. Final corner. RS1 in GT3 with the reigning GT4 champions. Filgueiras and McAleer win it. Skeer and Adelson win Pro-Am.
Am honors go to Bartone Brothers Racing and Mercedes with Anthony Bartone and Andy Pilgrim! Here are your winners.
Overall/Pro: #28 Filgueiras/McAleer Rennsport1-CBW Racing Porsche 911 GT3R (992)
Pro-Am: #120 Adelson/Skeer Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
Am: #43 Bartone/Pilgrim Bartone Brothers Racing with RealTime Mercedes-AMG GT3
Evo
Race one for GTWC America at Sonoma in the can. See you tomorrow for race two. Bye bye for now.
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