The rolling hills, and green pastures of the Sonoma valley in Sonoma, California, for the second time in two days of this weekend of racing, welcome SRO GT World Challenge America as the GT3 cars are ready to race once again, at the legendary Sonoma Raceway which has been in existence since 1968. The racing can be described as unpredictable. Can Rennsport1 and the duo of Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer do the double? Look for Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer as well, aboard the second Wright Motorsports Porsche. We will see four of the seven brands in the top five qualifying positions. We are set for the command to fire the engines. Let's do this. It is very breezy in Sonoma today and these GT3 cars are affected by that. Very mild weather conditions for today's race.
Fast cars from yesterday are deep in the field today for race two. The Pirelli P Zero tires are fresh out of the tire ovens and we are ready for race two of the weekend. It is cold and blustery on this Sunday afternoon. The drivers are on their formation laps as we get ready to go racing. The #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 is set to start on pole today with John Edwards and Samantha Tan and they are bullish about their chances today. Colin Braun and George Kurtz in the #04 CrowdStrike Racing with Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo, they will be ones to watch, too. Colin Braun and John Edwards are actually pals. Both of them reside in the motorsports hub of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Both their wives are expecting, amazingly. BMW and Mercedes on the front row. Next on the grid is the #9 TR3 Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. Daniel Morad, the rapid Canadian starts that car. He was the breakout star from the Indianapolis 8 Hours last fall who went on to win that event. He was also a sub at the 24 Hours of Daytona too of course and he flew during race one yesterday as well. TR3 making the move to Mercedes AMG after racing Ferrari's and Lamborghini's in the past. Fourth place starter Elliott Skeer is going to be a man to watch who is just now getting into racing in GT3. He came on the scene a decade ago, disappeared, and came back.
We are one lap away from the green flag for race two for Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS. SRO America President Greg Gill is here and the first World Challenge race was held here at Sonoma 30+ years ago. The rules are intact and the grids are growing. The championship is totally wide open with no K-PAX Racing in the field this year. Remember, they are racing their Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe in 2023. Their season will be getting underway soon. By rule, the Pro drivers start the second race of the weekend.
Then the Am drivers get in for the second half of the event. Three classes, the bulk of them in Pro-Am. All cars are GT3 along with Pro and Am level drivers. Ready to turn them loose for the second time this weekend. John Edwards leads the field. Green flag! Go! Edwards leads Braun and here comes Daniel Morad as Mario Farnbacher and Spencer Pumpelly are going for it and Jan Heylen is pressing early doors. Someone has spun off the road cresting the hil.. Most of the top ten is in order and everyone goes single file. Stevan McAleer, yesterday's winner has work to do.
Tom Dyer driving the #14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS Evo II sharing that car with James Sofronas, has spun and is now back on his way. There's a battle for the lead of the motor race as we speak! Colin Braun door handle to door handle with John Edwards! Mercedes on BMW! Side by side into the esses and up the hill, he is going for it and Morad smells blood in the water too. John Edwards knows he will have to push hard. Canadian driver passing a Canadian team. Riley Motorsports with CrowdStrike Racing lead the race so far. These Pirelli P Zero tires are in their sweet spot with temperatures and pressures building.
Elliott Skeer has Mario Farnbacher all over him. Farnbacher and Ashton Harrison are running in the Pro class and looking for their fourth championship in the last five years. Running behind Farnbacher it is Spencer Pumpelly followed by Jan Heylen. Pumpelly sharing with Pedro Torres is driving a previous generation 991 iteration 911 and Jan Heylen has the new 992 model. Jan Heylen sharing with Charlie Luck in the #45 Wright Motorsports entry and the #16 car is run by ACI Motorsports. Wright Motorsports team boss John Wright says that Heylen is racing the best Porsche he has driven here at Sonoma Raceway.
Trenton Estep is another name to look out for in a new generation 992 Porsche 911 GT3R. That is car #53 for MDK Motorsports and Estep is sharing the car with Seth Lucas. Estep has passed Bill Auberlen at the wheel of the #94 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT3 while there's more door rubbing here, look, between John Edwards in the BMW and Daniel Morad in the Mercedes. Morad slams the door in Edwards' face and he won't like that at all as Colin Braun has motored away by 1.3 seconds. So, the scrapping between those two, has allowed Braun to stretch out a fair margin as Stevan McAleer who won the overall race yesterday by Eric Filgueiras,McAleer is driving throughn the field.
Heylen tries Pumpelly. Pumpelly knows the track will come back to him. Heylen pounces but cannot draw even with the older generation Porsche 911 GT3R. Auberlen is pressing hard and Estep slams the door in his face through The Carousel. Auberlen is right there with Estep but can't make a pass. Stevan McAleer is lurking as well. We have only just started and it is exciting already. Eric Filgueiras will be quick in the second stint of the race and he will have a challenge of passing cars unless Stevan McAleer can really go for it. Three Porsche's scrapping for position in the middle of the pack for sixth, seventh, and eighth.
Colin Braun leads overall and is growing his margin to Daniel Morad, consistently. The top four cars in the overall are Pro-Am cars. He will hand over at halfway to George Kurtz. Daniel Morad is second with John Edwards third. Elliott Skeer fourth. Mario Farnbacher leads the Pro rated class in fifth spot. Trenton Estepp is next up followed by Bill Auberlen in Pro-Am. A tap between Heylen and Pumpelly right at the apex between those Porsche's, look. Pumpelly originally a Virginia native now living in Atlanta, Georgia. John Edwards runs P3. The Mercedes I think has more pace than the BMW.
Samantha Tan will take over the car in the second half of the race and she has been nominated to be a BMW brand ambassador. That news came earlier in the week before this race. ST Racing ran at the 24 Hours of Spa in 2022 and they will run the entire GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup but will race a Ferrari 296 GT3 in Europe rather than the BMW M4 GT3. Trenton Estep is right on Jan Heylen's six and in turn, Bill Auberlen wants a bite of the cherry and wants a shot to pass Estep as well, look.
Colin Braun remains in P1 as we get underway here at Sonoma. Colin Braun is taking the bull by the horns, leading Daniel Morad and John Edwards to the tune of 3.6 seconds. Keep in mind, this Pro class carries one Silver rated driver unlike other SRO championships around the world for Europe, Asia, and Australia. Daniel Morad on the ABS deep into the chicane. He is pushing hard indeed. Pumpelly, Heylen, and Estep in the trio of Porsche's are next up, fifth, sixth, and seventh. Estep is in Pro and he is racing against Bill Auberlen and Stevan McAleer in Pro. Right behind McAleer is the #08 Mercedes AMG GT3. That is one of the DXDT Racing cars, being shared by Bryan Sellers, the starting driver, and Scott Smithson.
Ross Gunn is on his debut for the Aston Martin AMR team at TRG (The Racer's Group). Gunn did not get to run the test day as he had a flight delay out of England where he lives and races over there as well. Gunn sharing the #007 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 with Derek DeBoer. Sonoma Raceway is low grip and has elevation changes ahoy so it is hard for a driver to learn. The Ferrari 296 GT3 is the new Ferrari racer. Ryan Dalziel at the wheel of it, racing for Triarsi Competizione alongside Justin Wetherill. There are two Ferrari 296's in this field and the other is the #34 Conquest Racing car #21 of Alessandro Balzan and Manny Franco.
This is a Ferrari but it is built by the French Oreca company. So, an Italian car with a French chassis, and running with 3 liter turbo V6 power as opposed to the more familiar V8 or V12 engine configuration. We are barely 15 minutes into the race, but Colin Braun's lead over Daniel Morad has ballooned to 4.4 seconds. Something clicked changing to Riley Motorsports for Colin Braun and George Kurtz when they swapped over to that team in 2022. Stevan McAleer has made a few places up but cannot solve the riddle of Bill Auberlen. He will be a tough nut for McAleer to crack.
Auberlen and Chandler Hull had eight podium finishes in GT World Challenge America in 2022. There's elevation changes and blind crests all over the circuit here at Sonoma. Corey Lewis in the #91 DXDT Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo, sharing with Jeff Burton who's company, Burton Lumber, also sponsors that automobile. DXDT have been stalwarts in SRO America and they have two cars instead of three as team boss David Askew is focusing on managing the team instead of driving this year and team manager Stefan Pfifer is another key element to their organization. Spencer Pumpelly is reeling in Mario Farnbacher nd Jan Heylen, Trenton Estep, and Bill Auberlen are all in this mix.
Farnbacher is the Pro class leader. They are keeping their eyes out for Seth Lucas, Stevan McAleer, and Bill Auberlen, who are all driving the other Pro class cars. Again, classes separated in SRO racing really by driver rating as every car on the track is a GT3 spec machine from different manufacturers. Ferrari, BMW, Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Martin, you name it. For Mario Farnbacher, he is still leading his category. It is a Pro class not an overall class car. Mario Farnbacher is an HPD factory driver and has won GT3 championships several times.
The Ferrari 296 is making it's global SRO debut. Ryan Dalziel is currently at the wheel of the #33 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 sharing with Justin Wetherill as mentioned. The Ferrari drivers are not yet able to nail down the handling on the new car because the car has been porpoising over rough patches on the road. There was a power adjustment for Balance of Performance. Seven brands in this race. Four in the top five, qualifying eight tenths of a second apart in qualifying yesterday! Holy smokes! Speaking of smoke, Corey Lewis' #91 Mercedes AMG GT3 that we just talked about, is billowing smoke out the back.
Jeff Burton had trouble in race one. I think the 6.2 liter V8 or the drivetrain has gone sour on that car. Jeff Burton raced in GT America at St. Petersburg, Florida, last time out. Colin Braun in the meantime, leads this motor race by five seconds. George Kurtz should have no pressure when he gets into the car. 5.2 seconds is the lead margin between Braun and Morad. The top two Mercedes' are the only cars at this moment lapping in the 1:39 range while everyone else is in the low 1:40s insofar as lap times around Sonoma Raceway.
Sonoma Raceway is so low grip and you are sliding the Pirelli P Zero tires over the pavement. There is a fluid leak under the bonnet of the #91 Mercedes AMG GT3 and it's either power steering fluid or oil, probably. This could be a legacy of woe that the team ran into in race one yesterday. When you have an off course excursion, parts can come loose or break and may not be noticed. Trenton Estep is giving veteran Jan Heylen everything he can handle into the hairpin at turn 11. Jan says, "forget it, sunshine", and slams the door in Estep's face. But Estep, he's a fighter and is not throwing in the towel. He is going to try ye olde chrome horn.
Estep will try it but believe you me, Jan Heylen will not take that sitting down and I agree with Calvin Fish on commentary. I don't think Trenton knows who he's dealing with. Jan Heylen is not only rapid but he is also one of the most decorated GT3 drivers currently. Meanwhile, Spencer Pumpelly is motoring up the road and he is right on top of the Acura #93, the Racer's Edge car. He is right on Mario Farnbacher's six as we speak. Colin Braun is whistling off into the distance though and seems to be in good shape to this point but it is early doors yet. We are not even halfway home yet. Spencer Pumpelly is taking another run at Mario Farnbacher. He is indeed the aggressor. He is the hound while Farnbacher is the rabbit.
Work on the balance, the handling of the car and the whole setup. Trouble in paradise though. Pumpelly tried to do the dummy on Farnbacher and as a result he guessed right and Farnbacher is on the whirligig in a copious cloud of tire smoke, look. Farnbacher is back on the button now but he has lost two or three spots in all that shemozzle. There was bodywork that flew but I don't believe that it came off the Acura. I think it was a dive plane off the front nose of the ACI Motorsports Porsche, the #16 car. Mario Farnbacher arcs in on his normal line, Spencer Pumpelly fills the gap, the two run out of road, and Farnbacher spins. Simple as that.
Pumpelly will have trouble under braking and the front end grip will dissipate now that he's lost that dive plane. These winglets and so on are so critical because these GT3 cars much like a prototype are very aerodynamically sensitive. They are not the old school GT cars we saw ten, 20, 30, 40 years ago that were far more production based. They are based on production machinery but highly modified and highly sophisticated motorcars. Those dive planes produce at least 100 pounds of downforce so it is like putting 100 pounds of weight on the front corners of the car, each. As you would expect the stewards are now reviewing the incident.
In that mayhem and the spin, Farnbacher has dropped like a stone to 11th place in a field of 18 cars. So in the back half. Trenton Estep who we spoke about earlier has inherited the lead of the Pro class in the #53 Porsche 911 GT3R for MDK Motorsports. Later on when the Pro-Am drivers get into the cars, we might see a scrap develop for instance between Seth Lucas and Chandler Hull, these young drivers who are dipping their toes in the water in GT3 or who have actually been racing this formula for some years now. There are some "sneaky Silver" drivers who lack the full on experience of their Pro counterparts but they will bring a lot to the table in the second half of the motor race here at Sonoma this afternoon.
Colin Braun, serenely out front, ahead of Daniel Morad by six seconds. In third it is still John Edwards in the BMW M4 GT3. He is settled into a distant yet solid third spot. Incident between 93 and 16 at T11 is under review. The top three Pro level drivers running concurrently in sixth, seventh, and eighth overall are Trenton Estep, Bill Auberlen, and Stevan McAleer. A good scrap too between the two Ferrari's. Ryan Dalziel for Triarsi Competizione and Alessandro Balzan for Conquest Racing. Balzan passes Dalziel for 13th. Well, well, well. I went to a GT World Challenge GT3 race and a Ferrari Challenge race broke out. Tee hee.
Trenton Estep has history with Mark Kvamme, the team boss at MDK Motorsports. Estep is a young bloke and so is Seth Lucas and the two of them are very new in GT3 cars. Seth Lucas is only 17 years old. He said about Sonoma Raceway that he hopes to stay in it around these blind turns. He is going to have a bullseye on his back. Drive through penalty issued to Spencer Pumpelly by Race Control. 50 seconds in to out for the pit lane delta. Pumpelly did tip Mario Farnbacher into the turn and he will feel hard done by it but will have to regroup. The sights of sports car racing are great but the sounds are even better. So many different engine configurations and engine notes.
In this case for the GT3 cars we have V8's, V10's, V6's, straight 6's, turbocharged, and naturally aspirated. The Mercedes is a 6.2 liter V8. These cars run very low to the ground right on the skid block. A good battle boiling for the lead between Estep and Auberlen in Pro! Wow! Stevan McAleer who won yesterday, he is reeling in Auberlen hand over fist and Bryan Sellers is off the road in the fuzz out there. He got pinched and spun off the road. Alessandro Balzan and Manny Franco are proving to be a dynamic duo and we will see Manny Franco at the wheel of the Ferrari 296 soon. Less than 15 minutes to halfway and the pit stops as well as driver changes.
Manny Franco cut his teeth in Ferrari Challenge. The 296 Ferrari of course has a 3 liter V6 motor as Ross Gunn is closing up in the Aston Martin, a factory Aston Martin driver running with Andrew Howard in British GT with Andrew Howard. He will be in some of the GTWC America races and in other GT3 championships in North America. Of course he shares the Aston with Derek DeBoer. McAleer, Farnbacher, Balzan, that is the battle we are watching right now for seventh position and it continues in earnest. The five Pro level entries in this field today are all running liner stern as we speak. Auberlen and Chandler Hull won at the Indianapoli 8 Hours last year and had eight podiums in Pro-Am in 2022.
They have moved up a level this year. John Edwards is in a full season GT World Challenge America campaign and now, Elliott Skeer and Jan Heylen both are making inroads in the two Wright Motorsports Porsche's. Different generations of car, the 991 leading the 992. We are under five minutes away from the pit window opening up. Heylen tries sticking his nose in and gets chopped. If there is a yellow in the pit stop window, your strategy is going to get upended. Edwards, Skeer, Heylen out of The Carousel, down the dragstrip and into turn seven with the pit window coming. I think Jan Heylen knows Elliott Skeer because Patrick Long is someone who co-drove with Heylen and Long is a mentor to Elliott Skeer.
Heylen is right on Skeer's back door now. Oh boy. The two Wright Motorsports cars are going at it. No dodge 'em cars, boys. Keep it clean. Both the Wright Motorsports cars are in the Pro-Am class. Be very, very careful. Auberlen and McAleer are still squabbling for seventh place. We could see these cars being in a battle with Eric Filgueiras and Chandler Hull and others. You are always chasing the balance on these GT3 cars. Always chasing it. McAleer has done a bunch of GT3 racing and nearly clinched another GT3 title in a different championship driving a Mercedes in races you have no doubt read about on the blog.
Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer dominated Pirelli GT4 America in 2022 winning 11 times. It seems the chemistry is carrying over into GT3. Jan Heylen shares the #45 car with his father-in-law, Charlie Luck. Father-in-law and son-in-law sharing the car. Pit window opens right now, and... boom. Elliott Skeer dives for the pit lane and Adam Adelson will swap over into the car for the final stint. Bimmerworld are in as well. The dominoes are beginning to fall. Seth Lucas is getting into the MDK Motorsports car. Elliott Skeer has run extremely well as we see Alessandro Balzan scrapping for the Pro lead. Balzan has turned it on and here he is trying to get by McAleer. McAleer gives him a wide berth as they thunder into the esses. Downhill they go.
McAleer to pit lane. Conquest and Racer's Edge as well as TRG all stay on track for now. Balzan followed by Farnbacher and Ross Gunn. That is odd that Racer's Edge might do an extra lap or so as the pit window is currently open. Racer's Edge have won championships with this Acura going back a number of years. Kyle Marcelli and Martin Barkey sewed it up in 2019. Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock in 2020. Mario Farnbacher and Ashton Harrison managed to pull it off again for them last year in 2022. Racer's Edge might have something up their sleeve as far as strategy maximizing Farnbacher's potential. RennSport 1 are in the lane for tires and fuel.
The car was released after being dropped off the air jacks. The minimum pit stop time you have to have it bang on the money. If the car is sitting on the deck for a wee while before accelerating away, that is a good sign. John Edwards is being harried by Jan Heylen for third place. Jan Heylen will hand the car over to Charlie Luck. Heylen forces the issue on John Edwards. Heylen needs no second invitation. Heylen is like Dale Earnhardt, Ayrton Senna, or Paul Tracy and will just force his way through. Meanwhile, the #14 GMG Racing Audi is trundling through the pit lane.
Tom Dyer spun the car early and they have been in recovery and catch up mode ever since, he and co-driver/team boss James Sofronas. Sofronas now driving. The Riley Motorsports Mercedes guys are in the lane and Colin Braun will hand the #04 car to George Kurtz. With #04 in the lane, Daniel Morad assumes the lead in the #9 TR3 Racing Mercedes he shares with Ziad Ghandour. Morad is leading before he has to pit and hand over to Ghandour. Daniel Morad was on the verge of being an IndyCar star or an open wheel racing star of some kind. He won the Formula BMW single seater title in 2007 and ran Porsche Cup Canada in 2016.
He won the Rolex 24 with Spencer Pumpelly as his strategist for Alegra Motorsports years ago. Conquest Racing are in the lane with Alessandro Balzan. Mario Farnbacher stays out for one more lap, rolling the dice after their spin. Farnbacher keeping his head down and reeling off consistent lap times. Ashton Harrison will step into the car and now, Daniel Morad is cutting it fine. He is staying out oe more lap as the #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 is in the land for Conquest Racing. Be in the pit lane before the window closes. Wright Motorsports just outside the window and Jan Heylen is in the lane to hand off to Charlie Luck. Mario Farnbacher comes into the pit lane now, crawling in the lane. 50 kilometers an hour, pit lane speed.
Adam Adelson now pushing hard looking to break out the broom and sweep in Pro-Am. Charlie Luck now into the #45 Porsche for Wright Motorsports. Daniel Morad in the lane to hand off to Ziad Ghandour. One rattle gun, a driver change assistant, and the fueler. The two Wright Motorsports Porsche's are running together and Adelson is ahead of Luck. Manny Franco has taken over the #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 for Conquest. TR3 are down and away again with Ziad Ghandour now driving. They did the overcut and pulled it off. George Kurtz though has gotten into a rhythm. Ghandour the erstwhile leader but George Kurtz is pouring on the steam.
Ziad Ghandour is racing a Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo for the first time and it is new for the TR3 team. Ghandour and Daniel Morad did not know each other until the ink dried on this deal and now, George Kurtz is chasing down Ziad Ghandour as we speak. Ghandour is pushing, pushing, pushing on his out lap. Adam Adelson next in the queue ahead of Charlie Luck and Samantha Tan. Seth Lucas leads the Pro class for MDK Motorsports. Manny Franco and Conquest Racing did the overcut with Alessandro Balzan, now second in Pro followed by Ashton Harrison and the big loser is the #94 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT3 with Chandler Hull at the wheel of it.
Samantha Tan is turning it on in a battle with Charlie Luck. She peeks to the outside and the inside trying to find the spot to pass. The BMW looming large in Charlie Luck's mirrors. Luck wider in turn one and Samantha Tan not close enough to make a move. This is an ice cream headache for Samantha Tan. But, she is learning how to be a better racing driver under the tutelage of Niclas Jonsson. Daniel Morad says that his pit crew is to be given a lot of credit for the strategy. That was a mega stint from Daniel Morad. TR3 Racing is based in Davie, Florida, and it stands for The Romanelli 3. Three brothers run the team.
For many years they ran Ferrari's, ran a Lamborghini this year, and now running a Mercedes. We watch Scott Smithson succumbing to the pressure from Derek DeBoer. Aston Martin on Mercedes. He went deep into the turn and went into the ABS through the dirt. George Kurtz is slowly making inroads on Ziad Ghandour and he found another second. He is closing in fast as we close in on the last half hour of this race. Ghandour will not roll over and play dead. His nickname is "Z Hog" which comes from his offroad racing background. This is for Pro-Am and for the overall win. Seth Lucas is the top Pro car at MDK and Manny Franco is next in the serial. He leads Manny Franco and there's half a dozen GT3 starts between both of them.
Kurtz has reeled in Ziad Ghandour and he cannot let his driving be dictated by what Ziad Ghandour does. On day two, the Am finishes the job in a Pro-Am lineup. That is why SRO America is so much fun to watch. It goes in waves with different cars. Lamborghini preferred in 2022 and so far in 2023 Mercedes-AMG is the preferred marque. Kurtz dives inside as Ghandour gives him the lead, pouncing immediately. Sitting there and not doing anything for four or five laps does not work. So now, George Kurtz can whistle off into the distance. Adam Adelson is pushing but he knows he has a deficit to make up to the Mercedes'.
Adelson is 21 seconds behind Ghandour. Charlie Luck and Samantha Tan continue battling and so do the three Pro drivers, running liner stern still. Seth Lucas, Manny Franco, and Ashton Harrison running nose to tail. George Kurtz has a one second cushion in the lead of the motor race over Ziad Ghandour. Adelson is running quicker than Ghandour and Kurtz. James Sofronas is in line but we are also watching Lucas, Franco, and Harrison. They were all separated by a second and Harrison was dirt tracking it through the chicane! Yikes! She got away with that one. The reigning Pro-Am champion from 2022.
Seth Lucas leads Pro and he has to deal with the lapped Audi of James Sofronas. Manny Franco is also learning how to drive a GT3 car and he is starting to show his potential. The GMG Audi is running well. James Sofronas has 320 races under his belt in GT World Challenge competition. He raced World Challenge at Road America for Greek Brothers Racing. His customer racing program comes first but he does race when he can. Ashton Harrison is back on the horse and closing up on both Lucas and Franco. Harrison absolutely dusts Franco! Wow! It cost her no time and now, she is going to try reeling in Seth Lucas.
Don't rush up on the leader. You have the pace and time is on your side with 20+ minutes left on the board. Harrison came up through Lamborghini Super Trofeo and became the first female driver to win a Lamborghini Super Trofeo event. Lucas followed by Harrison. She is the shark and he is the minnow. Harrison is as close to the lead as she's been all day and is within half a second of her teammate Mario Farnbacher's best lap and doing so in traffic on tires that are being used. Wow! They have a tie in with Wayne Taylor Racing and Andretti Autosport. She muscles past Seth Lucas! Book it! Wow! Team boss Jon Mirachi says that the Acura is not suited for Sonoma Raceway. Well, maybe the team are second guessing themselves.
Seth Lucas has Manny Franco right on his six now. Harrison is the driver who has been in these races before. Franco has only run one weekend of SRO America GT3 which was at Sebring International Raceway last fall. Under 20 minutes of racing remaining in race two of the weekend. For George Kurtz and Colin Braun, Braun was cleaning his helmet and had to get away from the track action as George Kurtz is doing what he's supposed to. He has a great work ethic and wants to strive for more and more. He continues gaining and ran very well in the GTA race, the GT America race. Always improve yourself. Colin Braun won overall at the Rolex 24 and has a Rolex watch now.
George Kurtz's team of course were pipped at the line in LMP2 at the Rolex 24 and did not quite get the watch. They will be back I am sure. George Kurtz and Colin Braun will share a car in LMP2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June as well. The question recently on our minds was, could Eric Filgueiras run down the duo of Seth Lucas and Manny Franco? Well, he is not there yet but he is gaining ground on them. Sofronas yields to Lucas and Franco. Eric Filgueiras has the bit between his teeth and he is coming in a hurry with 15 minutes to go. Be patient through turn six and pick up the throttle at the opportune moment.
He is carving time out of the gap to the podium runners. Manny Franco and Seth Lucas are looming large in the windscreen. Ashton Harrison is two seconds ahead of Seth Lucas. Eric Filgueiras has indeed been running quicker. Franco is all over the back of Seth Lucas and he knows Filgueiras is coming in a hurry. Franco makes the move on Lucas as Ashton Harrison continues in the lead. Filgueiras is coming in a hurry, yesterday's overall winner. George Kurtz increases his margin to 9.2 seconds over Ziad Ghandour. Ghandour has a margin over Adam Adelson. Down the order, Justin Wetherill, 16th for Triarsi Competizione in their Ferrari 296 GT3 which he shares with Ryan Dalziel. Charlie Luck, fourth in the Pro-Am class still being harried by Samantha Tan.
The car was retired early in race one yesterday but are in the fight today in race two. Tan has yet to find the solution to Charlie Luck's riddle. Ashton Harrison runs behind Samantha Tan and is leading the Pro class over Manny Franco by 2.8 seconds. Eric Filgueiras is charging and is reeling in Seth Lucas hand over fist. Filgueiras is indeed on Seth Lucas' six. Filgueiras, the reining Pirelli GT4 America Silver class champion is in his GT3 debut and doing a fabulous job. Manny Franco found 7/10ths of a second and he has time to reel in Harrison in these last six minutes and change before the race ends. The RS1 and MDK teams both are running the newest generation 992 version of the Porsche 911 GT3R. Yikes! Massive slide from Seth Lucas!
He will balk Eric Filgueiras. Traction Control can help but it can also stymie you. ABS actually, not traction control. The antilock braking system. In replay, Lucas goes sideways and Filgueiras has to hold station. Filgueiras is going to try again. Lucas has a bit more power as they fly through the esses. Yikes! Many Franco all over Harrison like you cannot believe. Franco tries it. Harrison covers the inside line with Samantha Tan in the fight as well. Pro class honors definitely up for grabs while George Kurtz controls the race in the overall lead. Well, well, well. Harrison and Farnbacher had four wins and four podiums in 2022.
There are battles all over the track and Filgueiras spins from fourth spot in Pro! Chandler Hull might be able to make inroads! Manny Franco is closing on Harrison as well, look. In replay, Filgueiras tries to make a move into turn seven, hits the curb, and spins off. Maybe he broke a dive plane off the nose. We ought to have two laps to go. George Kurtz leads by 30-40 seconds and Adam Adelson, I don't think he will catch Ziad Ghandour but he is pushing hard. Harrison leads Franco with just a minute and a half to go before we end this motor race. Charlie Luck, fourth overall, looms ahead. White flag for George Kurtz and the Pro class win is up for grabs.
White flag for Ashton Harrison chasing down Charlie Luck who she pipped to the championship in Pro-Am in 2022, the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Harrison needs some assistance to make her efforts worthwhile. Franco is right on Ashton Harrison now! Harrison defends into turn seven! Franco to the inside and tags Harrison going by. What will the stewards say about that? Riley Motorsports and Crowdstrike win race two! Harrison's Acura squirms. Franco ahead.. Harrsion hop cheks Franco and Harrison is going to win Pro for Racer's Edge!
Have you ever? No, I've never!
Pro: #93 Harrison/Farnbacher Racer's Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
Overall/Pro Am: #04 Braun/Kurtz CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo
Am: #43 Bartone/Pilgrim Bartone Bros. with RealTime Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo
No yellows in this race whatsoever. 3/10ths of a second the margin of victory. That was a wild race indeed! Round two of the championship coming up at the end of the month, in The Big Easy, New Orleans, Louisiana (Avondale, Louisiana), on the bayou, at the end of the month. We'll see you on the bayou at the end of this month. It'll be one to watch. Don't miss a moment of it. For now, so long from the northern California wine country and Sonoma Raceway.
No comments:
Post a Comment