From Ewan Wane, the story of the controversial last ever event run in the FIA GT1 World Championship, ironically, using first-generation GT3 cars. This is the same series we know today as SRO GT World Challenge Europe.
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Saturday news from GT World Challenge Europe in Barcelona
Preparing for the season finale for SRO GT World Challenge Europe in Barcelona, Spain, at Circuit de Catalunya Barcelona, tomorrow, here is all the news you can use before the race, and also discussing some elements of pieces of the puzzle being put in place for the 2024 season.
Vanthoor Paces Free Practice for WRT
Stolz Leads Mercedes 1-2 in Barcelona Pre-Qualifying
Comtoyou Switches to Aston Martin Starting in 2024
LIVE | Pre-Qualifying | Barcelona | Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS 2023 (English)
It’s time for Pre-Qualifying at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. We’re on-track for another 90 minutes of GT3 action as competitors continue their preparations for the weekend. We join David Addison and John Watson in the broadcast booth, and Antonia Rankin in the pit lane.
Friday, September 29, 2023
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance news headed for the finale in Barcelona
Heading this weekend for the finale of the SRO GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup at Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Here are some noteworthy pre-race headlines to have a look at.
Comtoyou: Staying with Audi "An Option" for 2024
Krohn Drafted into WRT Bronze Cup Squad for Barcelona Finale
Barcelona Weekend Notebook
Additionally, there are some stories from the GT2 European Cup to be aware of.
Pedrosa Set for GT2 Debut with KTM
Maserati GT2 to Make Race Debut Next Weekend
The final event will be at Paul Ricard in the south of France next weekend. Yours truly, will find video of the races, and post them as soon as possible.
Sebring Cinematic Highlights
Cinematic highlights from the penultimate SRO America race of the 2023 season last weekend at Sebring International Raceway, from all classes. GT World Challenge America, GT America, Pirelli GT4 America, and TC America.
Peugeot 9x8 Rear Wing? MSR Acura Future, & More! | Hypercar Updates Episode 8
From Formula Jonah.
On Episode 8 of Hypercar Updates from the month of September, we take a look at 8 different topics as well as 2 extra questions from YOU the viewers. Meyer Shank Racing's future, Peugeot 9x8 Rear Wing, Schumacher to Alpine, Jota Sport's 2nd Porsche, and much more! Watch Episode 8 of Hypercar Update now!
Thursday, September 28, 2023
Intercontinental GT Challenge headlines
More news headed for the third race of the Intercontinental GT Challenge for SRO, the Indianapolis 8 Hours at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Earl Bamber Motorsports is seriously having a look at a new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R for their customer racing efforts.
Corvette Z06 GT3.R "Really Interesting" Prospect for EBM
Gounon, Goetz Join Marciello for Craft-Bamboo Indy 8H Defense
Marcelli Joins Racer's Edge at Indy 8H
WRT Enters Indy 8H With Two-Car Pro Effort
The official Indianapolis 8 Hours entry list has been released, containing a smallish, but expected, yet high quality field of 22 cars.
SunEnergy1 Absent from 22-Car Indy 8H Entry
What the field lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality insofar as teams, drivers and cars that will be entered for the race.
ST Racing Adds Walker to Indy 8H Lineup
Plenty more to come as we continue to look forward to the Indianapolis 8 Hours.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
IMSA Indianapolis 2023 Race Review
From Formula Jonah.
IMSA returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since 2014, and the race was incredible!! Lap 1 crashes, quick thinking skills to avoid massive crash, domination, rule confusion, wheel to wheel battles, and more! This video will tell you everything about what happened during the 2023 IMSA addition of the Battle of the Bricks!
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
The Streak Goes On for Toyota
The latest FIA WEC Full Access episode all about Toyota's domination of their home race, the 6 Hours of Fuji.
After a great fight with Porsche during the main part of the 6 Hours of Fuji, it's Toyota which took home the win and secured the world championship title for the Hypercar manufacturers in the 6th round of the season. They continue their absolute domination on home ground as they have won nine times out of the ten WEC races in Fuji.
In collaboration with Motul, the WEC Full Access series is back with a full in-depth episode dedicated to the 2023 6 Hours of Fuji. The best moments of the race complemented with exclusive behind-the-scenes images will put you once again at the heart of the action!
DOUBLE STINT: GTWC Sebring Recap; News Roundup & More (9-26-23)
Tim Fullbrook, John Dagys break down the week's news and more on Double Stint...
https://sportscar365.com/podcasts/double-stint-gtwc-sebring-recap-news-roundup-more/
IMSA WeatherTech Championship stories (continued)
More post-race news and analysis after Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Porsche Penske Motorsports are looking at another three-car effort with the Porsche 963 for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, just as they did this year.
Porsche Penske Eyeing Three-Car Le Mans Effort in 2024
The latest Double Stint Podcast with Tim Fullbrook and John Dagys recapping the Battle on The Bricks, and plenty more.
DOUBLE STINT: Indianapolis Recap; News Roundup & More (9-19-23)
Andretti Set for Full-Season GTD Effort with Aston Martin Evo
PR1/Mathiasen Seeking Out Bronze Driver for 2024 Program
Lone Star Anticipating More GTD Races After Series Return
LMP2 Success Put Deletraz "On the Map" in IMSA
Monday, September 25, 2023
ST Racing to Appeal Sebring Race 2 Penalty
ST Racing to lodge appeal following post-race penalty by SRO America at Sebring...
https://sportscar365.com/sro/world-challenge-america/st-racing-to-appeal-sebring-race-2-penalty/
Weekly Racing Roundup (9-25-23)
Report from the GTWC Asia title decider plus GT America, GT Open, and other action...
https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-9-25-23/
NLS Race 8
Race number eight of the 2023 Nurburgring Langstrecken Series, at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. We are back to a traditional four hour race this time, with commentary from Radio Show Limited and for that, we have Bruce Jones and Peter Snowden, calling all the racing action. Enjoy this one.
Sunday, September 24, 2023
ST BMW Flunks Tech; Wright Porsche's Sweep Weekend
Wow. Some late breaking news from Sebring International Raceway before we put a bow on the penultimate weekend of races for SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge America. ST Racing and their BMW M4 GT3 fails post-race scrutineering, and therefore, Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen forfeit the victory, handing the honors, for a double, to the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R (992) of Madison Snow and Jan Heylen.
ST BMW Flunks Post-Race Tech; Wright Porsche's Sweep Weekend
So, the corrected winner's list now reads:
Overall/Pro: #45 Snow/Heylen Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R (992)
Sunday Sebring Race Broadcasts
The race broadcasts from Sunday at Sebring International Raceway on the SRO GTWorld YouTube channel. We join Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth and Amanda Busick reporting from the pit lane for all the racing action.
GT America Race 2
TC America Race 2
Pirelli GT4 America Race 2
GT World Challenge America Race 2
Tan, Verhagen Take Come-From-Behind Win in Race 2 at Sebring
Samantha Tan, Neil Verhagen claim overall victory in second Fanatec GT race at Sebring...
GT World Challenge America: Sebring, Race 2
It is time, for the crescendo, the cadenza to the weekend of SRO America competition at Sebring International Raceway amid the orange groves and Spanish moss of central Florida. GT World Challenge America enters its final, regular, 90-minute race of the 2023 season on this Sunday afternoon. Yesterday was a surprise yet dominating victory for the first of the two Wright Motorsports Porsche 992 model 911 GT3R's, the #45 car in the hands of Madison Snow and Jan Heylen. Can they repeat today? Or will another driver duo and team combination, another manufacturer in SRO GT3, steal the limelight? We are about to find out, in this pivotal point of the championship season, with only the crown jewel yet to come, the Indianapolis 8 Hours at "The Brickyard", Indianapolis Motor Speedway, yet to come, in two weeks.
Again, this is the final 90-minute event of the year with the Indianapolis 8 Hours looming on the horizon as we just explained. The challenge ramps up heavily. We have some cloud cover rolling in and it is warm but not oppressively hot. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish will call the action with Amanda Busick in the pit lane and Ash Vandeleigh manning the Twitch stream. RS1 and Racer's Edge, are both Florida-based teams here in front of their hometown crowd. Conquest Racing swept the Road America weekend in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the last time we were with you for a GTWCA doubleheader.
3.741 miles around with a GT3 track record reset at 1:59.775. Such history here with the 1959 United States Grand Prix, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and of course the SRO America races here in the fall. The majority of this track is laid out over these concrete runways and turn one is an incredible challenge at 150 miles an hour positioning the car right at the apex of the concrete wall at 150+ miles an hour. So hard to see the apex on the 0 board. Then you get to the apex around the signboard. A god chance where you want to have the left side tire on the painted line.
The road surface oscillation is all in there. Watch out and don't run wide. Turn 13, Tower Corner,. with the airport tower. You can come through Collier Corner at a diagonal or go parallel. The car is fully loaded driver's left. Be careful. It is not a water tower. It is an old air traffic control tower at Tower Corner. The most demanding turn is turn 17, Sunset Bend. How do you position the race car? Skim it close t the wall. Use the black line as a reference point. Look at the brdige and a blue dot to place the car underneath.
You get to this point where the bumps are like a mechanical bull. The car is oscillating so much, and you play a game of chicken with the rest of the corner. Sebring is so special and just amazing. Tremendous history and everyone wants to win this thing. We have a different grid than we saw yesterday. Watch for the Porsche's and the BMW's. Neil Verhagen starts from the back losing pole on a technical infraction. Verhagen and Samantha Tan started from the back, incurred a penalty, and came onto the podium. Bill Auberlen in the #94 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT3 also qualified with a suspension problem, teaming with Chandler Hull.
Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer in the RS1 Porsche 911 GT3R #28 losing points for a penalty. All attention focuses for this second race coming up. The heat will be a factor. Great rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner by the Avon Park High School Show Choir. Samantha Tan tells us that Neil Verhagen knows the BMW M4 GT3 like the back of his hand. Verhagen plans to minimize the mistakes and move forward. Drivers buckling into their cars. The Pirelli tires are now being mounted. Ashton Harrison knows there is high aggression for the championship heading into the Indianapolis 8 Hours with double points on offer.
The Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 is well suited to the infield and their braking they feel is superior to any other GT3 car out there. They are chasing the Porsche and have the BMW hot on their heels. Mario Farnbacher starts third and Stevan McAleer in the #28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3R (992) is 11th on the grid. Madison Snow will start the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. We will also watch the sister Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R (991.II) of Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson. A good qualifying effort too for the #007 TRG Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Derek DeBoer and Ross Gunn.
Drivers know what to expect. Drivers starting today's race ran the second stint yesterday. Triarsi Competizione may or may not be back in 2024. We'll see. It is 86 degrees Fahrenheit, humidity at 57%. Warm, but not as hot as it could be. The cars roll off on the formation lap. TRG now receiving sponsor support from FreeLife Coaching. We have a 14-car field, and we will see plenty more for the Indianapolis 8 Hours with the Intercontinental GT Challenge GT3 cars joining us. Eric Filgueiras sees the shemozzle from yesterday as hard racing.
The BMW are beginning to bring themselves into the picture. This is going to be exciting. RS1 will have quite the trio coming up for the Indianapolis 8 Hours. Watch this space. Overnight setup changes for the #28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3R. There is the one pit stop in this motor race that we will see. Not a lot you can play with in these shorter races. The tires lasted better yesterday than we thought they would. The undercut is not a massive advantage necessarily in this situation. We'll have to see if the race stays green or if there is a yellow. The Pro and Pro-Am classes are going to be tight. Ryan Dalziel on the pole position in the #33 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 sharing with Justin Wetherill.
We don't know if they will be back in 2024. Safety car lights off. Manny Franco, Ryan Dalziel's co-driver, looking on. Watch for turn one. This is going to be wild. The safety car pulls to the pit lane. Ferrari, Porsche, Acura, Mercedes, Aston Martin in the top five. Green flag! Let's go! Bill Auberlen beginning to push. Ryan Dalziel to the lead and Elliott Skeer on the attackl up to third place side by side with Jan Heylen! Both Porsche's won in their classes yesterday. Dalziel weaving to avoid the bump. Skeer back on the attack. Side by side! Mario Farnbacher dropping down the order, smoking a bit.
Colin Braun is harrying Skeer. Maybe there is an overflow pipe and oh no, there's more smoke coming out the back of the car! They have smoke billowing from the car. Maybe it is just overflow with the fluids topped up. Through Sunset Bend for the first time as Ryan Dalziel is 2.2 seconds ahead running away like a scalded cat. Elliott Skeer fightng his teammate as Colin Braun is right on Jan Heylen's six. The Acura is flying Plummet Airways! Farnbacher is dropping like a stone! He is slow. More smoke in Tower Corner. Is there a motor problem in the back of that Acura NSX GT3? Neil Verhagen has gained five places.
Jon Mirachi says that the Acura has lost power, and the temperatures are hot. The car is overheating. Bill Auberlen passes Trenton Estep. Bimmerworld BMW vs. MDK Motorsports Porsche. Neil Verhagen passes by Bryan Sellers. Trenton Estep is his next target. The BMW dusts him. Nothing he can do with the massive power of the BMW six-cylinder turbo. Discretion the better part of valor for Estep. Samantha Tan's pace is good too. The #93 Acura NSX GT3 needs to have a chance to compete before heading to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks. They have not won since race two at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, back in May.
The BMW's clearly have pace. Meanwhile, Ryan Dalziel motoring ahead of Elliott Skeer and Jan Heylen feeling the pressure from Colin Braun and Ross Gunn. CrowdStrike Fastest Lap to Neil Verhagen at 2:01.207. The Racer's Edge Acua is being pushed back behind the wall. Game over! Heartbreaking for the Pro-Am champions in 2022. There's oil all over the rear of the car. Tranmission fluid and engine oil all over the place. The motor was overheated. They will score nil points and so the #28 RS1 Porsche team will make hay while the sun shines.
Neil Verhagen behind Bill Auberlen who is challenging Ross Gunn in the Aston Martin. Only ten minutes on the board. An hour and 20 minutes to go. Neil Verhagen has similar pace to Bull Auberlen and Auberlen is pushing Gunn who is the cork in the bottle. All the cars are GT3 homologated but the driver rating are all different. Pro vs. Pro-Am. Auberlen wide and Verhagen is going to try passing but Auberlen takes the spot away again. Auberlen protects the line. Braun and Gunn are third and fourth and now, Auberlen, in a Pro class car and then Verhagen a Pro-Am.
Hard to brake in the hairpin on the dirty side of the road. Let Neil Verhagen open the door and see if the BMW's can push. He is trying to move past Ross Gunn and then Colin Braun. Auberlen looking for Jan Heylen in the next Pro level car, the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Verhagen has gone from 12th to sixth in just 13 minutes! Verhagen tries Ross Gunn, but no. In the Pro-Am fight, we watch Neil Verhagen chasing Ross Gunn. Neither of them has had their same full-season teammates and again it will be interesting to see third drivers nominated for the Indianapolis 8 Hours in two weeks.
Points are going to be paid only at the 8-hour mark at the end of the race in a couple weeks, no mid-race points on offer. Neil Verhagen able to tuck the front end farther into the apex as Verhagen going to fifth past Ross Gunn, a copy and paste from race one yesterday. Still an hour and 15 minutes to go. George Kurtz and Colin Braun have struggled with car setup here at Sebring and they were sliding around like crazy yesterday. More cloud cover today but the track is consistent and similar conditoons to yesterday's race.
Last year in a Creventic endurance race ST Racing scored the first victory for the BMW M4 GT3 globally, in the 12 Hours of Mugello in Tuscany, Italy. Ross Gunn sizing up Colin Braun and Bill Auberlen doing the same to Gunn. Auberlen and Hull are third in points. It will be nil points for Racer's Edge and RS1 are not at the top. They are still languishing down in 11th spot. Jan Heylen has stormed from 14th to third! Amazing! Ryan Dalziel in the lead. Hull and Auberlen are undefeated in the Indianapolis 8 Hour winning in GT4 and scoring the highest position for an American entry in the race last year.
The two DXDT Mercedes' are running liner stern. Bryan Sellers followed by Corey Lewis. Auberlen struggling to try and get in the picture with such drivers as Heylen, Braun, and Gunn. Maybe his setup is not quite there. Stevan McAleer, the points leaders in the Pro class coming into the race, mired in traffic currently. They have not had as good a qualifying effort for race two than race one. There is a variance in speed between the Pro drivers and the Am drivers. Wright Motorsports has raced here at Sebring year in and year out for a long time.
Braun/Kurtz and Skeer/Adelson would be only one point apart if the race ended now. 184-183. Auberlen digging deep. He is truly going for it trying to give Chandler Hull a good spot to be a winner. Chandler Hull is not looking at the points, but the goal is to gain them, still. Indianapolis is their focus. Sebring has not been a happy hunting ground for Racer's Edge in SRO. In Pro, there is a 27-point spread for the top three. 50 points on offer for winning the Indianapolis 8 Hours. You have third drivers, and cars from overseas coming back like Craft Bamboo, WRT, GruppeM, and more. We'll see the entry list this coming week for Indianapolis.
Ryan Dalziel is motoring away from everyone else with nearly half an hour on the board. I think the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance finale is also next weekend. So, we might have more SRO content coming your way sooner than you might think. The only driver quicker than Dalziel now is Neil Verhagen. Pit stop time coming in ten minutes or so. Four of the top eight cars set their fastest laps last time by. Again, the pit window will open in ten minutes. In the Pro-Am lineups, the Am drivers finish on Sunday.
Elliott Skeer cuts a lap half a second faster than the race leader. Oh my. Elliott Skeer is the 2015 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA champion. Neil Verhagen, short shifting in turn 17 over the bumps to settle the tail of the car down. Neil Verhagen has gone up 11 places from 14th to third! Amazing! Verhagen grabs the curb and slides sideways! Samantha Tan is getting suited and booted, getting psyched to go for a win. We have about three more laps before the pit window opens here. Verhagen is the quickest of the top three drivers. He is closing in on Skeer hand over fist with the pit window opening soon and we are close to the halfway mark.
Other drivers getting set for their stints. Eric Filgueiras is readying to get into the #28 Porsche and Justin Wetherill will take over the #33 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3. Fourth, fifth, and sixth overall. Jan Heylen in the overall winning car from yesterday and Madison Snow will get into the car soon. Madison Snow, Corey Lewis, and Bryan Sellers teamed up to win the 12 Hours of Sebring and all three of them are here competing with different cars and teams here in SRO. That victory came in IMSA in GT3. Verhagen resets the CrowdStrike Fastest lap at 2:00.567 reeling in Elliott Skeer.
Samantha Tan was flying in race two at Road America. She clinched the class win. We could see that #38 BMW be a contender. Eric Filgueiras will dive into the #28 Porsche 911 GT3R and do an undercut for fresh Pirelli P Zeros out of traffic. Pit stop now for the #28. A 79 second delta for fuel, tires, and a driver change. RS1 in the lane. Stevan McAleer out and Eric Filgueiras in. RS1 out of Pompano Beach, Florida. This is the undercut. RS1 founded in 2015. They are top contenders. Neil Verhagen sweeps around Skeer. Skeer did not even challenge it.
Ryan Dalziel remains in the race lead. Heylen in the lane to hand the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche to Madison Snow. MDK Motorsports also in the lane, Trenton Estep handing over the #53 Porsche to Seth Lucas. Tires out of the ovens, or the blankets, but are not completely hot, but not stone cold either. Eric Filgueiras chasing Seth Lucas down. #53 was at the head of the queue when the pit sequence began. Verhagen eking out a 1.2 second gap while Dalziel is consistent continuing to lead by three seconds over Neil Verhagen. This can run two more laps before hitting the pit lane to hand the BMW M4 GT3 to Samantha Tan.
2:01 dead for Colin Braun and Verhagen and Dalziel stay out for one more lap and they have to meet time window by the time the clock hits 40 minutes they have to be in the lane. These Pirelli P Zero tires are incredible as they have life even before changing to a new set and tossing these other ones away handling the heat, the bumps, and a sticky, greasy surface. Neil Verhagen, the Connecticut native, he is a true professional and a sports car racing star. Filgueiras chasing Lucas for a Pro class podium place. Manny Franco now in the #21 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 as Dalziel, Verhagen, and Skeer, will hand over to Wetherill, Tan, and Adelson.
Samantha Tan down and away. A delay for Justin Wetherill dropping to third. Second spot, Adam Adelson for Wright Motorsports, leapfrogging to second place. Tan and Adelson are in the fight and here comes Madison Snow scything past George Kurtz. He is now going to chase down Wetherill, Tan, and Adelson. RS1 used the undercut and it worked. Filgueiras has passed Lucas and is now chasing Jeff Burton in the #91 DXDT Mercedes-AMG GT3. He sends it to the inside. Filgueiras is going to push, push, push. Seth Lucas also passes Burton into tower corner.
Samantha Tan inherits the lead of the motor race as co-driver Neil Verhagen is cooling off. Tan has the measure of Adelson as Franco cuts his way through the Pro-Am traffic. Franco has to clear the two Mrrcedes' ahead of Jeff Burton and Scott Smithson. These are the two DXDT cars. Samantha Tan at the top of the shop and Neil Verhagen wearing a bucket hat, keeping cool. He was pushing flat out, not leaving a single stone unturned. He made just one mistake. He left everything on the table and is floored with his effort and the ST Racing team.
35 minutes left on the board. Tan is quickest and she has a boatload of confidence. Tan is displaying better pace than Madison Snow as we watch the squabble for tenth between Burton, Smithson, and Franco. Franco has to solve the riddle being posed by both of these Mercedes'. Chandler Hull and George Kurtz battling for fifth overall and the Hull/Auberlen team are second in the Pro class. Snow leads Hull and Kurtz is a distant fourth in the Pro-Am class. Kurtz and Hull have pulled double duty and Hull has run both a GT4 car and a GT3 car.
The GT3 car has much better braking than the GT4 car, and oodles more downforce. This will likely be a six-point swing and one point difference in the Pro class with double points on offer for the Indianapolis 8 Hours. Bartone Brothers with RealTime Racing might be making their last start. I don't think they will contest at Indianapolis. They ate in Pro-Am, Anthony Bartone and Adam Christodoulou. They are headed to Europe for next year and GT World Challenge Europe it sounds like. They could be at Indianapolis, and we'll see about that. Great to see RealTime back and they will be back next year.
Great to see the Bartone family involved, too, the drag racing legends. Derek DeBoer and Seth Lucas battling, trying hard to keep up with Eric Filgueiras. Adam Adelson and Madison Snow, squabbling with both of the Wright Motorsports Porsche's. Adelson opens the door letting Snow through. Team boss John Wright should be happy about this. Triarsi Competizione had trouble with the driver's door shutting on the pit stop and that is why they lost time. Samantha Tan has been quickest car on track ever since she took over the car.
Madison Snow is 12 seconds or so in-arrears. No need to take risks. But Adam Adelson better get a wriggle on and book it to keep from being swallowed up by teammate Adam Adelson who is getting scrappy. Burton, Smithson, and Bartone, three Mercedes-AMG's going for it. Will we see Bartone Brothers at Indianapolis? I don't know. Andy Pilgrim at RealTime Racing says this has been a growing period for Anthony Bartone, learning how to road race, like a sponge. So they will race with SRO in Europe and Asia in the near future.
Pilgrim, a Corvette brand ambassador for many years. Andy Pilgrim a former SRO champion with Cadillac Racing and a five-time podium finisher at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Hull passes Adelson and now we also are seeing Manny Franco chasing down Derek DeBoer. Six podiums for Hull and Auberlen but just a single win to show for it in 2023. Race wins are crucial with the SRO points structure and maybe they will be back in 2024. Jeff Burton has run down Derek DeBoer for fifth in the Pro-Am division.
Jeff Burton has motored away from teammate Scott Smithson. Samantha Tan could very well win this race but still 20 minutes left on the board. DeBoer, Burton, Smithson, these are the cars we are cfocusing on as Manny Franco is now running down Seth Lucas. Ferrari 296 GT3 vs. Porsche 911 GT3R (992). Smithson and Burton racing each other, the two DXDT teammates. The points standings are still very close. A one-point margin between first and second and 29 points back to third place. Not one event or one weekend. A complete season.
Burton spins down the Ulmann straight losing the tail! Oy yoy yoy! He's stuck in the middle of the road and thankfully gets back on the button. What a bear! Just too fast into the turn, pinched the curb slightly. Samantha Tan leads Madison Snow by 10.3 seconds, starting 14th, and stone last on the grid, but now in the lead. No Full Course Yellows to aid their cause either and they finished second from the back in race one yesterday. In Pro, a 30 point swing between Filgueiras and McAleer and Auberlen and Hull.
Nil points for Racer's Edge Acura with Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher. They will be resetting before Indianapolis in two weeks. Could mother nature throw a spanner in the works? There are sprinkles around but no sign yet of a classic pop-up Florida shower. Scott Smithson now challenging Derek DeBoer and Anthony Bartone now in the picture as well. Smithson wants it but gets stymied on corner exit. Bartone guarding the inside, settling back in line. Inside the final 15 minutes of the last 90-minute sprint race of the year.
DeBoer handling the pressure well. Smithson drops a wheel and is absolutely going for it, Bartone literally eating his dust. BMW and Samantha Tan fastest at 162 miles an hour. Everyone else within a mile an hour or two. Derek DeBoer had rarely driven a GT3 car before 2023 but has stepped up into these cars and done it with aplomb. His father raced top alcohol dragsters and his grandpa was a dirt track racer. He won the 2015 Aston Martin Le Mans Festival in a GT4 Aston Martin factory car. Keep the car online.
Smithson tries down the inside, releases the brakes, and spins DeBoer around! DeBoer continues and now, Burton passes through. Smithson will draw the ire of the stewards for that move. The incident is under review as George Kurtz is running well. Derek DeBoer's wife is the operator of the sponsor of the car, Free Life Coaching. Drive through penalty incident responsibility for Smithson. Inside the final ten minutes of the motor race. Smithson misjudged his braking point. Samantha Tan leads by a healthy margin. Madison Snow cutting into the margin but not too much.
Neil Verhagen cut the fastest lap at 2:00.567, the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap. She has seven seconds in hand to second place. ST Racing will head for Indianapolis with a boatload of confidence. ST Racing leads Wright Motorsports by seven and a half seconds. Samantha Tan over Madison Snow while Justin Wetherill and George Kurtz are both closing in on Adam Adelson. Snow and Heylen look to sweep Pro class wins at Sebring this weekend. Will Samantha Tan keep pushing or accept what she has?
Chandler Hull running third in the #94 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT3. George Kurtz drawing a bead on Justin Wetherill. We'll have two laps to go. The skies at Sebring are gray but the rain showers will miss us as the race is almost over. Kurtz reeling in Wetherill hand over fist. The Ferrari 296 built by Oreca after years of Michelotto building the cars. The Vincent Van Gogh liveried ST Racing BMW and under the white flag, Samantha Tan is 3.7 miles away from her first overall win in Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.
Adam Adelson is clear of the fight between George Kurtz and Justin Wetherill. Kurtz could be strong into the hairpin at turn seven. Wetherill under pressure but holding fast. No drama at the front and Samantha Tan, Neil Verhagen, and ST Racing win Sebring race two! Madison Snow sweeps the weekend in the Pro class. 6.4 seconds the margin of victory. Chandler Hull secures a podium for BimmerWorld. Wetherill on the Pro-Am podium with Ryan Dalziel. Manny Franco and Alessandro Balzan are coming in. Fifth place. Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer get a Pro class podium.
Jeff Burton racing Derek DeBoer for 11th and 12th. Smithson out of the picture. For the final time. It will be Derek DeBoer hanging on by 3/10ths of a second. Car #38 comes from last to first! Cue the dance music for the results sheet.
Overall/Pro-Am: #38 Verhagen/Tan ST Racing BMW M4 GT3
Pro: #45 Heylen/Snow Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R (992)
This victory means the world to Samantha Tan completing all levels of the SRO ladder from touring cars all the way up to GT3. She is a racer, not just a racing driver. Wright Motorsports sweeps the Pro class this weekend with Madison Snow and Jan Heylen. A great effort for Wright Motorsports. The team car finishes second with Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer. Our next race will be a true endurance race, racing into the night at the Indianapolis 8 Hours with a three-driver lineup, coming up in two weeks, and we should see a fabulous entry list for that race coming up.
The champagne flies! Celebration ensues. Drink it up. It's Sunday. We've got two weeks until Indianapolis as I mentioned. The points championship will come into focus as we get set for the Indianapolis 8 Hours. Incredible to see Neil Verhagen come in and gel with the ST Racing team and surely, they've found the magic sauce. Verhagen, an American driver, but knows the European tracks much more, racing in Europe for a long time. The title fights are on in Pro and Pro-Am as we get set for Indianapolis as I've mentioned a handful of times, but the excitement, the thrill of this big race is going to be massive.
We will put a bow on the championship at The Brickyard. It'll be fabulous! Join us there, won't you? For now, from Sebring International Raceway in Central Florida citrus country, so long everybody. Take care.
Webb, Stephens Come Out on Top in Sebring Race 2
Michai Stephens, Jesse Webb claim pivotal Race 2 victory at Sebring International Raceway...
Pirelli GT4 America: Sebring, Race 3
We are now ready to go for the second and final race of the weekend for Pirelli GT4 America, here at Sebring International Raceway. Again, another series where championships are on the line with just two events left after today in a doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is the wrap-up of the tripleheader. We have had duels aplenty. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish call the action topside with Amanda Busick in the pit lane. Parker Thompson on pole in the Toyota Supra with Kenton Koch in the BMW M4 GT4 to his outside for Random Vandals Racing. We will also watch the #2 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin, Jason Bell sharing with Michael Cooper. Everyone is tired, patience fraying, and everyone will just have to go for it.
The finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway also in prospect in two weeks as the engines have fired. Charlie Postins has clinched the Am class championship, back-to-back. Charlie Postins says the two championships are very different keeping steady momentum in 2022 but starting off badly for 2023 for a slow burn. But they won six races on the bounce and the competition has really stepped up, and so the '23 title feels more special. 34 cars will start this race. A couple damaged cars from yesterday are starting caboose on the grid. One more pace lap before we turn the GT4 cars loose.
We had two vastly different races in the first two. Clean and green in race one and a wreck fest in race two yesterday. What will today bring? We'll see. Andy Lee will be driving Marco Solo due to force majeur. Elias Sabo was in a big crash yesterday. Andy Lee has to jump out of the car, run to the pit wall, get back in the car, and then go, adding three seconds to the minimum stop time and it hurt Eric Powell in the Techsport Nissan Z GT4 as well. Andy Lee will have to start from the pit lane. Safety car lights off. Field in two-by-two formation with Parker Thompson and Kenton Koch on the front row.
Through Sunset Bend. Green flag! Away we go! Kenton Koch hangs with Parker Thomspon as they scream into turn one. Tight stuff between Michai Stephens and Kenton Koch. Into turn three, Kristensen Corner. Everyone through the first sequence of corners but still side by side. Single file into the hairpin. Jason Hart third. Zac Anderson side by side with another car going for a ride, dicing with the #35 Conquest Mercedes of Cedric Sbirrazuoli, the Monegasque driver. Anderson has moved up a couple places. Aaron Povoledo has dropped like a stone after starting tenth. Chandler Hull and Harry Gottsacker are starting to move up in the #38 STR38 BMW M4 GT4.
#438 I think, truly. The bumps prevalent through turn 17 and turn one. Jason Hart trying to make a move on Parker Thompson putting a gap on Kay van Berlo. Andy Lee back in the pit lane and now, Tyler McQuarrie has also dropped places from 18th to 20th. Nolasport have the momentum and the experience in the championship. Am class lead duel between Terry Borcheller and Jaden Lander. Povoledo and Hull pressing each other as Koch is pushed by Thompson. Parker Thompson has dropped Jason Hart.
BMW, Toyota, Porsche, Mercedes. Michael Cooper in the #2 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 sharing with Jason Bell, coming under pressure from Brian Heitkotter in the #23 Nissan Z GT4 with Nissan management looking on. Heitkotter sharing with Tyler Stone. Michai Stephens fourth overall and third in class. He is separated by a Pro-Am car and the Mercedes does not quite have the straightaway speed they want. It is nip and tuck between Koch and Thompson, the Thompson Supra has the Dan Gurney All American Racers GTP prototype program in the '80s and early '90s.
Thompson tries to get a run but Koch can begin to press the bye bye button. For second in Pro-am the battle is on between Kay van Berlo and Michael Cooper along with Brian Heitkotter. Cooper actually got by van Berlo and Heitkotter followed through. Cooper and Heitkotter now scrapping for position in Pro-Am. Nissan Z GT4 vs. Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Jason Hart third on the road under pressure from Michai Stephens. A quiet bloke is Heitkotter letting his racing do the talking, making the transition from sim racing to real world, full metal racing. He also won the 2012 British GT Championship.
He is fighting with former GT4 champion Michael Cooper as Parker Thompson is pressurizing Kenton Koch for all he's worth. He wants to give co-driver Daniel Hanley a cushion. Elias Sabo talking to Darren Law at Flying Lizard but will not race today after the wreck with Gray Newell yesterday. Michai Stephens pressing Jason Hart. This is the sorest Elias Sabo has been. Oh no! Jason Hart, the Pro-Am leader pulls to the side of the road with big trouble! Dear oh dear! He has to do a control, alt, delete. No fire in the belly of the Porsche into Sunset Bend.
Now he is back underway and is on the track but diving for the pit lane. Goodness gracious. That is massive. Co-driver and team boss Matt Travis has no news. He has no idea what is going on. No power as the car does fire up. These cars are so reliable today. Kay van Berlo will have car owner Curt Swearingin take over later on. Meanwhile, we are watching Koch and Thompson scrap. Maybe Jason Hart lost drive, possibly a broken driveshaft. A couple Aston Martin's of Aaron Povoledo and the #24 Heart of Racing car of Hannah Grisham coming to grief, synchronized spinning into Sunset Bend. It has been a rough road for Heart of Racing in the last couple of weekends.
Kenton Koch has set CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:11.636. Jason Hart out of the car and they need to repair the car. Is it game over? Maybe. They could come back out but they will be down the order fr sure. Nolasport are a top-notch team. Very unexpected. This is Sebring, a car breaking circuit, why the manufacturers test here. These cars are going through more strain than usual with a third race, an extra race in the schedule. Parker Thompson resets fastest lap again and Koch has to be feisty and Parker Thompson sends it through the hairpin and makes a move.
Can Thompson make good his escape? Michai Stephens making inroads as Michael Cooper continues having his hands full with Brian Heitkotter in the Nissan Z GT4. Koch coming back at Thompson and has to check up into Sunset Bend. Thompson pinches him and now, Stephens is beginning to move into the picture towing Cooper and Heitkotter right with him. Almost 1/3rd of the race done and dusted as Terry Borcheller leads Jaden Lander, and Austin Krainz in the Am class. Colin Garrett, the new and two-time TCX champion sharing with Johann Schwartz. Now here comes the #253 BMW M4 GT4 in Am with Satakal Khalsa at the wheel of it fighting with Lee Carpentier.
Thompson, Koch, Stephens, Cooper, Heitkotter, van Berlo, Anderson, Borcheller, Andrew Davis, and Cedric Sbirrazuoli, the top ten. The pit window will open for driver changes in under five minutes. No tire changes and no refueling, also, bleed air pressure or check it in the tires. Run deeper into the ten -minute pit window. Tony Gaples who won in GT America, picked up his first victory since 2017, so six years ago. Carpentier, Halcomb, Khalsa. All Am class cars. Two Porsche Cayman's and a BMW M4 GT4. ACI Motorsports winning in class, Richard Edge and Matt Halcomb.
Khalsa rolling speed to try and pass the Porsche, porpoising across the road. Khalsa living his dream but he likely won't return to SRO GT4 in 2024. Such a shame. Oh boy! Halcomb runs wide. Auto Technic Racing out of New Milford, Connecticut. Kay van Berlo in Pro-Am defending from Zac Anderson in the Silver class before he hands off to John Capestro-Dubets. Leaders shall pit next time by. Dan Hanley will take over from Parker Thompson who will race against Kevin Boehm and Jesse Webb. Anderson inside van Berlo and did not leave each other much room. Terry Borcheller within striking distance, the Am class leader.
Terry Borcheller has great history in sports car racing. Andrew Davis runs behind Terry Borcheller. Cedric Sbirrazuoli tenth, as the pit window opens. Jesse Webb will take over from Michai Stephens and they are going off strategy to leapfrog the competition and covers them in case of Full Course Yellow. Chandler Hull will turn over to Harry Gottsacker. Eric Powell makes his pit stop, driving Marco Solo. Eric and Eric, an evenly matched driving team! Tee hee! Crucial Motorsports brings the #80 McLaren Artura GT4 into the lane. Nick Longhi, and Kaia Teo. Kenton Koch has now caught Parker Thompson.
Halfway home. Parker Thompson sending it through turn 17, Sunset Bend. They are going deeper into the window. 2:11.441 CrowdStrike Fastest Lap for Kenton Koch in the CrowdStrike car. Minimum pit time is 84 second as they are chasing after Tommy Johnson in another of the Mercedes-AMG GT4's. We are indeed officially halfway home. Side by side fight in Pro-Am between Michael Cooper and Brian Heitkotter. Kenton Koch to the lane for Random Vandals. A warning, a final warning for contact from the stewards.
Heitkotter to the lane as well, handing over to Tyler Stone, his co-driver. Jesse Webb now has clear road ahead of him to lay down flyer after flyer, doing the undercut to get out of traffic. Kevin Boehm into the #92 BMW M4 GT4. He will be pressed by Jesse Webb who has to extract the pace and can indeed do so. Kevin Boehm will be under pressure from Jesse Webb. Just give me an easy race and get me out of this blasted hornets' nest! Parker Thompson now in the lane. He will hand over the #999 Toyota Supra to Dan Hanley. A similar thing to what we saw on Friday evening.
Don't run afowl of the 84 second minimum pit lane delta. Dan Hanley leaving the pit lane and should hang onto the margin. Oof! Jesse Webb was trying to cut across and almost went off the road! We have a three-way fight for the Silver class lead. Hanley vs. Boehm vs. Webb. The Toyota understeers through turn 16 down the Ulmann straightaway. Hanley guards inside. Boehm tries but is vulnerable to Webb! I think the BMW has the pwoer advantage. Ross Chouest off the road and has had pear shaped races in both championships he runs. Webb passes and sets his sights on Dan Hanley.
Chouest parked at the side of the road after also having woes in GT America. Meanwhile, Boehm chasing Webb who is fending off the challenge. He has to adjust his driving style and be more aggressive in a GT4 car than in a touring car where he has come from. Jason Bell leads Pro-Am with John Capestro-Dubets coming. The top three in Am are running together. Nick Shanny, Austin Krainz, Anthony Geraci. Boehm to the door of Jesse Webb, side by side through Sunset Bend. Webb holds on and the drag race continues. Boehm is being driven nuts by the Mercedes driver!
No dice. Dan Hanley cackling like a madman as these two other chaps are fighting each other. Boehm loses time and Jesse Webb can now reel in Hanley. The BMW is strong. Boehm is learning, stepping up his game. Shanny, Geraci, and Krainz all pushing in Am with Charlie Postins behind, the Am class champion elect. Geraci pours on the steam and now Webb presses Hanley for the lead down the Ulmann straight. Three wide and Boehm goes from third to first! Webb retakes the lead down the straightaway or through Sunset Bend!
Boehm trying again into turn one. Hanley slotting into third place. Jesse Webb needs this victory, and they need more points to even have a chance to go for it in the finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Geraci passes Shanny in Am and Krainz is coming. Postins is right in the fight as well, look. The wildcard is the Pro-Am points leading BMW M4 GT4 of James Walker Jr. chasing down Custodio Toledo, the Brazilian. Nick Shanny has made huge progress being tutored by Terry Borcheller as Charlie Postins is catching Roland Krainz hand over fist.
This race has flown by with only 15 minutes left. Postins takes a lunge on Shanny who drops a place to Krainz. Geraci leading. Krainz second and Postins in third place. A 1.6 second post-race time penalty given to Curt Swearingin and Kay van Berlo for being under the minimum pit delta. Jesse Webb getting into a rhythm, not the best straightaway speed, but consistent lap time. The points gap between the top three for the championship is only 40. Eric Bachelart and Conquest will be at home when we get to Indianapolis. They also run a dozen cars in Ferrari Challenge, two GT4 cars, and the Ferrari 296 GT3 in Fanatec GT World Challenge America for Manny Franco and Alessandro Balzan.
Jesse Webb will be back next year but we don't know if Michai Stephens will be back or not. He has done everything but win a championship. The Am class title for Postins and Clay is sweeter this year than last year because the competition has stepped up in spades. RS1 and Bimmerworld will be scrapping wheel to wheel in race two for Fanatec GT World Challenge America, too. Dan Hanley is indeed putting in a great drive. Parker Thompson tells us that it is Hanley's first year of racing, but he is holding his own, handling the traffic, and winning a race as they did on Friday. He is trustworthy and has learned a bunch from Parker Thompson as well.
Thompson admits he missed turn one at the start, somehow, and he did pass Kenton Koch. The straight-line speed of the Toyota Supra is not quite there, Thompson, the reigning Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion. Geraci being harried by Postins as Tyler Stone is dropping down the order. James Walker Jr. also looking to move up in their battle with Nolasport and Jason Hart sharing with Matt Travis. We have a whole host of drive through penalties for pit lane speed infringement including Dan Hanley among a bunch more! Dear oh dear! I wonder if it was on pit in or pit out.
Zac Anderson and John Capestro-Dubets can make inroads. Being on the pit limiter out of the pit box helps but on pit in it is before you hit the button. The infraction came on pit in. Hanley will drop down the order and so Capestro-Dubets will move up. Is Capestro-Dubets aware? He very well could be. Hanley hits the pit lane to serve the penalty moving JCD and Harry Gottsacker up the order. Tom Collingwood and John Tecce, the #81 BGB Porsche Cayman off the road. Tecce at the wheel of it. That could be put under local yellow.
But there are other cars as we talked about that must serve penalties. White flag next time by for Jesse Webb. White flag. One lap to go in the final GT4 America race at Sebring in 2023. Francis Selldorff chases Jason Bell but those are different classes. Anthony Geraci passes Custodio Toledo. Different classes. No worries. Charlie Postins though, even though he is champion, he still wants to push. Eric Powell passes Postins and now wants by Toledo. Toledo slides wide and Powell makes the pass. Clean and green out front. Conquest Racing with JMF Motorsports and team bosses Eric Bachelart and John Farrow, Jesse Webb on the precipice of another race win.
Jesse Webb and Michai Stephens win race three for Pirelli GT4 America at Sebring, heading for Indianapolis with a shot at the title. Boehm second, Capestro-Dubets third, Gottsacker fourth. Jason Bell and Michael Cooper win Pro-Am. In the Am class it will be Anthony Geraci, Jaden Lander, and Krugspeed.
Overall/Silver: #34 Webb/Stephens Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4
Pro-Am: #2 Bell/Cooper Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
Am: #72 Geraci/Lander Krugspeed Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
Cue the dance music for the results. So, all the Sebring GT4 races are now completed. This one was again absolutely wild but fun to watch. All that remains are the last two races of the year at "The Brickyard", Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in just two weeks. Join us there for the climax, for the exciting conclusion, to the 2023 Pirelli GT4 America season. For now, so long from Sebring, everybody. But don't go anyplace. Race two of Fanatec GT World Challenge America is coming up, very soon. It'll be a great one.
TC America: Sebring, Race 2
We are set to go for the second and final TC America event of the weekend here at Sebring International Raceway. After this race, just two remain, for the finale, in two weeks, from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, "The Brickyard". It is time for the tin tops to tackle Sebring again. Who will conquer the famous bumps of Sebring? We'll find out soon. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish calling the action topside, with Amanda Busick in pit lane, as always. In TCX, the battle is on between Colin Garrett and Lucas Catania, in the scrap for the championship. It is cool by Florida standards which is great for these touring cars, production-based vehicles, that can heat soak if they run closer together too often. In TCX it is a mix between BMW M2's and Honda Civic's. Mini, Hyundai, and Honda battling for the TC class honors. Jeff Ricca vs. Clay Williams and Cristian Perocarpi. Turbo trouble for Jeff Ricca yesterday and some uncertainty about it.
If Clay Williams finishes second in the last three races he can get the championship but can't have a cushion that is too big. The manufacturer's cup battle between Mini and Hyundai is one to watch. Spencer Bucknum in the clear after Devin Anderson failed to score yesterday. He is in damage limitation mode after an electrical issue yesterday. A 20-car field for today's race. Cristian Perocarpi has to be wondering how his car will work and Clay Williams, his teammate is also in the fight. So, we've set the stage and should see cooperation from the Mini's.
As we have talked about, Sebring is one of a kind and all about the bumps. All over the runways developed here in the 1940s before and during WW. II. The track opened in 1950, first race held New Year's Eve of 1950, the Sam Collier 6 Hours memorial race. The first 12 Hours of Sebring came in 1952 and the United States Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1959. OK. Green flag for the TCX cars with Colin Garret on pole and we're off! Garrett a good start, and now, the TC field are away as well. Jeff Ricca leading.
Perocarpi goes for it early doors. In TCA, Spencer Bucknum leads as Lambros and Che make contact! Shaoyi Che tried a gpa that was not there and Joe Pizzuto makes a move on Lucas Catania. The tire temperature is just not there. Lucas Catania has to beat Colin Garrett to keep the championship alive heading for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Meanwhile in TC, Jeff Ricca wants to go for the sweep, breaking out the broom. Cristian Perocarpi is going for it trying to help teammate Clay Williams for the championship.
Perocarpi is piling the pressure on Ricca. The rear wing on the Mini, over the Sebring bumps, moving and flexing. There is a shimmy in that car it looks like. LAP Motorsports runs the Mini's, based in Brownsburg, Indiana. This weekend they have Mini technicians from Orlando, Florida, Dallas, Texas, and Arizona. Colin Garrett being kept honest by debutant Joe Pizzuto, a local Sebring native who knows this track like the back of his hand. Will Lambros being told to move behind P.J. Groenke and Shaoyi Che. Meanwhile, he has gone to the tail end of the field. He got roughed up into turn one.
Spencer Bucknum now being chased down by Devin Anderson who remains second in the Subaru BRZ. Bucknum in the Honda Civic Si FE1. Kenny Schmied tagged out of fifth spot as Maddie Aust tries to pass Joe Catania. This is in TCX and a late lunge by Catania on Kenny Schmied. Colin Garrett on the defense. Lambros all over Shaoyi Che now. Spencer Bucknum still leading Devin Anderson. Oh no! Clay Williams has stopped on the road and looks like he is restarting. He had to recycle the electronics, and this costs him dearly.
50% of the race distance must be covered to earn points. Colin Garrett sets the Crowdstrike Fastest Lap of the motor race in the 2:19 range. The Mini team does not know why the cars lose power and have to recycle the car. They have had turbocharger and turbo boost issues. They don't have enough for Jeff Ricca and the Hyundai Elantra as Williams passes Jeremiah Burton. Williams' car is running correctly once again. Kenny Schmied in recovery mode and poor old Clay Williams has gone a lap down and is in damage limitation mode.
Lucas Catania resets CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:19.610. Rooster Hall Racing running in both TC America and in Pirelli GT4 America as well. Joe Pizzuto is hanging tough, and Colin Garrett really has to push. Pizzuto is taking the fight to Garrett. Trouble for Shaoyi Che in the Subaru BRZ, off the road and trying to make the safe haven on the inside. Something is wrong with the car. Garrett exrending his lead over Pizzuto and Catania but who are staying right in it. These two do not know how Pizzuto races and what his style of driving is.
The case of the missing lap for Clay Williams, the team believes he did not lose a lap and that he should be scored behind Sally McNulty. So, he can make up places on the road to try and salvage the day in race two with a healthy lead in the drivers' championship. He has caught Sally McNulty in the GenRacer car. McNulty will be going for it, running with GenRacer. McNulty races in another championship as well. Be fast but be likable too and Sally McNulty has a likable, bubbly personality. We do not know the full extent of the timing and scoring issue as Jeremiah Burton is in the pit lane and we don't know yet why.
Colin Garrett still leading and Celso Neto, the Brazilian, having another strong run but yet to hit victory lane. Catania keeping Pizzuto close. Colin Garrett making no mistakes. He is getting the job done as we'd expect. The TCA fight rages between Spencer Bucknum and Devin Anderson. Bucknum will extend his lead if he wins the race today. Devin Anderson needs to take risks before the final doubleheader of races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in just two weeks. Anderson behind Bucknum, filling the mirrors of the race leader.
Clay Williams has passed Sally McNulty doing damage limitation to the points gap between he and Ricca in TC. He has work to do to catch Celso Neto. McNulty is going for it again and Clay Williams is having trouble again with the power loss and the reset. Williams now back in the fight. That's strange. Coming up on the halfway mark in the motor race. Williams runs 13 points ahead of Jeff Ricca, 222-209. Ricca on the back foot after not racing at Circuit of the Americas due to running the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring and also, had a horrible weekend at Virginia International Raceway in June. Spencer Bucknum, a third-generation racer, father Jeff, and Grandfather Ronnie.
Devin Anderson is 17 points behind Spencer Bucknum in the championship 230-213. He can see the championship trophy. Colin Garrett will wrap up the title today if he wins over Lucas Catania. The margin is 64 points, 249-185. Colin Garrett had a great year of racing in 2022 in TCX. Spencer Bucknum, meanwhile, is being chased down by Devin Anderson and more trouble for Jeremiah Burton. Bucknum and Anderson continue their battle as we will see them fighting for the title at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the final pair of races in two weeks.
Anderson coming in a hurry. L.A. Honda World in Los Angeles, California, and Techsport based at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. Anderson really, really has to push. No room for Anderson. Bucknum being proactive. Bucknum taking a wide line. The driver behind the wheel knows what works best. Joseph Pizzuto has had a fabulous debut for Extreme Velocity Motorsports battling with Lucas Catania who has won this year finally. Pizzuti, at 2:19.523, sets CrowdStrike Fastest Lap. A great effort at Rigid Speed, who are not full-time racers. P.J. Groenke has the lone TCA spec Mini in the race this weekend as Pizzuto runs wide.
Colin Garrett is a second and a half to the good over Pizzuto and as they run he would be in the fight for the title. Christopher DeFreitas battling Kenny Schmied in TCX. Schmied's spin will be analyzed after the race ends. Clay Williams has been able to charge up to third place and pass Celso Neto. Anderson has loose bodywork and Bucknum runs wide. Anderson tries through Sunset Bend but no dice. That was very, very close to contact! Holy cow! Great respect between these two drivers, who are early in their careers, and we could be talking about them for a long time to come.
Inside the final ten minutes of this motor race. Anderson pogoing over the bumps in Sunset Bend. The overall leader, Colin Garrett is catching this battle and Anderson tries the inside but no dice. Bucknum slams the door in his face. Garrett pops out to the outside. Anderson gets stymied by Bucknum. Bucknum's line compro,ised on corner entry to Sunset Bend. Anderson gets the door slammed on him again and here comes Pizzuto and Catania. This is the tight stuff right here. Anderson gets the door opened and are side by side. Bucknum squeezes him. Anderson pushing hard for the lead and makes the pass!
Bucknum has pace and Anderson slides wide. Pizzuto and Catania scrapping for second and Anderson gets passed by Yoshihara. Anderson and Bucknum side by side in Collier corner. Bucknum takes the lead again! This is sensational racing! Unbelievable! Great racing! Garrett stretching the lead out with less than five minutes on the board. Bucknum and Anderson scrapping in TCA still. Joe Pizzuto on the podium in TCX as we hear from the owner of the team. Bucknum and Anderson into the hairpin, Anderson tries to send it and nails Bucknum who goes off the road and back on! Yikes!
Maddie Aust entering the picture in TCX and now, Catania clears Bucknum. Devin Anderson really fast on corner entry to Sunset Bend and Bucknum checks up. Anderson warned for incident responsibility. Anderson dives to the inside sending it and goes for the lead. Bucknum returns the favor! Side by side, wheel to wheel! Still side by side! Great driving! Anderson inside to the hairpin. Bucknum deep on the brakes but no and Anderson stays in front! Bucknum again to the inside! He puts his nose in front. Anderson over the curbs!
The Honda has more midrange torque than the Subaru BRZ does. Each time a pass is made the points swing by seven and Anderson tries the outside. White flag for the overall leaders. They bang wheels again. The body panels flying! Anderson sending it into Sunsert Bend, tucking it to the inside and not this time. Bucknum still in the lead! Schmied tries the pitsude and Anderson dives inside Kenny Schmied in the TCX BMW. Bucknum slides and is off the road! Anderson is through and Bucknum loses the spot! Anderson's Subaru, wounded, tires fading.
Rear damage to the muffler on Bucknum's Honda who has a healthy margin over Will Lambros in third spot. Colin Garrett leads as Pizzuto and Catania fight for second. Colin Garrett wins the race and clinches the 2023 SRO America TC America TCX championship! Pizxzuto on the podium just behind Lucas Catania. In TCA, Bucknum has caught Anderson back up. Anderson not done yet. Bucknum is going to settle for second and Devin Anderson and TechSport Racing win the TCA class. In TC it will be a clean sweep of the weekend for Jeff Ricca, GenRacer and Hyundai!
Cristian Perocarpi has dropped to third and Clay Williams will score second place points. This helps his buffer in the driver's championship with the final two races to come at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks. The new TCX champion, Colin Garrett. Pizzuto at 2:19.523 earns the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the race and ends up on the podium on debut! Cue the synthesizer dance music for the results sheet.
Overall/TCX: #44 Colin Garrett Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup)
TC: #78 Jeff Ricca Genracer/Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TC
TCA: #22 Devin Anderson TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ
So, the TC America second race at Sebring is done and dusted and we now have just two more races left to go at "The Brickyard", at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the world's most famous racetrack, coming up in two weeks. Excited about that. Jeff Ricca and Clay Williams will be battling for the TC title. It'll be a fight to the finish. Devin Anderson did what he needed to do and "wore out" Spencer Bucknum. We'll see you at Indianapolis for the finale in two weeks. Take care, everybody. Bye bye.
GT America: Sebring, Race 2
Good morning, everyone and welcome to day two of racing action at Sebring as we get underway this morning, with GT America race two action, starting now. It seems like today's schedule has been moved up from where a lot of people thought it would be. It is time to bring the action, we have three races to go. Memo Gidley has 25 points over Jason Daskalos. Ross Chouest, Robb Holland, and Jason Bell will contend for the title. Ryan Myrehn, and Calvin Fish call the action for us and Amanda Busick reporting from the pit lane on this much cooler weekend for racing and it is not scorching hot.
We saw Memo Gidley win race one yesterday. Three races to go. Today at Sebring and two more left at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ross Chouest may just have to drop his score this weekend as yesterday was not a good race. Elias Sabo was supposed to start this race but instead, he will race only in Pirelli GT4 America later this morning. Jason Bell and Robb Holland will be scrapping. Jason Bell's co-driver Michael Cooper says Bell is extremely consistent. Cooper is Bell's GT4 America co-driver and his driver coach. The engines have fired up and so we are ready to get going.
We thought Memo Gidley was on pole, but he is starting fourth. Maybe he had a penalty, but we still need to know. We'll work out what the deal is and let you know. Memo Gidley starts fourth because of a tech infraction, a tire pressure monitoring sensor. There are passing capabilities at Sebring, but there are also places for defensive driving. The tire pressure situation is a performance advantage for lower tire pressures than what is prescribed by the SRO and by Pirelli. This is the second of two formation laps. Sebring is a legendary place. The bumps are not the only part that make this place a tough track. It is flat being an airfield and turn one and turn 17 are two of the most demanding corners not just on this track but in all of motor racing anywhere.
The GT3 cars have good damper systems. Jason Daskalos is going to do all he can to stay in the fight. He has to beat Memo Gidley to keep his title hopes alive. Adam Adelson will get feisty and put his elbows out in that 992 model Porsche 911. Bell and Holland the protagonists in GT4. We've got a green flag! It's go time! Sebring race two is on! Daskalos gets to the lead and Adelson, Gidley, and Kurtz are all scrapping immediately into Kristensen Corner as George Kurtz moves to second. Kurtz and Adelson are also dueling in Fanatec GT World Challenge America we'll see later today.
Anthony Bartone also coming into the picture. In GT4, good start for Robb Holland right in the wheel tracks of Jason Bell. In cool morning conditions the Porsche Cayman will have an advantage with the normally aspirated flat six motor. Holland has to go for it to stay in the fight. Adelson falling into the clutches of Memo Gidley, the championship leader. Peaks and valleys all over Gidley's season, dominating the first race yesterday.
Adelson slides wide with Gidley on the ideal, preferred line. They give each other a nudge, and Gidley keeps his foot in it. Now, he is chasing George Kurtz. Johnny O'Connell, eight-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring has gone around both Todd Treffert and Anthony Bartone. This is the older Audi R8 and SKI Autosport has also run a Ferrari 458 Italia. But in 2024 they have a new GT3 car coming, and we'll see what car they choose. Corvette will release their new GT3 car. Corvette will have a GT3 car in GT World Challenge America and at Indianapolis next time out we shall see who the team is who will race it.
Tony Gaples with the Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, this is the final year of homologation for that car and so we will not see it next year. I wonder what car Tony Gaples will race in the future. Ray Sorensen leads the Black Dog Speed Shop team and has many former Newman/Haas IndyCar team members there as Scott Blind slides wide and Tim Savage too is going for it in another Aston for The Racer's Group. Tim Savage wants to get to the big enduros in sports car racing soon. Kris Wilson, a former SRO America race winner is Tim Savage's driver coach. Gray Newell, too, is beginning to go for it and he and Elias Sabo had a tangle yesterday.
Jason Bell is disappointed he has no competition from Sabo but glad he will get more points. Ross Chouest, too, is making his move on GT4 veteran Tom Collingwood in another Porsche Cayman. Chouest is the reigning GT4 GT America champion from 2022. Daskalos, Kurtz, Gidley, Adelson. Three Mercedes' and a Porsche. Eight drivers are doing double duty. In GT America, developing drivers can do that and learn how to race in one of the other championships here in SRO America. It is not unheard of, to see drivers racing in this championship and in Fanatec GT World Challenge America.
The 992 Porsche and the 911.II Porsche, they drive completely differently. Adelson is happier ina GT3 car than in a GT4. 2:02.857, CrowdStrike Fastest Lap so far, goes to Memo Gidley. Mirco Schultis in the Callaway Corvette GT3 is out of the race. Will he campaign a C8 GT3 Corvette next year, or not? We'll see. Gidley trying to make his move on Kurtz in the fight for second with championship implications. Gidley wrestling his hands around. I wonder why. He does have the pace but is using his head as an expeirenced driver and not throwing caution to the wind.
Jason Daskalos extends his lead and here comes Adelson joining the party with Kurtz and Gidley. They are having a little party, and they didn't invite me! We'll, I'll invite myself in anyway! The bump sequence under the bridge, you really need to be consistent with where you hit them and you are on your toes all the time, wrestling the car. Hit your marks. Gidley staying in line and Adelson has designs of getting third place back, not in GT America for the title. Ditto for George Kurtz, the reigning champion.
Kurtz has won a lot of championships and big races as 2:02.666 is the new fastest lap for Daskalos and his lead has ballooned to 2.2 seconds. Daskalos has to beat Gidley. George Kurtz was title rival to Daskalos last year but now he must trust Kurtz to keep Gidley behind. 2:02.325, new fastest lap to Daskalos. Well, well, well. Still 25 minutes to go, a lot of meat on the bone as far as race time and distance. Johnny O'Connell has passed by Anthony Bartone. O'Connell is doing all he can but losing time to the rest of the SRO3 field. In GT4, Jason Bell continues to lead Robb Holland and Tony Gaples.
Tim Savage and Scott Blind in a battle of their own as Ross Chouest is now seventh behind Gray Newell. Daskalos still laying down fast lap after fast lap. With two races to go, 15 points would be the difference, 274-259 between Daskalos and Kurtz. Great respect between these two drivers and they had a phenomenal battle at Road America a number of weeks ago. O'Connel far quicker and trying to catch Adelson. We watch Andy Wilzoch in the silver and red Porsche 911 GT3R checking in with Flying Lizard team boss Darren Law. Flying Lizard has been around since 2004 and Andy Wilzoch is racing his final season, and his final race today, because he cannot make the races at Indianapolis.
Memo Gidley makes the pass, through Sunset Bend on George Kurtz. Johnny O'Connell, charging, absolutely going for it. O'Connell won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1994 in the Clayton Cunningham Nissan 300ZX Turbo in the IMSA championship. O'Connell in the Audi fastest in sector two. Handling, aero, and cornering very important there, but losing time and speed down the straightaways. We have gone past the halfway mark. Daskalos leads Gidley by 4.8 seconds but now, Gidley had cut it down and 2:01.949 new fastest lap for Gidley who has chopped the gap down to 4.1 seconds as Tony Gaples makes a move on Robb Holland.
Wonderful to see Tony Gaples back racing here in SRO, Black Dog Speed Shop based out of Chicago. Gaples in position for his best result of the year and now, Robb Holland is going to go for it and slams the door in his face. Holland is desperate to catch up with Jason Bell before the Indianapolis duo of races that mark the season finale. Don't get scrappy. Jason Bell is at one of his home tracks, out of Tampa Bay, Florida. 269-227, so, 42 points between Holland and Bell. When you drop race scores it is a full race weekend dropped, not an individual race.
The leaders are mired in GT4 traffic. Kurtz still being chased by Adelson. The GT4 cars corner well. Traffic management is a skill in any skilled endurance racer's toolbox. Adelson has a head of steam trying to get by Kurtz and Johnny O'Connell reads it and gets a head of steam passing Adelson! Wow! Now he is going to monster George Kurtz. O'Connell, vastly experienced. He is going for a podium. Tim Savage in the GT4 Aston Martin knew what was coming and moved out of the way. O'Connell is not going to play anymore and makes his move on Kurtz who has Adelson still on his six.
Here comes Todd Treffert too, in the #41 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Treffert could be a champion in GT America if he comes back to this championship in 2024. He was asking a random trivia question on the radio. Who was the butler in "The Munsters"? I have no idea. Gidley is very likely to be in the championship hunt and Jason Daskalos still needs to push hard. Oof! Gidley drops the wheels off in the dirt down the Ulmann straightaway! In SRO3 you cannot drop scores. Scott Blind gets really loose and saves the Aston Martin! That was close! Adelson is off as well, look, as Treffert is closing and fast.
Adelson vulnerable to the vintage racer, Treffert. Oy yoy yoy! This championship has really stepped up, as Gray Newell is now defending from Scott Blind and Andy Wilzoch splits them. That is the SRO3 Flying Lizard Porsche. The GT4 cars corner well but they don't have the horsepower or the speed down the straightaways that the GT3's do. Gidley moving fast and a new fastest lap for Gidley at 2:01.924. 1.4 seconds the gap, with eight and a half minutes left. Don't get into the cadence, the rhythm of the driver ahead of you.
O'Connell has made good his escape over Kurtz and Adelson. Tony Gaples is closing in one Jason Bell. Gaples, if he passes Bell that would help Robb Holland. Bell has everything to lose and Gaples has nothing to lose. Funny because Michael Cooper knows Tony Gaples well, too. Think big picture and don't let Gaples get inside your head. Michael Cooper drove for Black Dog Speed Shop years ago. Bell answers with his own fastest lap. Gaples has caught him. Bell managed the race yesterday but today he has his hands full.
Memo Gidley is moving in on Daskalos for the overall lead of the motor race. Just over five minutes to go. Gaples closing on Bell who is carrying the speed. The Aston Martin is handling the Sebring bumps just fine. Gaples gets stymied by the SRO3 Porsche of Wilzoch who compromises Bell and gives Gaples a bite of the cherry. Daskalos leads Gidley by three seconds. The overall lead remains up for grabs. Memo Gidley coming in a big hurry. It is all about risk vs. reward. It is a massive swing, seven points between first and second, a 14-point swing in total.
Five miles of racing left for Jason Daskalos to hang on. In GT4, Gaples closing again on Jason Bell. The cars are evenly matched up here well. I think the Aston Martin is sharper on direction change than the Camaro. White flag. One lap to go. It is Daskalos vs. Gidley and just two rounds remaining. Gaples off and on and Bell gets passed. Can Jason Bell respond? Bell runs wide and gets loose over the curb. Daskalos stays in the fight if he wins. Gidley wants to do the double. Daskalos hitting his marks perfectly. Time is running out. The Ulmann straight and then Sunset Bend. Gidley flashing the lights.
He sends it to the inside. Daskalos protects. Daskalos wins! We have a championship brawl headed for the finale at Indianapolis! Gidley, O'Connell, Kurtz, Adelson, the top five. In GT4, Tony Gaples gaps Jason Bell who might not have enough left. Tony Gaples a longtime member of the SRO paddock. Tony Gaples is going to win Sebring race two in GT4!
Overall/SRO3: #27 Jason Daskalos CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
GT4: #5 Tony Gaples Blackdog Speed Shop Chevroler Camaro GT4.R
Newell holds off the challenges from Blind and Chouest in GT4. 2:01.924, fastest lap of the motor race goes to Gidley. Driving offline, get tire pickup for adding weight and ride height to the car for post-race scrutineering. Green to checker win for Daskalos, cue the dance music for the results. Wow. What a motor race that was! Chevrolet back in the winners' circle in GT4 here at Sebring. Ross Chouest with a weekend to forget but has an outside shot at repeating a GT4 championship headed for the finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
So, we'll see you for the finale at "The Brickyard" in just two weeks' time. For now, from the orange groves of Sebring International Raceway, so long everybody. More racing still to come on this Sunday. Stay tuned.
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Saturday Sebring Race Broadcasts
The race broadcasts of the Saturday action from SRO America at Sebring International Raceway on SRO GTWorld. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish call the action from the broadcast booth, with Amanda Busick reporting from the pit lane.
TC America
GT America
GT World Challenge America
Pirelli GT4 America
Koch Slides to Victory in Caution-Filled Saturday Race
Kenton Koch makes late-race charge to win Saturday's Pirelli GT4 America round at Sebring...
Pirelli GT4 America: Sebring, Race 2
The final race for Saturday at Sebring is the second race of the weekend (but first overall, official race) for Pirelli GT4 America. We had a wonderful race one yesterday evening. That was a makeup from a washout at NOLA Motorsports Park. Much of the cream has risen to the top here in GT4. We are looking for another fabulous hourlong race and we had a very clean race last night, too. Jesse Webb and Michai Stephens on pole in the #34 Conquest Mercedes with the #88 STR38 BMW outside with Harry Gottsacker and Chandler Hull. All GT4 cars with three classes, Silver, Pro-Am, and Am, based on driver ratings. A one-hour race with a mandatory pit stop in the middle for only a driver change. No refueling and use one set of tires for the whole race, one set of Pirelli P Zero tires.
Charlie Postins and James Clay could clinch the Am class GT4 America title today. They are going for seven straight wins and eight in total in 2023. They said they were done after 2022, not so, and they have come back and blitzed the field again. Crucial laps behind the safety car around this 3.74 mile circuit getting the tires and brakes set for the run into the treacherous turn one. Safety car lights off. Jesse Webb on pole with Harry Gottsacker to the outside, driving front wheel drive touring cars and rear wheel drive GT cars. The field is formed up. Gren flag. We are underway! They fan out already in a land rush to turn one.
Matt Travis moves to the inside of Kevin Boehm already. Lots of cars running wide and off the road into the grass! Nick Longhi in the McLaren Artura GT4 all over the road as Jesse Webb is eking out a gap and a massive crash at the back with Elias Sabo spearing off the road and into the barriers! Rianna O'Meara-Hunt and Gray Newell both off the road! Calamity and disaster for The Heart of Racing. A massive field of GT4 cars congested like mad. Much feistier than yesterday after a clean event last night.
Rianna O'Meara-Hunt is fine and she is back in the race but there is grass in the front grille of the car. Two cars have clouted the barrier. Gray Newell is one and Elias Sabo too. Those are heavily damaged cars and both drivers out of their cars under their own steam. Thank heavens they are OK after plowing into the concrete barriers at unabated speed. Sabo runs with a different car in GTA, GT America. If they needed a spare car they would have to go to the back of the grid. Gray Newell also runs in GT America and Pirelli GT4 America, and I don't know if they have separate cars for each race. Rianna O'Meara-Hunt almost got collected.
It is a shame that Hannah Grisham and Rianna O'Meara-Hunt have not had the results that they wanted. The yellow does throw a wrench into strategy except for tire preservation. That is a moot point. I think the only thing will be a driver combination where a stronger starting driver cannot build a gap before the second driver hits the track. So, strategy is not a big deal really and this eases the pain a bit. Matt Travis, third overall, leading Pro-Am has a buffer over Ross Chouest and Jason Bell. Chouest sharing with Aaron Povoledo and Michael Cooper sharing with Jason Bell. That shemozzle happened in turn six and the pinch point spears both of them off the road.
A lucky escape for the second Heart of Racing car. That was a violent crash, as violent as anything I have seen in these Pirelli GT4 America races. Andy Lee says it was a huge hit and is thankful Elias Sabo is out of the car and OK. Flying Lizard will regroup for race three tomorrow. It had to be more evasive action than actual contact. So, we have a single file restart coming up and we've chewed and swallowed ten minutes off the clock. Where is Paul Sparta? He has no laps on the board and had to take evasive action in turn one with grass in the radiator. Green flag. We go back to racing as Harry Gottsacker is right on Jesse Webb's six.
JCD, John Capestro-Dubets looks outside Matt Travis, and Kevin Boehm is beginning to motor. Johann Schwartz has argy bargy with Richard Rdge and the #89 RENNTech Mercedes nearly comes a cropper! Tommy Johnson sharing with Michael Auriemma. I think it is Auriemma starting. Kevin Conway moving up and we see a battle now between Charlie Postins and Nick Longhi as Kevin Boehm muscles his way by Zac Anderson who scrapped hard for the podium yesterday. A spin for one of the Am class cars and it is hard to tell who it is. Dan Hanley is pushing hard and he held onto the lead sharing with Parker Thompson yesterday evening.
Travis running defensively. He is pushing, is Matt Travis, to stay ahead of Ross Chouest. Matt Travis has the battling BMW's behind along with Daniel Hanley in the Toyota Supra as Johann Schwartz is chasing Jason Bell and we have a spin for the #18 Porsche Cayman for Roland and Austin Krainz. Dropping a wheel off in the dirt, and there could be a right rear flat Pirelli tire for Roland Krainz. He and his son Austin Krainz had a great race yesterday as a car goes off and on in tower corner. Rianna O'Meara-Hunt in recovery mode and a tight squeeze through Sunset Bend. Nelson Calle closes the door chasing down Joey Dasilva.
Calle passes O'Meara-Hunt. Different classes too, based on driver grading, all GT4 cars. Gottsacker pressuring Webb into the hairpin. These two chaps are half a second apart. Chandler Hull will take over for the second stint and he was on the podium in the Fanatec GT World Challenge race an hour ago or so. Four Silver class cars take up space to the next Pro-Am car. Bell and Chouest have been racing for wins and championships in GT America as well as in GT4 America. They draft down the Ulmann straightaway. Kevin Boehm getting used to this BMW learning on race weekends with no testing available.
He dominated in the touring car ranks in years past. Capestro-Dubets trying Boehm to the outside through turn three and Capestro-Dubets pokes his nose in but gets sliced by Hanley who gets a head of steam. Excuse me. Hanley has a head of steam on JCD while Kevin Boehm wants to move past Matt Travis, in a championship fight of his own. Charlie Postins has caught Richard Edge for the Am lead and JCD gets to Kevin Boehm's door. He can answer back, using thrust. That was bananas! They race hard and race clean. Capestro-Dubets looks right and jinks left to the inside of Boehm and Boehm spins and Hanley takes evasive action!
There was a jinx there! Sheesh! I said it. Commentator's curse. Quality racing? Here's it all again, in slow mpotion. Boeh,m is squeezed and Hanley thankfully did not get collected! That was incredible! The space of a sheet of A4 paper! This is Dan Hanley's first season racing any car at all. Postins passes Edge and Nick Longhi coming forward. BMW M4 GT4 vs, Porsche Cayman vs. McLaren Artura GT4. Nick Longhi won with Rumbum Racing and Matt Plumb in SRO. Longhi has mentored promising talents like Aurora Straus. Much like Niclas Jonsson has done the same thing, the Swede. Longhi paired with Kaia Teo, 17 years old from New Jersey.
She started racing in Spec Miata at age 13. Harry Gotrsacker turns the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:11.988 with the pit window coming up in about six minutes. Nick Shanny goes off in the dirt, spears across the wrong and hits the wall on the... boom! This might bring out a safety car which would delay the opening of the pit window. Safety Car dispatched. Full Course Yellow. The window will be delayed on the next lap after the restart. Try opening it on a round number on the clock and will last ten minutes, to shorten up the final stint especially if you run deep into the window. It gets tricky. Don't back yourself into a corner.
The minimum pit lane delta from pit in to pit out is 84 seconds including the driver change and no one second joker to use. Anything over the minimum is a drive through penalty issued by the stewards and now, Nick Shanny is back on the road, thankfully. No damage or mechanical woe. The Boehm and Capestro-Dubets shemozzle is under review and now Dubets is in the top three in Silver and I don't think the stewards are going to call this. Zac Anderson says two cars were fighting really hard to turn one and there was no coexistence. JCD will not magically disappear with a wall in the way.
We have to coexist. That is the opinion. Eyes up, hammer down. If you hit a turn one bump, your steering input too, will change the arc of the car through the turn. Incident under review. No idea of the adjudication yet. The stewards just might let them get away without a penalty. There is a donut on the door of the #51 BMW with John Capestro-Dubets third and Kevin Boehm and Kenton Koch are 13th hanging onto their championship hopes by their fingernails. Parker Thompson tells us about Dan Hanley, keep digging. He was sad that he didnt go to the inside. He Scandinavian flicked that car in the right direction and they will keep it up.
Maybe they should buy a lottery ticket, but they want the champagne this evening, Parker Thompson says. Green flag. Harry Gottsacker has a head of steam and Capestro-Dubets tries it and now JCD is up to P2! Trouble for Jesse Webb! I wonder if he has clag on his tires or worse, a cut down tire. Pit window to open next time by as Eric Powell is moving up. He is not feeling well and had to take an IV before the race. Colin Harrison hurt himself outside the car and so Powell is running Marco Solo and he has to jump out, run to the wall, and get back in, adding three extra seconds to the pit stop. Other teams have done it. Zac Anderson did the same last time these cars races when JCD wasn't available.
Webb will have to push now, and they dive for the pit lane as do a bunch of other cars, ready for the driver change. The pit window is now open. All Pro-Am cars are in. Postins hands off to James Clay looking for their seventh straight victory and the Am class title with three races to go. JCD has a donut on the car from yesterday's race as well. Michai Stephens is now in the Conquest Mercedes. Jason Hart in the Nolasport Mercedes and Parker Thompson now in the Toyota Supra, Supra quick! Supra quick? Super quick? Take both. Better to be born lucky than rich.
Auto Technic to the lane to get Zac Anderson into the car so JCD's back will be OK. Drivers will be in a rhythm. Harry Gottsacker can now maximize the pace of the car. 22 minutes left in the race. Nick Longhi staying out in the Crucial Motorsports McLaren before handing off to Kaia Teo. The overcut might work. Zac Anderson goes through and has to get going to get ahead of Michai Stephens. Kenton Koch making up for lost time. It is go time. Michael Cooper takes the #2 Aston Martin over from Jason Bell in the Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
Michael Cooper has championships in SRO America in TC, GT4, and GT3, as Andrew Davis fights with Aaron Povoledo and Tyler McQuarrie. No extreme heat in Sebring for a change. Harry Gottsacker and Nick Longhi are the only two drivers who owe us a pit stop. Chandler Hull coming out of a GT3 car into a GT4 car with different power, handling, and braking points, as Kaia Teo, she will cycle into the Am class order. Drive through penalty for a restart violation for Harry Gottsacker! That smashes their hopes to bits! Oh man, oh man!
Gottsacker taking the pain now and they will actually have to do their mandatory stop as well. Samantha Tan Racing had two penalties in the GT3 race earlier. Chandler Hull will get into the car and then have to drive back through the pit lane next time by. So this gamble did not work out. Anderson leads Stephens with Parker Thompson coming back into the picture as well. Don't sleep on the triple nine Supra. Michai Stephen closing up and Kaia Teo, she is off the road. Hello, tires. Ugh! Will this develop into a safety car? She ran wide, and got nto the grass, and a big clonk with the tire bundles. Safety car deployed. #88 have not served their drive through penalty yet and I think they'll just have to take a time penalty or something.
They are out of the points and the potential for a podium. Kenton Koch has moved up and Michai Stephens too, will catch up, with Zac Anderson's gap erased. The #88 BMW M4 GT4 did serve their penalty according to race control. Jason Hart and Michael Cooper closing in. Hart in the fight for the title but Cooper has no skin in the game. Something has happened in Am to James Clay and Charlie Postins, flying Plummet Airways to fourth in class. Matt Halcomb leads Chris Allen, so, it is ACI Motorsports vs. STR38 I believe. A top four finish might just seal the deal for the #36 team. They'd still have enough as someone has their doormopen. That is Eric Powell. He is not feeling well.
Nissan putting everything into this GT4 program and Brian Heitkotter will start at the pointy end for race two tomorrow, race three, actually. Time penalties for short pit stops to Kay van Berlo in car #7 post-race. Tommy Johnson in the #89 Mercedes and the #80 car, Kaia Teo, out of the race for bringing ou this yellow. Academic for the Crucial Motorsports McLaren Artura GT4 she shares with Nick Longhi. Kenton Koch sits fourth, fighting for a podium spot. Satakal Khalsa in the #253 car, it is a one and done year for he and Rob Walker in the Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4.
Khalsa wants to win before the season is out. We have a restart with seven minutes to go. Buckle up. Cinch down the belts for bringing the action. Green flag. Parker Thompson and Kenton Koch driving through the red mist and a big off for John Geesbreght in the Toyota Supra and a fight for the lead! Parker Thompson told to go for it and Kenton Koch is pushing but the safgety car is out! That could be game over for any green flag running! Holy mackerel! Is John Geesbreght OK? We really hope so. Aaron Povoledo could have gotten a piece of that shemozzle. I suspect we will not restart this race.
Rather anticlimactic, eh? Oh. This is JCD and Kevin Boehm apologizing to each other for their coming together. The turn one lap one incident under review by race control. White flag. One more lap to go under yellow. This situation has indeed corrected itself. Just leave it alone, probably. John Geesbreght's Toyota Supra is still buried in the tires. The steward's office will be busy sorting all this stuff out. No tea and biscuits for the drivers but tea and biscuits for the stewards indeed, or coffee and biscuits, maybe. Matt Halcomb and ACI Motorsports are positioned well for a race win and Dr. Robert Mau and Chris Allen will come home second.
Random Vandals are ready to celebrate an improbable win here in race two of the weekend in Pirelli GT4 America, from 13th to the win! Both drivers in the incident are OK. Ub reokatm ig nab! Gyge gut fir Geesbreght and then outside, inside, and into the lead for Kenton Koch over Parker Thompson. Holy mackerel! The results of this race will likely be provisional when we are talking about the class winners. There are no gaps under yellow and it would cause someone if there was an applied time penalty to fly Plummet Airways down the order.
Race three tomorrow, we might make some changes. The checkered flag waves. Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm win this race! Random Vandals do it. Zac Anderson third. Parker Thompson on the podium again for Hanley Motorsports. Pro-Am has Jason Hart, Michael Cooper, and Tyler McQuarrie. Matt Halcome, provisionally is the Am winner as we cue the dance music again.
Overall/Silver: #92 Boehm/Koch Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4
Pro-Am: #47 Travis/Hart NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Am: #58 Edge/Halcome ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
A lot still to be looked at and we'll be back tomorrow for race three of the weekend and we'll have to sort out these incidents including the Geesbreght and Povoledo shemozzle we saw. The stewards will have a long night ahead, including Race Director Brian Till. So, a wild second race for Pirelli GT4 America at Sebring is now complete. We'll see you tomorrow for the third race of the weekend and any news, we'll pass it along to you this evening or tomorrow. Kenton Koch is a star in GT4 racing. Take note. Believe me.
Pirelli GT4 America race of the year? Could very well be. ...And, we've got more action tomorrow! We'll see you then. For now, good night from Sebring International Raceway amid the orange groves of central Florida. Bye bye.
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