We are set to go now, for the second and final race of the weekend, for the GT3 cars in GT World Challenge America, here at Sebring International Raceway. Yesterday, it was the RS1 Porsche 911 GT3R in the hands of Trent Hindman and Spencer Pumpelly, earning the overall win. Can they do the double? Will other challengers in the GT3 ranks have something to say? Sebring International Raceway is located in the heart of the Everglades and is a former WW. II. bomber training base. We have a packed grid of GT3 cars setting up for race two of the weekend. The weather is hot. We are in the low 80s ambient, but still with hot track temperatures. The cars can grip better with the tires. What will the Regulator Racing Mercedes of Jeff Burton and Philip Ellis be able to do, the #91 Mercedes-AMG GT3?
ST Racing will start from pole with Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen. Verhagen put the car on the pole of course. Neil Verhagen knows the risk and knows everything must go right in qualifying and it did. Everything was executed perfectly. Samantha Tan is a BMW ambassador of course. They want a win after having a tough time of it in the Sebring doubleheader for SRO America here, last fall. Justin Rothberg, has his wife here, and his dog as well. Robby Foley tells us Rothberg's talent is right there and we'll see Justin Rothberg in the second stint of this hour and a half race.
So much wonderful history here with the first running of the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1952. DXDT Corvette Racing in their debut yesterday was tough, but there are high hopes for Scott Smithson and Bryan Sellers, much like a prototype in the skin of a Grand Touring car and they will have their Pro entry set up for Circuit of the Americas with Tommy Milner and Alec Udell. Time for The Star-Spangled Banner. Sebring International Raceway opened in 1950. The old Hendricks Army Airfield concrete continues to serve as the racing surface today.
The #85 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3R of Trent Hindman and Spencer Pumpelly won. Today is Cinco de Mayo. We have several contenders in today's race. Watch out for the other Porsche's from GMG for Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent as well as Wright Motorsports for Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer. Yesterday, Regulator Racing started Pro driver Phil Ellis. Jeff Burton will start today before handing the car to Ellis for the second stint. Ellis will be in good shape if they catch a yellow flag. Driver one and driver two can now be nominated by the teams, with no need to worry about FIA driver ratings.
The new Pirelli P Zero tires are now up to temperature out of the blankets or the ovens. Yesterday we saw the #93 Racer's Edge Acura NSX GT3 run very well with Zach Veach and Luca Mars. Eduardo Delforge from Techlove Motorsports gives the command to start engine. DXDT and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R will be in another test session today after the damage from yesterday and unfortunately, the car is not starting. Now, it does. Bryan Sellers can now take back his grid spot. The next race at Circuit of the America's in two weeks, we'll see a second Corvette with Alec Udell and Tommy Milner.
Tommy Milner did the development driving on the GT3 Corvette. The field on track behind the safety car. Will the strategy work out for Regulator Racing? That'll be an interesting situation to look at as the race goes on. The #04 CrowdStrike by Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 of George Kurtz and Colin Braun, Kurtz does not have the same pace with this car compared to their Mercedes GT3 car in GT America. OK. It is time to get going as Oliver Kornisch from Rowe Motor Oil waves the green flag and away we go!
A couple cars poke out of line as Neil Verhagen leads over Elliott Skeer, Robby Foley, and Colin Braun. Skeer is pushing hard from the start trying to make his move on Neil Verhagen. Skeer in the wheel tracks of Neil Verhagen who leads Pro-Am and Skeer leads Pro. Aaron Povoledo off and back on as Robby Foley wants to pass Eliott Skeer and can't quite make it. Tom Sargent, too, is another contencer early on. Zach Veach has moved up as well, just inside the top ten. This battle is for Robby Foley keeping in touch with the other BMW of Verhagen. Skeer blocking defensively approaching Sunset Bend.
BMW won Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch in Kent, England. Foley is looking very aggressive while Skeer is definitely committed, too. His save in qualifying was the save of his career. He is continuing to push like no tomorrow pursuing Neil Verhagen and fending off Foley's challenge. BMW, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, followed by Bryan Sellers in the #08 DXDT Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Apprehensive moments on the grid but the car is running well now chasing after Trent Hindman in the Porsche through the Le Mans curve.
Third gear corner, onto the Ulmann straight, ramping up the speed to 160 miles an hour before braking hard for Sunset Bend. Turn and then brake. That is very tough to do. Perhaps the toughest corner on a North American race track as Neil Verhagen goes purple in sectors one and three with Elliott Skeer fastest in the middle sector. Bryan Sellers is settling into a rhythm with the Corvette in sixth place. Scott Smithson and David Askew said the car was down on power, short shifting. In short shifting, it works over the bumps, but it causes wheel hop and wheelspin.
You do not need compromise at this level, though. That new Corvette is a good-looking race car. Two cars shown purple in sector two. Verhagen and Skeer, equal sector times! But Robby Foley is wearing Skeer out like a rented mule. My gosh. The Pro-Am class cars are starting their Pro drivers save for Jeff Burton in the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The mandatory Silver rated drivers will race in the second stint. Trent Hindman after winning yesterday is fifth right behind Colin Braun. Eric Filgueiras, on the war wagon, taking it in. He raced here one year ago in GT World Challenge with Stevan McAleer and of course Filgueiras and his team took the win in Pirelli GT4 America race one yesterday.
Sellers is flying in pursuit of Trent Hindman as Thomas Sargent is now reeling in Bill Auberlen. BMW M4 GT3 vs. Porsche 911 GT3R. Many moons ago, Bill Auberlen and Bryan Sellers ran BMW's and Tommy Milner is a GM driver, but his dad Tom Milner Sr. ran BMWs for the Prototype Technology Group. Sellers taking a wide angle into Tower corner. Andy Lee and Aaron Povoledo battle each other moving up to GT3 with their respective teams after being competitors in GT4 over the past seasons. Ross Chouest is Povoledo's co-driver and Elias Sabo, Andy Lee's co-driver. These four all raced last year in Pirelli GT4 America.
Robby Foley might gain more pace if he can clear Elliott Skeer. The top three are the fastest cars on the road. Verhagen, Skeer, and Foley, all in the 2:01 range. Colin Braun best of the rest. Neil Verhagen, CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:01.161. Foley was fastest last time by. He might have something for Verhagen if he can make a move on Skeer. Porsches are strong in the first two sectors and the BMW answers the bell in sector three. The curbs here at Sebring are very steep. Ride the curb like a cushion on a dirt track.
Verhagen, Skeer, Foley, the top three, still, as we have been racing for almost 15 minutes. Skeer is surrounded by out of class cars. Trent Hindman in fifth is the next Pro class automobile, the #85 Porsche for RS1. Foley has now passed Elliott Skeer, not for class position, but for overall placing and he will run down Neil Verhagen in the race lead. BMW on BMW. ST Racing vs. Turner Motorsports, taco day on this Cinco de Mayo if they can do the job. Later this month, Turner Motorsports will break the record of starts by a BMW customer team currently held by the legendary Team Schnitzer who have raced BMW's for decades and decades.
Race Control issues a drive through penalty for Neil Verhagen! Race start violation! Oh, my heavens! Did he jump the start too early? Article 45.16, pace. It must have to do with the speed which he came to take the green flag or lack of consistency in pace. Maybe he slowed the pace down and stacked up the field before the green waved. Verhagen will be in damage control mode. They won the race on the road last year and lost it after post-race scrutineering. Verhagen has a window of time in which he can serve the penalty. The car slowed significantly in the start zone. Hence, the penalty that was called.
Robby Foley will inherit the race lead. Justin Rothburg, in his first GT3 season, could lead the race later on. He has been on the podium, yesterday, in Fanatec GT and in GT America. Can they win? We'll have to see how Colin Braun and George Kurtz do as well in the #04 CrowdStrike Mercedes as Verhagen serves his drive through penalty and will lose 30 seconds at least trundling down the lane at 50 miles an hour. So, the battle for the overall lead is Foley vs. Skeer. Verhagen must get his head down and try to recover.
Verhagen just barely goes ahead of Jeff Burton. Verhagen will have the red mist and just want to go for it. Trent Hindman, fourth overall and second in the Pro class is also beginning to motor. But he is trailing behind Colin Braun's Mercedes. This is Justin Rothberg's second time doing a driver change in a sports car race, but he is getting used to doing what he must. Don Salama is the strategist and Jay O'Connell is the chief engineer at Turner Motorsports. Foley settling in and pulling a gap out on Elliott Skeer with an hour and five minutes to go.
Colin Braun matching Elliott Skeer's lap times and Robby Foley should be the fastest car on the road. CrowdStrike Racing swept at Sonoma Raceway but after Verhagen and Tan won yesterday, ST Racing has a brief chance of the lead of the points, but these penalties are going to be swinging the points tables around before we go to Circuit of the Americas in two weeks. Trent Hindman and Jake Pedersen will be together in the #85 RS1 car later in the season. He is a college student, a racing driver, and a musician. Philip Ellis could indeed move up the order as this race goes on over the next hour or so. Yesterday, the inverse of this strategy made it so the podium was reached by Regulator Racing.
Foley's most recent lap was in the 2:02 range and now Braun, Sellers, and others are moving in, although we are looking at the Pro-Am class. No class battles. Confused by what I am seeing with scoring and what is going on, on the TV screen right now. Bryan Sellers is third in the Pro-Am class in the #08 DXDT Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The Corvette has a flat plane crank 5.5 liter naturally aspirated V8 engine. New CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:00.912! Holy smokes! Verhagen is flying and is a second quicker than Foley who is in tire management mode.
One hour of racing remaining. Robby Foley showing the way. Auberlen is running equal to the leaders as Philip Ellis is getting suited and booted for his stint. 2:01.7 for Neil Verhagen. Again, Verhagen with the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:00.912. So, we will be at the halfway mark in about 13 minutes. Verhagen pulls to the inside of Aaron Povoledo and makes the pass. Verhagen is the fastest car on the road but languishing down in tenth place. Grab the upshift out of turn 13 really quickly. A great rhythm through the S curves and the dyno run down the Ulmann straightaway. The alternate pit lane on the right was for the FIA World Endurance Championship when they raced here.
Andy Lee is Neil Verhagen's next target. Foley leads Skeer by 7/10ths of a second and Trent Hindman is reeling in Colin Braun who will hand over to George Kurtz and Kurtz will be chasing down Justin Rothberg. We are also going to watch Spencer Pumpelly racing with Adam Adelson in the second stint. Bill Auberlen too, is running down Bryan Sellers in the Corvette. Auberlen has much more pace today in the Sunday race than he did yesterday. His young teammate, Varun Choksey will be one to watch. Jeff Burton goes sideways through turn five and has to back out of it.
Ellis won in class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and then, here at Sebring in the 12 Hours of Sebring back in the middle of March. One safety car is what the team at Regulator Racing are hoping for. Jeff Burton has been on the pace but watch for Philip Ellis as he could very well be able to go for a podium. In the meantime, the lead scrap is still between Robby Foley and Elliott Skeer. Jeff Burton needs to stay in touch with the rest of the field. Burton's pace is better than it was yesterday compared to the professional drivers. They are working with an engineer who has been in Europe. They had another Mercedes for Smithson and Sellers at Sonoma Raceway last time out before switching to the Corvette.
There is not much in between the professional drivers and their consistency and being monotonous with consistent lap times. That is what the professional drivers are paid to do. Zach Veach might be in the pit lane now and here comes Burton. Jog the car through the corner to avoid the bumps. Racer's Edge in the lane, too, with the Acura NSX GT3. Zach Veach out of the car, and in goes Luca Mars. There' s a height discrepancy between those two drivers. Zach Veach is far taller. Now, Phillip Ellis is into the #91 Regulator Racing Mecedes taking scrubbed sticker tires. The fuel is done and the driver change was slow.
I wonder how much of a delay there was. Hopefully they did not lose too much time. Seat belt issues and now, Regulator Racing, Phillip Ellis, we'll see if he can make inroads. No real worries on the pit stop. You are allowed to be under the minimum pit stop time by about a second. In previous years it was a multiplication of five. The risk vs. reward is all lopsided. So, Philip Ellis is getting up to speed and try to race with the other professional drivers who are experiencing wear on their Pirelli tires. Will he be within touching distance of Neil Verhagen's 2:00.912 fastest lap time. In the meantime, Sellers, Auberlen, and Sarget run together for fifth, sixth, and seventh.
RS1 in the lane pitting early in car #85, getting out of traffic. Hindman will turn over the #85 Porsche 911 GT3R to veteran racer Spencer Pumpelly. There will be a lot of pressure for him and Adam Adelson who will be scrapping. No rush at all. They hold the car to make sure they don't break the delta but there is a major discrepancy between a mechanic telling the driver to go vs. the crew chief on the radio saying it to him. One line of communication is all that is necessary. The driver then gets totally confused. Do I stop, or go? We are coming close to the halfway mark in the race. In fact, in mere seconds, we will be there as Ellis goes purple in sector one, fastest of all.
So, Foley leads overall followed by Skeer and Braun. Ellis is down a lap on the road, but the leaders still must pit. Ellis has the Mercedes right on the ragged edge. Foley and Skeer should stay out for the next two laps before they pit. Skeer is closing in on Foley, but this isn't for class position even though it will be for the overall lead of the motor race. Skeer wants to keep the hammer down while Pumpelly has fresher tires. Pumpelly and company are doing what they can to go for the undercut. Turner Motorsports went full time in 2022 here in SRO GT World Challenge America and ran just a single event at Virginia International Raceway, last summer.
Ellis has not caught the traffic ahead, but there, look, he drops two wheels outside of turn one! Holy cow! That was close! He is pushing at 11/10ths right now! Ellis resets the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap bringing it down to a 2:00.724. This shows you that he is flying and that is the only way he can make the strategy work without a Full Course Yellow. A podium is still possible as ST Racing are in the lane, recovering from their penalty. Verhagen out and Samantha Tan into the car. New tires and fuel. This is not the scenario Samantha Tan would have prepared for. She has to be on the attackm from the word go. Now., more pit action as the leaders come to the lane.
Turner Motorsports, in. Wright Motorsports, in. CrowdStrike by Riley Motorsports, in. Ellis is charging. The Pro-Am battle after these driver changes is about to see Justin Rothberg racing against George Kurtz. We will also see Adam Adelson taking on Spencer Pumpelly. Rothberg's helmet looks really cool. Kyle Washington is into the #32 EBoost Super Fuel Porsche 911 GT3R for GMG Racing. The second ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 has also pitted, and so, Bill Auberlen is out, and Varun Choksey takes over for the second stint. Chouest Povoledo Racing are also in and I want to say that it will be Ross Chouest now in the car.
Pumpelly is screaming down the front straightaway as these cars are exiting the lane after their pit stops. This is going to be squeaky, squeaky time, look. Adelson passes Rothberg, hopefully not clipping the demarcation line. Adelson in the Pro class is being chased by Pumpelly and Adelson throws two wheels into the dirt! Now, we have a battle for second between Justin Rothberg and George Kurtz, and Kurtz has many more years of experience especially in a GT3 car compared to Rothberg. So, how will this all come out in the wash? Kurtz is giving him fits and now, Pumpelly has to slice and dice his way past the others.
Pumpelly's undercut strategy gave him trac position, but he is still behind. Adelson is now running ahead of Pumpelly in class. George Kurtz wants to take the Pro-Am class lead away from Rothberg. With that said, though, Pumpelly has just swept around both Kurtz! Kurtz must settle in and decides discretion is the better part of valor. Kurtz now must pour on the steam to catch back up to Rothberg who is the Pro-Am class leader. Pumpelly needs to pounce on Rothberg who runs wide and Pumpelly slides past and he has clean air between himself and Adam Adelson. But in Pro-Am, Rothberg is defending trying to pass by Pumpelly and George Kurtz gets stymied for a wee while.
Flying Lizard Motorsports, game over for Elias Sabo and Andy Lee. Suspension failure on the #8 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, the new 2024 Evo model. Sebring breaks cars and breaks hearts just the same way. Sebring is a test bed for trying to break race cars. Same as it ever was. The suspension is better. The damping is better. But believe me, the bumps aren't better. They just get worse from year to year, but that is what gives the place it's reputation and it's hashtag of #RespectTheBumps. Things seem to be settling down.
So, as we sort out this whole situation, it is Adam Adelson in the race lead over Spencer Pumpelly. Then, Justin Rothberg is continuing to absorb the pressure from George Kurtz. A distant fifth overall is Varun Choksey. So, It is Porsche, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, BMW. Varun Choksey is third in Pro. Behind him is the third-place Pro-Am car, Scott Smithson in the #08 DXDT Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Kyle Washington is seventh and to get on the Pro-Am podium he must pass Smithson. Samantha Tan in the sister #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 runs in eighth place behind Kyle Washington.
Luca Mars and Philip Ellis complete the top ten and Ellis remains a man on a mission. 35 minutes of racing to go. Ellis is 43 seconds down on the leader and 18 seconds behind Samantha Tan. Scott Smithson is the last Pro car on the podium currently. Spencer Pumpelly is a Silver-rated driver and Ellis I believe is on the same level. Meanwhile, Neil Verhagen was very upset about the penalty. He rolled up and used throttle and brake and hit the rev limiter by mistake. They need to look through more of the data. He was shocked about the drive through penalty and feels he did nothing wrong.
You run the accelerator against the brake pedal to ready for the launch and he must have spiked it for a power boost, momentarily, completely by mistake. Without that penalty the battle between Rothberg and Kurtz it would have been for the lead but now it is second and third. So much time still on the board, over half an hour. Spencer Pumpelly is still quicker than Adelson. Kurtz has won two GT America races this weekend already. Adelson leads the Pro class and Spencer Pumpelly is now just 1.8 seconds behind but was half a second quicker than Adam Adelson. The plot thickens.
George Kurtz had quite the year last year, the CEO of CrowdStrike. Last year he won his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he won an IMSA Endurance Cup championship, the IMSA Petit Le Mans, the Jim Trueman Award, the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Pro-Am title, and finished third in GT America. Racing is his escape. He gets a chance to drive a Mercedes Formula 1 car or two, plus he is the CEO of a major global business in CrowdStrike. Pumpelly is closing in on Adelson with half an hour to go. Meanwhile, for seventh and eighth overall and fourth and fifth in class it is Kyle Washington in the Porsche vs. Samantha Tan in the BMW.
Tan flashing the headlamps and Washington says, "not now, Samantha." A big catch over the bumps in Sunset Bend for Kyle Washington and Tan moves through. As quickly as all of that happened, we now move back to the scrap for the overall lead between Adam Adelson and Spencer Pumpelly and the battle of two Porsche 911's for Wright Motorsports and for RS1. Pumpelly goes sideways momentarily. Manage the tires but he wants to wrestle the lead away from the other Porsche through the Tower turn. Roles have reversed compared to Saturday.
Wright Motorsports have great history at Sebring, and they won last fall in Fanatec GT and had a podium in IMSA at the 12 Hours of Sebring as Adelson using up the road through Sunset Bend! Rothberg still has the measure of George Kurtz, but the race is not over by any stretch. Spencer Pumpelly's father Tom Pumpelly was also an endurance sports car driver. Spencer Pumpelly got into racing while attending college at George Mason University back in 1995. So, he has been racing now for almost 30 years. He is also a team strategist in addition to being a driver. Our mate Calvin Fish drove for Tom Pumpelly's team at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in Ford Probe prototypes.
Quite the team, too, and some top shelf drivers. Calvin Fish, Arie Luyendyk, Tom Gloy, Scott Goodyear, and Bruce Jenner to name a few. Varun Choksey is catching Justin Rothberg and George Kurtz in a big hurry. He is in the Pro class and must catch Adelson and Pumpelly. He has pace, too. 2:02.1 to 2:02.5 for the leaders. Pumpelly tries to make his move through Sunset Bend. In the shadows, here comes Pumpelly and he slices to the inside. Adelson rolls speed to the outside. Two Porsche's roaring down to turn three and Pumpelly makes the move stick, to the lead! Adelson did not hand it to him. He hung tough on the outside.
Rothberg, meanwhile, is still being harried by George Kurtz and here comes the second ST Racing BMW of Varun Choksey, outside of the class of the other two. There is an outside chance of Choksey running down Adelson for a runner up finish. Samantha Tan in the sister #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 is making inroads on Scott Smithson in the #08 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Keep an eye on Philip Ellis, too. He cannot make any inroads on the leaderboard, 15 seconds down on Smithson. 23 minutes remaining. Rothberg has a good run on the Ulmann straight. Varun Choksey was also plotting a move but thought better of it.
This is the Pro-Am lead battle. How will George Kurtz handle Varun Choksey in a different class? Now then, Ellis has caught Mars and Mars has caught Washington. Porsche, Acura, Mercedes. This is not helping Ellis one bit. Luca Mars ninth overall and in a different class and contact between Philip Ellis and Luca Mars! There's damage to the front of Philip Ellis' #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3! The right front corner is damaged I think. No. The hood is bowed up. There should be damage on the rear end of the Acura and the hood is going to lift upwards.
Trouble in paradise for Regulator Racing. Wow. Rothberg now has breathing room. Ellis and Burton will finish down the order now the damage has been taped up. There are no mechanical concerns. Just cosmetic damage is all. Regulator Racing will need a yellow flag. Burton and company want to stickwith their strategy when they get to the next pair of races. Rothberg is now vulnerable to Kurtz and to Varun Choksey. We thought Kurtz was in attack mode but now he has an eye on Choksey, too. Samantha Tan is now only 2.8 seconds behind Scott Smithson in the BMW vs. Corvette battle. Now, this is the lead battle we are watching in Pro-Am. Rothberg vs. Kurtz vs. Choksey.
Through Sunset Bend, Varun Choksey is getting to know how to scrap in multi-class racing. Varun Choksey successfully passes George Kurtz and covers him off. Choksey might be able to make a move on Justin Rothberg. Meanwhile, Spencer Pumpelly has gapped Adam Adelson to the tune of 2.8 seconds. They started in sixth place and dropped down from fifth after doing the undercut for track position on the pit stop. The gap to Adelson in the Pro class is 2.7 seconds. Choksey has cleared Kurtz and now, he will try running down Rothberg. Will Turner Motorsports let Choksey go by? I don't know.
15 minutes to go. Scott Smithson and Samantha Tan continue fighting for third place in Pro-Am. Rothberg lets Choksey by but now has Kurtz right on his six! Choksey is trying to pull clear, but George Kurtz is right up on Justin Rothberg's doorstep. There are sections of the track where the BMW has the legs on the Mercedes but Kurtz can still make inroads. The BMW's have a lot of straightaway speed while the Mercedes has good performance under braking and is more compliant over the bumps here at Sebring in the suspension. Tan has been closing on Smithson, but the Corvette is inching closer as we have 13 minutes to go. Smithson has been running lap times in the high 2:02 range. 2:02.5 for Tan. 2:02.9 for Smithson. 2:04 lap times for Rothberg and Kurtz.
George Kurtz's hand is going to be forced a wee bit. Justin Rothberg and George Kurtz are about to be joined in their scrap y both Scott Smithson and Samantha Tan. Kurtz is closing on the BMW under braking with now just 11 and a half minutes to go. Kurtz is second in the championship with Samantha Tan in fourth place. How will the points work out headed for the next pair of races in a couple of weekends at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas? Now, Phillip Ellis has had to come back to the pit lane as the 200 mile an hour bear bond duct tape on the nose is not holding well. So, it is game over in race two for Regulator Racing.
Rothberg still leads over George Kurtz. Ther pressure is on him. There's only ten minutes to go and now, Varun Choksey is beginning to really turn it on and within two laps Smithson in the Corvette might be right with George Kurtz. A podium finish on debut will bring smiles to the faces at DXDT Racing even though they had a fraught race one yesterday. I think we'll have about four laps to go and four cars going for the victory. Rothberg must dig deep and go for it. 2:03.7 for Rothberg. Smithson is still 6/10ths quicker than Rothberg. Scott Smithson is wringing the Corvette's neck.
Kurtz super late on the brakes and right on Rothberg's tail. Kurtz is monstering Rothberg approaching Tower corner. Rothberg looking for a first career win and Kurtz wants more having swept both races at Sonoma last month. Scott Smithson has wonderful pace and has run down George Kurtz. Samantha Tan is also in the fight. BMW, Mercedes, Corvette, BMW. The top four separated by two and a half seconds. The BMW has the edge in sector three coompared to the Mercedes having it in sector one. Scott Smithson spins out over the curb! He needs to refire the car with the car sideways on the road! That is a heartbreaker!
Tan has lost ground to Kurtz, but she is on the podium. Kurtz is turned loose and is going to chase down Rothberg. Will George Kurtz send it? He ight just do so. Rothberg hung up on corner exit out of turn 16 and down the backstretch. Smithson is back on the road again but that is a terrible development for he and Btyan Sellers in the DXDT Corvette team! Can Justin Rothberg hang on for his first career win. Tan needs to regroup as well. Kurtz is very close now. Rothberg has to go defensive and there i still enough time on the board, four minutes, for Tan to catch them. Adelson is six and a half seconds behind and Varun Choksey is third 16 and a half seconds down. Samantha Tan is motoring on and she will close in on both Justin Rothberg and George Kurtz.
Rothberg has been given a reprieve with Samantha Tan now chasing down George Kurtz. There is about a lap and a half to go. Spencer Pumpelly should see the white flag next time by. Rothberg, Kurtz, Tan. Maintain your own pace and dn't try to fall into the trap of the cadence of your rival. Spencer Pumpelly with a lap to go, looking to sweep the weekend. George Kurtz is playing defense and Samntha Tan tries to pass. Rothberg has ore room. I think Kurtz knew he had to protect the inside into Sunset Bend. One lap to go. First, second and third, nose to tail. Kurtz closing on Rothburg. How badly does Goerge Kurtz want it?
Justin Rothberg is going for it but Kurtz has a head of steam. Tan lunges to the insde and backs off the gas. This is thrilling racing with half a lap left! Rothberg holding his line and is doing fine and now, Samantha Tan is pushing and Kurtz can close back up on Rothberg. Out front, Spencer Pumpelly and Trent Hindman win race two, sweeping the weekend! In the meantime, Rothberg has the edge over Kurtz. Down the backstretch for the final time. One corner to go. Rothberg into turn 17. Kurtz has pressure from Tan. Rothberg, Foley, and Turner Motorsports will celebrate Cinco de Mayo with tacos! Holy smokes! What a finish! What a finish!
With their runner up finish today, this might just give George Kurtz and Colin Braun the championship lead before the next doubleheader of races.
Overall/Pro: #85 Pumpelly/Hindman RS1 Porsche 992 GT3R
Pro-Am: #29 Rothberg/Foley Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
Wow! What a finish! Justin Rothberg was fighting with Johnny O'Connell, "Mr. Sebring" in the GT America sprint event yesterday and I wonder how important those lessons, with O'Connell as the teacher and Rothberg as the pupil, were. I believe they bore fruit today. Justin Rothberg is a quick study and no wonder Robby Foley is bullish about his prospects. It comes at Sebring International Raceway, fighting for it, and fending off the reigning champion as Spencer Pumpelly does a burnout! Very cool!
The undercut strategy really was a big element in both of these races as we cue the dance music for the results. Hearts go out to Scott Smithson for racing so well before his mistake when he spun off the road. There are no guaranteed races for Spencer Pumpelly after this one but that could change with this victory for the Virginia native, now living in Atlanta, Georgia. Spencer Pumpelly and Trent Hinddman are your race winners. So, we'll see you in a couple of weeks at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. So long for now, everyone from Sebring International Raceway. Take care.
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