Sebring – Syndication Server

Breakthrough MPC win for new Aston GT4 at Sebring

It isn’t often that the story is about a team that started 26th overall and won the race. But if you had to guess who did it, you’d probably choose Rebel Rock Racing, Robin Liddell and Frank DePew. Liddell grabbed the lead late in Friday’s race and …

Liddell grabbed the lead late in Friday’s race and made a three-stop strategy work to drive from 26th overall and 23rd in the Grand Sport (GS) class to win the Alan Jay Automotive 120, the second race of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season at Sebring International Raceway.

“It was wonderful,” DePew said. “We didn’t expect this. We’ve just had the car for a little while, and we’d been working on the setup, trying to get the car where we knew what the tires would do.”

The qualifying result didn’t necessarily show what the brand-new No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo could do, but a strategic play that limited the team to just three pit stops during the two-hour race helped DePew and Liddell put themselves in position to win.

“When I was driving, the fronts were completely rooted,” DePew said. “We weren’t even sure about fuel, but we’re completely happy.”

Liddell’s fierce final stint let the No. 71 Aston Martin finish 1.817s ahead of another Aston Martin – the No. 19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 co-driven by Valentin Hasse Clot and Rory van der Steur.

Chad McCumbee and Jenson Altzman finished third in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4, 2.766s behind Liddell.

Miller and Taylor return to TCR victory lane in No. 17 Audi

The four rings is making a whole lot of sense after two wins in two races. Michael Levitt/Lumen

Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor drove the No. 17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSport Audi RS3 LMS TCR to a convincing victory in Touring Car (TCR) class action Friday at Sebring.

Miller engaged in a spirited battle with Motul Pole Award winner Harry Gottsacker in the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR in the first 40 minutes of the two-hour contest. After the various strategies played out over the course of several mid-race cautions, Taylor emerged in the lead.

“It was a smooth weekend from start to finish,” said Taylor. “That’s what we wanted, and the team gave us that. I’m just happy the car ran well. The crew put in a lot of work after Daytona, and here we are.

“It was a tough race nevertheless,” he added. “It might have looked easy, but we were saving as much fuel as possible while just giving it our all there.”

It was the second consecutive Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR win for the No. 17 duo, who also triumphed in the season opening BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway in late January.

“We feel good, but the competition is really tough, and we know those guys are coming,” Miller said. “We had the best strategy today, which won us the race. But there’s a lot of fast cars so we need to keep working.”

Taking the checkered flag in second place was the No. 80 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai shared by Morgan Burkhard and Chase Jones, but the car did not meet minimum ground clearance in post-race technical inspection and was moved to the back of the class.

Andy Lally prevailed in a late-race multi-car scrap in his first race in the No. 12 StarCom Racing Hyundai that he co-drove with Nick Tucker. With the penalty to the No. 80, they moved up to second place with the No. 89 HART Honda Civic FK7 TCR with drivers Chad Gilsinger and Steve Eich taking third.

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge resumes May 11 with a two-hour battle at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

RESULTS

Field, Missig, Bacon take Radical Cup race three spoils at Sebring

With races one and two already in the books on Saturday, Radical Cup North America teams and competitors returned Sunday with one final opportunity to stand atop the podium in race three. In the only wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend that featured a mandatory pitstop, Jordan Missig was able to go three-for-three for the new Graham Rahal Performance program while Chris McMurry had a near perfect affair in Pro 1340 for Crown Racing with APEX. Clint Field got the better of Jon Field in Platinum as names like d’Orlando, Williams, Dyszelski, Schmidt, Anzaldi, Deonarine, Almeida, Blander, and others made their presence felt.

Platinum

Race 3

Taking a win Saturday, Clint Field returned to the top step of the podium Sunday in the third race of the weekend. True to form from the day prior, the Field duo of Clint and Jon claimed the top two positions on track to score their third consecutive one–two finish of the weekend with Clint getting the upper hand over the three-race average. Wayne Williams earned his first podium result of the season as he consistently improved his results through the race weekend with Kevin Poitras mirroring Williams to nab his best finish in Sebring, crossing the line fourth, just ahead of Louis Schriber in fifth. Leaving the Sebring International Raceway, Clint Field has an edge in the championship standings courtesy of his two victories and will now shift his focus to the next event to see if he can keep the momentum on his side.

PRO 1500

Race 3

Former Radical Cup competitor turned open-wheel racer Jordan Missig returned to the series with Graham Rahal Performance and took both race wins on Saturday. Showing his persistence and speed from the very first session, Missig followed it up with yet another win on Sunday. With three wins in three events, the rest of the Pro 1500 field will need to see what they can do to slow the Illinois native down at the next event. Danny Dyszelski scored his third podium result in as many races on the weekend keeping Missig honest to come home second while Evan Slater broke through in race three to score his first career Radical Cup podium result in a talented field of Pro 1500 drivers. While Nick d’Orlando, who scored a pair of podium finishes on Saturday, ran into trouble in race three, Spencer Schmidt and Mike Anzaldi took full advantage of the opportunity and elevated themselves closer to the front of the field, crossing the line in fourth and fifth respectively.

PRO 1340

Race 3

Just like races one and two, Chris McMurry was the class of the field in Pro 1340 adding his third win of the weekend. The top three, including Seth Bacon and Mayer Deonarine remained consistent over the weekend as all three drivers finished on the podium, and in the same position, in all three wheel-to-wheel races. Pushing hard to keep the top three on their toes, Suellio Almeida and Ben Blander rounded out the top five. Following the race, McMurry was penalized for an occurrence during one of the full course cautions and moved down the running order, handing the win to Crown Racing with Apex teammate Bacon. Deonarine earned his best result of the weekend as he was promoted to second with Almeid rounding out the podium.

The Sunoco Hard Charger for race three was Platinum Class racer Kevin Poitras.

Next up for the Radical Cup North America program will be a trip to the picturesque Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama as series teams and competitors will have the opportunity to share the track with the NTT IndyCar Series for the first of four times in 2024.

Fields, Rahal team, McMurry sweep Radical Cup at Sebring

The 2024 Radical Cup North America season saw the first green flag of the season Saturday at the famed Sebring International Raceway. With two wheel-to-wheel races on the day, the only qualifying session kicked off a jam-packed daily activity in Central Florida. As the racing commenced, it was Jon and Clint Field who found their way to the top step of the podium in the Platinum Class while Jordan Missig provided Graham Rahal Performance with their first two wins of the season. Chris McMurry continued his Pro 1340 domination going two-for-two on the day while 14-year-old Mayer Deonarine impressed all.

“The level of competition continues to climb year after year and age does not seem to be a defining factor,” Radical Cup Director Tom Drewer explained. “We have some very clean racing despite the number of rookies who have joined the series in 2024. It is exciting to see the growth, and we can’t wait for the rest of the season.”

The day started with the McDonald’s Pole Position Awards. Lapping the Sebring International Raceway with the fastest laps in the early morning session, Jon Field and ONE Motorsports claimed top honors in the Platinum class while Graham Rahal Performance’s Nick d’Orlando followed suit in Pro 1500 with McMurry putting Crown Racing with Apex on top in Pro 1340.

Platinum Class

Qualifying

1. Jon Field – 2m01.671s

2. Clint Field – 2m02.315s

3. Louis Schriber – 2m02.940s

Race 1

It was a driver with the last name of Field who won race one, but not the pole position winner Jon Field (ONE Motorsports). Advancing from his P2 starting spot, Clint Field (ONE Motorsports) beat his dad and took the win as the checkered flag flew under yellow conditions for a crash involving a Pro 1500 driver. Impressive despite his lack of experience, Clint proved that he is a title contender. With a pair of Fields on the top two steps of the podium, it was Louis Schriber (WISKO Racing) who rounded out the blocks in third after recovering from a testing crash last week that heavily damaged his race car. Dirt Racer turned pavement driver Wayne Williams (ESSES Racing), who had a turbo issue during Friday’s on-track action, added a top-five finish as he started his second year of competition in Radical Cup with Platinum class rookie Gregg Gorski (WISKO Racing) finishing fifth.

Race 2

Jon Field got the better of Clint Field in race two as he was able to move from the outside of the front row in the second starting position to climb his way to the top of the podium. It was another Field and Field one – two finish as Clint Field crossed the line in the second position, albeit more than 13s behind Jon. Chip Romer had a great race going until a late race spin took him off of what would have been his first podium of the season and opened the door for Gorski to cross the line in third. Romer rebounded to finish fifth while Schriber was also able to get by following Gorski through to finish fourth. Jim Booth (WISKO Racing) and Kevin Poitras (Radical Canada East) also gained positions throughout the 18-lap affair to finish sixth and seventh respectively.

PRO 1500

Qualifying

1. Nick d’Orlando – 2m06.467s

2. Danny Dyszelski – 2m06.973s

3. Jordan Missig – 2m07.119s

Race 1

The top three finishers in the Pro 1500 class in race one were Radical XXX machinery with Jordan Missig (GRP) taking his first win in 2024 Radical Cup competition for both himself and Graham Rahal Performance (GRP). 2023 Vice-Champion Danny Dyszelski (RySpec Racing) was able to push himself to a podium result in his first event with a new team crossing the line in third just behind d’Orlando (GRP) in the second position, making it a near-perfect debut for the GRP program. It should be noted that all drivers are under the age of 25 and have all come from events in the popular Road to Indy program. Evan Slater, racing out of the WISKO Racing camp, had an impressive drive to fourth despite little time running the car and the only Pro 1500 driver in the WIKSO Racing program in Sebring. Spencer Schmidt, son of McLaren IndyCar Team Owner Sam Schmidt, also showed the speed to run near the front finishing fifth in his series debut with Stephen Cameron Racing and Radical Northwest just ahead of Romer (ONE Motorsports). Jack Yang (Group-A Racing) had a solid qualifying performance and showed substantial pace in the race before crashing out on the last lap of the race.

Race 2

It was Missig who provided GRP their second win of the weekend but the story of the race was young d’Orlando who had to come from the tail of the field but found himself on the podium in race two. After a first-lap incident, a pit stop to change a cut tire, and a few caution periods, d’Orlando sliced his way through the field to finish third. It was Dyszelski who pushed Missig to the end of the 18-lap race falling just short, but still on the podium in second ahead of d’Orlando as Missig and Dyszelski had an epic race-long battle going back and forth on several occasions. Evan Slater nabbed his second fourth-place result in as many races with Canadian and Racing With Autism’s Austin Riley rebounding from a difficult race one to finish fifth in race two after challenging for a podium result early on. With the Pro 1500 class stacked with competition, Romer, Schmidt, Mike Anzaldi (RYNO with Team Stradale), Drew Altman (RySpec Racing), and Jack Yang all finished in the top 10 and will look to improve on their race three results tomorrow. Drew Altman was the Sunoco Hard Charger of the race for race two.

PRO 1340

Qualifying

1. Chris McMurry – 2m11.198s

2. Mayer Deonarine – 2m11.633s

3. Seth Bacon – 2m11.697s

Race 1

It was a Crown Racing with Apex domination in the Pro 1340 category as McMurry led a one-two finish for the team, just ahead of Seth Bacon in second. 14-year-old Deonarine (RySpec Racing) became the youngest-ever podium winner in Radical Cup North America history standing on the third step. Suellio Almeida (RySpec Racing) earned a top-five result in his Radical debut, outpacing Ben Blander (RYNO with Team Stradale) who crossed the line in the fifth position and was the Sunoco Hard Charger of the Race in race one.

Race 2

McMurry was in a league of his own in the Pro 1340 class as he handily drove to his second win in as many races. Lapping more than a second a lap faster than his fellow 1340 competitors, McMurry passed and outraced a handful of the faster Pro 1500 cars in the 18 laps that were offered. Behind him, it was his Crown Racing with Apex teammate Seth Bacon who finished second and Deonarine in third as the top-three remained unchanged from race one to race two. A good effort came from Suellio Almeida who ran in second for a good chunk of the race before getting caught up by Bacon and Mayer and eventually fell to finish seventh in class behind Ben Blander, Brad Sutika (G-Tech Motorsports), and Douglas George (RySpec Racing).

Teams and competitors will return Sunday for the third and final race of the weekend at 10:40 a.m. EDT.

Weekend live Stream – HERE

Rahal hot shoes Romer and Deonarine impress in Radical Cup Sebring practice

The 2024 Radical Cup North America season officially kicked off Friday at the bumpy and challenging Sebring International Raceway as more than 30 racers hit the track to start a new season. Runoffs winner Chip Romer instantly impressed, Rahal set the new standard with d’Orlando and Missig, and 14-year-old Mayer Deonarine shined in his debut. With the debut of new teams, the efforts of a few teams joining together, and new and returning drivers, the two practice sessions today gave a sneak peek at what is coming this weekend.

Leading the first of two practice sessions was former American LeMans Series and ONE Motorsports driver Jon Field, followed by another Field in Clint Field (ONE Motorsports) as the father and son duo controlled the pace. Behind them, it was SCCA Runoffs winner Romer (ONE Motorsports) in third whose son, Matt, is also competing in the Pro 1500 class, Wayne Williams (ESSES Racing) in fourth, and David Alban (WISKO Racing) who had the pace to solidify himself in the top five. Romer got the best of the Fields in practice two topping the charts in both the Platinum class and overall, with a monster lap. Jon Field led Clint Field for P2 and P3 on the results sheet with 2023 race winner Louis Schriber (WISKO Racing) in fourth, ahead of Platinum class rookie and 2023 Pro 1500 victor Gregg Gorski (WISKO Racing).

The series’ newest team, Graham Rahal Performance (GRP), led the Pro 1500 category as former USF Pro 2000 driver Jordan Missig led Nicholas d’Orlando in a GRP 1-2 result. RySpec Racing’s Danny Dyszelski, who had an uncharacteristic crash to end Thursday’s test session, rebounded Friday morning to finish third as Group-A Racing’s Jack Yang slotted himself just ahead of Cameron Racing with Radical Northwest competitor Evan Slater. D’Orlando bested the rest of the Pro 1500 drivers in practice two as he clocked a lap time that put him just over 0.3s quicker than 2023 vice-champion Dyszelski. Yang remained consistent and in the top five with a drive to P3 on the time sheets with the fastest driver from practice one, Jordan Missig in fourth, narrowly outpacing Slater.

Crown Racing with Apex dominated the Pro 1340 class as multi-time race winner Chris McMurry led teammate Seth Bacon. Sim racer and YouTuber turned road racer Suellio Almeida (RySpec Racing) clocked the third fastest lap of the session with Ben Blander (RYNO with Team Stradale) and Douglas George (RySpec Racing) rounding out the top five. McMurry was only able to complete a few laps in practice two opening the door for Bacon to earn the quickest lap of the session and build some momentum heading into a busy Saturday. Almeida slotted into the second position ahead of 14-year-old Mayer Deonarine (RySpec Racing), Ben Blander, and Brad Sutika (G-Tech Motorsports).

Notes:

This weekend marks the first Radical Cup event for both Romers with Chip in the Platinum class and Matt in Pro 1500. This weekend is only the second time that Chip has been in the car and looked good pacing practice two. Beginning racing in his 40s with karting, Chip immediately entered the Platinum ranks based on his previous race experience. Matt Romer is 27 years old and has come from SCCA FE a couple of years ago as he looks for success in sportscars.
Danny Dyszelski had an uncharacteristic crash at the end of Thursday but his RySpec Racing crew was able to get his car back together and near the top of the charts today.
The much-anticipated debut of the Graham Rahal Performance team is happening this weekend with three drivers including Jordan Missig and Nicolas d’Orlando, who took turns at the top of the Pro 1500 results.
Mayer Deonarine becomes the youngest Radical North America driver ever today by entering the weekend at just 14 years old.

Be sure to tune into the Radical Motorsport YouTube page to follow along and watch the Live Stream for qualifying and three wheel-to-wheel races this weekend.

Weekend Schedule – HERE

Live Stream – HERE

2024 Radical Cup North America Schedule:

Rd 1: March 1-3 // Sebring International Raceway // USAC

Rd 2: April 26-28 // Barber Motorsports Park // INDYCAR

Rd 3: June 6-9 // Road America // INDYCAR

Rd 4: June 21-23 // WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca // INDYCAR

Rd 5: July 19-21 // Streets of Toronto // INDYCAR

Rd 6: Sept 26-28 // Sonoma Raceway // USAC

World Finals: November TBC

Menard slides through chaos to win Trans Am opener at Sebring

The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli season-opener at Sebring International Raceway started off with a bang, beginning with a crash in the first turn of the race that took out two former champions and ending with last-lap charge for the win. After defending three-time champion Chris Dyson made contact with polesitter and four-time champion Ernie Francis Jr. just seconds after the green flag, Paul Menard was able to cruise to victory, but not without a late challenge from 1986 champion Wally Dallenbach Jr.

Sebring marked the exciting surprise homecoming of Trans Am’s winningest driver, Francis Jr., returning to the TA class for the first time in two years to fill in for an ill driver. Francis Jr. didn’t waste any time getting up to speed, and he claimed the pole for the first time since the Trans Am season finale at Circuit of The Americas in 2021. Unfortunately, Francis Jr. didn’t hold the point position for long after the start of the race, as third-place starter Dyson hit a bump on the track’s rough surface and momentarily lost traction in his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang, touching Francis Jr.’s No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge Challenger and sending it careening into the wall. The incident brought an end to both drivers’ day, resulting in a last-place finish for Dyson, who is in pursuit of his fourth-consecutive TA title, which would tie Francis Jr.’s record.

The rough start for his competitors presented an opportunity for second-place starter Menard in the No. 3 Menards Ford Mustang, who inherited the lead. Once the green flag waved for the restart, Menard was able to pull out in front of his competitors, driving away with a solid lead. Behind Menard was a competitive scramble, as Keith Grant (No. 40 Drissi Motorsports/Showtime Camaro), Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Franklin Road Apparel Camaro), Wally Dallenbach Jr. (No. 4 Ultimate Headers Mustang) and Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette) battled hard for second through fifth, respectively, running in a tight pack and swapping positions.

Following a restart on lap 18, Dallenbach Jr. was able to make an impressive jump from fourth into second, and he began to stalk Menard. Meanwhile, Drissi and Ruman both got past Grant and began to battle for the third position. While Menard opened up nearly a 5s gap over Dallenbach Jr., it was slowly chipped away in the final laps as Dallenbach Jr. consistently posted the fastest lap times. On the final lap, Dallenbach Jr. made a final surge, but ran out of time before the checkered flag waved. Behind them, after battling back and forth for position with Drissi, Ruman made an impressive pass for the lead on the second-to-last lap, securing the third spot on the podium.

“It’s pretty awesome; the deal to race this year came together fairly quickly with Paul Gentilozzi and 3GT Racing,” said Menard on the podium. “We started talking over the winter and decided, ‘Let’s go racing.’ He wanted to do it, I wanted to do it, and we had some support from Menards and Masterforce. It’s great to be back in a Ford Mustang. I’ve had a great relationship with them through the years and the motor is so smooth. It’s a smooth engine, built for road racing. The car was just fast all weekend, we hardly put a tire wrong in it. Wally [Dallenbach Jr.; man, he was coming at the end. I had to push it a lot harder than I wanted to, but he was fast. Congratulations to these two up here. I’m hoping to do the whole season and give [Chris] Dyson a run for his money.”

This was Menard’s second Trans Am win in 14-career starts. Menard last visited GYM WEED Winners Circle at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2022.

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Lee Saunders in the No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper led from start to finish in the SGT class, but faced heavy competition from Richard Forsythe in the No. 58 GSpeed/Sambuca Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette, despite Forsythe fighting transmission issues. The two ran nose to tail for the entire race, holding a large margin over third-place Joshua Carlson in the No. 36 Enseva/TC Fab/Diercks Ltd. Ford Mustang.

“First of all, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” said Saunders. “What a wonderful day. I’m grateful for living in this wonderful country that allows us to do this. Thanks to the crowd for coming out; it’s absolutely fantastic seeing this many people here. It was a clean race. Richard [Forsythe] was really keeping me worried. If he hadn’t had transmission problems, we might have switched spots here. I want to tell you how big of a family Trans Am is. My normal crew wasn’t able to make it this weekend, so I had competitors fill in. Unfortunately, Ricky Sanders had a problem, so he got to be my crew chief. And then we had Ken from Todd Napieralski’s team fill in too. So that’s just awesome. This is such a great group of people. It can’t get any better than this.”

Saunders earned his second-consecutive win and seventh-career victory at Sebring International Raceway. He is the winningest driver at the track of anyone entered in this weekend’s event.

This was Saunders’ seventh-consecutive SGT victory, continuing a winning streak which began at Lime Rock Park last year.

The GT class offered some of the closest and most compelling racing of the day, as the top-four competitors swapped positions throughout the entire 27-lap event. Chris Coffey in the No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 started first and maintained the lead through lap 17, fending off multiple challenges by Joey DaSilva in the No. 67 Ave Motorsports Toyota Supra that kept the two within two-tenths of a second of each other. On lap 18, Jeff Lindstrom got into the mix and took the lead in his No. 41 Griffin Auto Care/Sheehan’s Towing Ford Mustang. All three engaged in an intense battle, with Coffey resuming the lead on lap 20, and DaSilva finally getting out front on lap 23. By the time the checkered flag waved, it was Coffey once again in the front, followed by DaSilva and Coffey’s teammate Colin Cohen in the No. 38 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 rounding out the podium.

“It feels amazing,” said Coffey. “The first thing I have to do is thank this gentleman here, Colin Cohen. I absolutely couldn’t be here without him. He signed me up to run a full season this year, so I’m looking forward to the next race already. I want to thank my wife and my crew, Alex and Xavier. This is the first time I’ve had an actual crew with me, so this is absolutely amazing. And this guy [DaSilva]: Super clean racing. He pushed me from the green flag. I mean, we changed positions, and the Mustang got out in front of both of us. It was an absolute battle to the end.”

This was Chris Coffey’s fifth-straight GT victory. He’s won every race he’s started since Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last season.

The highlight show of Sunday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, February 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Trans Am Series TA/XGT/SGT/GT classes next hit the track at the Mission Foods Road Atlanta SpeedTour, March 21-24. Tickets can be purchased here on SpeedTour.net.

RESULTS

Francis Jr. returns as Trans Am stand-in and fires off Sebring pole

In a surprise appearance, seven-time Trans Am champion and four-time TA class champion Ernie Francis Jr. returned for the first time in two years to fill in for an under-the-weather Brent Crews and shot to the top of the speed charts, claiming the pole award for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s season opener at Sebring International Raceway. Francis Jr.’s last pole with the series was won at Circuit of The Americas in the 2021 season finale, a year in which he earned the top qualifying position five times.

“Winning the pole is pretty cool; this was unexpected for this weekend,” said Francis Jr. “I was just going to be running our old Trans Am car in the SVRA class, and then we got out here and ECC was in need of a driver. I’ve driven for them before, so it kind of worked out pretty well. I was able to hop in their car, and man, it’s fast. I’ve never driven a Weaver chassis, never driven a Dodge Challenger, but it’s a pretty good car. I’m enjoying it, it’s pretty fast out here. I think it was the fastest I’ve been around this track for sure, so I’m really liking it. I’ve just got to give a big thanks to the guys from ECC and from Weaver. They gave me a really good car, really fast, and hopefully we can just take it home tomorrow.”

The TA/XGT/SGT/GT race will be contested Sunday at 11:15 a.m. ET. The race will be broadcast live on MAVTV and streamed live here. The TV broadcast replay of the race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, February 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

Zilisch leads flag to flag in TA2 opener at Sebring

17-year-old Connor Zilisch was unstoppable in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race at Sebring International Raceway, opening up the 2024 season with a win from the pole. He took green flag from the point …

Zilisch’s No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro was the class of the field, pacing the competition from start to finish. He managed to open up multi-second advantages over second place through three long runs, effortlessly keeping his lead through two restarts after full-course cautions.

Behind Zilisch, many of the most heated battles were between teammates at Nitro Motorsports, which had seven fast entries in the event, five of which started the race in the top 10. Two-time TA2 champion Rafa Matos in the No. 60 Concord American Flagpole/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang held the runner-up position for most of the 27-lap race, but was challenged by his teammate Tyler Gonzalez in the No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang with seven laps to go. Gonzalez ultimately came home with the second step on the podium, with Matos rounding out the top three. Thomas Annunziata in the No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang finished fourth, working his way up from a seventh-place starting spot, followed by 2023 Rookie of the Year Austin Green in the No. 89 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang.

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“I’m super thankful for everyone at Silver Hare Racing; this is a brand-new Howe Racing car that they built together,” said Zilisch. “To come out here in the first race with this car and get a win is really special to me. I’m sure it’s special to all these guys who’ve worked really hard on this car all off-season long. I’m just super proud of this team. Unfortunately, I can’t be here all year to race with them. I’m confident that Connor Mosack and Boris Said Jr. will do a good job keeping the team up front. I’m just thankful to Maurice and Laura Hull for everything they’ve done for me and making this possible. I’m glad I could be here and get my first win of the season in the Trans Am Series.”

This is the third time in the last four CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series races that Connor Zilisch has not only won, but led from flag to flag. Zilisch was the winningest driver in the class in 2023 with five victories.

Nitro Motorsports had two drivers on the podium and three cars in the top five. This was Rafa Matos’ first race driving for the team.

Tyler Gonzalez’s second-place finish was earned in just his second-career Trans Am race. He and Matos are two of six drivers to race in the Trans Am Series this year with support from the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship.

The highlight show of Saturday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, February 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series next hit the track at the Mission Foods Road Atlanta SpeedTour, March 21-24. Tickets can be purchased here on SpeedTour.net.

RESULTS

Zilisch opens TA2 season with another pole at Sebring

Connor Zilisch, in the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro, set pole for the season-opening Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race at Sebring International Raceway. He was TA2’s winningest driver in 2023, …

“It feels really good to be on the pole,” said Zilisch. “This is a brand new car; we didn’t get the chance to test at all because I’ve been so busy the last few weeks, so this is just a testament to all the people at Silver Hare and the work that they put into these cars in the off-season. We’ve got two cars in the front two rows, so we’ve got a really good chance to get on the podium tomorrow as a team and have a good first race to the season. I’m really proud of everyone at Silver Hare Racing. We ended last year really well and wanted to come back here to Sebring and start the season really well. I haven’t had a lot of success here in the past, unfortunately, but we’re starting in a good place tomorrow. I’ve got a lot of confidence that we’ll be able to keep it up front and, hopefully, end our Sebring weekend with a win to start the season off strong.”

The race will be contested Saturday at 11:15 a.m. ET and will be broadcast live on MAVTV Select and at 3:00 p.m. ET on MAVTV. It can also be streamed live here.

The re-broadcast of the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, February 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

Tan takes first career GTWC win at Sebring, Wright sweeps Pro

Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen claimed the overall win, along with the PRO-AM Class win at Sebring International Raceway. It was Tan’s first overall win in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS series. Jan Heylen and Madison Snow took home back-to-back victories with a win in race two. Green flag conditions gave the two teams nothing but a runway to victory.

PRO Class
Heylen started his day from the pole position and immediately faced on onslaught of PRO-AM Class competition racing past him. He gave space to the separate race to hand over the No. 45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R to Snow, who cruised to a second win. Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull in the No. 120 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT3 gained position early in the race and maintained progress to finish second.

Stevan McAleer in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R was the first to pit after running his stint in fourth. Eric Filgueiras made up a position for a third-place finish in part to the shuffling of pit lane and by overtaking Seth Lucas in the No. 53 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Lucas and teammate Trenton Estep used smart strategy to maintain position until Filgueiras pushed past, settling the MDK Motorsports team with fourth place.

Manny Franco and Alessandro Balzan in the No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3 brought home a fifth-place finish. Mario Farnbacher in the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 EVO slowed on the second lap after overheating, ending Farnbacher and Ashton Harrison’s day early.

PRO-AM Class
Verhagen in the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 received a penalty in qualifying that had him start from the rear of the field. He quickly moved his way back up the field to hand the car over to Tan in the third position. Tan came out of the pit lane in first after the handoff from pole-sitter Ryan Dalziel to Justin Wetherill in the No. 33 Ferrari Triarsi Competizione 296 went awry and had difficulty closing the door. She only built her lead as the race continued and was relatively unchallenged for the win.

Elliot Skeer in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R started the race fourth, but he began his attack for the lead in Turn 1 on lap one. Skeer pushed past Heylen in the PRO Class as he attempted to gain ground on Dalziel. Adam Adelson would have a similar story after he took over for Skeer, spending his race chasing Tan before taking the checkered flag in second. Third place would go to Wetherill and Dalziel in the No. 33 Triarsi Competizione 296 Ferrari.

Fourth-place finishers Geroge Kurtz and Colin Braun in the No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 had a quiet race with multiple seconds of gap both ahead and behind. Anthony Bartone and Adam Christodoulou in the No. 43 RealTime Racing Mercedes-AMG finished fifth after a side quest to avoid on-track drama in the rear of the field went to plan.

Ross Gunn in the No. 007 TRG Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 began the race fourth; however, Derek DeBoer would be spun after contact with the No. 08 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Scott Smithson. Smithson and teammate Bryan Sellers would finish behind teammates Jeff Burton and Corey Lewis in the No. 91 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The 2023 race season comes to a close at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Oct. 5-8. The race will be live-streamed on the GT World YouTube page.

RESULTS

Webb, Steves victorious in all-green GT4 America Sebring race 2

Race two at Sebring International Raceway in the Pirelli GT4 America championship was a wild ride from start to finish, with green flag racing for the entirety of the 60-minute event providing battles for the lead across all three classes. Conquest …

Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports performed an aggressive drive to clinch the victory in Silver, with Flying Lizard Motorsports completing a perfectly executed win in the PRO-AM class, and KRUGSPEED went on to clinch the top spot in AM.

Silver Class
The Silver class wasted no time shaking things up, with pole sitter Parker Thompson immediately coming under threat in his No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO by Kenton Koch in the charging No. 92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4. Koch completed the overtake for the lead on the opening lap, but Thompson was not going to back down without a fight as he came back swinging just 15 minutes later to reclaim the lead.

As the pit window opened just prior to the halfway mark, Michai Stephens took the opportunity to come through pit lane to hand over his mighty No. 34 Conquest Racing / JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 to teammate Jesse Webb. The undercut allowed them to close the gap to Daniel Hanley and Kevin Boehm, creating a very tight three-way fight for the lead.

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Webb moved up into second position with just over 20 minutes remaining, only to further take over the lead just a couple of minutes later. His work was far from over, as the trio fought tooth and nail lap after lap. The young Canadian kept his composure and powered his way to the finish line to wrap up the weekend with a victory.

Boehm secured his second podium of the weekend, while a late stage drive-through penalty for the No. 999 car dropped Hanley Motorsports off the podium, allowing JCD Dubets to pick up some more important points and hardware for the No. 51 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 as he took over third place.

PRO-AM Class
The early exit of the No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport opened up a window of opportunity for several teams in the PRO-AM class, with Michael Cooper promoted to the lead in the No. 2 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, with Eric Powell of the No. 22 TechSport Racing Nissan Z GT4 in hot pursuit.

It was a smooth transition for the frontrunners as their respective teammates took over for the second half of the race. Flying Lizard Motorsports maintained the lead of the race, with Jason Bell behind the wheel. ACI Motorsports gained a position as Curt Swearingin replaced Kay van Berlo, pushing Eric Powell in the No. 22 TechSport Racing Nissan to third following some major movements from competitors around them who were involved in some last-lap contact while fighting for the final step of the podium.

As the final 10 minutes of the race approached, TechSport Racing found themselves under threat from the No. 35 Conquest Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Custodio Toledo. He gave his best effort to fend him off, but Toledo completed the pass in the final laps to take over third place. However, the Mercedes-AMG GT4 was involved in some last-lap contact while fighting for the final step of the podium, which re-instated Harrison to third.

AM Class
Terry Borcheller moved up into the lead right from the get-go in the No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO, dropping Jaden Lander down one position in the No. 72 KRUGSPEED Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO. Austin Krainz soon closed in, applying pressure in his No. 18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

It was business as usual in the second portion of the race once the driver changes had been completed, with the running order remaining the same. However, the margins between drivers had been closed even more, with the top four in the AM class all running within a couple of seconds of each other.

It wasn’t long before there were drastic changes on track, with KRUGSPEED’s Anthony Geraci promoted to first place as Nicholas Shanny dropped out of podium position, now allowing recently-crowned championship winner Charlie Postins to insert himself into mix in the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4. Postins simply couldn’t be held at bay, and further took over second place in the final minutes.

The 2023 race season comes to a close at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Oct. 5-8 and will be streamed on the GT World YouTube page.

RESULTS