ADAC GT4 Sachsenring
Aston Martin clinched their first victory in the ADAC GT4 Germany as Hugo Sasse and Mike David Ortmann won the Saturday race at the Sachsenring in their Prosport Aston Martin Vantage GT.
Second place went to Christer Jöns and Indy Dontje in their Dörr Motorsport McLaren 570S ahead of Jan Marschalkowski and Théo Nouet in their Team Zakspeed Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Race 2
Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 pairing Michael Schrey and Gabriele Piana took the Sunday race win to extend their championship lead in a race that featured the largest entry of the season.
Just 0.315 seconds behind, the runners-up Jan Marschalkowski and Théo Nouet took second place in their Zakspeed Mercedes-AMG GT4 with a second BMW M4, the Schubert pairing of Marcel Lenerz and Christopher Dreyspring 1.764 seconds back to complete the podium.
DTM Trophy Hockenheim
16-year-old BMW driver Theo Oeverhaus from Walkenhorst Motorsport team scored his first win in the Saturday DTM Trophy race.
Oeverhaus benefited from a controversial penalty for erstwhile points’ leader Ben Green. The Brit was first across the finish line with his FK Performance Motorsport BMW, but dropped back to ninth following a 30-second time penalty.
That meant to that Green lost the lead in the drivers’ standings to compatriot William Tregurtha.
The driver of the CV Performance Group Mercedes-AMG was classified second.
Race 2 on Sunday though saw Green return to the top slot with Tregurtha and Overhaus completing the podium.
The two Brits are the sole battlers for the Championship now, separated by just 3 points with two races to go with Green’s FK Performance BMW M4 GT4 on 204 points ahead of the 201 points for Tregurtha’s CV Performance Mercedes AMG GT4.
GT4 America Sebring
The first of two races for Pirelli GT4 America at Sebring International Raceway finished with green flag racing from flag to flag, with a frantic four-wide start bookending a win by the #35 Conquest Racing West Mercedes-AMG driven by Colin Mullan and Michai Stephens after Mullan passed Toby Grahovec in the second half of the race. The #35 Mercedes-AMG won overall as well as in the Silver Class, beating class rivals in the #72 Mercedes-AMG of Christian Szymczak and Kenny Murillo, and the #11 BMW M4 of Toby Grahovec and Stevan McAleer.
In Pro-Am, the #47 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CLUBSPORT MR driven by Matt Travis and Jason Hart finished where they started for NOLASPORT, second overall and first in class. They defeated the #54 Porsche of Jeroen Bleekemolen and Tim Pappas in their Black Swan Racing Pro-Am entry, who finished second in class, and the #119 BMW M4 of Sean Quinlan and Gregory Liefooghe with Steven Cameron Racing.
The #98 BMW M4 of Al Carter and Paul Sparta snagged the Am class victory for Random Vandals Racing, ahead of the #16 Mercedes-AMG from Capstone Motorsports with Jon Berry and Kris Wilson behind the wheel and the #68 Toyota Supra GR of John Geesbrecht and Kevin Conway with Smooge Racing.
Race 2
A three-way battle for the lead resulted in a late race pass for the lead in the final race of the weekend for Pirelli GT4 America at Sebring International Raceway and a double win for the #35 Mercedes-AMG, driven by Michai Stephens and Colin Mullan for Conquest Racing West.
The #54 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CLUBSPORT MR of Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen lost the lead in the closing moments of the race and would finish third after it was passed not only by the eventual winner, but also by the #47 Porsche of Matt Travis and Jason Hart, driving for NOLASPORT, finishing second overall, but winning the Pro-Am class over the #54 Porsche, who finished second in Pro-Am and third overall.
The #72 Mercedes-AMG of Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak with Murillo Racing finished second in the Silver category, repeating their performance from Saturday’s race. Third in Silver belonged to the #22 BMW M4 of Tim Barber and Cole Ciraulo, driving for CCR Racing/Team TFB. The #22 BMW finished fifteenth overall.
In the Am category, the #68 Toyota Supra GR, driven by Kevin Conway and John Geesbrecht won for Smooge Racing, defeating the #98 BMW M4 driven by Paul Sparta and Al Carter for Random Vandals Racing. The #619 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CLUBSPORT MR driven by Alain Stad and Robb Todd for Stephen Cameron Racing finished third in the Am class.
Two races remain in one final round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks time.
GT America Sebring
Race 1
Memo Gidley took a fine win double in the GT America Series for GT3, GT2 and GT4 machinery at Sebring International Raceway in his TKO Motorsports Bentley Continental GT3.
Saturday’s 40-minute race saw the #101 Bentley edge out Jason Harward’s Zelus Lamborghini with Rodrigo Sales completing the overall podium in his Compass Racing Acura NSX.
Andy Wilzoch (#460 Porsche) took the top step for SRO3-M, while Elias Sabo took the GT2 class win courtesy of his #8 GMG Racing Audi R8 OMS GT2 being the only entry.
Sean Quinlan held off a race-long contest for the top GT4 spot taking the win in his Stephen Cameron Racing BW M4 GT4 less than half a second clear of Jason Bell’s GMG Racing-run Aston Martin, a similar car driven by Ross Chouest completed the class podium.
Race 2
Memo Gidley completed the Sebring sweep with a win in Sunday’s race too. Masters class competitor Andy Wilzoch (#460 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche) battled in and out of the class to secure his second win of the weekend too, while Jason Bell (#2 GMG Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4) took the Sunday win in GT4.
The race began with a false start that had the field run through the circuit for another formation lap under a Full Course Yellow flag. On the second start, a number of drivers took advantage of moves telegraphed in the first start attempt and planned accordingly, allowing Gidley to prepare for the Turn 1 challenge from Rodrigo Sales (#77 Compass Racing Acura), Jason Harward (#88 Zelus Motorsports Lamborghini), Andy Wilzoch (#460 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche), and Jeff Burton sitting in second through fifth respectively. Further back in the field, Bell executed a pass through Turn 1 manoeuvre that saw him in front of track nemesis Quinlan (#119 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW) early after the restart and then off to the races and attempting to hit all his marks.
Side-by-side contact in GT4 saw Quinlan’s BMW spinning and sliding, collecting the Chouest Aston Martin and putting him in the wall in the process, a Full Course Yellow the result.
An intense battle for class positioning behind GT4 leader Bell resumed after the return to green but also changed the combatants as both Quinlan and Chouest fell out of contention, opening the door for Gray Newell (#25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin) and Christopher Gumprecht (#79 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG) to join the fray.
Gidley kept ahead of Harward’s relentless attacks, ultimately letting the two finish the race in that order with only a 0.35-second gap between them, with Sales ultimately defending from Daskalos and capturing the last spot on the SRO3 podium.
With Burton and the Rearden Racing car out of the picture, Andy Wilzoch found himself able to mix it up with the entire SRO3 field and still capture the top spot in the Masters class.
In the GT4 pack, Bell’s pace was too much to overcome but the battles for second and third continued through the last half. Newell, who started the race from near the back of the field and suddenly found himself in the class podium mix after the FCY, found pace and determination and drove himself into increasingly better positions, including a last-lap pass that put him on the podium just behind Noble, who had run out of time trying to catch up to Bell.
