DSC is back at Sonoma Raceway for the third time in four years, here for the start of another season of SRO America racing headlined by the 2025 GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.
Thursday was a mix of cold, damp, wet, and then bright and sunny by the end of Thursday’s on-track activities.
As is tradition, a new season means new cars, new teams, and new looks for familiar teams, and they don’t get a lot newer than the Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3.
And for the moment it seems like Anthony Lazzaro will be the Pro in a Pro-Am combination, despite Lazzaro’s Bronze categorisation due to his age which would have put him and Scott Dollahite in Am.
Chouest Povoledo Racing is in the adjacent garage with its new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs, meaning fans in attendance will get to see Ford and Corvette side-by-side while their crews are hard at work!
Their respective customer support trucks are even parked beside one another.
JMF Motorsport is here with its new Mercedes-AMG GT3 – in what is a very busy garage for the Canadian team, as you’ll see in a future paddock notes post.
And welcome back McLaren to GT World Challenge America, via Archangel Motorsports’ #88 (720S) GT3 EVO!
Racers Edge Motorsports is here with its new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO. It’s the same chassis that Jason Bell drove in GT America last season, when it was run out of the Flying Lizard Motorsports shop.
Speaking of Flying Lizard, they’re here with their BMW M4 GT3 EVOs, Elias Sabo will drive one in GT World Challenge America and GT America.
Random Vandals Racing has expanded to a two-car outfit with two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs – the newest addition is the #51 driven by Varun Choksey and Bill Auberlen.
The #99 of Kenton Koch and Connor De Phillippi…
…And the #18 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R with its new driver line-up and look complete the Pro class field.
Over on the Pro-Am side, AF Corse is now up to two Ferrari 296 GT3s with Marcelo Hahn and Allam Khodair in the #16 Blau Farmaceutica machine.
The new livery seen on the CrowdStrike Racing by APR LMP2 in IMSA now graces the CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3, back in the paddock with George Kurtz and Colin Braun behind the wheel in World Challenge – and Kurtz returning to GT America as well.
This also coincides with the recent announcement that CrowdStrike will continue its partnership agreement with SRO Motorsports Group for an eighth season.
A new number, driver combination and a very eye-catching new look for the DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R, the #11 of Blake McDonald and Jason Bell.
The primary GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R is now in a black primary livery, though the drivers are still the same as before – Kyle Washington and Tom Sargeant.
A very old car with a very new look as the Paulaner Sunset Special – the #70 MISHUMotors Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R – begins another season in GT America.
We’re also greeted by a returning entry: R. Ferri Motorsport, the Canadian-origin team that’s back in the SRO America paddock for the first time since 2019!
The team has remained active in Ferrari Challenge North America since the last time it raced in GT World Challenge America. Marc Muzzo, an R. Ferri driver from Ferrari Challenge, makes his GT3 racing debut this weekend in GT America.
Kurtz fastest in GT America First Practice
GT America ran its first Free Practice session at the very end of Thursday’s on-track activities, and the aforementioned George Kurtz led the session in the SRO3 category with a 1:36.013 in his #04 Mercedes-AMG.
Elias Sabo was second-fastest in the #80 Flying Lizard BMW, three-quarters of a second back from Kurtz. Mirco Schultis’ #70 MISHUMotors Callaway Corvette was third-fastest – and almost a second quicker than the best time from the #50 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ross Chouest!
Anthony McIntosh led the GT4 class in his #69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, setting a 1:43.126. In second place was Matt Crigler in the #140 Paradaime Performance Engineering Porsche, then Matt Travis in the #47 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4.
The final entry list for GT America features 14 cars – the provisional entry had 17 entries, but the three scratches included the abandoned #55 Flying Lizard Nissan Z NISMO GT4, plus two Porsches from RCX Motorsport that did not arrive.
GT World Challenge Testing concludes: Regulator Racing Mercedes quickest over two days
GT World Challenge America teams finished up two days of pre-event testing on Thursday, sharing the track with GT America’s SRO3 class entries along the way.
When the dust settled, the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 recorded the fastest time on Wednesday, a 1:33.278 that is credited to Bronze driver Jeff Burton, but was actually set by Philip Ellis. Colin Braun was second-fastest in the #04 CrowdStrike/Riley Mercedes-AMG (1:33.611), then the two Random Vandals BMWs of Varun Choksey in the #51 (1:33.822) and Kenton Koch in the #99 (1:33.916).
Today, the fastest time was set by Bill Auberlen in the #51 Random Vandals BMW, a 1:34.575. That was less than a tenth better than Michai Stephens in the #34 JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG (1:34.649), and the #8 Flying Lizard BMW (1:34.858) was third. All leading times were set in the dry during the afternoon test.
Alan Sedgwick, in the #18 RS1 Porsche, suffered an oil leak during the morning test today and brought out a red flag. An oil leak was the reported culprit and the car did not run the afternoon session.
In GT4 America testing, Tyler Gonzalez was the fastest man across Wednesday and Thursday, setting a 1:41.854 aboard his #68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota on Wednesday.
The top time on Thursday belonged to the #7 ACI Motorsports Porsche of Riley Dickinson, with a 1:42.049.
There’s been some routine maintenance and patching of the track surface since the last time SRO America came to Sonoma. Patches have been put down at turns 2, 3A, 4, and 7A.
In some areas of the track, it’s meant that some drivers have had to change how they approach and attack certain corners, and lap times should be slower than last year.
We’ll see what Friday brings with practice all day from 8:15 AM to 6:00 PM.
Images © RJ O’Connell / Dailysportscar, Brian Cleary / SRO Motorsports America
