Watch Full-Length Replays of Rounds 1 & 2 at Sonoma
Source: Sports Car 365
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Proton to Run Porsche Tribute Livery on No. 75 LMGT3 Entry
Image: Proton Competition Proton Competition will run a special Porsche Motorsport 75th anniversary tribute livery on its No. 75 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo that will contest the upcoming European Le Mans Series season. The German squad confirmed on Tuesday that longtime Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz and Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver Tom Sargent will join the previously announced Matthew Kurzejewski at the wheel of the LMGT3 entry. It will sport a livery paying tribute to Porsche’s 1951 Le Mans-winning 356 SL, marking Porsche’s first win in the French endurance classic in its maiden year of competition. The entry, initially listed to run as No. 91, has been re-numbered as part of the tie-in. Former ARCA stock car driver Kurzejewski, who holds previous Ferrari Challenge experience, teamed with Alessandro Balzan to win the 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup in GT3 and is now set for his ELMS debut alongside U.S.-based Australian Sargent. Lietz, meanwhile, is a two-time...
Pfaff Confirms Temerario GT3 Entry for Long Beach With Vanier
Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA Pfaff Motorsports will tackle next month’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with its new Lamborghini Temerario GT3, having confirmed its GTD class entry with Andrea Caldarelli and Zachary Vanier. The Canadian squad, which gave the twin-turbo V8-powered car its global debut in the recent Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, has elected to enter the GTP/GTD-only IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship street race. As a result, FIA Silver-rated driver Vanier, who has been sponsored by Pfaff Automotive through his career, will make his WeatherTech Championship debut, taking the seat typically occupied by Sandy Mitchell when the car runs in GTD Pro. The 23-year-old Canadian, who finished third in last year’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship, recently stepped up to GT3 competition in GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, making his debut in last weekend’s season opener at Sonoma Raceway at the wheel of a McCann Racing-entered Porsche 911 GT3 R...
Pintos, Schmidt Sweep Sonoma Weekend
Photo: Dan Bathie/McLaren Tommy Pintos and Spencer Schmidt claimed a sweep of the season-opening McLaren Trophy America weekend at Sonoma Raceway, doubling up following their last-gasp victory on Saturday. Pintos and Schmidt claimed a more straightforward flag-to-flag victory in Sunday’s 50-minute contest in their No. 11 RWE Motorsport McLaren Artura Trophy EVO entry. Having started on pole, McLaren GT3 Junior driver Pintos held command over the No. 5 GMG Racing entry Jeff Cook. The top five cars, all with their pro drivers, waited until the end of the pit stop window to make their mandatory stops, which saw Schmidt emerge as the leader over the No. 53 RPM by Forte McLaren of Neil Langberg. Schmidt drove to a 15.078-second win over the Pro class-winning No. 8 Forte Racing McLaren of Kaia Teo and Paul Holton, who made an impressive late-race charge. Holton passed the sister No. 24 Forte McLaren of Tanner Harvey for the class win with three minutes to go after an intense battle b...
JMF’s Stephens, Grenier Combine for Pole at Sonoma
Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO JMF Motorsports will start the new era of GT World Challenge America powered by AWS on pole, with Michai Stephens and Mikael Grenier teaming up for the best average in qualifying for this afternoon’s three-hour season opener. Stephens and Grenier, in the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, combined for a best average of 1:33.352 lap time, ending up 0.689 seconds clear of the No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO of Alex Sedgwick and Cameron Lawrence. Both Stephens and Grenier topped their respective time charts in Q1 and Q2, although Tom Sargent, in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, set the session’s overall quickest time, a 1:32.673. The Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver, however, qualified a combined eighth in Pro-Am with co-driver Kyle Washington. Lorcan Hanafin and Jason Daskalos gave JMF a double pole, having qualified third overall in their Pro-Am class Mercedes-AMG, ahead of the No. 12 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Matia Pe...
Sanna: McLaren Seeking ‘Quality Over Quantity’ in Trophy Grid
Photo: Dan Bathie/McLaren McLaren is looking to focus on quality over quantity as it continues to expand the grid of its Trophy America singe-make series according to Giorgio Sanna. Sanna, the recently appointed head of motorsport for McLaren Automotive, is overseeing the growth of the British manufacturer’s GT racing programs after previously helping transforming Lamborghini into one of the leading customer racing options worldwide. A total of 16 McLaren Artura Trophy EVO cars are set for this weekend’s pair of season opening races at Sonoma Raceway, which kicks off the second season of racing in North America. The grid was set to feature two additional cars, under the Hooper Street Racing by OMS banner, but were both forced to withdraw after Bob Stoddard sustained an injury in a pre-season testing accident. “We were targeting to have 18 cars for the first round,” Sanna told Sportscar365. “Unfortunately we lost three cars during the pre season test last week; that’s a big shame...