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Racing Roundup

Weekly Racing Roundup (4.3.23)

Report from GT America powered by AWS at Sonoma Raceway plus news and notes…

Photo: Brian Cleary/SRO

Gidley Increases GT America Points Lead

Memo Gidley increased his lead in the GT America powered by AWS standings by winning the first of two 40-minute races at Sonoma Raceway last weekend.

The TKO Motorsports driver also took a podium in the second race, following a penalty for on-the-road winner Adam Adelson, which ensured that he left California with a 19-point cushion over his nearest SRO3 class rival Jason Daskalos.

Gidley won the opening contest after overtaking pole-sitter Adelson into the first corner and keeping the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R at bay for the duration.

Adelson closed in during the late stages as traffic management came into play, but Gidley held on to win by 0.265 seconds.

The second race started with Adelson leading from George Kurtz, Gidley and Bartone, who moved past the Race 1 winner for third place with 20 minutes remaining.

Bartone then put the pressure on Kurtz in a battle between Mercedes-AMG drivers and captured second shortly before a race-ending safety car period that was caused by a spin for GT4 competitor Jason Bell.

That ensured Adelson crossed the line first, however his Wright Porsche was demoted to 20th when a technical infraction was discovered during post-race scrutineering checks.

Bartone consequently picked up the victory, with Kurtz moving up to second and championship leader Gidley gaining his second podium result of the weekend.

GT4 class honors at Sonoma were shared between Robb Holland and Jon Branam.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2

Photo: Porsche

News & Notes

***Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz will race in International GT Open this year, sharing a Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R with Patrick Kolb. The Austrian driver, who represented Porsche’s factory GTE-Pro team in the FIA World Endurance Championship for 10 seasons, won the GT Open title back in 2007 alongside Joel Camathias.

***Lietz said: “After several years of endurance racing, mainly in GTE, I am looking forward to competing in sprint racing with the GT3 R. There are lots of new things to learn for me, but I want to have some fun and hopefully some success with Lionspeed and Patrick this year.”

***The FFF team name will live on in the Japan Cup class of Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS grid this year despite the Chinese-Italian squad ceasing its racing operations. The team formerly known as Reap Fueling Ambitions will field a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo under The Spirit of FFF banner, with former FFF driver Hiroshi Hamaguchi forming part of the lineup.

***Elsewhere in GTWC Asia, Comet Racing has switched from Honda to Ferrari machinery for its campaign in the Am class. Yusuke Yamasaki and Yorikatsu Tsujiko, who took an overall win at Suzuka last year, will share a Car Guy-operated Ferrari 488 GT3.

***Madpanda Motorsport has finalized its GTWC Europe driver lineup with the signing of Magnus Gustavsen for the Endurance Cup season. Gustavsen, who joins the GT3 scene from prior stints in GT4 and TCR, will share the No. 90 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with Alexey Nesov and team principal Ezequiel Companc.

***Fourteen-time 24 Hours of Le Mans driver Alain Ferte will race in the GT4 European Series this year, sharing an Alpine A110 GT4 with Laurent Hurgon. The Am-category pair will drive for the Autosport GP team, which has also named Simon Tirman and Paul Cauhaupe as its Silver Cup duo.

Photo: Porsche

More News

***Alwin Springer and Patrick Long will serve as the Grand Marshals for Porsche’s Rennsport Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in September. Springer was the first CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America and held the post for 14 years, while Long’s career as a Porsche factory driver included class wins at the Le Mans and Daytona 24-hour classics.

***IMSA and its subsidiary Historic Sportscar Racing will sanction the races at Rennsport Reunion, as announced on Friday. “When IMSA and HSR announced the acquisition at last year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, we knew it was only a matter of time before our plans of working together on a co-sanctioned event weekend would become a reality,” said IMSA President John Doonan.

***Jaxon Evans and Tim Zimmermann will share Huber Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R in ADAC GT Masters. Evans made a couple of appearances in the series last year with Porsche outfit ID Racing, while Zimmermann drove full-time for Audi squad Land-Motorsport. “First and foremost, we want to be up front in the ADAC GT Masters,” said team principal Christoph Huber. “Our aim is to be the best Porsche team in the field.”

***Muecke Motorsport has signed United Arab Emirates-based Brit Alex Connor to its ADAC GT4 Germany program. Connor will share a Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Emil Gjerdrum. The 18-year-old is making his sports car debut after driving for Arden Motorsport in the GB3 Championship last year.

***Former DTM driver Esmee Hawkey will make her Intelligent Money British GT Championship debut driving for Toro Verde. Hawkey is partnering with Joe Wheeler in the No. 80 Ginetta G56 GT4 and sampled the car in a test at Oulton Park last week.

***After encountering mechanical dramas at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, Peugeot last week took a 9X8 to Paul Ricard for an endurance test. All six of the manufacturer’s WEC race drivers took part, although official reserve Stoffel Vandoorne was not present.

***Tyler Gonzalez swept the inaugural weekend in the Toyota GR Cup, which ran as part of the SRO America weekend at Sonoma. Gonzalez won both races in his Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR86, in a field consisting of 31 cars for the latest single-make series.

On this weekend: Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS (Bathurst), Intelligent Money British GT Championship (Oulton Park)

John Dagys contributed to this report

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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