Davis, Cortes Moved to Rear of SRO3 Grid for Race 1

Photo: Andrew Miterko/SRO

Two additional drivers have been penalized following qualifying for this evening’s GT America powered by AWS season opener at Sonoma Raceway, with Tony Davis and Joel Cortes stripped of their qualifying laps.

The No. 04 HP-TECH Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, which initially qualified third, incurred a technical infraction related to the engine’s boost levels as defined in the Balance of Performance.

Cortes’ RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo that qualified fourth, was also out of technical compliance in qualifying.

This came, according to the stewards, after the team was “non-responsive” to a repair order issued by the series prior to the session.

The two violations has moved Dave Musial Sr., who qualified sixth, up to a third place start in his No. 72 Wright Motorsports Porsche.

This is due to three other drivers having been handed three-position grid penalties due to not respecting the checkered flag.

It means half of the SRO3 class field has either received grid penalties or have had their times thrown out due to violations, although the front row of Memo Gidley (SKI Autosports) and Marc Muzzo (R. Ferri Motorsport) remains unchanged.

Additionally it has been revealed that both Cortes and Kyle Washington have received suspended $250 penalties for missing the drivers’ meeting.

Race 1 for GT America is set for a 5:20 p.m. PST (8:20 p.m. EST) start with live coverage on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and on Twitch.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John