Dalziel, Morad Win SprintX Race 2 Under Yellow

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

Ryan Dalziel and Daniel Morad have claimed victory in Sunday’s SprintX round at Virginia International Raceway, giving CRP Racing its first Pirelli World Challenge win in nearly three years.

Dalziel took the No. 2 Mercedes-AMG GT3 across the line for the win under yellow, following a massive, race-ending accident involving the No. 7 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Stefan Johansson at the Esses with 7 minutes to go.

Despite the early end to the scheduled 60-minute race, Dalziel had the field covered, with a ten-second lead over the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3 of Alvaro Parente, who ended up second.

The Scotsman took the lead following the round of mid-race pit stops, after a hard-fought battle between Dalziel’s co-driver Morad and the pole-sitting No. 54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes-AMG of Jeroen Bleekemolen, who led the early laps.

With the GT Pro-Am class Black Swan entry dropping down the running order due to the 90-second mandatory pit lane delta, compared to the Pro-Pro cars’ 60-second time, it gave clear sailing to Dalziel for the win.

It not only marked the Nick Short-led CRP team’s first PWC win since Sonoma 2014, but also the first victory for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in series competition.

The No. 8 Cadillac ATS-V.R of Michael Cooper and Jordan Taylor completed the overall and Pro-Pro class podium in third, followed by Daniel Mancinelli and Andrea Montermini’s No. 31 TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3, which provisionally won Race 1 on Saturday.

Changes in the results to the season-opening round are forthcoming, following an error in the pit lane delta timing. 

Pierre Kaffer and Spencer Pumpelly completed the top-five in the No. 4 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS, with the No, 61 R Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3 of Alex Riberas and Kyle Marcelli sixth overall and in class.

Bleekemolen and Tim Pappas, meanwhile claimed Pro-Am class honors with a 10th place overall result, marking a double win for the German manufacturer.

A full-course yellow for the stationary No. 77 Calvert Dynamics Porsche of Alec Udell resulted in the delay of the opening of the pit window to the race restart with 29 minutes to go.

The race was then halted in the closing minutes following a three-car accident in the Esses, involving Johansson’s Ferrari, the No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 of Kris Wilson and Philip Bloom’s No. 018 Case-It Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR.

Both Johansson and Bloom were evaluated and released from the trackside medical center.

The No. 30 NGT Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Tyler McQuarrie and Henrique Cisneros won GT Am-Am, with the No. 55 Dream Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo taking top class honors in GT Cup.

Stephen Cameron Racing’s Greg Liefooghe and Aristotle Balogh, meanwhile, claimed GTS class victory in their Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

RESULTS: Race 2

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