Connect with us

GT World Challenge America

Lime Rock Weekend Notebook

Sportscar365’s Pirelli World Challenge weekend notebook from Lime Rock…

Photo: Brian Cleary/PWC

***Alvaro Parente’s pole-winning 51.582-second time was disallowed following qualifying, as the K-PAX Racing driver was found to have cut the chicane durning his hot lap. His second fastest lap of the session, at 51.675 seconds, however, was still enough for the Portuguese ace to retain GT SprintX pole for Monday’s Race 1.

***No Balance of Performance changes have been made since the last Category D track at Long Beach for GT cars, with a 5mm rear ride height increase for the McLaren 570S GT4 the only change in GTS.

***There is only a single McLaren GT4 here this weekend, with Mark Klenin having switched to an Audi R8 LMS GT4 for Lime Rock after nearly totaling his car in a race-ending accident at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last weekend. Klenin is utilizing one of Jason Bell’s chassis. 

***Bell, meanwhile, has made the move from M1GT Racing to GMG Racing this weekend, with the James Sofronas-led team fielding his Audi GT4 as a third entry under its stable alongside the Nos. 04 and 14 cars.

***M1GT has instead entered an Audi RS 3 LMS TCR car for the first time, with David Ostella at the wheel. “The TCR division has taken off and we had plans to start in 2019, but it is in our best interests to start now to complete the necessary research and development work and fine tune our program,” said technical director Remi Lanteigne.

***Patrick Gallagher, who qualified on the GTS Pro-Am class pole, has been a last-minute sub in the No. 55 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4 for Scott Maxwell, whose father passed away earlier this week. Maxwell and Jade Buford currently sit second in the SprintX championship standings, 30 points behind Sofronas and Alex Welch.

***Mercedes-AMG factory driver Raffaele Marciello wasted no time getting up to speed in PWC competition, with the Italian setting the quickest time in Saturday’s final practice. Marciello has replaced Fabian Schiller in the No. 2 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, with Schiller not expected to be back with the Nick Short-led team this season.

***Aurora Straus’ rotation of co-drivers continues, with GT racing veteran Jon Miller joining the Straus at the wheel of the No. 36 ST Racing BMW M4 GT4 this weekend. The pairing will roll off from 15th overall on the grid in Race 1.

***Lawson Aschenbach’s victory in Race 2 at CTMP marked Blackdog Speed Shop’s 25th in PWC GTS competition and has put Aschenbach fourth in all-time series wins. The win also put the Camaro brand tied with Corvette for the most series victories, each at 53. 

***As a manufacturer, Chevrolet has a series-leading 127 wins by brand, and GM at 190 wins as a manufacturer.

***Matt Fassnacht and Murillo Racing have welcomed Fooji, an industry-leading marketing platform for on-demand food delivery services, on-board as a new sponsor for its No. 34 Mercedes-AMG GT4 and No. 74 Audi TCR car this weekend.

***Pfaff Motorsports has added a Junior Driver program, naming kart racer Mackenzie Clark as its first “apprentice.” Clark will shadow the team’s GT3 driver, Scott Hargrove, during PWC weekends as well as taking part in several track days in race cars before culminating with an endurance race in Canada at the end of the year driving alongside Hargrove.

***Monday will provide nearly non-stop racing for fans and competitors, with four SprintX races scheduled. GTS Race 1 kicks off at 9:55 a.m. EDT, followed by the first GT round at 11:25 a.m., the second GTS race of the day at 2:25 p.m. and GT Race 2 at 4:05 p.m.

***All races will be streamed on World-Challenge.com. SiriusXM will again carry the races live as well, on Channel 383 on the radio and Channel 983 on the all-new SiriusXM app. As part of a promotion this month, all inactive radios have been re-activated for free through Monday.

***CBS Sports Network will carry highlights of the GT SprintX races on June 3 at 2 p.m. EDT, with the date and time for the GTS broadcast to-be-determined. 

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

7 Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in GT World Challenge America