Sebring Friday Notebook

Photo: Jonathan Grace

***FASTMD by Remstar is understood to be examining GT3 opportunities for an Audi R8 LMS GT3 in its possession. The car would require updating to Evo II specification before joining the grid in GT America powered by AWS or GT World Challenge powered by AWS, which Sportscar365 understands could be as early a the SRO America weekend at Road America in mid-August.

***U.S.-issued international tariffs have been cited as the reason for the delay in both the team’s potential upcoming GT3 effort, as well as its “invitational” entry into this weekend’s Pirelli GT4 America and GT America powered by AWS rounds at Sebring International Raceway.

***Per a steward’s decision, FASTMD’s Audi R8 LMS GT4, is running as an invitational entry this weekend as a temporary solution and allowance by SRO America to not preclude the car from competition, given that U.S. tariffs on foreign imports have delayed the delivery of German-based parts from Audi necessary to update its current GT4 car to its current specification. Full ‘Evo’ and ‘Evo II’ conversions of the teams’ GT4 and GT3 cars, respectively, are expected to be completed by August.

***The GT4 America grid is down by one car from the pre-event entry list, with the No. 28 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 Evo of Nate Cicero and Stuart McAleer having been withdrawn. Judson Holt told Sportscar365 that the car was brought to the track to act as a spare chassis for he and Denny Stripling’s No. 188 BMW should the team require it throughout the Sebring weekend.

***Christopher Lee, meanwhile, has been confirmed as Tim Savage’s co-driver in the No. 007 ProSport Competition Aston Martin Vantage GT4 this weekend after initially being listed as a TBA on the initial entry list.

***The Heart of Racing Team’s No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo was back on track this morning after suffering front and rear-end damage in a crash while turning sanctioned testing laps on Thursday. Sportscar365 understands that team mechanics both stayed late into the night and arrived at the track early in the morning to prepare the car for opening practice. The car turned 15 total laps in Practice 1, matching the overall front-runners in practice mileage.

***Mirco Schultis’s No. 70 Mishumotors Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R underwent an engine change when an issue was discovered after GT America’s only session of the day this morning. Schultis’ crew noticed a hairline fracture on the right side near the engine mount connection point, resulting in a coolant leak. The team is switching to an engine that was freshly rebuilt after its last race use at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last October.

***The No. 37 Dome Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 is again running without the mandated tire pressure monitoring system on its car due to ‘further delays with shipping issues’ according to a technical waiver, which stewards’ verified with he manufacturer. The same waiver has been given to the No. 89 89x Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Michael Fitzpatrick in GT America.

***An oddity occurred on Friday morning when three different drivers with the last name Bell led their respective sessions. British-born Matt Bell topped the opening GTWC America session in his No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, while America’s Matt Bell led the way in GT4 America Practice 1 for P1 Groupe. Jaxon Bell, the son of Townsend Bell, meanwhile, was quickest in Toyota GR Cup Practice 1. The only Bell in the field not to set his respective quickest time of a session was Racers Edge Motorsports’ Jason Bell.

***Alex Sedgwick, along with fellow PT Autosport-backed driver Henry Drury, both acquired their Nürburgring Nordschleife “A Permits” after contesting last weekend’s NLS3 and taking part in a series of previous NLS rounds. Both drivers hope to make their debuts in this year’s  Nürburgring 24, with discussions between teams and manufacturers currently ongoing according to PT Autosport team principal Jason Myers.

***Myers said: “We are very proud to see both Alex and Henry do so well in their first few races at the Nurburgring in the NLS series. They both ran extremely clean and quick, bringing home a pair of trophies during the course of their Nurburgring permit testing. Hopefully this opens the door to some other opportunities, like the 24 hours of… I know a few teams and manufacturers have already reached out about some opportunities coming up. Stay tuned!”

***As per a decision made at the previous SRO America round at the Circuit of The Americas, GR Cup North America teams may no longer service more than seven cars at once during any session going forward and will have their pit stalls divided so as not to gain an unfair advantage by having the ability to service all vehicles under their stable at once in a favorable position in pit lane. This rule change will be officially spelled out in the 2026 GR Cup sporting regulations.

***The existence of larger teams like Eagles Canyon Racing Powered by Fast Track (not present in Sebring) and Copeland Motorsports was mentioned as one of the reasons for the change, with Copeland technically accounting for ten total entries this weekend in Sebring. The Dean Copeland-run organization also oversees Nitro Motorsports under a technical partnership, alongside PT Autosport’s single joint entry with Copeland.

***This weekend, the five solo Copeland entries will be grouped together on pit lane, with Nitro’s four cars able to take service on a separate end of pit lane, with the single PT Autosport with Copeland Motorsports’ entry in a separate location as well.

***A technical bulletin revealed that no fewer than GR Cup cars, ten of which are on the grid in Sebring, were identified as requiring “acceptable front bodywork” on the front of their spec race cars by the start of this weekend’s on-track activities. The statement read: ” Duct tape and other “temporary” repairs are not considered acceptable. Cars that do not meet the expected professional standards as defined by SRO America and TGRNA may not be permitted to participate in the Event.”

***Qualifying for most SRO America series are scheduled for Saturday morning, with GT America Race 1 on tap for 11:55 a.m. EST, followed by the opening GR Cup race of the weekend at 1:40 p.m., GTWC America Race 1 at 3 p.m. and GT4 America action at 4:50 p.m.

***All races, plus GTWC America qualifying, will be streamed live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and on Twitch. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish are in the booth, joined by Amanda Busick on pit lane on Saturday and Jonathan Grace on Sunday. Coverage will also be available on MAVTV and on SRO Motorsports Group’s Twitch channel.

John Dagys contributed to this report