Sebring Thursday Notebook

Photo: Jonathan Grace

***Kyle Marcelli unofficially set the quickest time in Thursday’s two test sessions for GT3 machinery in this weekend’s SRO America action at Sebring International Raceway. The LAB Motorsport by GT Racing driver was clocked at a best time of 2:00.338 in the second session in his No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R, edging out the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Michai Stephens. Connor De Phillippi was third quickest on the time charts for Random Vandals Racing.

***Kenton Koch, meanwhile, led the way in the GT4 testing activity in his No. 97 Random Vandals BMW M4 GT4.

***The Heart of Racing Team’s Gray Newell, meanwhile, topped the time charts in the Paid Bronze Test session in his No. 24 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, ahead of Jeff Burton and Kyle Washington of Regulator Racing and GMG Racing, respectively. Click Here for the results.

***In addition to today’s SRO America-sanctioned test sessions, a number of teams took part in an unofficial two-day test at the 3.7-mile Florida airfield circuit last week.

***Rothberg’s driver rating derogation has been adjusted for this weekend, with the Turner driver, who runs as a Bronze* in both GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and GT America powered by AWS competition, being forced to run with 26 kg of additional ballast compared to the 13 kg of weight he had on his pair of BMW M4 GT3s at Circuit of The Americas.

***RS1’s Jan Heylen told Sportscar365 that he expects the higher weekend temperatures at Sebring to “work against us more than some other people.” Ambient temperatures are forecasted to reach as high as the upper 90 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend.

***Several drivers have arrived straight from this week’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue, including Tom Sargent, Mikael Grenier, Philip Ellis and Anthony McIntosh, who are all set to compete in next month’s twice-around-the-clock Belgian endurance classic, which will feature a record 76-car field.

***There are also several other SRO America-related drivers and teams that are primed for Spa as well, including CrowdStrike by SPS, which has retained its 2024 Pro-Am class-winning driver lineup of George Kurtz, Colin Braun, Nicky Catsburg and Ian James, although now run by SPS automotive performance instead of Riley.

***Bill Riley previously told Sportscar365 that a mutual decision was made to hand over CrowdStrike Racing’s operations for the race back to SPS, which ran Kurtz from 2020-22, due his team’s increased commitments in North America, which now includes being the service provider of Lamborghini’s factory IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTP effort.

***Reigning GTWC America Pro class champions Wright Motorsports, meanwhile, will make its 24H Spa debut in a Porsche for Sargent, Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer.

***Wright, which is now owned by Adelson, was most recently on the SRO America grid at Circuit of The Americas with a GT America entry for Jon Manship. Adelson previously expressed a desire of returning to SRO America competition full-time in the near future.

***Sargent and co-driver Washington, who scored two wins in GT America competition this season, are seeking their first GTWC America class win of the season this weekend, which would result in GMG Racing being victorious in six different series this year following the team’s rapid success in multiple sports car racing disciplines.

***Washington said: “I’m just going to Sebring for the barbecued alligator because it’s not as tough as the track! The bumps can knock your teeth out and make for a tricky track. My off-road background definitely comes into play always at Sebring. We have been on the podium there before in a Porsche and have four shots this weekend at taking our first win. Win or lose, you need some Advil and a stiff drink after racing at Sebring, and that’s all part of the experience.”

***Stefano Gattuso, fresh off helping Proton Competition score a runner-up finish in LMGT3 in last weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship round at Spa-Francorchamps, is set for his GTWC America and U.S. racing debut in the No. 16 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3. The result in Belgium marked the 10th global podium for the GT3 car since its debut last year.

***Bronze-rated Gattuso, who replaces Anthony Lazzaro in Dollahite’s lineup, said: “I’m very happy with the result at Spa. It was a very good weekend for Ford Performance, Multimatic Motorsports and Proton Competition. It’s my first time racing in the U.S., so I’m very grateful for this opportunity. Sebring is one of the most iconic circuits in the U.S., if not the world. Hopefully, we can continue to improve the car and deliver a good result for everyone who gave me this opportunity.”

***Despite initially being on the entry list Loek Hartog is again replaced by Kay van Berlo in the No. 9 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport in Pirelli GT4 America, with Hartog on GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup duty this weekend at Zandvoort.

***Blackdog Racing is returning to the site of its first GT4 America victory, last year, which saw Max Root join team owner/driver Tony Gaples. The year prior, Gaples won in the GT4 class of GT America at the Florida circuit. Gaples and co-driver Michael Cooper sit second in the GT4 America Pro-Am points standings.

***Gaples said: “It’s one of the best circuits that we go to and my favorite flat track. I think it just suits me and how I like to drive our race cars. At least that’s been the case the last couple years at the track. We all would be ecstatic if we can bring home our third straight Sebring win this weekend and gain some more ground in the championship.”

***Flying Lizard Motorsports’ withdrawal from GTWC America and GT America due to “critical business commitments” for driver Elias Sabo, has resulted in the Arizona-based team not having a presence this weekend, a first in SRO America competition in recent memory.

***The Darren Law-led team will return to the SRO America paddock for the next event at Virginia International Raceway, with at least fielding its season-long entries in McLaren Trophy America. The new-for-2025 single-make series is not competing here this weekend.

***It’s understood Flying Lizard is actively working to return to at least to GT4 America competition, with tests scheduled with multiple manufacturers for client Damir Hot, in the wake of Nissan’s withdrawal of the Z NISMO GT4 from the North American market just weeks prior to the season opener at Sonoma Raceway.

***SRO America clarified last week that points towards the GT4 America manufacturers’ title is awarded according to the overall finishing position of each car and not a specific class.

***A revised bulletin read: “The manufacturers title will be awarded to the eligible manufacturer which has scored the highest number of points based on the results obtained by the best-placed car of each manufacturer in the races run according to Article 5.2 using the points table in Article 7.2. Eligibility requirements include membership by the manufacturer in the manufacturer council.”

***In addition to the SRO America action this weekend, Florida high school students will take part in the Electrathon showcase, a unique competition backed by the Florida Power & Light Company that sees real-world STEM concepts with the design and construction of single-seat electric vehicles. More than 25 high schools, spanning from Miami to Pensacola, are involved in the competition, which will take place on a custom go-kart track at the circuit.

***Track action continues on Friday with practice sessions for GT America, Toyota GR Cup North America, GTWC America and GT4 America, as well as race action for TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School, which has three races on the docket this weekend. All races, as well as qualifying for GTWC America this weekend will be streamed live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and on Twitch.

Jonathan Grace contributed to this report