Ryan Eversley, of Atlanta, GA, Michael Lewis, of Laguna Beach, CA, and Phil Fogg, Jr., of Portland, OR, took home Round 3 wins in GT, GTA, and GT Cup presented by MOMO classes on the Streets of St. Petersburg, as part of the Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Off of the standing start, pole sitter Eversley, in the No. 43 RealTime/Acura Motorsports/HPD Acura TLX-GT got a tremendous launch to take the lead into turn 1 with Ryan Dalziel, of Windermere, FL in the No. 31 EFFORT Racing/World PMO Porsche 911 GT3R, who started third on the grid, tucked in behind. Second on the grid, Kevin Estre, of Lochau, Austria in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3, followed Dalziel in third through turn 1.
Back in the field, Henrique Cisneros, of Miami, FL in the No. 30 MOMO NGT Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, who had started 19th on the grid stalled. A number of cars collided trying to avoid the No. 30 machine. Sloan Urry, of Salt Lake City, UT, in the No. 02 Engel & Volkers Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Drew Regitz, of Denver, CO, in the No. 19 WWW.IRACERCOACHING.COM Audi R8 LMS Ultra, Alec Udell, of The Woodlands, TX, in the No. 17 Amsource Capital, Panther Pipeline GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and Maximilian Voelker, of Witten, Germany, in the No. 37 Blancpain Racing Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 FL2 were all collected and unable to continue. The incident brought out a full-course yellow.
The No. 11 Porsche of Bucks County/Penn Valley Constructors/Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes/Austin Hatcher Foundation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of GT Cup class pole sitter and points leader Colin Thompson also sustained damage in the incident and he pulled off retiring further down the circuit. Fogg Jr. in the No. 18 Truspeed Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup assumed the lead over Mitch Landry of Lake Charles, LA in the No. 97 Deep South/VersaCrane Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with Potomac, MD based Preston Calvert third in the No. 77 Calvert Dymanics/Phoenix American Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in third.
In GTA, Marcelo Hahn, of Sao Paolo, Brazil, in the No. 0 Blau Blancpain Racing Lamborghini Gallardo R EX took the lead off of the standing start over class points leader Michael Lewis, of Laguna Beach, CA, in the No. 41 EFFORT Racing/Curb-Agajanian Porsche 911 GT3R and Fresno, CA based Bryan Heitkotter in the No. 05 AE Replay XD Nissan GT Academy Nissan GT-R GT3.
On the lap 10 restart, Eversley led Dalziel in GT into turn 1. Johnny O’Connell, of Flowery Branch, GA, in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-VR GT3 passed Estre into turn 1 to take third. Mike Skeen, Charlotte, NC, in the No. 2 CRP Racing DeVilbiss/Hawk Performance Audi R8 LMS Ultra tucked in behind Estre in fifth. Skeen then passed Estre to take over fourth and began pursuing O’Connell. By lap 12 Skeen had passed O’Connell to take over third.
In GT Cup, Fogg Jr. was able to continue to pace the class. First Calvert and then Landry found themselves under pressure by the No. 13 ANSA Trefethen Vineyards Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Lorenzo Trefethen from Napa, CA.
In GTA, Hahn slowed due to a mechanical issue after the restart allowing Lewis to take over lead, with Heitkotter now in second and Henrik Hedman, of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, in the No. 10 DragonSpeed Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3 vying for third with teammate Eric Lux in the No. 08 Rembrandt Charms/Monticello Motor Club DragonSpeed Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3. Frank Montecalvo, of Highlands, NJ, in the No. 66 Bayshore Racing DragonSpeed Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3 sat in fifth.
By Lap 14 it was Eversley, Dalziel, Skeen, O’Connell and Estre. In GTA, Lewis led Heitkotter and Montecalvo who had passed Lux and Hedman. In GT Cup, Fogg lead Landry and Trefethen.
On Lap 16, Estre went deep under braking into turn 1 with a bobble and Nicky Catsburg, of Voorthuizen, Netherlands, in the No. 25 Blancpain Racing Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 FL2 grabbed fifth spot. Estre was awarded the Cadillac ATS-V Move of the Race for the deft move of avoiding contact with Catsburg into turn 1.
On Lap 20, Heitkotter’s Nissan made contact with Lux’s Mercedes-Benz. Heitkotter’s GT-R backed into the concrete barrier bringing out a full course yellow.
The Round 3 race ended under yellow with Eversley taking his first Pirelli World Challenge GT class win. Dalziel finished second with Skeen taking third. O’Connell and Estre rounded out the top five in GT. In GTA, Lewis claimed his third straight win, with Montecalvo taking second and Lux finishing third. In GT Cup presented by MOMO, Fogg Jr. recorded his first career Pirelli World Challenge win with Trefethen finishing second and Landry in third.
“Today is the 29th anniversary of Acura in the luxury car market. Today!” said Eversley. “Yesterday was my dad’s birthday and I got pole. To win anywhere is awesome, but to win here in Pirelli World Challenge is awesome racing against factory drivers from so many manufacturers. I am racing against the best when you look at the top 10. To compete against those guys is amazing. I didn’t want to be any other kind of race car driver but a professional sports car driver and here I am. To be able to do it in the factory Acura team is literally a dream come true.”
“The Porsche 911 was really on rails and it really started with the grid position,” said Lewis. “We were fortunate to have good grip off line as we got off the start. We got decent track position and then it was about managing track position. Thank you to the EFFORT crew for keeping me updated under the extended caution, it kept me calm. I was able to hold off a charging Montecalvo and I am happy to be here as a winner.”
“It was an interesting race today for me,” said Fogg Jr. “I was able to avoid the incident at the start of the race, but unfortunately it affected my teammates. I just saw a number of cars get collected and it almost blocked the track. Once I got through, after that initial start it was really about holding the position. I saw Trefethen coming in my mirrors but we stayed out front. Thank you to my sponsor Zoro.”
Of note, Calvert won the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start Award gaining eight positions. The MOMO GT Cup Turning Point of the Race was the No. 11 of pole sitter and class points leader Thompson retiring after sustaining contact on the standing start. Chris Dyson, of Pleasant Valley, NY, in the No. 16 Bentley/Breitling/Mobil 1 Team Bentley Dyson Racing Bentley Continental GT3 won the Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race award for moving up three positions on the lap 10 restart. Montecalvo was awarded the VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award for gaining 12 positions during the race.
Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, FL, in the No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-VR GT3 set the fastest race lap (1:13.726) and will have the pole for Round 4. In GT Cup, Trefethen had the fastest lap with a 1:18.562 and will start on pole in GT Cup. Eversley’s win marks the eighth win from pole in the last 10 Pirelli World Challenge GT races at St. Petersburg between 2010-2015.
Round 3 and 4 races will air on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, April 5 at 5 p.m. Eastern
NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
Latest posts by Adam Sinclair (see all)
- NHRA announces eight-race schedule for 2024 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series - January 17, 2024
- Forgeline and Pratt Miller Motorsports Announce New Multi-Year Partnership - January 17, 2024
- TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein converts narrow pole to commanding win in the Season 10 opener of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the 2024 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix - January 16, 2024