GEBHARDT Motorsport secured victory at the third race weekend in Mid-Ohio and continues to lead the championship.
he third race weekend of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge took place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The 3.634-kilometre circuit near the village of Lexington in Morrow County is one of the most popular sports car race circuits in the USA. GEBHARDT Motorsport lined up at the start with two Duqueine D08, driven by Valentino Catalano and Oscar Tunjo.
The two drivers demonstrated their talent in Friday's qualifying, with ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Valentino Catalano securing pole position for both races. His teammate from Colombia followed close behind. With a lap time of 1:16.654 minutes, Catalano also set a new lap record for LMP3 cars at Mid-Ohio.
Valentino Catalano initially led the first race, but his French LMP3 car developed problems with the power steering during the race. The young German ultimately finished the race in fourth position in his class. Oscar Tunjo crossed the finish line in first place but received a 10-second time penalty, which dropped him back to second place. Tunjo left his starting column prematurely at the start, which is why he received the penalty.
The second race in the state of Ohio took place in heavy rain. Catalano initially defended his pole position, but in the first lap, the experienced Tunjo was able to overtake his teammate and pull away from the field. After a safety car restart, the two GEBHARDT Motorsport drivers were once again locked in a duel, but Tunjo came out on top again and crossed the finish line with a lead of 1.279 seconds.
After three of six race weekends, Valentino Catalano leads the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge championship by a comfortable margin with 1,910 points. Oscar Tunjo is in third place with 1,240 points, despite missing the season opener in Daytona. The Sinsheim-based team occupies the top two positions in the team standings.
"In Mid-Ohio, we were once again able to prove our speed. Valentino set a lap record for LMP3 cars in qualifying, we celebrated a one-two victory in the second race, and Oscar also crossed the finish line first in the first race before we received the unfortunate penalty. We can be proud of this, but it also underlines that we are developing in the right direction with our hard work! We will continue to give our all so that we can be on a similar level in Canada in a month's time," said Fritz Gebhardt after the race weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
GEBHARDT Motorsport continues its success story in the USA with another successful season in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. The team enjoyed considerable success in North America 36 years ago, when Gianpiero Moretti and Stanley Dickens competed in the IMSA Camel GT Championship with a Porsche 962 in the legendary red and yellow MOMO design, finishing third in the championship and achieving many strong results.
The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will continue on the second weekend of July in Canada. The fourth race weekend will take place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, also known as Mosport. GEBHARDT Motorsport will initially focus on the Road to Le Mans races in the supporting programme of the endurance classic and the Prototype Cup Germany at the legendary Norisring in Nuremberg.
