Valentino Catalano has won the drivers' and team titles in the American IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge for GEBHARDT Motorsport.
The season finale of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge took place as part of the legendary Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. One year after its debut in the American racing series, GEBHARDT Motorsport fielded three Duqueine D08s. In addition to the two regular drivers, Valentino Catalano and Oscar Tunjo, the team fielded a third car for the first time, which was driven by Sweden's Alexzander Kristiansson.
ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Catalano arrived at the sports car festival with a commanding lead, and the Sinsheim-based team's goal was clear: to secure the titles in the drivers' and team standings.
Catalano did this in style in the first race with a second place finish, while his teammate Tunjo won the race. After becoming Prototype Cup Germany champion last year, Catalano now celebrated his second title with the traditional German prototype team.
In the final race of the season, Catalano ended his season in the American racing series in perfect fashion by winning the final race of the season. However, the 19-year-old benefited from the misfortune of his teammate Tunjo, who led the race until the final lap but then lost a wheel, allowing Catalano to take the win. Alexzander Kristiansson also finished the second race in a strong fourth place in the LMP3 class. In addition to Valentino Catalano's title win, GEBHARDT Motorsport had another reason to celebrate in its debut season in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, as the Sinsheim-based racing team also won the team championship in the LMP3 class at the traditional circuit in Braselton. In the American racing series, each car is scored individually in the team standings, and at the end of the season, the car with start number #30 came out on top. “What a great debut season for our team in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge!” said Fritz Gebhardt after the double triumph. "We entered the series so that we could compete for race wins and the title in the USA, but the fact that we won both titles in our debut season makes me very proud! I'm already looking forward to next year, because I can already reveal that we will be competing in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge again next year, as we enjoyed it immensely and it also enabled us to reach many partners in the USA. I'm also delighted that Oscar Tunjo, one of the world's best LMP3 drivers, will continue to race for us, but we won't be able to give any more details until a later date."
