GEBHARDT Motorsport secured two one-two finishes at the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge in Mid-Ohio.
The third sprint weekend of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge took place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. GEBHARDT Motorsport fielded two Duqueine D09 LMP3 prototypes in the American championship for the first time. Oscar Tunjo and Danny Soufi drove the two French prototypes on the circuit in Lexington.
In qualifying, Tunjo and Soufi secured the top two grid positions. The race got underway on a rain-soaked track, which dried out progressively as the race drew to a close. Colombian driver Oscar Tunjo led the race from start to finish in his car, whilst his Texan team-mate spent most of the race right behind him but had to drop back in the final laps to conserve his tyres.
In the second race, the drivers from the long-established German racing team had to play catch-up, as they started from fifth (Tunjo) and eighth (Soufi) on the grid in the LMP3 class. The grid positions were determined by the fastest lap times from the rain-soaked first race, when the GEBHARDT Motorsport drivers were already conserving their tyres at the time of their fastest laps. But this did not stop Tunjo and Soufi, who are among the world’s fastest LMP3 drivers. Oscar Tunjo quickly moved to the front of the field and went on to secure his fourth sprint victory of the season. Danny Soufi also fought his way strongly through the field and finished the race in second place.
In the overall standings for the sprint and endurance races, Oscar Tunjo leads after five race weekends with 2,650 points, ahead of his team-mate Soufi, who has 2,240 points to his name. The two GEBHARDT Motorsport drivers also lead the sprint standings. The #1 car, driven by Tunjo, also leads the team standings.
“What a fantastic weekend for us at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course! We managed to secure a one-two finish in both races, but the weekend wasn’t easy for us. In the first race, our two drivers did a flawless job in the most difficult weather conditions. On Sunday, they fought their way from the midfield to the front,” explains team owner Fritz Gebhardt. “The switch to the Duqueine D09 was important for us to maintain our chances of top results. During the season, most teams have switched to the latest generation of LMP3 prototypes, and it’s important for us that we can continue to compete at the front, which wasn’t guaranteed on every track with the old V8 cars.”
From 19th to 21th June, the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge continues at Virginia International Raceway. There, the third IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge race, a two-hour event, awaits the participants.
