Barrie, Ontario native, Kyle Marcelli, did not have a good weekend in Ohio, he had a great weekend. Marcelli raced in two different series, the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, in two different cars, a Ford Mustang and a Lexus RC F, and won both races in his class. Kuno Wittmer from Montreal, Quebec also had a successful weekend, racing an Audi RS3 and winning in his class. The two Canadian left Ohio with three shiny new trophies to declare at Canadian customs.
Courtesy of IMSA
“It was one of those never give up races,” Said Kyle Marcelli. “I just kept telling myself that anything can happen, to keep pushing, and our Ford Mustang GT4 was just really solid today. Really consistent. The tires held up great, the car just didn’t go off on me. I knew if I just didn’t make a mistake, that we had the pace. Finally, with just a few minutes to go it looked like I could make the pass and I knew when I finally caught him, I had to make it right away. We went door-to-door in Turn 2 and it was just really good racing. It was a lot of fun. Two-for-two for Ford and Roush Performance and KohR. Our strategy was awesome as well. It was a bit risky. We came in early to make our final stop shorter and it paid off with track position.”
Audi and Compass Racing swept the TCR podium with Kuno Wittmer and Rodrigo Sales finishing first in their Compass Racing Pfaff Audi RS3 LMS TCR. The Compass Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Tom Long and Britt Casey, Jr. finished second and the Compass Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Pierre Kleinubing and Roy Block finished third.
Full race results can be found at the IMSA website. The next round of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge takes place at Watkins Glen International from June 28 to July 1.
In Sunday’s race, Kyle Marcelli and Dominik Baumann won in GTD class (GT Daytona) in their 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3. It was the first North American rcing victory for Lexus’ RC F GT3. Alvaro Parente and Katherine Legge finished second in their Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3. The driving duo of Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow finished third in their Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
“I felt the pressure coming with 15 minutes to the end,” said Dominik Baumann “We struggled a little a bit with the used tires in the second half of the stint. I think one more lap and he would have passed me for sure. I was happy when I saw the white flag – one more lap – he closed in so quick and I just tried to defend with everything I’ve got. (The first win), it’s a great feeling.”
The overall win went to Ricky Taylor and Helio Castroneves in their Acura Team Penske Acura Dpi prototype followed by the other Acura Team Penske Acura Dpi of Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron. Tristan Nunez and Oliver Jarvis rounded out the podium in their Mazda Team Joest Mazda Dpi.
Full race results can be found at the IMSA website. The next race for the WeatherTech Championship GTD class will be the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan June 1–2.
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