Rick Stavola, Jack Baldwin, Martin Burrowes and Roland Veit Double-Up on Wins In Saturday’s Season-Opening Pair of Sprint Races
SEBRING, Florida (March 5, 2016) – Six different drivers, including four that doubled-up on victories in both of the day’s sprints, won races on the first day of 2016 competition for The Stuttgart Cup and The Maranello Cup on Saturday in the International GT Sebring Presented by RacerInk at Sebring International Raceway.
Rick Stavola, Jack Baldwin, Martin Burrowes and Roland Veit each swept both races in their respective classes of competition while Paul Reisman and Mark Sandridge also scored victories.
Stavola, at the wheel of his black No. 22 Cayman S prepared by Racelink, moved his bid for the 2016 Stuttgart Cup Cayman Championship off to a fast start with 3.4-liter class victories in both races. Stavola finished a close second in last year’s title race but appears more than determined to capture the crown based on his fast start today.
In The Stuttgart Cup 3.8-liter Cayman class, Baldwin swept both rounds in his No. 73 GTSport Racing Cayman S. This morning’s first class win saw Baldwin finish a solid third overall in a diverse field of International GT machinery.
Baldwin crossed the finish line in the opening sprint just behind overall runner-up Burrowes who scored F430 class victories in The Maranello Cup in both races at the wheel of his No. 46 Etcetera Racing F430.
Burrowes was the top finishing Ferrari competitor in both Saturday races, but that didn’t stop Veit from scoring Maranello Cup F458 class wins in each race. Racing his No. 16 Pocono Sportscar F458, Veit finished second overall in the Ferrari class in both sprints, passing the No. 90 4 Corner Tire Shop F430 of Rob Cohen on the last lap in the morning race. Cohen finished a close third in that race.
Reisman and the Hudson Historics team overcame a Friday misfire to score The Stuttgart Cup GT3 3.8-liter class win on Saturday morning in the No. 71 Porsche GT3.
Sandridge drove his No. 225 Team Salad Porsche GT3, which carries the livery of the Le Mans-winning Mobil 1 Porsche GT1, to The Stuttgart Cup GT3 3.8-liter class win in the afternoon sprint. Sandridge’s afternoon run was strong enough for a second-place overall finish, just ahead of Burrowes who finished third overall in that race.
Justin Ehrlich was the overall winner in both Saturday races but his No. 11 4-liter Porsche GT3, prepared by DeMan Motorsport, is only eligible to compete as a non-points, exhibition-class entry.
Returning Stuttgart Cup competitor Ed Lane and debuting driver James Cox each turned in a pair of double-podium performances on Saturday. Lane, driving his 901 Shop-prepared No. 14 Cayman S, themed after the famous Lowenbrau/Al Holbert Racing Porsche 962s, finished third in the 3.4-liter Cayman class in the morning sprint and improved to second in the afternoon race.
Cox, debuting in The Stuttgart Cup with BGB Motorsports in the No. 38 Cayman S, matched Lane’s results with respective third-place and runner-up showings in the 3.8-liter Stuttgart Cup Cayman class.
Two other drivers also posted their first International GT podium finishes in 3.8-liter Cayman competition in their series debuts. Adam Merzon finished second in his DeMan Motorsport No. 107 GT4 Clubsport in the morning sprint while Alan Brynjolfsson finished third in the afternoon race in his BGB Motorsports No. 23 Cayman S. Brynjolfsson was participating not only in his first International GT Stuttgart Cup races on Saturday but his first career auto races of any kind.
Two-time Stuttgart Cup Champion Bill Riddell and Patrick Mullaney completed Saturday’s list of podium players. Riddell shook off a mechanical issue in the first sprint and an opening lap incident in the second race to hit the podium. Riddell finished third in the 3.4-liter Cayman class in the afternoon sprint driving his flat black No. 05 Racelink Cayman S that carries the white-striped livery of a Porsche 918 prototype. Mullaney drove his Destiney Racing No. 156 Cayman S to a second-place 3.4 liter Cayman class finish in the morning race.
International GT Sebring Presented by Racerink competition concludes tomorrow morning with the weekend’s featured one-hour enduro for The Stuttgart Cup and The Maranello Cup at 9:35 a.m.
About International GT: International GT is a North American racing series that includes three different championships for late model Porsche and Ferrari competitors. Home primarily to sportsman drivers, with the occasional professional driver/coach joining the action in endurance races, International GT annually presents The Stuttgart Cup and The Maranello Cup championships. The Stuttgart Cup includes two classes, one for Caymans and another division that features 996, 997 and other GT3 Cup cars from the last decade. With rare exception, all three divisions compete on track at the same time for individual class honors in their own and exclusive International GT run group at SVRA race events. Most race weekends feature a minimum of one enduro and two sprint “points” races that count toward the season championships. Learn more about International GT at www.IntlGT.com and follow us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/InternationalGT and Twitter @InternationalGT.
For more information on International GT, please visit us at www.IntlGT.com. Follow us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/InternationalGT and Twitter @InternationalGT.
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