Sebring In-Car Camera Video
The racing from Sebring was fantastic!! There were battles throughout the field in all 4 races however five cars at the front of the pack had fierce exchanges in the three sprints and the enduro. Click on the photo to see one of the exciting laps from the in-car video of LUKAS PANK #40.
Crowning the 2024 International GT Champions
Our annual season opener is the location for us to celebrate the International GT champions! DEREK BELL the International GT Brand Ambassador was on hand to distribute the awards as he has for the past few years. However this year we were delighted to have his son JUSTIN BELL with us as well. lnMission Foods GT3 Cup Trophy our Champion TOMMY BALLESTER disappointedly could not race with us at Sebring but made the looooong trip from Puerto Rico just to attend the awards reception. It was great to see him, if only briefly. Second in the championship went to TOM PANK and third to his son LUKAS PANK. Additionally, the coveted Derek Bell Le Mans Trophy went to NICK GROOMBRIDGE. The award is annually presented to the competitor who exhibits exemplary qualities of sportsmanship, competitiveness, goodwill and camaraderie. Nick has been racing with International GT for many years and is one of the best liked personalities in the paddock.
ROSS POOLE the International GT Stuttgart Cup Champion was not able to attend the awards reception however he will also receive the iconic Champions trophy, a set of Pirelli Tires, a certificate from Speedcom Communicationsa beautiful Stand 21 race gear bag and an exquisite engraved Detroit Watch Company chronograph. Speedcom Cert. Second in the Stuttgart Cup went to DAVID HAMPTON, while third was JAVIER LEOS.
Sebring Race Recap
Mission Foods GT3 Cup Trophy
We had one driver who was able to complete a clean sweep at Sebring winning all four races. Yes, that’s right…4 races! For 2025 International GT will hold 3 sprint races and one enduro each race weekend (with a couple exception based on event schedules).
MARC JULIEN #87 took the wins in the four GT3.8 races on the weekend. Bringing on a new sponsor for 2025, Stak Auto Lifts, Julien’s best finish came in the enduro where he captured a very impressive third overall just behind two GT4.R cars. Following Julien in all four races,
BOB WISEN #27, Ultra Performance finish second in all four races. MARK SANDRIDGE #58 and #49, Team Salad had a rollercoaster weekend which started with him in his own #58 Porsche in the GT4.0 category but after a sprint are 2 incident he was forced to swap to his son Jordan’s GT3.8 Porsche halfway through the weekend. Jordan could not attend the event however the team brought along his race car which turned out to be a great decision.
Mark took third in the 4.0 sprint race 1 and then a pair of thirds in the 3.8 category races 3 and 4.
Continuing in the GT4.0 category, MICHAEL MERRITT #898, Charles Wicht Racing dominated the class, battling for the overall win in all four races. Merritt shared driving duties with EVAN SLATER for the enduro however missed the allowed pit window slightly and received a penalty moving him to a second place finish, otherwise Merritt won all three sprint races.
New to International GT, CLIFF CAYER #08, Matrix Integrated took a pair of second place finishes in the sprint races and won Sunday’s enduro! Also in the GT4.0 category was NICK GROOMBRIDGE #124, SpeedSport Tuning. Nick finished in second twice in the sprint races and a third in the first sprint race.
Hands down the best racing of the weekend was at the front of the field! The above photo says it all! However, once all the dust settled, LUKAS PANK #40, Ultra Performance took the GT4.R victory in 3 of the 4 races with DAVID TUATY #68, TLM USA winning sprint race 3. Also in the GT4.R mix and battling at the front was RUSSELL FARHANG #412, Hairy Dog Grrrage who finished on the podium in sprint race 1 and 3 and scored a second place finish in the enduro.
A newcomer to the series, BILL OLIVER #992, Matrix Integrated had a great debut finishing third in sprint race 3 and the enduro which he shared with BRUNO CARNEIRO.
Even after the fierce battles behind the wheel of their race cars, David Tuaty and Lukas Pank shared a hug and big smiles. The camaraderie and mutual respect of the competitors in the IGT paddock makes us proud!
NICK KARANGELEN #76 swept the wins in the four races in the GT3.6 category at Sebring. Nick has been a long time competitor with IGT however we learned a fun fact about Nick this past weekend. Obviously a huge support of the US Navy, we discovered that Nick runs the number 76 because it was 1976 that he graduated from the Naval Academy.
Exhibition
We can’t get away from the front of the field without mentioning SETH HENRY#44, Kaizen Autosport and his Lamborghini Huracan. Seth and co-driver WYATT FOSTER put on quite the show coming from midfield toward the front – Wyatt did it, passing 5-6 cars in one long corner! The pair had good battles with Pank, Tuaty and Merritt. Also in the Exhibition category were TILLMAN SCHMID #277, TPC Racing, LUCA MARS #28, RS1 in a Porsche GT4RS and ARI STRAUS #26, Extreme Velocity Motorsports in an older Cayman.
If anyone still hasn’t watched the live streaming from Sebring this is our shameless plug!! The racing was fantastic with heated battles at the front in all the races and lots a hair-raising passes! Click on Seth Henry’s #44 to link to the event streaming. Although we hate to see TOM PANK out of a race car (he had a bad day on Thursday testing) we were excited to have his racing expertise in the booth to assist announcer RALPH SHEHEEN with the International GT races. To help find the IGT races in the streaming, we are the first and last races on Saturday and again the first race on Sunday.
Stuttgart Cup
Although not complete sweeps, three out of four ain’t bad!! Both MARK CALZARETTA #17, PMR Motorsports in Cayman 4.0 and STEVEN THOMAS#710, Pinnacle Motorsports in Cayman 3.8 won all three sprint races in their respective Stuttgart Cup categories. THOMAS KIRK #22, ZOTZ Racing was runner up to Calzaretta in the sprint races 2 and 3 but was able to hold out for the CAY4.0 win in the enduro. In sprint race 1 PETER CRAGE #49, Charles Wicht Racing made his IGT debut finishing second. Following Thomas home in the CAY3.8 category for all three sprint races was RICHARD WALKER #67, Extreme Velocity Motorsports however he was also able to jump up one step in the enduro taking the win! Third place was a mixed bag. Sprint race 1 SPENCER PROPPER #30, ZOTZ Racing completed the podium. In sprint race 2 MARK COOK #581, Autometrics finished third. For the third sprint race Spencer had co-driver ERIC ZITZA drive the car as the team was working out some mechanical gremlins and Eric took third. Finally in the enduro Spencer and Eric shared the #30 finishing third.
Warriors Going Off To Battle
Road Atlanta Registration March 20-23
Next up is Round 2 of the championship at Road Atlanta. Click on the photo from the 2024 Road Atlanta event to link to registration and the updated schedule.
If you have any registration questions please contact Julie@ParellaMotorsports.com or (770)380-7770.
2025 Schedule
Official Series Photographer Chris Green
Chris Green is the official photographer for International GT. Chris is at all IGT races and does a fantastic job of covering our events. We encourage all competitors to reach out to him to see his beautiful images of your race car after every event. Or you can get with Chris and go over your photography needs prior to the events. Click on the photo to link to his website.
Marketplace
Do you have something to sell, looking for something to purchase, a service to provide? Use our Marketplace to promote your race car, transporter or equipment. It’s free to International GT participants. Contact Julie@internationalGT.net or call (770)380-7770
Pirelli Tire Orders
We are proud to partner with Pirelli Tires as the exclusive provider to all International GT events. All Pirelli tire orders for IGT events must be placed with Frisby Tires. Frisby is at track at all IGT events to service our participants.
Click on the tire photo to link to the Frisby site for IGT orders or call (800)373-7390.