Sonoma Race Recap, Rd Am Testing and Race
MARANELLO CUP
For the International GT competitors at Sonoma Raceway this past weekend “California Dreaming” 
was of sunshine, unfortunately it never materialized. Sprint Race 1 saw light but persistent rain throughout and the newcomer, ESTEBAN BECKMANN #233 from MG1 Motorsports put on a dominate performance to take the overall win in his Maranello Cup Ferrari 296. The 23-year-old who will celebrate a birthday in May, drove a flawless race in the damp conditions to come home with a commanding lead.
After chasing electrical gremlins in the primary car, the Ferrari experts at MG1 ultimately decided to switch to Beckmann’s back-up car after missing the next two sprint races. In Sunday’s enduro Beckmann was relegated to starting last due to the change of race cars however in the very damp conditions, Esteban cleanly raced his way through the field moving into first in just a couple laps. He would continue to lead the pack to the finish line taking another overall win.
New to International GT but certainly bringing a long pedigree in sports car racing, Sean Creech Racing brought RODIN YOUNESSI #16 in a Ferarri 488 from Florida to Sonoma. In his sleek black Ferrari, Rodin finished third overall in the enduro, sharing the car with co-driver and coach DARIO CAPITANIO and second behind Beckmann among the Ferraris.
Welcoming yet another new Ferrari into the Maranello Cup competition, YOUSUF NABI #03 brought his 458 Ferrari to Sonoma and had a great time mixing it up with the other Ferraris and Porsches. Without a lot of rain racing experience, Nabi sat out the two more wet races but won Sprint Race 2 and shared the car with Dario Capitanio to take the win in the F458 category in Sunday’s enduro. Dario was busy Sunday co-driving the opening stint of the enduro for Nabi and closing stint in Younessi’s Ferrari.
MISSION FOODS GT3 CUP
In the Mission Foods GT3 Cup category, MICHAEL MERRITT #898 put on a clinic on how to drive in the wet and rainy conditions. However he also posted a clean sweep winning all four races in a packed GT4.0 category, including the one fairly dry sprint race. As is becoming a familiar pairing, Merritt shared the enduro with 19-year-old racing prodigy EVAN SLATER racing prodigy. Michael’s trek out to California from Ohio was worth the effort as his four wins gave him a commanding lead in the points championship.
Racing on Rails out of Kent Washington brought three cars to Sonoma. Returning to IGT competition after his debut at the Road Atlanta race was THAD BERGER #60. Making her first International GT start was ANN DOHERTY #4. Both Thad and Ann struggled a bit in the rain races but had a good showing in a very competitive category! Also from the Racing on Rails camp was SIMON ASSELIN #1. Simon would swap podium position throughout the weekend with longtime IGT driver NICK GROOMBRIDGE #33. In an even trade, Simon took second twice and third twice, while Nick did the exact same. For the second year in a row Nick came with the race car and support of Charlie Hayes Racing based at Sonoma Raceway. Congrats to both Nick and Simon for sweeping the podium with Michael Merritt.
JUAN GONZALEZ #81 Car Amigo, Mission Foods showed his dislike for wet weather racing at Sonoma. While he and BUTCH LEITZINGER both practiced the 81 and 81X Porsches on Thursday, Juan opted out of the slick track racing but did compete in Sprint Race 2 where he had a strong run and first place finish. Juan will be back this week at Laguna Seca where MISSION FOODS is the title race sponsor.
EXHIBITION
International GT welcomed two Bentley Continental GT3s which proved to be very fast! In Sprint Race 2 the pair took off and never looked back! SAM BESWICK #8 led from pole to take the overall win followed by his father-in-law PIETER BALJET #3. Also in the Exhibition category rejoining the series was XUANQIAN WANG #22 in a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO. Unfortunately, Xuanqian had an off in practice that led to extensive damage. He would return for the enduro but spent a great deal of time on pit lane. We anticipate both the Bentleys and Lambo will be back for Laguna Seca.
Live Race Streaming
Click on the photo of Sunday’s enduro race to watch the streaming. You can also go to SpeedTourTV to watch the Saturday Sprint race.
Road America Testing Opportunity May 14
For those who are planning to race with International GT at the upcoming Road America event, you have an opportunity for extra testing time on Wednesday, May 14th with Extreme Velocity Motorsports. Contact Derek Granison at 561-662-9415 or derek@teamevm.com for details.
Road America Registration May 15-18
Don’t miss one of the favorite and largest racing circuits we visit all season. Registration is open for Road America coming up in just a couple short weeks. Click on the photo of #888 to link to registration and an updated schedule. If you have any questions please contact Julie@ParellaMotorsports.com or call (770)380-7770.
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.