Barber Race Recap & Video
International GT made its debut at Barber Motorsports Park this past weekend. The amazing facility did not disappoint!! The circuit is unique and all competitors agreed it brought a level of technical challenge that we probably haven’t seen since Mid-Ohio.
Most everyone had the chance to see all the amazing statues and artwork around the facility and took a peek at the incredible museum.
On track we had 4 terrific races. We had a couple of off-track excursions, but they were solo-car incidents with very short caution periods. This kept intact our streak of clean competition for the 2025 season.
Arguably the best racing in the field was in the GT4.R category. With four very competitive 992 Porsches going nose to tail in all four races!! In a complete flip from our usual schedule, our first race was the enduro on Friday afternoon. BILL OLIVER #058, Matrix Motorsports, partnered with BRUNO CARNEIRO to take the GT4.R win. Bill had a great weekend overall with three first place finishes (enduro and 2 sprints) and a second. He gained a lot of valuable Mission Foods GT3 Cup Championship points with current front runner G. Michael Merritt unable to attend the Barber event.
Second in the enduro was ERICH JOINER #10, Tool Racing. Erich doubled up racing in Trans Am as well and had a strong run in the IGT GT4.R category. Erich was a paddock favorite, having a barista and full coffee bar for free samples of his exceptional GoodBoyBob coffee all weekend.
Also on the podium for the enduro was CLIFF CAYER #08, Matrix Motorsports. Cliff brought an awesome Halloween themed livery to Barber which you will see more of next week but definitely a fan (and photographers) favorite! Cliff had one of his best events since joining International GT back in February at Sebring. He was on the podium for all four races with a win in sprint race 1 and 3 thirds in the other races.
One of the best races on the weekend happened on Sunday afternoon in our third sprint race. The GT4.R category was nose-to-tail all race with MARC JULIEN #87, Stak Auto Lifts and Bill Oliver having an epic battle. If you haven’t already, it’s worth watching the race on SpeedTourTV. One more lap might have seen a wholly different result but at the checkered Bill was first and Marc inches away in second. Marc tightly trailed first place all weekend but ended up with 3 second place finishes, pushing the first place car each time.
The third Matrix teammate, JOHN BOYETTE #11 may not have won in the GT4.R category but he had a great showing. John teamed with Bruno Carneiro in the enduro to finish third in the Exhibition category. Quick explanation….when the driver of record is unable to start the enduro (in this case sharing a coach/co-driver with Bill Oliver) the race car is automatically reclassified into the Exhibition category. John returned to his regular category and took a third in sprint race 1 giving Matrix Motorsports a clean sweep of the podium for the Saturday morning race. John finished just off the podium on Sunday afternoon for the final race, but with a bit of prodding, took over MC duties for the podium ceremonies and did a fantastic job! Click on the podium image above to watch.
TOMMY BALLESTER #189, Quirt Racing swept the wins in the GT4.0 category on the weekend. Where he shines as an excellent race car driver, Tommy’s travel planning is not as stellar. He booked his flight out of Birmingham too early on , sharing the enduro win with coach ETHAN LOW. Sunday and had to miss the last sprint race. Actually, we can blame it on the airlines for having very limited flights between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Birmingham, Alabama. Who would have thought this is not a super popular route? However, it gave Quirt an earlier start back to Texas to prepare for our season finale at COTA next week.
Gotham Motorsports had a rough event at Watkins Glen last month but with their cars back together we welcomed them to Barber in the Maranello Cup category. YOUSUF NABI #03 had a very strong run, winning the enduro, which he shared with DARIO CAPITANIO. He also won two sprint races and handed his car to Dario to race in the final sprint on Sunday. Due to the change of drivers for the sprint, Dario started in the rear but worked his way through the field and finished first in class and third overall Sunday. Yousuf’s teammate at Gotham Motorsports, RADU MUNTEAN #270 fought mechanical gremlins all weekend. In the photo Dario is in the driving suit, Yousuf is second to right and Radu is far right, along with the Gotham crew.
STEVEN THOMAS #710 returned to International GT competition with Pinnacle Motorsports. He dominated the Stuttgart Cup category with his CAY3.8 race car. He took the Stuttgart Cup overall win in all four races. In the Cayman 4 liter class TOM KIRK #22 from ZOTZ Racing won the category in all four races and sealed the Stuttgart Cup Championship for 2025. Tom shared the enduro on Friday with RON ZITZA, owner of ZOTZ Racing. Also in the CAY4.0 class and keeping the pressure on Tom all weekend was RICHARD GRANT #30 from Grant Racing. Richard consistently finished second and as usual brought the entire family from their home base in Tennessee with a couple other Grants competing in Trans Am.
The Exhibition class was occupied by SETH HENRY and WYATT FOSTER in the #44 Lamborghini with the very cool new livery, from Kaizen Autosport. Seth was also racing in the Ginetta category with SVRA so he and Wyatt traded off racing the Lambo, which also meant they started at the rear of the field more often than not. However the Lamborghini Super Trofeo in the hands of Seth and Wyatt was unmatched and took the overall win in all four races. FRANK VITIELLO #248 with SpeedSport Tuning returned to IGT racing and competed in the Exhibition class in his Porsche 992. Frank took overall runner-up finishes in all races except the enduro where Bill Oliver came in second in the GT4.R class.
We had a newcomer in the Exhibition category who raced in conjunction with SVRA’s Group 10 and didn’t “discover” International GT until late in the weekend. We kept seeing WES HUMPHRYES #49 in his memorable “Billy’s Sports Grill” livery and finally got him to race with us on Sunday. We hope he will be back with us soon in his GT4 Mercedes AMG with the catchy tag line #FeedYourGoat.
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It’s a really quick turnaround before we head to Texas and Circuit of the Americas for our season finale race, October 30 – November 2.
Buc-ee's Fandom
We all discovered that there is a place in the South that cannot be missed – Buc-ees. It’s a mega gas station, retail store (think Cracker Barrel on steroids), food (made in front of you), a jerky bar and a wall full of nuts 
. Tommy and Julie displayed their fandom but were outdone by Bruno in his Buc-ee’s Santa Suit!
Circuit of the Americas Season Finale Oct 30-Nov 2
The International GT season finale race is quickly approaching with a return to Circuit of the Americas – October 30 – November 2. Click on the photo to download the provisional schedule and link to registration.
We have garages available – arguably the nicest race circuit garages in the US!! Please contact Julie if you are interested or if you have any questions Julie@ParellaMotorsports.com or call (770)380-7770
IGT Partners with Santa's Toy Run
Once again International GT is partnering with Santa’s Toy Run for their 2025 campaign. The event is tons of fun at Road Atlanta on December 6-7. However there are lots of ways to help out if you cannot attend. Click on the flyer and purchase raffle tickets or donate toys and other items to support various domestic abuse centers and other children’s charities this holiday season.
2026 Schedule
Flagtronics Requirement
International GT has partnered with Flagtronics for the best in on-track safety. Starting at the Watkins Glen race in September Flagtronics will be required for all International GT entrants. Click on the Flagtronics logo to link to their site for more information and to purchase the system. If you have any questions email: sales@flagtronics.com
Chris Green Photography
Chris Green is the official photographer for International GT and available for competitor’s photography as well. Contact Chris at chrisgreenimages@gmail.com.
To see the race photo galleries click on the photo to link to Chris’s website.
Pirelli Tire Orders
Pirelli is the exclusive tire for International GT and must be purchased through Frisby Tires. Click on the Pirelli logo to link to Frisby to order tires. Please be sure to order tires well in advance of the events. Frisby will be at each track to support International GT participants. Any questions call (800)798-7201..
Marketplace
This space is available for International GT participants to market any race cars, equipment and/or transporters you are trying to sell. Contact Julie@ParellaMotorsports.com to post a listing. Please send photos and details for item(s) you are selling.