Olivier Beretta, of Monte Carlo, won the Round 4 GT race on the Streets of St. Petersburg, as part of the Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Frank Montecalvo, of Highlands, NJ won in GTA, while Colin Thompson, of Doylestown, PA, won in the GT Cup presented by MOMO class.
When the lights went out for the standing start, Beretta, in the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari of Ontario/Toronto/Alberta Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia, who started third, rocketing to first through turn 1, followed by the No. 25 of Nick Catsburg, of Voorthuizen, Netherlands in the Blancpain Racing Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 FL2 who had started second. Following Beretta and Catsburg, pole sitter Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, FL, in the No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-VR GT3 went three wide with Ryan Dalziel, of Windermere, FL, in the No. 31 EFFORT Racing/World PMO Porsche 911 GT3R and Kevin Estre, of Lochau, Austria, in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3. Both Dalziel and Estre squeezed by Pilgrim through turn 2. Later during lap 1, Mike Skeen, of Charlotte, NC, in the No. 2 DeVilbiss/Hawk Performance Audi R8 LMS Ultra, who had started six, moved up passing Pilgrim. Coming across the start/finish line to complete lap 1 it was Beretta, Catsburg, Estre, Dalziel and Skeen for the top 5 in GT. On lap 2, Estre moved around Catsburg to take over second.
In GTA, Montecalvo, in the No. 66 Bayshore Racing DragonSpeed Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3 who started 11th on the grid, and first in GTA, maintained his position over Michael Lewis, of Laguna Beach, CA, in the No. 41 EFFORT Racing/Curb-Agajanian Porsche 911 GT3R and Eric Lux, of Buffalo, NY, in the 08 Rembrandt Charms/Monticello Motor Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3. Lewis who had started 17th behind Lux passed for second on the first lap.
A full-course yellow came out as the full field were completing their first lap. The No. 80 ACS Manufacturing/Lone Star Racing Dodge Viper GT3R of Dan Knox, of Pilot Point, TX, spun through turn 2 collecting the No. 54 of Tim Pappas, of Boston, MA. Pappas’ No. 54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3 was then contacted by a trio of GT Cup competitors: the No. 18 Zoro/Truspeed Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Phil Fogg Jr. from Portland, OR, the No. 97 Deep South/VersaCrane Landry Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Mitch Landry, of Lake Charles, LA and the No. 13 Trefethen Family Vineyards ANSA Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Lorenzo Trefethen, of Napa, CA. Sloan Urry, of Salt Lake City, UT, in the No. 02 Engel & Volkers TruSpeed Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup who started sixth in the GT Cup class, assumed the lead when Fogg, Trefethen and Landry were collected in the incident. The incident was the MOMO Turning Point of the GT Cup Race.
On the restart, Beretta maintained his lead over Estre, and Catsburg, while Skeen passed Dalziel to take over fourth. Skeen’s pass netted him the Cadillac ATS-V Move of the Race Award. In GTA, Montecalvo maintained his lead over Lewis and Lux. In GT Cup, Urry, Thompson and Trefethen, who was able to continue after the lap 2 incident, were one, two, and three in class. Thompson had started the Round 4 race from pit lane because of a penalty for avoidable contact during the standing start in Round 3.
On Lap 14, Beretta, Estre, Catsburg, Skeen and Dalziel held position in GT, while it was Montecalvo, Lewis, and Lux in GTA, and Urry, Thompson, Trefethen staying in position in GT Cup.
On Lap 15, Estre went wide through turn 1 and Catsburg passed to take second. The pass netted Catsburg the Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race Award. By Lap 17, it was Beretta, leading Catsburg, Estre, Skeen and Dalziel. Montecalvo still led Lewis, and Lux in GTA while Thompson moved around Urry to take the lead, with Trefethen still in third.
On Lap 19, Skeen went wide on turn 1, and Dalziel was able to overtake for position. Through turns 3, 4 and 5, Skeen battled with JD Davison, of St. Petersburg, FL, in the No. 33 AE/ReplayXD/NISSAN NISMO GT-R-GT3. Contact between the two cars spun Skeen’s No. 2 car as Davison continued. Race control issued a drive through penalty to Davison for contact.
On Lap 20 Beretta led by 1.7 seconds over Catsburg, with Estre and Dalziel in third and fourth. Johnny O’Connell, of Flowery Branch, GA, in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-VR GT3 had moved up to fifth after the incident between Skeen and Davison.
In GTA, Montecalvo, Lewis and Lux held position, with Thompson, Urry, and Trefethen doing the same in GT Cup. By lap 25 in GTA, Henrique Cisneros, of Miami, FL, in the No. 30 MOMO NGT Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia passed Lux for third. Cisneros started the Round 4 race from pit lane after being penalized for stalling on the standing start in Round 3.
As the checkered flew, it was Beretta, Catsburg, and Estre in GT, Montecalvo, Lewis, and Cisneros in GTA, and Thompson, Urry, and Trefethen in the GT Cup presented by MOMO class.
“I had a fantastic start,” said Beretta. “The Ferrari was a great car today and I really enjoy the street race game. Really good result for me and the team. I enjoy the St. Pete sprint race format and all that goes with this type of racing here in Pirelli World Challenge.”
“We had to avoid some of the early race drama,” said Montecalvo. “We were able to do so and that allowed me to focus on staying at the front of the GTA field. I am very pleased with this result.”
“Starting from pit lane was really difficult, but we made it to the front which was great,” said Thompson. “I really have to hand it to the Kelly Moss team for working hard to have me ready for today’s race. After yesterday’s tough race it was great to overcome the issues and get the win today.”
Of note, Urry won both the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start Award for gaining five positions, and the VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award by gaining 12 positions during the race.
In GT, Beretta moves into the lead in GT Drivers’ Championship points with 421, followed by Dalziel (419), and Estre (405). Lewis continues to lead in the GTA Drivers’ Championship, while Thompson continues to lead in the GT Cup presented by MOMO class.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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