Martin Fuentes began his Pirelli World Challenge season in the strongest way possible by scoring pole position and two victories in the GT-A class at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
Fuentes not only swept the weekend in the GT-A class, but his no. 07 Scuderia Corsa / HUBLOT Ferrari 458 Italia had the measure of most of the GT field at times during the weekend’s pair of races. Qualifying on pole position in GT-A and 12th overall for the opening race on Saturday, Fuentes advanced several positions at the start and became embroiled in a race-long battle inside the overall top-10. Consolidating his massive lead in the GT-A class, Fuentes took the victory by 16.6 seconds.
Sunday’s race would bring more success. Starting again from pole position in GT-A, Fuentes withstood pressure midrace from other GT-A competitors before passing several GT class cars in the closing stages to climb high in the overall standings. Winning for the second straight day in GT-A, Fuentes also finished in a strong sixth place overall.
Fuentes finished the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season in third place in the championship, but he now leaves Circuit of The Americas with a commanding championship lead.
“I am obviously very, very happy with the weekend we had at Circuit of The Americas,” said Fuentes. “It was a very good Ferrari that Scuderia Corsa gave me. We all did our part this weekend – the engineer and the mechanics especially – and we are very happy with the results of the weekend. Two victories gives us a good lead in the championship, but now we need to look ahead and concentrate on the next challenge which is St. Petersburg. But I am very happy and want to thank all of the sponsors that helps to make this happen and I am very happy that Scuderia Corsa is leading the championship after the first two races.”
“I am very proud of Martin for such a great weekend at Circuit of The Americas,” said Giacomo Mattioli, Scuderia Corsa team owner. “He didn’t make a single mistake and was extremely fast, and consistent. Our goal is to win the championship and we couldn’t have gotten a better start.”
It is a short turnaround for Scuderia Corsa and Fuentes as Pirelli World Challenge will compete again this weekend at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Florida. The first race of the weekend will be streamed live on Saturday, March 12 at 9:35 AM ET and the second on Sunday, March 13 at 3:15 PM ET.
The Pirelli World Challenge races from Circuit of The Americas will be shown on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, March 13 at 10:30 AM ET.
NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
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.
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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