
The extra day of testing has paid off for Gianmarco as he would take a podium in the first race of the weekend at Sebring, finishing P3 after starting 8th on the grid. It is the first podium for the Sunoco Team Ultra 94 driver. The morning started with a wet track that cleared in time for qualifying but just before the race, there was a massive downpour that would delay the race.
Going out on a very damp track, Gianmarco paced his race and worked his way up, not putting a wheel wrong and taking advantage of other drivers' mistakes, to make his way to the podium.
Gianmarco will start tomorrow's race P3 and has a very good shot at a double-podium weekend for Sunoco Team Ultra 94.
Race #2
Gianmarco scores another top-ten finish coming home P7 in the final race of the weekend in the Championship class. "We hoped for a bit better result," commented Gianmarco. "But in the end, we came home with points and a podium for Sunoco Team Ultra 94." The weekend's results have pushed Gmo up to seventh overall in the series championship.
Gianmarco is on his way to Sebring, Florida for the next round of the Skip Barber Southern Region series with Sunoco Team Ultra 94. Heading down early, Gianmarco will take advantage of a pre-race lapping day to get acquainted with the track and become more familiar with the car. "We took a bit of time to adjust to the car during the first race at Road Atlanta" offered Gianmarco. "By the end of the weekend we were getting comfortable but it seemed like a good idea to get as many laps in the car as possible before the next race." Gianmarco will use the extra day to his advantage to get some coaching from Skip Barber Racing School instructors on hand for the event. "We really want to put in a good effort for Team Ultra 94 this weekend" continued Gianmarco. "We hope to come away with a good finish and some points in the championship."
Gianmarco ended the first weekend with confidence. Despite contact in the final race that would see him come in for a mandatory check, he would come back on track with the front-runners and maintain pace with the lead group. Unfortunately, due to the time in the pits, Gianmarco, who had made up a number of positions off the start, would finish the race P13.
"We are happy with the weekend overall especially as this is our first time in the car" offered Gianmarco."Sebring is only a few weeks away and we have a lapping day scheduled just prior to the race. We will use that opportunity to work with the driver coaches." Gianmarco continued, "It was really great to have Ron (Fellows) there this weekend. His support, encouragement and advice were very valuable throughout the weekend."
Gianmarco would be moved into the Championship class for the series based on his results in the opening rounds of practice on Friday. Gianmarco was P3 in the opening session and while improving his times, ended session two P7 in the Sportsman class. The Championship class is mostly made up of drivers with previous race experience Gianmarco's on-track performance was good enough to have him move up immediately for competition.
Saturday morning presented cool temperatures and a cold track. Gianmarco would qualify P14 for the race and battle throughout in his first ever formula car race. "Road Atlanta is a very fast and challenging course" noted Gianmarco."The challenge is greater when it is your first race, but it is also a part of the learning curve and we are getting more comfortable in the car in race situations. We will have another opportunity on Sunday to put Sunoco Team Ultra 94 on point."
Gianmarco and the rest of the Cameron Motorsports National Team are off to Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to contest the final round of the Snap On Stars of Karting series presented by Indy Racing League. This event combines both east and west divisions into one final weekend where series championships are on the line.
Gianmarco will be at the wheel of his Cameron Motorsports CRG in the premiere ICC (Intercontinental C) shifter kart class. He has competed in four Stars events so so far this season (3 east and 1 west) and currently sits 22nd in the east division standings (out of 46 drivers). "Stars is pretty tough competition" notes Gianmarco. "You are competing against the cream of the crop in ICC from across the US and Canada and we feel pretty good about our results especially with our limited shifter experience."
The event is being held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with practice on Friday (19th), qualifying and heat runs on Saturday and the main event on Sunday. We will post results as they become available.
It was announced today that Gianmarco has been selected as the newest addition to Sunoco Team Ultra 94.
The Sunoco Team Ultra 94 Scholarship program is designed to assist young drivers as they move up the racing ladder. The program consists of training and evaluation in Reynard F2000 race cars at the Bridgestone Racing Academy located at Mosport. Drivers complete a full day of in-class instruction and on-track activities and are evaluated on their overall performance. This year two drivers were selected to compete in the Skip Barber Southern Regional Race Series sporting the Sunoco Team Ultra 94 colours. Gianmarco is proud to have been chosen for the program. The six-race Skip Barber Southern Regional Race Series begins November 17th at Road Atlanta in Georgia and wraps April 12 in Daytona, Florida. For more information on the series visit www.skipbarber.com