Ferraris to the Front in Texas

Toni Vilander and Miguel Molina once again raced to another victory with the Ferrari 488 GT3 on Sunday.  For the second time in as many visits, the Ferrari duo were victorious in Texas following a dominant overall victory in Sunday’s Round 2 of the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America on Sunday at Circuit of The Americas.

PRO. Despite starting fourth, Toni Vilander needed only two laps to take the overall lead in the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3. Once he took the lead, he never looked back before pitting. Co-driver Miguel Molina cycled back to the lead following the round of pit stops, and held a 14-second advantage when a full-course caution waved late in the race. The Ferrari driver was under attack at the restart by Saturday race winner Andy Soucek with less than ten minutes remaining. Soucek went to the inside and took a brief advantage, but Molina fought back and regained the lead in the Esses. From that point, the Ferrari went unchallenged all the way to the checkered flag, winning the 40-lap event by 1.249 seconds.

PRO-AM. Winners on Saturday, Jeff Segal and Wei Lu were well on the road to a second consecutive victory in the No. 31 TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3. Segal started on the overall pole but fell back to fifth on the opening lap. He fought back to the overall lead before his pit stop near the end of the pit window. Lu returned to the fray second in the Pro-Am class, and needed only six laps to regain the class lead. Lu enjoyed a four-second lead when the late caution closed the gap. However, Lu was hit and knocked off course on the restart, resulting in a ninth-place finish. Matt Plumb and Alfred Caiola led the Ferrari contingent in the category, finishing seventh in the No. 99 One11 Competition Ferrari 488 GT3.

AM. Picking off where they left off with their run to the title in 2018, Ferrari Challenge graduates Martin Fuentes and Caesar Bacarella completed a weekend sweep in defense of their championship following a come-from-behind drive in the No. 7 Squadra Corsa Garage Italia Ferrari 488 GT3. The opening lap was tough for Fuentes, who lost 11 positions at the green flag. The chaotic start forced him off track and deep in the pack. But he was able to consistently outpace the competition to move to the lead after 15 laps of hard racing. A smooth turn-over to Bacarella saw the duo lead the rest of the race. Ferrari Challenge racers Rich and Trevor Baek continued to make progress in Blancpain GT competition as they bettered their finish from Saturday one position, placing fourth in the No. 8 Vital Speed Motorsports Ferrari 488 GT3. Fifth went to Pierre Mulacek and Anthony Lazzaro in the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3, one position ahead of Christopher Cagnazzi and Brian Kaminskey in the No. 19 One11 Competition Ferrari 488 GT3.

NEXT UP: VIR. The next action for the Blancpain GT America championship will be on April 26-28 at Virginia International Raceway.