Lakeville, 21 May 2018 – A classic track will host the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX this weekend as the tradition of Memorial Day weekend racing continues at historic Lime Rock Park. The ultra-fast circuit has been a sports car racing staple since 1957, and will once again set the stage as Ferrari returns to Connecticut looking to make more history in the two GT SprintX races set for Monday, May 28. Ferrari has already won more than 40 times on this circuits starting in 1957 with Bruce Kessler on a 500 Testa Rossa e and Don Vitale on a 750 Monza. In both the Pro and Am classes, Ferrari drivers lead the championship for the longer-format championship, which features one-hour races with a mandatory driver change. Lime Rock Park’s double-race Monday will be the fifth and sixth rounds of the 10-race championship.
SprintX GT Pro-Pro. Toni Vilander and Miguel Molina, drivers of the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3, take a two-point advantage in the Pro-Pro standings into the event on the fast seven-turn, 1.5-mile layout. The duo won both of the season-opening rounds at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas, and then finished second in Round 3 at Virginia International Raceway. Coming off a pair of runner-up finishes last weekend in GT Sprint competition at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Vilander is second in the combined Pirelli World Challenge championship, trailing by just six points.
SprintX GT Pro-Am. Impressive newcomer Wei Lu and his experienced co-driver Jeff Segal, winners of Round 2 at Circuit of The Americas in the No. 31 TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3, arrive at Lime Rock running third in the Pro-Am points.
SprintX GT Am. Caesar Bacarella and Martin Fuentes are undefeated in four races this season in the No. 07 Squadra Corse Garage Italia Ferrari 488 GT3, sweeping both weekends in Austin and Virginia. They currently hold an eight-point lead atop the standings. Fuentes also leads the Sprint GTA standings, scoring a pair of runner-up finishes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The Mexico City driver has two victories and three seconds in Sprint GTA in 2018 in the No. 07 Squadra Corse Garage Italia Ferrari.
Record Holder. Fuentes holds both the Pirelli World Challenge GTA qualifying (52.449 seconds/101.173 mph) and race (53.427/99.321 mph) track records. Both marks were set in 2016, driving a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3. Last year Henrique Cisneros and Tyler McQuarrie won in the Am/Am class on the NGT Motorsport 458 Italia GT3.
Weekend Schedule. The Pirelli World Challenge SprintX GT class opens the Lime Rock weekend with a 55-minute practice on Friday, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. Saturday includes a 45-minute practice at 11:45 a.m. and qualifying at 3 p.m. Sunday will be a “quiet day” due to Connecticut’s blue laws. Both races will be staged on Monday, with Round 5 at 11:25 a.m. and Round 6 at 4:05 p.m. World Challenge will provide live streaming at
world-challenge.com.