Ferrari ran its undefeated streak to five consecutive victories Saturday, winning the Am class in the opening GT World Challenge America powered by AWS race at Virginia International Raceway. AF Corse drivers Jean-Claude Saada and Conrad Grunewald combined to win the Am category in the No. 61 Cambridge Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020, finishing 11th overall in the combined field.
Saada Starts Strong. Saada started 12th after qualifying with a lap of 1:48.146-seconds, and gained two positions in the early going. An incident on the 15th lap cost the Ferrari three places in the overall classification, but Saada came back to run 12th before his pit stop just before the half-way mark in the race.
Grunewald Carries to the Checkered. Grunewald then took over and had a steady run for the remainder of the race. Running 12th overall, he managed to gain a position in the closing minutes. The victory extended Ferrari’s streak to three-consecutive Am class victories at VIR, after sweeping both of last year’s races as well. Grunewald will start 14th for Sunday’s second race, qualifying with a lap of 1:46.323-seconds.
Round 6 of the SRO GT World Challenge America campaign is set to start at 1:45 p.m., for the standard distance of 90 minutes with a mandatory pit stop/driver change at the midway point.