RacerInk Presenting Sponsor of Season-Opening Race at Sebring, March 3 - 6
International GT will launch its 2016 racing seasons for The Stuttgart Cup and The Maranello Cup this weekend at Sebring International Raceway with the International GT Presented by RacerInk, March 3 - 6.
A busy schedule of on-track competition and off-track Celebrations and VIP Receptions are on the calendar this weekend, which starts today with four sessions of International GT testing on the legendary Sebring road course.
Official competition begins with a pair of qualifying sessions on Friday with the weekend's first races beginning on Saturday with morning (10:05 a.m.) and afternoon (3:20 p.m.) sprint races. The weekend's featured one-hour enduro takes place Sunday morning to bring the International GT Sebring Presented by RacerInk weekend to a close.
A strong turnout of competitors in both The Stuttgart Cup and The Maranello Cup has come to Sebring for the season-opening International GT event. The Stuttgart Cup includes two classes, one for Caymans and another division that features 996, 997 and other GT3 Cup cars from the last decade. The Maranello Cup features previously eligible Ferrari Challenge cars.
The International GT Sebring Presented by Racerink features a solid mix of returning race winners and promising series newcomers.
Returning drivers in The Stuttgart Cup Cayman class that have won multiple races in the past include Ed Lane, Rick Stavola, John Reisman and Bill Riddell.
Lane races his popular No. 14 Cayman S that carries the livery of the famous Al Holbert Racing/Lowenbrau Porsche 962s. Stavola drives his black No. 22 Cayman S while Reisman will be making his first start in the No. 07 Cayman S. Riddell competes in his flat-black No. 05 Cayman S that carries the white-striped livery of a Porsche 918 race car.
Other returning Cayman competitors include Patrick Mullaney, Peter MacMillan and Tom Kievit. Mullaney last raced in International GT in The Maranello Cup but will compete this weekend in The Stuttgart Cup in his No. 156 Cayman. MacMillan competed in 2015's final series rounds and returns for this year's opener in his No. 35 Cayman S.
Kievit made numerous podium appearances in 2015 Stuttgart Cup competition and has stepped up to a 3.8-liter Cayman for the Sebring opener. Kievit's No. 27 entry will compete with the similar 3.8-liter No. 38 Cayman of James Cox.
Another 3.8-liter Cayman competitor of note is 1992 Trans-Am Champion Jack Baldwin who will be racing his No. 73 Cayman S. Baldwin is at Sebring this weekend for the SVRA Spring Vintage Classic 50 Years of Trans Am Celebration in addition to racing in The Stuttgart Cup.
Debuting driver Alan Brynjolfsson will make his first International GT race start in his 3.6-liter No. 7 Cayman S.
Like the Cayman division, The Stuttgart Cup GT3 class is a competitive collection of former series race winners and debuting drivers. Among the returning drivers who have made frequent visits to the GT3 podium over the years is Mark Sandridge, Jim Cullen, Brad Blum and Paul Reisman.
Sandridge races his No. 225 GT3 that carries the livery of the Le Mans-winning Mobil 1 Porsche GT1. Cullen races a similarly themed No. 25 GT3, Blum wheels his No. 32 GT3While Reisman - the father of John Reisman - races his chrome liveried No. 71 GT3.
Rob Trollinger is also returning to the series in his No. 94 GT3 as is Justin Ehrlich, another former Stuttgart Cup race winner, in his No. 256 GT3, the lone 4-liter entry in a class otherwise filled with 3.8-liter race cars.
Other unique Stuttgart Cup GT3 class entries include debuting drivers Kevin Montez, who races the No. 70 Carrera S, and Adam Merzon, who is bringing a new GT4 Clubsport, carrying No. 07, to the Sebring opener.
On The Maranello Cup front, F430 Challenge cars are the predominant entry of choice for the Sebring opener. Martin Burrowes races the No. 46 F430, Rob Cohen is in his No. 90 F430 and Greg Griffith is in the No. 71 F430. All three entries are 4.3-liter cars while Roland Veit, No. 16, races the lone 4.5-liter F430 Challenge car entered.
The International GT opener is being sponsored by RacerInk, a custom clothing supplier to the racing industry and beyond that joined the series as Official Clothing Supplier late last year. Among the prizes Stuttgart Cup and Maranello Cup competitors will be battling for at Sebring in the International GT races will be a collection of exclusive RacerInk-designed series clothing and race attire.
The off-track International GT schedule begins with the 2015 Championship Celebration Presented by the Palm Beach Driving Club on Friday evening, March 5, from 5:30 - 7 p.m. All International GT drivers and crew are welcome to attend the celebration that will crown last year's top competitors and serve as a welcome party for the new 2016 season. The event will be held in Sebring International Raceway's Hall of Fame building in the paddock.
Saturday's post-racing activities include a VIP Drivers Reception from 5 - 6 p.m. in the Gorsline Company Suite (No. 5) at Sebring International Raceway. All International GT entered drivers and a guest are welcome.
All competitors that pre-entered for the International GT Sebring Presented by RacerInk will also have a chance to win a pair of tickets to Saturday's Legends of Trans Am party, which follows the VIP Drivers Reception later that evening at Sebring's Chateau Elan. This event is one of the highlights of a full weekend of activity at Sebring during the SVRA Spring Vintage Classic 50 Years of Trans Am racing celebration.
