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2008 Review
SPEED GT • Round One • Sebring Int’l Raceway
Pobst Goes First To Last to First to Win Wet Sebring SPEED GT
SEBRING, Fla. (March 14, 2008) – Former Floridian Randy Pobst’s local weather pattern
knowledge helped make the pivotal decision to pit early for rain tires, as he came back through the
field to win the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship season opener, part of
the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida at Sebring International Raceway.
Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Michael
Galati, of Olmsted, Ohio, completed the top
three.
As the SPEED GT cars began their formation
lap, heavy drizzle began to fall around the 3.7mile
circuit. SCCA Pro Racing officials elected to
run an additional pace lap and begin the race
with a rolling, single-file start. Pobst
immediately moved his No. 1 K-PAX Racing
Porsche 911 GT3 past polesitter Brandon Davis’
No. 10 ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang
Cobra as the cars kicked up spray and searched
for grip on the opening lap.
Randy Pobst splashes to victory at Sebring.
SWC/Weber photo
Defending race winner Eric Curran, of E.
Hampton, Mass., brought out the first of three lengthy full-course cautions when he went straight
off at Turn One, making heavy impact with the tire wall in the No. 30 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet
Corvette. Pobst took advantage of the caution to pit from the lead. Pilgrim and Davis followed in the
ensuing laps, handing the lead to Galati’s No. 23 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3.
“We started with the rain early on and it was quite livable, but then somebody crashed which didn’t
surprise me one bit,” Pobst continued. “So then, we’re riding along under yellow, watching the skies,
the windshield, and the road. I looked at the weather and decided to go with the wet tires.”
On the ensuing restart, Tomy Drissi spun into the Turn One inside wall in his No. 15 Horton Hears
a Who Chevrolet Corvette, necessitating the second full-course yellow. By the time the lap nine
restart transpired, Pobst was up to fourth behind Jason Daskalos’ No. 05 Daskalos Development &
Investments Dodge Viper, the No. 11 ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra of Mike Davis and
Tommy Archer’s No. 13 Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper. When the cars came by on lap 10 to
receive the third full-course yellow, Pobst was back in front.
The field restarted on lap 11 and Pobst sped away from the field to win the time-shortened 12-lap,
44.4-mile race by 4.014 seconds, averaging just 51.594 mph. Driving the No. 8 Remington Shaving
Cadillac CTS-V, Pilgrim came home second.
Galati turned the race’s fastest lap at a tentative 3:04.924 (72.029 mph) en route to a third-place
finish.
Brandon Davis recovered from a late-race brush with the wall to record a fourth-place finish,
followed by Jeff Courtney’s No. 99 Kenda/MPI Coin TJM Wealth Management Dodge Viper.
Tony Gaples, of Libertyville, Ill., finished sixth in his No. 34 Kleinschmidt Inc/Blackdog Racing
Chevrolet Corvette, earning the Sunoco Hard Charger award after starting 25th.
Mike Davis, Daskalos, James Sofronas (Porsche 911 GT3) and Paul Brown (Porsche 911 GT3)
completed the top 10.
Gunter Schaldach, of Aspen, Colo., earned the Racing Electronics Holeshot Award for advancing nine
positions on lap one in his No. 9 Valaya Racing Dodge Viper.
48 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide
Fn. St. Car Laps During Race
Ps. Ps. No. Driver/Hometown, State Sponsor/Car Pts. Purse Cmp Status Fast Lap Speed
1 2 1 Randy Pobst/ Gainesville/GA K Pax Racing Porsche 911 GT3 112 7500 12 3:05.474 71.816
2 4 8 Andy Pilgrim/ Boca Raton/FL Remington Shaving/Cadillac Cadillac CTS-V 100 4000 12 -4.014 3:05.232 71.909
3 7 23 Michael Galati/ Olmsted/OH K Pax Racing Porsche 911 GT3 93 3000 12 -5.31 3:04.924 72.029
4 1 10 Brandon Davis/ Denver/CO ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra 86 1800 12 -21.33 3:12.682 69.129
5 17 99 Jeff Courtney/ Slinger/WI Kenda/MPI Coin/TJM Wealth Mgmt Dodge Viper 80 1700 12 -31.299 3:09.956 70.121
6 25 34 Tony Gaples/ Libertyville/IL Kleinschmidt Inc/Blackdog Rcg Chevrolet Corvette 76 1500 12 -37.798 3:11.121 69.694
7 5 11 Mike Davis/ Huntington Beach/CA ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra 72 1300 12 -39.757 3:12.600 69.158
8 10 5 Jason Daskalos/ Albuquerque/NM Daskalos Dvlpmnt Investments Dodge Viper 69 1200 12 -52.107 3:16.684 67.722
9 11 14 James Sofronas/ Newport Beach/CA Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3 64 1100 12 -52.836 3:07.655 70.981
10 24 96 Paul Brown/ Corvina/CA K&N Filters/EPR/JRZ/Tiger Rcg Porsche 911 GT3 60 1000 12 -54.742 3:09.285 70.370
11 21 29 Eric Olberz/ La Canada/CA 911 Design Porsche 911 GT3 57 800 12 -59.247 3:17.597 67.410
12 3 16 Michael McCann/ Canton/OH Remington Shaving/Cadillac Cadillac CTS-V 54 700 12 -1:00.817 3:25.707 64.752
13 6 82 Jeff Altenburg/ Ellicott City/MD Motorsports Gallery Dodge Viper 51 600 12 -1:02.331 3:15.647 68.081
14 23 76 John Bourassa/ Jupiter Island/FL THR/Indeco/Hillview Vineyards Porsche 911 Turbo 48 550 12 -1:03.409 3:08.879 70.521
15 9 56 Ritch Marziale/ Tempe/AZ All-Cut Concrete Cutting Dodge Viper 45 500 12 -1:14.685 3:39.085 60.798
16 18 31 Sonny Whelen/ Old Saybrook/CT Whelen Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette 43 450 12 -1:18.935 3:23.568 65.432
17 20 7 Phillip Martien(R)/ Finksburg/MD At Speed Mtsprts/Phillip’s Way Porsche 911 GT3 41 400 12 -1:20.351 3:16.919 67.642
18 12 13 Tommy Archer/ Duluth/MN Woodhouse Performance/Kicker Dodge Viper 39 375 12 -1:28.076 3:11.358 69.607
19 15 4 Dino Crescentini/ Manhattan Beach/CA Centric Parts/Shop Tech Porsche 911 GT3 37 350 12 -1:45.696 3:18.761 67.015
20 27 24 Sean Allen(R)/ Manhattan Beach/CA GMG/BMC Group Porsche 911 GT3 35 300 12 -2:09.727 3:21.419 66.130
21 19 44 Lee Saunders/ Lakeland/FL Mid-Florida Racing Dodge Viper 33 12 -2:13.477 3:08.640 70.610
22 22 9 Gunter Schaldach(R)/ Aspen/CO Valaya Racing Dodge Viper 31 150 10 Crash 3:09.122 70.430
23 16 66 Tim McKenzie/ Madison/WI TR Racing Porsche 911 GT3 29 10 -2 laps 3:11.573 69.529
24 14 12 Brian Kubinski/ Plainfield/IL Diamond Construction/CRP Chevrolet Corvette 27 8 Crash 3:13.624 68.793
25 13 15 Tomy Drissi/ Hollywood/CA Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who! Chevrolet Corvette 25 5 Mech. 3:12.833 69.075
26 8 30 Eric Curran/ East Hampton/MA Whelen Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette 23 1 Crash no time
27 26 02 Robb Holland/ Denver/CO DRC Mtrsprts/Mrsprts Gallery Porsche 911 GT3 0 DNS no time
28 28 06 Joey Scarallo/ Smithtown/NY Group A Wheels Chevrolet Corvette 0 DNS no time
** - Faster than previous record
Purse includes contingency awards
SPEED GT • Round One • Sebring Int’l Raceway
Race Statistics
Lenth of race: 12 laps for 44.4 miles
Time of race: 51 minutes, 37.992 seconds.
Average speed: 51.594 mph
Margin of victory: 4.014 seconds
Lap leaders: Laps 1-2, #1 Randy Pobst
Lap 3, #10 Brandon Davis
Laps 4-6 #23 Michael Galati
Laps 7-8, #05 Jason Daskalos
Laps 9-12, #1 Randy Pobst
Fastest race lap: #23 Michael Galati, 3:04.924 (72.029 mph)
Fastest qualifier: #10 Brandon Davis 2:10.382 (102.161 mph)*
Sunoco Hard Charger: #34 Tony Gaples, +19 in race
Racing Electronics Holeshot Award: #9 Gunter Schaldach +nine on lap one
* Qualifying cancelled. Pole time based on practice times. No qualifying points distributed.
2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide 49