Round 3 Racing Heads to Road America

Learning curve continues, Conway takes 10th for Irish Mike’s Racing at Laguna
May 1, 2022
Double Podium for Round 3 Racing at Road America
May 9, 2022
Show all

Round 3 Racing Heads to Road America

Legendary track like heading home 

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (2 May 2022) – May 7th and 8th will mark the fourth World Racing League powered by Hagerty (WRL) event of the 2022 season. The series heads to Road America, a beautiful and historic track located in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

After having a strong start to the season, Round 3 Racing (R3R) looks to get back to their winning ways this weekend after the last round at  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Mid-Ohio)  featured frustration for the team. The event saw just one of the R3R entries come of a result after a challenging weekend that featured snow and cold conditions.

The team heads north to Elkhart Lake to face the challenging 4.048-mile road course during two eight-hour endurance races.

No. 401 TEAM HAGERTY MOTORSPORTS BMW M4 GT4 (GTO) 

Coming off a second-place finish at Mid-Ohio, the No. 401 Hagerty Motorsports team looks to keep the momentum going. The team continues to learn about the new BMW entry, which will once again be piloted by Buz McCall, Brad McCall, Sarah Montgomery, and Cole Loftsgard. The team fought through the Mid-Ohio weekend to finish second.

Road America holds a central place in McCall’s passion for the sport, and Montgomery and Loftsgard are both looking to add to some good memories at the track this weekend.

Along with McCall’s and Montgomery’s experience with the track, Loftsgard will also bring experience. Last season at Road America, Loftsgard piloted the No. 605 in the GP3 class. Loftsgard was able to qualify the car on pole for Saturday’s race and keep the car in the lead for his stint. He looks to continue this momentum in a higher class and new car this year.

“This season has proven immensely competitive, but momentum is with us heading into Road America,” says Loftsgard. “We really need maximum points this weekend to catapult us into the championship title fight. Fortunately, this track suits our Hagerty BMW M4 GT4 very well, and it’s a track we all enjoy as drivers. I’ve been looking forward to this race all year, and I think we stand a good chance to compete for victory.”

No. 609 TEAM SENTINEL BMW M4 GT4 (GTO)

The green Sentinel BMW is eager to take flight at Road America this weekend. The team took on the weather and some unlucky incidents at Mid-Ohio last race weekend and are looking to get out of the slump going to Wisconsin. Driving the No. 609 will be James Candelaria, Brian Ghidinelli, and Christian Maloof.

No stranger to “the kink” or the long run to turn one, the three drivers are looking forward to making the most of the visit to Road America. After the competitive times laid down at Mid-Ohio, the Sentinel team is confident they will continue that this weekend. The BMW will make its Road America debut this weekend.

“I am incredibly excited to get back to Road America. The last time I was there was in 2020 for the SCCA National Championship runoffs,” reminisced Candelaria. “After a few solid test days and qualifying, I was able to find success and put it on the podium in Touring 1. I’m looking forward to running this track with a more endurance state of mind.”

No. 701 TEAM COOPER TIRES PORSCHE CAYMAN (GP1)

At Mid-Ohio, the No. 701 faced mechanical gremlins with just 20 minutes left in the second race, forcing the car into the garage for the remainder of the event.

The team put in the hours to be ready to go this weekend with  a new engine in the Cooper Tires-liveried Porsche Cayman. Behind the wheel of Cayman will be Mo Dadkhah, Loni Unser, and Zack Ping.

After a promising but ultimately disappointing outing last year for Dadkhah and Unser at Road America, the team is looking to come back with a vengeance this weekend.

Ping, a rookie with the team, is also relishing the chance to compete on  one of his favorite tracks with the No. 701 Cayman. He looks forward to bringing his past experiences at Road America to Round 3 Racing for a possible podium weekend.

“Road America is one of my favorite places. Especially when it’s on my birthday, it doesn’t get much better than that!” exclaims Ping. “Nothing beats the kink and Canada corner. I’ve had many great memories here and can’t wait to make more with Round 3 Racing. Round 3 is like my second home, and I can’t thank them enough for giving me this opportunity along with my Dad, Jeff Ping, and coaches, Sean Rayhall and Andrew Carbonell.”

No. 605 TEAM HAGERTY DRIVERS CLUB PORSCHE BOXSTER (GP3)

The No. 605 Porsche Boxster makes its season debut this weekend. The team thought the Boxster was retired after the 2021 season, but an ill-fated accident of the No. 705 Porsche Cayman brought the hot rod back into action. This weekend, the No. 605 team will consist of Dennis Neel, Carter Pease and Buz McCall.

Last season at Road America, the Hagerty Drivers Club team brought home a second-place finish for Saturday’s race and the first-place trophy for Sunday’s race in the General Productions 3 (GP3) class. R3R looks to repeat these results this weekend during the car’s season debut.

“Road America is a great track with its long straights and challenging corners,” states Neel. “I am really looking forward to getting our season moving forward in the No. 605. Road America is always fun for me because I have lots of friends and family in the area joining me at the track.”

The Road America weekend will start on Friday, 6 May, with practice and qualifying before heading into two eight-hour endurance races on Saturday and Sunday. Live streaming will be available on WRL’s Youtube or follow along on our social media channels.

https://twitter.com/Round3Racing
https://www.instagram.com/round3racing/
https://www.facebook.com/Round3Racing