After an excellent start to the season in Daytona with two victories for ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Valentino Catalano, GEBHARDT Motorsport USA is ready for the second race week.
GEBHARDT Motorsport is ready for the second race weekend of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Oscar Tunjo makes his debut with the team.
GEBHARDT Motorsport USA will be competing in Texas with two Duqueine D08 LMP3 prototypes. In addition to 19-year-old Catalano, Oscar Tunjo will be celebrating his debut with the team. Tunjo replaces two-time Prototype Cup Germany champion and regular driver Markus Pommer, who is unable to compete due to a bad cold. The Colombian has already gained experience in the LMP3 class in the Prototype Cup Germany and in other high-profile racing series and is considered to be a lightning-fast driver in LMP3 prototypes. GEBHARDT Motorsport USA also leads the team standings after an optimal start to the season in January at Daytona.
Next weekend, the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will be held at the legendary NASCAR Cup Series – the highest NASCAR class in the USA – at the Circuit in Austin. Therefore, a different track variant is used at the Circuit of the Americas than for Formula 1 or the FIA WEC. Instead of driving the full 5.5-kilometer circuit, the drivers will be using the 3.7-kilometer short version this weekend. On the short version, the drivers turn into a connecting piece after the spectacular ‘Esses’ bends and return to the Grand Prix circuit at the end of the long back straight. The rest of the track variant is the familiar route.
“We are really looking forward to the second IMSA race weekend in Austin,” said Fritz Gebhardt ahead of the second race weekend of the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge. “The start of the season in Daytona went perfectly for us, and we were able to emphatically prove that we are competing to win! Austin will be new territory for us, but we have prepared optimally for the race weekend. We wish Markus Pommer a speedy recovery, but we are also pleased to have found a fast replacement in Oscar Tunjo, who will bring a lot of LMP3 experience to the team,” continued Gebhardt.
On Saturday, March 1st, the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge will hold two 45-minute races in Austin. Both races can be followed worldwide via livestream on VP SportsCar Challenge IMSA TV and on YouTube. The race broadcasts start at 3:35 p.m. CST and 11:55 p.m. German time.
Schedule IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge 2025:
17.01. – 19.01. – Daytona International Speedway
28.02. – 01.03. – Circuit of the Americas (Austin)
06.06. – 08.06. – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
11.07. – 13.07. – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
22.08. – 24.08. – Virginia International Raceway
08.10. – 11.10. – Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Sponsors:
GEBHARDT Intralogistics Group - Founded in 1952 as a small metalworking shop, the GEBHARDT Intralogistics Group is now one of the world's leading material handling companies, with over 1,000 employees and 15 subsidiaries worldwide. They plan and develop customized solutions for customer projects. At GEBHARDT, everything comes from a single source. For over 70 years, GEBHARDT has been successfully setting in motion the internal logistics of companies around the world in trade, industry and distribution.
www.gebhardt-group.com
LSJ Advisory GmbH – For over 15 years, LSJ Advisory has been advising and supporting entrepreneurs, companies and investors of various types – from small and medium-sized transactions to complex capital market-related tasks requiring the experience and expertise of an investment bank. Our focus is on the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) as well as on transactions related to Asia and North America. In particular, in the industrial sector with the areas of mechanical and plant engineering, chemicals, industrial tech as well as industrial and healthcare services.
www.lsj-advisory.com
PINAXIS – is an independent system integrator in the USA and a member of the GEBHARDT Intralogistics Group. PINAXIS offers a first-class planning and integration service that closes the gaps between conveyor technology manufacturers and end customers in the field of internal material flow. Intralogistics includes the organization, control, implementation and optimization of internal processes. These also affect the flow of data and material handling in distribution, production and warehouse management. In addition to system integration, PINAXIS is a technology provider of warehouse management software and control systems (LVS + WMS).
https://pinaxis.com/
Gebhardt Intralogistics North America – has been active in the American market since 2002. What started out as a sales office in Cleveland, Ohio has developed in recent years into a general provider of in-house transport systems with intelligent control and computer-controlled material flow systems (LVS/WMS). At the site in Streetsboro, Ohio, around 120 employees work in a 50,000-square-foot space to manufacture Gebhardt products for the American market. GINA has additional sales and planning offices in the United States.
https://gebhardtusa.com/
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