Victory and Championship Lead for GEBHARDT Motorsport in Mid-Ohio
STREETSBORO OH, June 12, 2025: GEBHARDT Motorsport secures victory during the third race weekend in Mid-Ohio and continues to lead the championship.
The third race weekend of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge took place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The 2.258 mile circuit near the village of Lexington in Morrow County is one of the most popular sports car race circuits in the USA. GEBHARDT Motorsport lined up at the start with two Duqueine D08, driven by Valentino Catalano and Oscar Tunjo.
The two drivers demonstrated their talent in Friday's qualifying, with ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Valentino Catalano securing pole position for both races. His teammate from Colombia followed close behind. With a lap time of 1:16.654 minutes, Catalano also set a new lap record for LMP3 cars at Mid-Ohio.
Valentino Catalano initially led the first race, but his French LMP3 car developed problems with the power steering during the race. The young German ultimately finished the race in fourth position in his class. Oscar Tunjo crossed the finish line in first place but received a 10-second time penalty, which dropped him back to second place. Tunjo left his starting column prematurely at the start, which is why he received the penalty.
The second race in the state of Ohio took place in heavy rain. Catalano initially defended his pole position, but in the first lap, the experienced Tunjo was able to overtake his teammate and pull away from the field. After a safety car restart, the two GEBHARDT Motorsport drivers were once again locked in a duel, but Tunjo came out on top again and crossed the finish line with a lead of 1.279 seconds.
After three of six race weekends, Valentino Catalano leads the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge championship by a comfortable margin with 1,910 points. Oscar Tunjo is in third place with 1,240 points, despite missing the season opener in Daytona. The Sinsheim-based team occupies the top two positions in the team standings.
"In Mid-Ohio, we were once again able to prove our speed. Valentino set a lap record for LMP3 cars in qualifying, we celebrated a one-two victory in the second race, and Oscar also crossed the finish line first in the first race before we received the unfortunate penalty. We can be proud of this, but it also underlines that we are developing in the right direction with our hard work! We will continue to give our all so that we can be on a similar level in Canada in a month's time," said Fritz Gebhardt after the race weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
GEBHARDT Motorsport continues its success story in the USA with another successful season in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. The team enjoyed considerable success in North America 36 years ago, when Gianpiero Moretti and Stanley Dickens competed in the IMSA Camel GT Championship with a Porsche 962 in the legendary red and yellow MOMO design, finishing third in the championship and achieving many strong results.
The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will continue on the second weekend of July in Canada. The fourth race weekend will take place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, also known as Mosport. GEBHARDT Motorsport will initially focus on the Road to Le Mans races in the supporting programme of the endurance classic and the Prototype Cup Germany at the legendary Norisring in Nuremberg.
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/
Images (C) curtesy of IMSA.
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