Mercedes-Benz Press Release
Mercedes-AMG® Motorsport Customer Racing teams Regulator Racing, CRP Racing and Esses Racing combined for a trio of Mercedes-AMG® GT3 podium finishes across a pair of SRO America racing series in a productive weekend of Fanatec GT World Challenge America and GT America competition at Road America. The Mercedes-AMG® GT3 teams completed a perfect 1-2-3 cycle of podium finishes in three different races over the course of Saturday and Sunday on the 4-mile road course North of Milwaukee.
Jason Daskalos and the No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG® GT3 team were the first to hit the board at Road America with a hard-fought second-place finish in Saturday’s weekend-opening GT America race that was run in the rain. Daskalos pressured the leader and eventual winner to the finish in the tricky conditions while also keeping an eye on his mirrors and his nearest championship rival who finished third. With two doubleheader race weekends remaining on the 2024 GT America schedule, Daskalos is second in the series points standings and in contention for the GT America title.
Later on Saturday, second year GT World Challenge America team Esses Racing broke through for its first series win with team drivers Will Hardeman and Alan Metni co-driving the No. 19 Esses Racing Mercedes-AMG® GT3 to the Am-class victory. Esses entered in the Am division for the first time at Road America when another team and manufacturer with winning GT racing experience around the world debuted a new team in the Bronze-driver class. Successfully answering the challenge, Hardeman and Metni not only won their first race with Esses but also frequently battled throughout the 90-minute race in the top five with competitors in the Pro-Am and even Pro class divisions.
Regulator stepped up to carry the Mercedes-AMG® Motorsport flag Sunday and secured a third-place Pro-Am finish with co-drivers Jeff Burton and Philip Ellis in the No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG® GT3. The podium showing was Regulator’s fourth visit to victory lane of the season and the first time this season in successive race weekends following the team’s breakout series win last month at VIRgna International Raceway (VIR). The victory on Sunday was preceded by Regulator’s third-place finish on Saturday at VIR.
Once again calling on its now trademark reverse driver strategy, team professional driver Ellis starts each weekend’s first race and then steps in as the closer for the second race, competing against primarily Silver and Bronze Am drivers both days. Regulator’s Am driver, Burton in turn has improved his skills battling in his race stints against mainly professional drivers.
Getting thrown into the deep end this season against some of the top GT drivers in motorsports has clearly sharpened Burton’s ability behind the wheel. After a strong race by both drivers in Saturday’s first 90-minute race, Burton was in first place in Pro-Am with just two laps to go only to be edged out of a podium finish after a caution flag a few minutes earlier closed up the field.
Once again turning his best race laps of the season as he did in the VIR victory, Burton picked up right where he left off Saturday in Sunday’s final race. He stayed on the lead lap and pitted at the race’s 50-minute market to hand the No. 91 off to Ellis for another charge to the finish.
Ellis ripped off a string of fastest race laps as he began the climb through the field. He moved into fourth in Pro-Am with just under eight minutes to go and took third a lap later with a pass in Turn 1 with just five minutes remaining. In addition to the Pro-Am P3, Burton and Ellis finished eighth overall and improved five positions from the No. 91’s starting position at Road America.
The No. 91 Regulator team and drivers have now moved to third place in the GT World Challenge Pro-Am championship with two race weekends remaining, including the season-ending event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) that pays double championship points.
Next up for Mercedes-AMG® Motorsport customer teams in SRO America competition is another all-series weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, September 6 – 8.
Jeff Burton, Driver – No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG® GT3: “If I can just keep my lap times up, it’s obvious what Philip is always going to do. He is always going to run to the front if I can give him a smaller gap to make up. We are in third place now in the World Challenge Pro-Am championship, and at the next couple of races – especially Indy with double points – you never know what can happen. We come to these not to lose, we come to these to win, and hopefully that will be the case in the final rounds.”
Philip Ellis, Driver – No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG® GT3: “It was a fun race, especially after yesterday when we got robbed from a podium with the late caution. It would have been nice walking away with two trophies this weekend, but it was certainly fun, especially the last 15 minutes of Sunday’s race when I started going through the field. I actually had some fun little fights along the way. We made some changes from Saturday, which helped a lot, and it was just a good time in the second race, and I am glad we got another podium for the team.”
Jason Daskalos, Driver – No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG® GT3: “I was right on the leader the whole time. He would gap me on the straights, but I would close back up in the corners while also keeping an eye on our main championship competitor just behind me. I just wanted to get some points on him to try to get the championship lead back while not making any mistakes in the rain. We are happy with P2 in these conditions.”
Will Hardeman, Driver – No. 19 Esses Racing Mercedes-AMG® GT3: “We finally feel like we are getting everything out of our car now. We are just showing our true potential of what we can do out there. The team gave us a great car with a great setup today, and I just did my job as a driver: having a good stint and getting everything out of my lap times today. We moved to the Am class because we now have a competitor, so we can now have a proper race within a race, and the other Am team is entirely legitimate, and we had to consider how good they are around the world and how good their top driver is. That makes the win even more satisfying. It’s good to have top competition.”
Alan Metni, Driver – No. 19 Esses Racing Mercedes-AMG® GT3: “It was a lot of fun. Road America is a great place. It has a lot of really technical bits, and a lot of high-commitment sections, and it is just a fantastic track to have a race. The Esses team did a really good job, put a good car under us, and we had a blast.”
Racing DNA, Ready for the Road
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