STATESVILLE, N.C. – The battle for the Pro/Am championship title in the GT World Challenge America series continues this weekend at Sebring International Raceway, and DXDT Racing is ready to put in a strong effort to close the 20-point gap to the leaders in the team standings. With three wins and seven podiums, DXDT Racing has been persistent all season long in the top class, consistently showing the strength of the Mercedes AMG customer racing program, led by team owner David Askew.
For the first time since 2009, SRO America will return to Sebring International Raceway, one of the most iconic road courses in North America. A belated addition to the 2021 calendar, the Sebring event replaces Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as the final doubleheader of the year before the season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next month.
GT World Challenge America
The No. 63 Mercedes AMG GT3 of David Askew and Ryan Dalziel and the No. 19 Mercedes AMG GT3 of Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper will both represent DXDT Racing in this final double-header for the headliner series. The pair of cars have both previously tested at Sebring International Raceway earlier this year in preparation for the event. The circuit is a home track for Florida-native Ryan Dalziel, who most recently finished second at the circuit in March for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Seventeen cars will field the Sebring event in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by aws, racing on Saturday, October 2 at 1:15 PM ET, and Sunday, October 3 at 1:15 PM. Both 90-minute races will air live on YouTube.com/GTWorld.
David Askew (#63)
This is the busy time of year when we are racing every other week. DXDT runs a bunch of cars so it puts a lot of pressure on the team to turn cars around and get them to the next event. Everyone is going full blast! That being said, I think everyone is happy to go to Sebring and I for one am glad SRO decided to go to this iconic track. There’s nothing like racing at Sebring. We are going to run the Hankook 24 Hour of Sebring in November, so I’m looking forward to getting dialed in.
Ryan Dalziel (#63)
Sebring is always a tough event, but at this time of year with the heat and humidity, it could be brutal on the drivers and crews. Sebring is like my second home race since my wife is born and raised there, so I always have some local supporters and I’m looking forward to putting on a good show for them. David and I really need a good rebound event after a disappointing Watkins Glen so we will be pushing to the maximum for a win.
Erin Vogel (#19)
Sebring is a fun addition to the World Challenge calendar. I drove there for the first time just this past February, which was our third pre-season test with DXDT in the Mercedes AMG GT3. Michael and I both had a very good test there and ended the second day feeling really strong on the circuit. I had a chance this week to drive the track again on a full-motion CXC sim rig, and it was both shockingly realistic and a thorough reminder of what we're in for with the bumps! Fortunately, our setup on the DXDT car is much better than the generic setup on the sim. I look forward to racing at the iconic track, and I know we're all definitely ready to have another strong weekend.
Michael Cooper (#19)
It’s exciting that the series is going back to Sebring for the first time in many years. We tested there over the winter, so it will be interesting for us to evaluate the progress in the last 8 months. As far the race goes, the track is probably going to favor our competitors' power advantage at the moment but we’ll give it everything we’ve got to bring home some points and maybe some hardware.