ATLANTA, GA (Wednesday, June 14, 2023) – Known for bringing the bright red Ferrari to SRO meetings, SKI Autosport will debut its Audi R8 LMS this weekend at VIRginia International Raceway in the next round of the GT America powered by AWS championship.
The team has made the switch from its aging Ferrari 458 GT, which it has used with great success in the championship, including taking the pole at Circuit of The Americas and winning the Sunday race before a pre-race infraction on when you can fit tires erased the success from the record books.
SKI Autosports Johnny O’Connell already has race victories to his credit aboard the Audi. The team shook down the car at the International GT round at Road Atlanta earlier this year, with O’Connell dominating the weekend.
“As a team, this will be our third visit to VIR, both with International GT and SRO. We won in the Ferrari in both series and hope for the same success in the Audi.” said team owner Kent Hussey.
“VIR is a track that has been very good to us. It was a difficult decision for the team to switch to the Audi as our primary car going forward. We had such success with the Ferrari.
“However, we felt that the Audi would give us the best opportunity for podium finishes.”
The fifth round of the SRO GT American powered by AWS will kick off this Friday, June 17.
SCHEDULE:
Friday, June 17
8:30 AM: Practice
1:45 PM: Practice
Saturday, June 18
8:00 AM: Qualifying
1:00 PM: Race #1
Sunday, June 19 – Happy Father’s Day
8:40 AM: Race #2
10:30 AM: Driver Autograph Session
Live on-track action is available at https://www.gtamerica.us/
Follow SKI Autosports at:
Twitter @AutosportsSki
Instagram @skiautosportsofficial
JOHNNY O’CONNELL
“I’m very much looking forward to once again hanging out with my family at SKI Autosport.
“At COTA, we experienced a full range of emotions as a team. Getting our first pole… pretty awesome, getting our first win… pretty awesome, getting that win taken away, for all of us, disappointing but motivating as well.
“Surprisingly, I have not done a lot of races at VIR since it’s just over five hours from home.
“I’m very excited to race in the Audi and hope it brings us a little bit closer to the front of the pack. Both myself and Rossella, our engineer, are looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s a funny thing, but after so many years racing for factories, I’m finding myself really enjoying driving for Kent and Melissa.
“They both share the same passion for the sport that I do, and I’m pretty fired up to repeat what we did at COTA through the rest of the season.”
