Elghanayan Confident in Sonoma Double Header Following Win in Canada
SONOMA, Calif., (June 5, 2019) – Two weeks after his first win of the 2019 Pirelli GT4 America win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Californian sports car racer Nicolai Elghanayan is still riding the high of victory, his third in the series. This weekend, the Laguna Beach native will race his No. 71 KTM X-Bow at Sonoma Raceway with Marco Polo Motorsports in two 50 minute race events.
“Sonoma Raceway is a track I know well,” said Elghanayan. “I’m looking forward to racing on this complex circuit, and the KTM X-Bow should do well here. I hope to have another amazing race this weekend following our awesome run at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.”
Citing it as the most challenging and thrilling races of his career, Elghanayan started race one at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park from pole position, battling lap after lap with sports car racing veteran Spencer Pumpelly. The two traded the lead back and forth at almost every turn, with Elghanayan’s X-Bow taking advantage in the high speed, flowing turns, and Pumpelly’s Porsche assuming the lead on the straights.
The Marco Polo X-Bow will be well suited for Sonoma Raceway, a 2.52-mile, 12 turn road course. With minimal straights and plenty of rolling corners, Elghanayan will be able to sweep through the corners with less braking than most of his competitors, rolling through with ease. Thirty-seven entries will represent ten different manufacturers this weekend for the double header.
The Sonoma race weekend will feature a pair of 50 minute races, held on Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9 respectively. Participants will have two days of testing and practice on Thursday and Friday, before a 15 minute qualifying Saturday morning for race one. The fastest lap of each competitor in race one will determine the starting positions for race two. Both races will stream live on the GT World YouTube channel, airing at 12:40PM Pacific on Saturday, and 8:30AM on Sunday. For event information, visit www.gt4-america.com.
