Auto Racing Roundup : Brabham Wins Tampa World Challenge

Geoff Brabham was a little confused Sunday in the GTE World Challenge at Tampa, Fla., so he decided to just drive hard.

He made up a one-lap deficit to win the race on the new 1.9-mile, 12-turn Florida State Fairgrounds circuit.

“I didn’t know who else had pitted and what place I was in,” said Brabham, who drove a Nissan GTP. “Then, they (his crew) gave me a sign saying ‘minus 75 (seconds).’ I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could.”

The Nissan, which dominated IMSA’s regular season with 9 victories in 15 races, was the 222.3-mile race’s fastest car, which surprised Brabham.

The race matched some of the leading cars and drivers from the both the IMSA series and the European Group C circuit.

“The Group C cars have a weight advantage of up to 230 pounds and have more power available, but on this track it doesn’t matter how fast your car is,” he said.

Second place went to the Group C Porsche 962 shared by the Italian duo of Oscar Larrauri and Massimo Sigala, the only other car to lead the race.

Enrico Bertaggia of Italy, driving a Dallara 388 Alfa, won the the 35th Macao Grand Prix after several of his rivals crashed or dropped out with mechanical problems. Bertaggia finished fifth in the first leg and came second in the second leg.