The historic Sebring International Raceway was the opening round for the 2019 International GT championship. Taurino Racing descended onto the venue with lofty goals. In his first official outing racing GT Cars, the young Giano Taurino, would be going up against of a field of 991 GT3 Cup and 458 Challenge in his Ferrari F430 Challenge.
Fully upgraded with TM Performance’s braking package, a complete Capristo Challenge Exhaust system, and a host of additional enhancements, the F430 may have looked to be the oldest in the field, yet like a fine wine it has only got better with its age under the careful attention of veteran technicians. This complete package is available upon request to interested parties.
Taurino may be the youngest driver in the series, at 15 years old, but he brings nearly 10 years of experience from WKA Karting Competition, the Formula4 series, and shakedowns of various GT cars. It was Taurino’s first time at Sebring, yet he found his line early in the limited practice sessions and was soon turning times in the 2:09s.
With the combination of the expertly prepared F430 Challenge, and Taurino’s mettle behind the wheel, the team took home the overall win in both Maranello Cup races. In Saturday’s first sprint race Taurino kept consistent, staying in the 2:09s for over half of the race despite the packed field. In the second race of the day, on a new set of tires, the team again showed their consistency after recovering from a slow start and landing on the top step again.
Sebring was a fantastic start to the 2019 racing season and Taurino Racing is excited to continue to develop the F430 Challenge along with our F458 throughout the rest of the International GT Season. Finishing first in class and fifth overall, our driver and team have immediately proven there is a new force to be reckoned with on the IGT grid!
Up Next: Road Atlanta.