WRR TV: When Street Circuits Attack

Ride along onboard with Kevin Estre in the #9 K-PAX McLaren 650S GT3 in the Pirelli World Challenge series as he competes in what would turn out to be a very messy race on the streets of Long Beach.

Starting in second position, Estre’s slow launch finds him back in position five by the time he’s reached Turn 1, where he and the rest of the field would begin to wait out what would be the first of many yellow flags for the race. Estre finds an interesting strategy to set himself up for position when the green is thrown again, and uses the same method several times throughout the race. He eventually finds himself in third and in close contention with both Cadillac driver Johnny O’Connell and R. Ferri Motorsport driver Olivier Beretta for the lead.

However, an attempt by the trio to go three wide into a corner causes a chain reaction (for which Beretta was penalized) which sends O’Connell and Estre into the tire wall. Estre would be forced to retire the race. Strangely, all three drivers would end up on the penalty list, though it’s unclear whether that was a direct result of this incident or other infractions during the event, which saw nearly half the field penalized in one way or another. Beretta would go on to win the race.