GT World Challenge America - Round 2 - Comebacks, collisions and class wins at the Circuit of the Americas!

From last-lap heartbreaks, to class-defying triumphs, GT World Challenge America resumed racing at the Circuit of the Americas in a weekend of relentless GT3 drama.

QUALIFYING

Qualifying started and the first load of lap times came in, with Allam Khodair in the #16 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 setting a 2:04.122, but the timing screens shortly lit up as Kenton Koch in the #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 went to the top with a 2:03.777, only to be immediately displaced by his teammate Bill Auberlen in the #51 BMW, briefly igniting a flurry of quick laps from other drivers. Michai Stephens made his presence felt in the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, snatching provisional pole position with a 2:03.755, just twenty-two hundredths ahead of Koch.

In a clear attempt to make a statement, Mercedes-AMG Factory Driver Philip Ellis stormed to the top of the leaderboard with a 2:03.045, putting over seven tenths to the rest of the field in the #91 Regulator Racing AMG, which is in the Pro-Am class. Koch responded and improved to second position, but was still half-a-second behind the Swiss driver.

Qualifying two was kicked off with a strong lap from Connor De Phillippi in the #99 BMW, putting him temporarily on top with a 2:03.532, but just a minute later Michael Cooper in the #2 Racers Edge Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo bettered that with a 2:03.161. However, the pace continued to improve and intensify, with Mikaël Grenier in the #34 Mercedes dipped under the 2:03 mark, setting a 2:02.982. The leaderboard shifted once again as Aussie Tom Sargent in the #32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 delivered an impressive 2:02.254, launching him to pole position as a Pro-Am entry. Barely a minute later, Robby Foley managed to put himself ahead of Sargent by just 0.008 seconds, grabbing the top spot, but in a late flyer, Grenier returned to third position overall, but reclaimed pole position in the Pro class, narrowly ahead by 0.105s.

RACE 1

Before the race had even started, there was drama for the #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW crew, who were forced to start from the back of the grid due to a qualifying infringement, but what followed was a masterclass in recovery, strategy, and perseverance that flipped the entire grid order by the end of the race.

With ninety minutes on the clock, the green flag flew, with pole-sitter Philip Ellis in the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo getting a strong launch, but the fireworks were ignited further back as cars went three-wide into turn one. The #11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3, #51 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 and #18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 fiercely battled for third position, but amidst the frenzy, the #163 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, driven by Oswaldo Negri Jr, was tagged by the #27 CRP Racing Mercedes of Jason Daskalos and the #32 GMG Racing Porsche of Kyle Washington, sending the Ferrari into a spin. Further complications at the start saw the #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 come to a halt, forcing a chain reaction in the field.

Just moments later, the #27 Mercedes of Daskalos was visibly wounded, slowing down after the opening Esses, scattering debris across the track, and quickly prompting a Full Course Yellow. Meanwhile, Kenton Koch in the #99 BMW, who had started in eighteenth position, had miraculously surged into ninth place by the end of the opening lap, showing clear aggressiveness and precision to avoid incidents.

Racing resumed with eighty minutes on the clock, with Ellis leading Stephens, Sedgwick and Auberlen. But there was immediate trouble for Khodair in the #16 Ferrari, who was slapped with a drive-through penalty for a starting violation, however, Koch continued his charge through the field, overtaking the #11 DXDT Racing Corvette of Blake McDonald for fifth position overall, positioning himself as the fourth-placed car in the Pro class. Just ten minutes later, he was already on the back of his teammate Auberlen, prompting radio discussions about possible team orders. 

An intra-team strategy appeared on the horizon, while farther back in the Pro-Am field, the #32 Porsche of Kyle Washington was steadily making moves back through the field after his early drama, passing both the #2 Racers Edge Motorsports Aston Martin of Jason Bell and the #88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720s GT3 Evo of Todd Coleman, in a fierce and steady battle that featured excellent defensive driving and clean overtakes. Notably though, Coleman unfortunately received a ten-second time penalty for a pre-race procedure violation.

Once the pit-window opened, the race evolved into a chess match, with the #32, #88, #2, #92 and #27 Pro-Am entries all coming into the pits to switch to their professional drivers, while just a lap later Alex Sedgwick, Blake McDonald, Justin Rothberg and Ross Chouest joined them, followed by the now front-running Random Vandals Racing BMW’s of Auberlen and Koch.

A crucial moment of the race occurred when Connor De Phillippi in the #99 BMW exited the pits just ahead of the RS1 Porsche of Jan Heylen. Though still on cold tyres, Heylen initially slipped past to take second position in the Pro class, but De Phillippi fought back and reclaimed the position a lap later with a committed move into turn twelve. Meanwhile, Mikaël Grenier, having taken over from Stephens in the #34 JMF Motorsports AMG, received a 1.74-second post-race penalty for a pit stop that fell short of the minimum time.

To make matters worse for the other front-runners, the race leader Philip Ellis incurred a ten-second time penalty for a pit exit merge line violation, but with both cars ahead of him also facing penalties, De Phillippi suddenly found himself a dark horse to go for the victory.

In the second half of the race, and the second stint, Grenier charged past the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes, now in the hands of Jeff Burton, and took the on-track race lead. De Phillippi followed suit shortly after, with Heylen just behind too. The focus was then shifted to the Pro-Am battles, where Tom Sargent in the #32 GMG Racing Porsche was putting on a show, climbing from ninth to fifth in class, making bold moves on Darren Turner in the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, as well as on Aaron Povoledo in the #50 Corvette, with door-to-door contact, and intense straight-line duels, aided by the Corvette’s top-end advantage.

A few drops of rain began to fall with just under half-an-hour of the race to go, but they weren’t heavy enough to influence a tyre strategy, or even affect the grip levels. Back in Pro-Am, Matt Bell passed Burton for the class lead in the #11 Corvette, with Foley and Sargent also capitalising on Burton’s lack of pace. By the final quarter of the race, Bell, Foley and Sargent ran in the top three for the Pro-Am class.

The closing minutes approached, and featured more drama, with the #50 Corvette of Povoledo spinning off into the grass, but recovered shortly after, meanwhile Varun Choksey in the #51 BMW, who had struggled in the second half of the race, began dropping positions, and ultimately decided to pit with just a lap to go. With just fifteen seconds left on the clock, Grenier crossed the timing line and started the final lap of the race, leading by just 1.3 seconds over De Phillippi, but with his 1.74 second penalty looming large, the real question was whether De Phillippi had done enough to inherit the race win, once timing adjustments were made.

Mikaël Grenier crossed the line first, but it wasn’t enough in the final lap, seeing Connor De Phillippi inherit the race win, in a last-to-first effort from the #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW crew, capping a sensational recovery for the team. Jan Heylen completed the overall podium in third in the #18 RS1 Porsche. Matt Bell and Blake McDonald secured the Pro-Am victory in the #11 DXDT Racing Corvette, followed by the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW in second, and the #32 GMG Racing Porsche in third. Gray Newell and Darren Turner secured fourth in class in the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, after making steady progress through the field. 

RACE 2

With the first race of the weekend still fresh in every drivers’ mind, the grid lined up once more for the final race of the weekend, with the green flag waving, launching the field into turn one with aggressive intent from all. Immediately, contact occurred between the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes with Grenier at the wheel, and the #32 GMG Racing Porsche of Tom Sargent, and as the field squeezed through the opening corner, the jostling allowed the #2 Racers Edge Motorsports Aston Martin of Michael Cooper to sneak into third place, leapfrogging Sargent in the early shuffle.

As the first lap unfolded, the race saw its first penalty, this time the #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang was issued a drive-through penalty for a start procedure violation, meanwhile the #50 Corvette began to slow, struggling with what appeared to be a mechanical issue. The most significant early drama, however, came just four minutes in, when the two Random Vandals Racing BMW’s of Connor De Phillippi and Varun Choksey collided with each other, resulting in suspension damage for the #99 entry, and a drive-through penalty for causing the incident. This was the first major blow for the team that had gone from last to first just a day before.

As the race settled into a smooth rhythm, the midfield battles intensified, with Sargent reclaiming his position over Grenier, moving into second position overall, and second in the Pro-Am class, signalling a strong showing by the Pro-Am runners at the sharp end of the field. Attrition continued to mount, with Aaron Telitz suffering a front-left puncture in the #88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren after contact with Jan Heylen in the #18 Porsche at turn eleven, forcing both cars to reassess their strategies.

Routine pit activity began to start, with the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes of Jeff Burton the first to pit among the lead pack, coming in from tenth position. Not long after though, the #27 CRP Racing Mercedes of Isaac Sherman briefly came to a halt on track before continuing, and even more disciplinary issues kept coming through with the #16 Ferrari hit with a speeding in the pits penalty, and the #18 Porsche given a drive through penalty, deemed as the responsible for the clash with the McLaren. It wasn’t done yet, with the #50 Corvette coming to a complete halt at the final corner, possibly due to a tyre, suspension or brake failure, bringing out the first full course yellow of the race, which took a significant amount of time to clear.

The full course yellow triggered a wave of pit stops, with several key cars, including the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW to pit. However, not all stops were smooth, with the aforementioned car suffering an unusually long stop, struggling to pressurise their air-jack system, which cost them several important positions. Moments after, Jason Bell spun his #2 Aston Martin exiting the Esses in a classic case of cold tyres catching out the driver while trying to hustle back onto the tail of the safety car train.

Racing resumed with less than thirty minutes remaining, and Michai Stephens led Alex Sedgwick and Daskalos, with Philip Ellis closely behind in fourth. Ellis wasted no time, passing Daskalos within the first half of the lap, proving the Swiss driver to be on a mission to attempt to win the overall race. In the midfield, Kyle Washington made a clean move past the #88 McLaren of Todd Coleman, while Justin Rothberg found his way past the McLaren after a tense back-straight battle. Rothberg had his work cut out, having dropped down the order due to the early pit stop complications. 

In a thrilling battle with just fifteen minutes remaining, Ellis reeled in, and passed Stephens for the overall race lead, with the two running side-by-side through the high-speed corners after the back straight, in a clean, yet aggressive exchange. Ellis held his line strong, and powered through taking the top spot.

In the closing minutes, the focus shifted to the lower end of the top ten, with Gray Newell, Jason Bell and Todd Coleman scrapping for seventh in class, with the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Newell passing Coleman.

After a dominant final stint, the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Philip Ellis crossed the line first, claiming overall victory in race two, a major moment for the Pro-Am entry beating the Pro cars outright, utilising their opposite strategy, and also down to Ellis’ consistency and speed. Michai Stephens managed to hold on to second place overall, and took the Pro class victory, followed by Sedgwick in the RS1 Porsche. Daskalos had a good showing in race two, coming home in fourth place overall, and second in Pro-Am, followed by the DXDT Racing Corvette of McDonald completing the top five, and rounding out the Pro-Am podium.

CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATIONS

With the unfortunate turn of events for the Random Vandals Racing BMW crews, it sees the #99 entry fall down in the championship order, with the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes of Mikaël Grenier and Michai Stephens advancing into the lead of the Pro class with 83 points, just three points ahead of the #99 crew. RS1’s Porsche of Jan Heylen and Alex Sedgwick sit third with 63 points, and the other Random Vandals BMW sits fourth with 54 points.

Consistency proves to be the successful formula for the #29 Turner Motorsport crew of Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg, who sit at the top of the standings with 68 points, and a six-point advantage over the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG crew of Jeff Burton and Philip Ellis. 

With a streamlined Am category, the #163 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Oswaldo Negri Jr and Jay Schreibman lead the class with 93 points, while the Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang of Scott Dollahite and Anthony Lazzaro sit second with 43 points, after the Mustang competed in the Pro-Am category at the opening rounds at Sonoma Raceway.

RESPECT THE BUMPS AT SEBRING

Round three of the 2025 GT World Challenge America campaign heads to Florida’s infamous Sebring International Raceway, where drivers will need to respect the bumps on the 17th - 18th May.