- Charlie Thornton
- Aug 16, 2025
- 8 min read
GT World Challenge America - Round 4 - RS1 and Turner Motorsport dominate as championship tightens!
Jan Heylen and Alex Sedgwick delivered a flawless weekend for RS1 at Virginia International Raceway, sweeping both races, and cutting into the championship leaders. Turner Motorsport's Foley and Rothberg matched RS1 in the Pro-Am class, securing back-to-back victories, and extending their points advantage before Road America, Barber and Indianapolis.
QUALIFYING
The opening qualifying session at Virginia International Raceway began with the #51 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Varun Choksey setting the first benchmark, though it was not a representative time. The pace soon shifted when the sister #99 BMW of Kenton Koch posted a 1:45.533, only for the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Philip Ellis to move ahead with a 1:45.483. Ellis further improved to a 1:45.426, securing overall pole position, and Pro-Am pole, with the next-best Pro-Am entry, the #16 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 of Christian Hahn, in sixth position overall. The #99 BMW of Koch topped the Pro category ahead of the #18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R of Alex Sedgwick, the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes of Michai Stephens, and the #51 BMW of Choksey. The #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 of Scott Dollahite qualified twelfth overall, but pole position in the Am class, while the #163 Ferrari of Jay Schreibman was in sixteenth and second in Am. A late incident saw the #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ross Chouest slide off at the Hogpen after running wide on the kerb, and dipping a tyre into the slightly damp grass.
In the second qualifying session, early drama struck when the #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Connor De Phillippi went off on the start/finish straight, while the #11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Matt Bell opened the running with a 1:46.277, before the #88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720s GT3 Evo of Aaron Telitz took over with a 1:45.647. The #29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Robby Foley then went quickest with a 1:45.262, but the #18 Porsche of Jan Heylen briefly snatched the top spot before Foley reclaimed it with a 1:45.037. In the final minute, Heylen delivered a stunning 1:45.004 to secure overall and Pro pole position, with the #34 Mercedes of Mikaël Grenier in third, and De Phillippi recovering to sixth. The #29 BMW of Foley claimed the Pro-Am pole position from Telitz and the #32 GMG Racing Porsche of Tom Sargent, while in Am, the #163 Ferrari of Oswaldo Negri Jr. led the way in twelfth overall, ahead of the #6 Mustang of Eric Powell in fourteenth.
RACE 1
Race one at Virginia International Raceway began with the #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Kenton Koch challenging for the lead into turn one, but was unable to make the move stick, while more early action saw the #51 BMW of Varun Choksey take fourth position overall, and third in the Pro class from the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Michai Stephens. Meanwhile, in Pro-Am, the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW of Justin Rothberg ran wide at Oak Tree, which allowed the #11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Blake McDonald through to third in class, while light rain briefly threatened the action around the hour mark, but quickly passed.
Drama struck with an hour to go when the #92 Lab Motorsport by GT Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R of Jean-Frédéric Laberge suffered a huge crash at South Bend, triggering an immediate full course yellow. A wave of pitstops followed under the safety car, with the likes of the #99 and #51 Random Vandals Racing BMWs, the #18 RS1 Porsche, and so on stopping just before the pit window, risking a penalty. One lap later, many more drivers stopped as well, jumbling the order and mixing Pro and Pro-Am contenders together.
At the restart, the #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette of Aaron Povoledo led from the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Darren Turner, #99 BMW of De Phillippi, #88 McLaren of Telitz, and the #27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Jason Daskalos, with several faster Pro entries bottled up behind Pro-Am cars. The #34 Mercedes of Grenier eventually cleared the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes of Jeff Burton for ninth position overall, and third in Pro, while the #51 BMW of Bill Auberlen was handed a stop-and-go penalty for pit lane speeding in an attempt to meet the minimum drive time regulations.
The race began to swing in favour of Jan Heylen in the #18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R, who passed the #24 Aston Martin of Turner for third overall, and second in Pro, then the #99 BMW of De Phillippi for second, before taking the lead from Povoledo with nineteen minutes remaining. Further back, Telitz fell down the order to eighth overall, losing positions to Grenier, the #11 DXDT Racing Corvette of Bell, and the #32 Porsche of Sargent. In Pro-Am, the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW of Robby Foley overtook the #27 of Isaac Sherman for fourth in class, and later snatched second from Turner in the closing minutes.
Heylen and Sedgwick claimed a breakthrough win for RS1, finally converting after four runner-up finishes in 2025. The late pit stop for the #50 Corvette dropped Chouest and Povoledo to thirteenth overall, handing Pro-Am victory to Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg, with the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin second, and the #11 DXDT Racing Corvette third. In Pro, De Phillippi and Koch finished second with Grenier and Stephens third, while in Am, the #163 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 took the win in ninth position overall, as the #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 unfortunately retired.
RACE 1 PODIUMS IN EACH CLASS
RACE 2
The second race of the weekend began with a strong launch from the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Robby Foley, though he held position in second behind the #18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R of Jan Heylen. Early drama came when the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Jeff Burton spin before the Snake, and a few laps later, the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Darren Turner lost a spot to the #51 BMW of Bill Auberlen, only to recover by passing the #88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720s GT3 Evo of Telitz for ninth overall, and fifth in Pro-Am. Burton’s troubled run ended with heavy contact against the wall, damaging his rear-wing and bringing out a full course yellow.
Racing resumed with Heylen leading Foley and the #32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R of Tom Sargent. Shortly after, the #16 AF Corse USA Ferrari of Marcelo Hahn ran off at NASCAR Bend, and pit stops began to unfold with the #99 BMW of De Phillippi and Auberlen coming in first. In Am, the #163 of Oswaldo Negri overtook the #6 Dollahite Racing Mustang of Powell for the class lead at turn one, while the #34 of Grenier and Powell followed into the pits. The #51 BMW of Choksey slid off at Oak Tree, with light contact with the tyre barrier, but no major damage, while Heylen pitted from the lead in anticipation, followed by Foley a couple of laps later, allowing Sargent to temporarily inherit the lead.
As pit stops continued, the #18 of Alex Sedgwick rejoined the track ahead of Justin Rothberg in the #29 BMW, whose tyres were still cold, and quickly pulled away. The #11 of Bell, #24 of Turner, #163 of Negri, and the #27 of Sherman all pitted before Sargent and the #50 of Povoledo finally came in, handing control back to the RS1 Porsche. Out of the pits, the #32 GMG Racing Porsche of Washington emerged ahead of Rothberg for the Pro-Am lead, but the #34 Mercedes-AMG of Michai Stephens soon passed Rothberg for second position overall, and second in Pro. Washington then allowed Stephens through, and Rothberg seized the chance to reclaim the Pro-Am lead at turn one, while Kenton Koch followed suit in the #99 BMW, moving into fourth overall.
The #11 DXDT Racing Corvette of McDonald battled Washington for fifth position overall, and second in Pro-Am, eventually finding a way past, while further back the #50 of Chouest and the #24 of Gray Newell both ran off track after a brief side-by-side moment. In the closing stages of the race, Choksey climbed to sixth overall by passing Washington, who then went off under the bridge, allowing Newell into the final Pro-Am podium spot.
A sudden circuit power failure cut the live feed before the finish, but the results confirmed another RS1 victory as Heylen and Sedgwick swept the weekend in Pro ahead of the #34 of Grenier/Stephens, and the #99 of De Phillippi/Koch. Foley and Rothberg claimed back-to-back Pro-Am class wins from the #11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet of Bell/McDonald, and the #24 Aston Martin of Newell/Turner, while the #6 Dollahite Racing Mustang took the Am class ahead of the #163 Ferrari of Negri/Schreibman.
RACE 2 PODIUMS IN EACH CLASS
CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATIONS
A clean sweep for the RS1 Porsche crew of Jan Heylen and Alex Sedgwick see them climb into second in the standings with 149 points, while the #99 Random Vandals BMW crew of De Phillippi/Koch remain in the lead with a fourteen point advantage. JMF Motorsports’ Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Grenier/Stephens drops to third with 143 points.
In Pro-Am, Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg continue to lead the championship in their #29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo with 158 points, sitting just 44 points behind is the #11 DXDT Racing Corvette crew of Bell/McDonald who have overtaken the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes crew of Burton/Ellis after their unfortunate crash in race two, and they sit on 106 points.
Coming into Virginia, the Dollahite Racing Mustang and the AF Corse USA Ferrari sat equal on 93 points each, and coming out after the two races, they are still tied on points, with 136 points for both crews after four victories and two second positions each.
ROAD AMERICA AWAITS
The 2025 GT World Challenge America season heads to Road America in Wisconsin on the 16th - 17th August where the tight battles in the championship will continue.
Images @ Fabian Lagunas / SRO
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