At the end of a six minute, four-lap sprint to the finish, George Kurtz overtook Jason Harward on the final lap to win Race 2 of the GT America powered by AWS at Watkins Glen International, his fourth consecutive victory and his fifth of the season.
Kurtz was the pole sitter in his #04 CrowdStrike with Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, and he led for the first half of the race just as he did yesterday. Harward in his #88 Zelus Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 was close behind however, and the two SRO3 class leaders ran tail to nose for several laps.
Harward seized an opportunity on lap 12, executing a beautiful crossover move to put his “Bullnicorn” Lamborghini into the top spot out of turn one and up through the Esses.
Behind them, PJ Hyett was running third in the #00 Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3-R, and not just through attrition, but through sheer pace, showing a remarkable improvement in just 24 hours. But on lap 12, he spun out at the final corner, hit the SAFER barrier, and couldn’t get his car going again.
A Full Course Yellow was deployed, followed by a Safety Car, to retrieve the stranded Porsche. The race restarted with just six minutes left on the clock.
Harward maintained his lead on the restart with Kurtz shadowing him, and GT4 traffic wouldn’t be a factor in their fight for the victory. It set up a last lap showdown with Kurtz taking the white flag just half a second behind Harward.
With a great exit out of turn seven, the two leaders were side by side into eight. Kurtz went to the outside to place his car at the inside of the next corner, and the two made gentle contact in the ascent to turn nine. Kurtz made his move for the win with just three corners left, and held off Harward at the line by just 0.231 seconds.
A phenomenal photo finish capped off Kurtz’s second straight weekend sweep in two meetings, as he continued to extend his lead in the SRO3 championship standings.
Harward finished second as Zelus Motorsports’ sole remaining entry after team mate Jeff Burton was forced to withdraw from the weekend after his accident in GT World Challenge America Race 1 yesterday.
Mirko Schultis (#70 MISHUmotors Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R) crossed the line in third position on the road, but both he and Jason Daskalos (#27 Daskalos Motorsports Audi R8 LMS Ultra) received 31 second post-race time penalties for overtaking under the Full Course Yellow. This promoted Justin Wetherill, who switched back to his silver and white #37 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo for this race, into third in the final results, ahead of Schultis and Daskalos in fourth and fifth.
Seth Lucas capped off a perfect weekend by driving his #016 Hattori Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 to the victory in the GT4 class. The 16-year-old becomes the first two-time winner in the class this season.
Lucas led wire-to-wire in the class, holding off Ross Chouest (#50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4), who came home second for the second time this weekend. With the results as they stand, Chouest moves within five points of the lead in the GT4 championship table.
Last-lap drama decided the final place on the podium after Elias Sabo (#8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Vantage GT4) and Marko Radisic (#22 SRQ Motorsports BMW M4 GT4) made contact, sending Sabo spinning out at turn one.
Radisic finished third on the road, but after the race, he was given a 2 minute, 31 second time penalty for avoidable contact and dropped to last in the overall running order.
This promoted Todd Coleman (#69 Smooge Racing GR Supra) to third place in the class, ahead of Bryan Putt (#15 BSport Racing Vantage GT4), Gray Newell (#25 Heart of Racing Team Vantage GT4), and GT4 championship leader Jason Bell (#2 GMG Racing Vantage GT4).
Adam Adelson (#120 Premier Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport) was a notable non-finisher after an incident with Jose DaSilva (#67 Smooge Racing GR Supra) in the first half of the race, along with Moisey Uretsky (#55 Accelerating Performance Vantage GT4) who spun off at the Bus Stop.
The GT America series will be back in action in less than two weeks’ time, supporting IndyCar’s Music City Grand Prix on the streets of downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
Images © Brian Cleary / SRO Motorsports Group America
