In her first full season as a GT3 racing driver, 28-year-old Ashton Harrison of Villa Rica, Georgia, became the first woman to win an SRO GT World Challenge full-season championship, in any region of the world – and the first in the 32-year history of GT World Challenge America, tracing back to the series’ roots as an SCCA showroom stock series.
Harrison and her co-driver, Mario Farnbacher, clinched the 2022 GT World Challenge America Pro-Am Championships for Racers Edge Motorsports at the Indianapolis 8 Hour race this past Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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The #93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 of Harrison, Farnbacher, and two-time IMSA GTD champion Christina Nielsen finished ninth overall out of 25 starters, and third in the Pro-Am category, good enough to clinch the Pro-Am Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships.
After the chequered flag, an awe-struck Harrison remarked: “I don’t have a whole lot of words right now, I’m still in shock.”
The 2021 HPD GT3 Academy graduate ran her first race at the wheel of an Acura NSX GT3 in last year’s Indy 8 Hours, as a third driver for Compass Racing alongside Farnbacher and Matt McMurry. They finished sixth overall, and won the Silver Cup class – a fantastic first outing for the former Spec Miata and Lamborghini Super Trofeo racer.
Harrison and Farnbacher joined forces for a full 2022 campaign with Racers Edge, in partnership with IMSA powerhouse Wayne Taylor Racing, and combined for four class victories, seven class podiums, three overall podiums, and three pole positions (including one overall pole).
“Wow, I’ve grown so much throughout the year,” Harrison said. “I’m so excited for Racers Edge, Acura and HPD. It’s been a roller coaster year. Mario and I have kept our heads down all year; and Racers Edge has given us a great car.”
Harrison and Farnbacher entered the Indy 8 Hours third in the standings, 15 points behind Wright Motorsports drivers Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen, with double points paid out to all eligible GT World Challenge America teams. Because the #75 SunEnergy1 by Akkodis ASP Mercedes wasn’t a full-time GTWCA entrant, the #93 Racers Edge Acura received credit for second-place points. Those 36 points they earned were enough to win the Drivers’ Championship by five points, and the Teams’ Championship by nine.
“I didn’t know it was going to come down to just five points [between first and second], but we did it – and I’m just super excited to have had this moment with this team,” added Harrison.
In addition to her landmark series championship, Harrison was also named GT World Challenge America Rookie of the Year at the SRO Motorsports Group Awards ceremony on Sunday, given to the most successful first-year driver in the series.
Farnbacher won his first SRO-sanctioned championship as well, adding to the back-to-back championships that the German ace driver won in IMSA’s GTD class in 2019-20 with Acura. Reflecting on the season, Farnbacher said: “It was an interesting year. It started quite rough [at the opening race] in Sonoma, For me this was a new series, with a different tyre and race format, than I was used to in other series. I needed to learn in which direction we need to go and what would work for us.”
“I think it all began to come together for us at NOLA, which was good points for us and our first Pro-Am win of the season. From there, Watkins Glen was okay, but we had some problems that limited our performance there. But then we had another turn around at Road America, where we swept both races. At Sebring, we were a bit down again, but finally we came here and turned it around one more time.”
Farnbacher took a drive-through penalty in the first 30 minutes the race for causing a collision with the #3 K-PAX Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3, but fought back by the end of his first stint.
Afterwards, Harrison and Nielsen – the latter, a trailblazing champion in American sportscar racing and an experienced NSX GT3 pilot in her own right – combined for steady, clean stints, and Farnbacher ran a double stint to take the car home to the finish after nightfall.
“I’m especially happy for Ashton,” beamed Farnbacher. “To see where she started at the HPD Academy a few years ago to where she is now, she’s made some mega steps forward, so I’m really proud for her.”
For DeLand, Florida’s Racers Edge Motorsports, it is their third GT World Challenge America title in the last four seasons: Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli won the Pro-Am Drivers’ Championship in 2019, then, Shelby Blackstock and Trent Hindman won the Silver Cup titles in 2020 as one of just a few full-time entries in the pandemic-affected season. Last year, fellow HPD Academy alumnus Taylor Hagler finished second in the Pro-Am Drivers’ Championship, the best GTWCA championship result for a woman racer at the time.
The season-long battle which culminated in a four-way fight for the Pro-Am titles, was won by Racers Edge Motorsports. But while BimmerWorld Racing fell short of a championship, their hard-fought Indy 8 Hour Pro-Am class victory was a richly-deserved victory in its own right.
Chandler Hull, Bill Auberlen, and Richard Heistand fought from noon ’til nightfall to end their first season with the BMW M4 GT3 with their first Pro-Am win of the season, and a sixth-place overall finish. For the Virginia-based squad, this is their third Indy 8 Hour class victory in a row: The trio of Hull, Auberlen, and team founder James Clay had won the GT4 class in 2020 and 2021.
The maximum 50 points earned by Hull and Auberlen were enough to give them third in the Drivers’ Championship at season’s end, while BimmerWorld moved up to second in the Teams’ Championship behind Racers Edge Motorsports.
“This is as good as we could have done,” said the ageless BMW mainstay Auberlen. “Thank you to BimmerWorld for everything they have done, and to James Clay and my guys.”
Even in an eight-hour endurance race, starting from the pit lane was not ideal for any team with aspirations of a strong result. Auberlen had to start from the pits as punishment for a penalty that he’d earned in the final leg of the Friday qualifying sessions. But he, along with Hull and third driver Heistand, worked together to put themselves into the class lead by the time Auberlen was ready for his final stint.
Auberlen spent the last hour racing in the dark, fighting off SunEnergy1’s Dominik Baumann for the class win. But he was able to keep the chrome orange Mercedes in his wing mirrors, even as he and Baumann had to yield for overall leaders Raffaele Marciello and Antonio Fuoco. They were two seconds apart over the line after 325 laps – but Auberlen was able to run one more lap before the chequered flag fell on their car.
“This victory is unbelievable, that was more stress than I could handle!” exclaimed Auberlen. “[Baumann] was right behind me and this BMW M4 GT3 ran flawlessly all day long and the crew was perfect. That’s what it takes to win at this place.”
Commiserations, of course, are in order for the outgoing Pro-Am champions Wright Motorsports, and to fellow challengers CrowdStrike Racing with Riley Motorsports. They suffered their own respective heartaches and issues, that ultimately cost them and their drivers a chance at the titles.
“It has been an awesome season, but I’m disappointed with how the day went,” said Wright Motorsports’ ace driver – who, for the second weekend in a row, finished a season in American sportscar racing as a close runner-up. The week before in IMSA, Heylen and Ryan Hardwick finished a close second in the GTD standings to Roman de Angelis after Petit Le Mans.
And after a power steering issue cost the #45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3-R 20 minutes’ worth of repairs, Heylen, Luck, and Elia Erhart would finish 16th overall, earning sixth-place points in GTWCA Pro-Am – and finishing just five points behind the new champions Harrison and Farnbacher.
“Out of all races, today is where we have a mechanical,” Heylen shrugged. “The car was really good all season long and everybody did a good job, we just came short. I am thankful for the really good job by the team all year and to Charlie for putting this program together. I’m so happy to be part of this. Hope we can go back next year and try for one better.”
“I’m incredibly proud and feel mighty blessed that we are in second in the championship,” said Luck, Heylen’s co-driver and father-in-law. The former NASCAR journeyman competed valiantly in his first full season as a GT World Challenge America Am driver, from the start of the season with a weekend sweep at Sonoma – all the way to the end in his first proper endurance race.
“This is such a complicated, challenging, extremely difficult journey that we’re on for seven weekends and countless test days and there’s so much incredible talent here at Wright Motorsports. We have nothing to be, but grateful and thankful and really proud.”
The #04 CrowdStrike/Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 suffered a devastating setback when third driver Ben Keating checked up into the #43 RealTime Racing NSX of Erin Vogel – enough to inflict critical damage to the radiator of the red and grey Mercedes. The 45 agonising minutes spent in the garage effectively took George Kurtz and Colin Braun out of championship contention.
“We had a shot to win it all,” said Kurtz, “all three cars (in the championship fight) did, but luck just didn’t go our way. Unfortunately the car had some damage and we were never really able to get it back on track to try and win the race.”
The #04 Mercedes and #43 Acura’s paths would cross once again, when Taylor Hagler spun in front of Braun, who took damage to the right-front quarter panel. They retired just before the final hour, credited with 20th place and eighth-place points in Pro-Am.
“We had a great championship run in World Challenge America,” said Kurtz, who left the Watkins Glen race weekend 21 points ahead in the standings with five races to go. “Going into Road America, we had a pretty nice lead and we were just clean and consistent with a lot of podiums and an overall win, which was fantastic. Through some bad luck – a lot of it not our fault – we got put into a bad position.”
Despite missing out on a GTWCA Pro-Am title for the second time in three years, Kurtz’s investment into sportscar racing as a driver and business partner this year certainly did not go unrewarded: He dominated the SRO3 class en route to a GT America series championship, and he won the Bronze Cup category in this year’s 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – after announcing that his company, CrowdStrike, would become the Spa 24 Hours’ new title sponsor.
“I’m really proud of this team for their effort this year,” reflected Braun, Kurtz’s co-driver and coach. “Three wins, including an overall win at Watkins Glen, podium finishes, poles, and being in championship contention until the end shows the dedication and tenacity this team has. I’m also really proud of George and all that he accomplished this year, including the GT America Championship! His work ethic sets the tone for the entire team, and that’s how we’re able to win.”
Outside of the Pro-Am category, there were still some other outstanding performances that deserve recognition.
In a special white version of the Andy Blackmore-designed “zebra” livery, the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 finished third overall, best of the non-Intercontinental GT Challenge teams. Michael Dinan, Robby Foley, and John Edwards finished 65 seconds adrift of the #77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes and the #71 AF Corse-Francorchamps Ferrari 488 GT3 that battled to the end of the race, and they finished on the lead lap, ten seconds ahead of the #33 Winward Racing Mercedes.
After the race, Foley said: “The last stint was hard work. We were basically trying to keep the #33 behind. They are a great team with three great drivers, so it was not an easy task.”
“It’s a great day for BMW and Turner Motorsport. I am proud to give these guys a big podium after a long and hard season […] and we will take the momentum into 2023.”
Last year, Turner Motorsport had to withdraw early after Dinan fell ill before the race. This year, one of American sportscar racing’s fan-favourite outfits ended their season with maximum GTWCA points for the second time this season (they had won the Pro class in Race 1 at Watkins Glen).
Dinan and Foley finish the season fifth in the Pro Drivers’ Championship, as the “best of the rest” behind K-PAX Racing’s quartet of Caldarelli, Pepper, Beretta, and Goikhberg. Not a bad way to finish a season that was filled with strange twists – from their last-minute upgrade from Pro-Am to Pro before the green flag at Sonoma, to some tough breaks and incidents at NOLA and Road America.
All of BMW’s GT3 teams in SRO had some manner of hardship in dealing with parts shortages in the M4 GT3’s first season – but none had it tougher than Samantha Tan Racing (ST Racing), whose first GT World Challenge America season was derailed by accidents and supply chain issues which kept them from running most of the season.
So it was a fantastic surprise to see the lone Silver Cup entry in the field get out of the blocks strong in Free Practice, make the Pole Shootout, then run inside the overall top ten virtually from start to finish – even breaking the overall top five as the race plunged into sunset!
“I’m so proud of everyone on Samantha Tan Racing. We finished ninth overall, first in class at the Indy 8H!” exclaimed the team’s namesake, co-owner and driver Tan, who took the chequered flag in ninth (demoted to tenth after a post-race time penalty for a pit stop infringement).
“Despite the fueling issues we faced at the end of the race, we had strong pace throughout and we really showed the talent we have on this team. Looking back at this season, I have nothing but respect and pride for my co-drivers and my team. We’ve had highs and lows but we’ve come out stronger and more knowledgeable every single time. We’ve won races, broken track records, and made history, and I wouldn’t want to accomplish this with any other group of people,” she continued.
It’s also a milestone for the popular 25-year-old owner/driver Tan – who became the fourth woman in GT World Challenge America to take a class victory, joining the aforementioned Harrison, Hagler, and Vogel.
While Tan, Nick Wittmer, and Harry Gottsacker’s podium celebration was lonely, their top-ten overall result showcased the potential that this still-young team has to offer.
ST Racing made history already this season, giving the new M4 GT3 its first overall victory in the 12 Hours of Mugello, and they also made the plunge into the Spa 24 Hours for the first time. Expect an official announcement soon on what the future will hold for ST Racing – and for their new satellite team, STR38 Motorsports, which debuted this weekend in the GT4 America and TC America series.
Finally, in the Am category, Zelus Motorsports overcame a trio of pit lane penalties early on, and settled into a rhythm thereafter to finish 17th overall and win the two-car battle in class.
The ragtag trio of co-owner/driver Jason Harward, World Challenge veteran Jason Daskalos, and young Seth Lucas was only officially put together days before the weekend started, but they worked together to the best of their abilities and maximised their result – to come away with Zelus’ first class win in GT World Challenge America. Not a bad way to end a 2022 campaign that had its fair share of setbacks and races missed.
“Winning in Indy is only something I could have dreamt of,” said 16-year-old Lucas. “It was my first ever GT3 event and I enjoyed it. I gained some more experience, and it opens another door for next season.”
Lucas, who was also named GT America’s Rookie of the Year at the SRO Motorsport Group Awards on Sunday, will open his age 17 season by taking part in the 24H Dubai in January.
Along with their Am class victory, Zelus Motorsports’ team principal, Tigh Isaac, was given the Jim Cook Memorial Award during Sunday’s awards banquet. The award is presented to the individual or team “.” Isaac and Harward plan to be back next season with their colourful cars.
At 1,287.40 kilometres / 800 miles, the third annual Indianapolis 8 Hour race was officially the longest event (by distance) ever run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This distance covered by overall winners Marciello, Daniel Juncadella, and Daniel Morad surpassed the 300 laps / 1,177.5 km covered by inaugural winners Nicky Catsburg, Connor De Philippi, and Augusto Farfus in 2020.
18 cars finished the full eight hours, with five retirements and two classified retirements.
Images © Brian Cleary, Regis Lefebure, Fabian Lagunas / SRO Motorsports Group America; BMW Motorsport
