If George Kurtz could have been in two places at once two weeks ago, his racing life would be much easier. But with his IMSA racing activities taking priority in Road America, Kurtz had to miss the last GT America race meeting in Nashville.
Thankfully, there was no such dilemma this time, and Kurtz returned to Road America aboard his #04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 – taking a weekend sweep in the GT America series races.
Kurtz fell down to fourth early in Race 1 after he ran wide at turn nine, allowing polesitter Memo Gidley to streak out to an early lead. Kurtz was eventually able to fight his way back up into second place.
The GT4 class #009 TRG Aston Martin of Tim Savage spun off into the gravel, bringing out a Safety Car with just 15 minutes remaining. Once Savage’s car was cleared, Kurtz made the very most of his opportunity on the restart. Gidley defended his lead as best as he could but Kurtz had too much momentum on the run down to turn five, and the defending SRO3 class champion sailed through into the lead.
Moments later, a second and final Safety Car came out when two fan-favourites tangled. Amir Haleem, in the #66 CDR Valkyrie Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, was trying to clear a pack of GT4 cars in a hurry. In doing so, he went too deep into Canada Corner and tagged the #099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Robb Holland, knocking both cars out of the race.
What’s more, the damage to Haleem’s GT-R was enough that Godzilla’s return to American sports car racing had to be cut short, and the car would not start Race 2 on Sunday.
Kurtz took the chequered flag under the Safety Car, for his second win of the season. Gidley’s second-place finish was enough for him to retake the lead in the SRO3 standings, after Jason Daskalos received a drive-through penalty for jumping out of line on the initial race start. Daskalos would later retire the #27 CRP Racing Mercedes after seven laps.
Adam Adelson finished third, but wouldn’t return for Race 2 because his new 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 R had to be called into service for Sunday’s GT World Challenge America race. Anthony Bartone was fourth, followed by Nashville Race 1 winner Johnny O’Connell in fifth, and Mirco Schultis in sixth.
Flying Lizard Motorsports scored a 1-2 finish in the GT4 class as the black and orange #8 of Elias Sabo took his third win of the year, ahead of Jason Bell in second. Ross Chouest was third in an all-Aston Martin podium, ahead of SRO America veteran Tony Gaples’ Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R in fourth, and series newcomer Scott Blind in fifth aboard the #045 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin.
Kurtz and Gidley were in a class of their own in Race 2, with the former on pole position after setting the fastest lap in Race 1.
Despite running close to him all race long, Gidley couldn’t quite find a way to get past Kurtz, who drove on to his third win of the year in GT America, less than two seconds ahead of Gidley in second place.
Bartone and Daskalos spent much of the race fighting for third place, but Daskalos got the upper hand with seven minutes to go and grabbed the final podium position by 0.273 seconds from Bartone.
Brian Lock, making his debut in CDR Valkyrie’s #86 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22, finished an impressive fifth, ahead of Schultis in sixth. O’Connell was running up front early but retired with a power steering failure on the third lap.
As things stand with four races remaining, Gidley holds an 18-point advantage over Daskalos in second, with Kurtz in third, 49 points behind.
After the frustrating end to his first race, Holland was determined to make amends in Race 2. He quickly made his way past the Flying Lizard Aston Martins of Bell and Sabo, and then closed in on Gaples, the unexpected pole sitter based on Race 1 fastest laps.
The sleek Cayman tucked into the slipstream of the burly Camaro, and Holland drove through into the lead. Not long after, Gaples’ run at the front ended with a mechanical failure with 15 minutes remaining.
Holland would keep Bell in his rear-view and take his fifth win in the last six races, by a margin of just half a second. Sabo finished third, putting both Flying Lizard cars on the podium once again.
Gray Newell, a year on from his terrible crash at this venue in this series last year, finished fourth in his #25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin, ahead of Blind who got another top-five finish.
Bell’s two runner-up finishes give him a four-point championship lead over Chouest in the standings, with Holland trailing them in third, 25 points behind.
GT America will be back in action at Sebring International Raceway on 23-24 September.
Images © Brian Cleary / SRO Motorsports Group America
