GMG Racing’s Kyle Washington and Turner Motorsport’s Justin Rothberg split this weekend’s GT America powered by AWS races at Circuit of the Americas, but it’s Rothberg who heads out of Texas with the championship lead.
Blake McDonald set the fastest time in Race 1 Qualifying on Saturday morning. But his #11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R was only going to run the Practice and Qualifying sessions to gain extra track time ahead of the GT World Challenge America races.
So the pole position instead went to Washington in the #32 Porsche 992 GT3 R, ahead of Elias Sabo in the #8 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Washington’s path to victory in Race 1 cleared when Sabo got a drive-through penalty for changing columns before he crossed the start/finish line for the first time.
Reigning SRO3 Champion Rothberg finished second after a tight battle with the returning 2023 SRO3 Champion Memo Gidley in the #56 SKI Autosport Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II. Over the final ten minutes, Ross Chouest fought Gidley for the final SRO3 podium place, but the former GT4 class champion finished fourth in his #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette – 0.379 seconds behind Gidley.
Sabo was seventh after his drive-through penalty, but he set the fastest lap of Race 1 to earn the pole for Race 2 on Sunday. Yet his professional commitments outside of racing required him to sit out the Sunday race.
Max Hewitt and Anthony McIntosh battled all race long for the GT4 class win, but with two laps left, McIntosh drove his #69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota ahead of polesitter Hewitt’s #39 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin for the lead. McIntosh held off Hewitt by less than two-tenths for the win on Saturday, but Hewitt got the fastest lap for the pole on Sunday.
With Sabo off the grid, Rothberg started Race 2 on the pole position, alongside Chouest. But from the inside of the second row, Washington quickly moved up to second place, then fought Rothberg for several laps before getting the lead with just under 18 minutes left.
It took just one mistake from Washington for Rothberg to find an opening that allowed him to re-pass the Porsche and get back in the lead only two laps later. Rothberg, racing with 13 kilos of extra weight as part of his Bronze derogation, took the win ahead of Washington, Chouest, and Gidley.
Marc Muzzo scored two top-five finishes in the #13 R.Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3, and GT America’s two newcomers, the Porsches of Joel Cortes (#19 Esses Racing) and Jon Manship (#216 Wright Motorsports), also finished both races without incident.
Hewitt completed the GT4 sweep ahead of McIntosh to take the GT4 championship lead. McIntosh’s challenge for the class win was dampened by a loose muffler that somehow locked itself back into position after his Toyota struck one of the sausage kerbs at the exit of turn 20!
GT America returns on the weekend of 15-18 May at Sebring International Raceway.
Images © Brian Cleary / SRO Motorsports America
