Jason Daskalos and Tony Gaples walked away winners in Race 2 for the GT America powered by AWS series at Sebring International Raceway.
The day began with a couple of shakeups to the grid. Elias Sabo could not start due to an incident in his Pirelli GT4 America afternoon race. A three-position penalty due to a post-tech infraction for Memo Gidley in the No. 101 TKO Motorsports Mercedes-AMG pushed him off pole position.
SRO3 class
Jason Daskalos and Memo Gidley fought tooth and nail for the win, but it was Daskalos in the lead at the drop of the checkered flag. Daskalos, second in the drivers’ standings, began the race from the pole position with Gidley serving his penalty. He took off at the drop of the green flag and steered his No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 meticulously over the bumps to the win.
George Kurtz was seated in second place from the start in his No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3. His race began on the offense, attacking Daskalos for the lead. Gidley soon put the pressure on Kurtz and he switched gears to defend his position. Gidley pushed past Kurtz for second-place early in the race, wholly focused on Daskalos.
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Adam Adelson started ahead of Gidley on grid in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. The two seemed to be magnets through the initial laps of the race with Gidley glued to Adelson’s back bumper. The Porsche driver played defense against eight-time Sebring winner Johnny O’Connell in the No. 3 SKI Motorsports Audi R8 LMS. O’Connell got the best of Adelson and Kurtz within a few corners, putting his vast understanding of Sebring to good use for a third-place finish. Kurtz would hold on to fourth with Adelson in fifth at the finish.
Todd Treffert in the No. 41 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 kept a gap back to Anthony Bartone in the No. 427 RealTime Racing Mercedes-AMG through the duration of the race as he focused forward. Treffert reeled in the top five competitors taking a few looks at Adelson before settling into his sixth-place finish.
Bartone seemed to have a race of his own in the seventh position with Andy Wilzoch in the No. 460 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R safely behind in eighth as was the No. 043 OnlyFans Racing by P1 Groupe with MRS Porsche 911 GT3 R who finished ninth.
GT4 class
Tony Gaples in the No. 5 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4. R took home his first win of the season in Race Two. Robb Holland hoped the cool conditions gave a slight advantage to his No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 917 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. However, the No. 2 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Jason Bell took off at the green flag and created a healthy gap to Holland. Gaples turned his fourth-place start into third, making his way around Holland. Gaples continued to come alive as he pressured Bell for the lead before overtaking Bell on the final lap.
Tim Savage in the No. 009 TRG Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 finished fourth in a clean effort of racing. He kept Gray Newell and the No. 25 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 evenly behind him. Newell bounced back to finish fifth after being involved in an incident in the Pirelli GT4 America Race 1.
Scott Blind in the No. 045 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 got the best of Ross Chouest in the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. Chouest is in the championship hunt, looking to repeat his 2022 win but he finished Race 2 seventh, five positions behind Bell.
Thomas Collingwood in the No. BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport and Nicholas Shanny in the No. 21 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO finished eighth and ninth respectively.
The 2023 race season comes to a close next month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS weekend.