As the temperatures continued to rise at Circuit of The Americas, the GT America powered by AWS field brought some heat of their own for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon. Intense battles for the lead took place throughout the entirety of the 40-minute sprint event, with competitors pushing their machinery to the very limit across each lap.
Jason Daskalos took the overall victory after making his way up through the field from sixth on the SRO3 grid. Alan Grossberg took the win in the GT2 class, and Isaac Sherman continued to extend his winning streak in dominant fashion in the GT4 class.
SRO3 class
Johnny O’Connell retained the lead of the race in his No. 3 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 as the field dove into Turn 1, but soon came under threat from James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 later in the opening lap. Sofronas was able to sweep past O’Connell, with Jason Daskalos following suit in the No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
George Kurtz also moved up into podium position in the No. 04 Crowdstrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 within the opening fifteen minutes of the race, focused on closing the gap to the leaders ahead.
As the race unfolded, the three drivers were entangled in a fierce battle, using every inch of the track in search of an advantage. It was Daskalos who found an opportune moment to strike in the final ten minutes, completing a daring overtake on Sofronas to sweep past into the overall lead, with Kurtz making a pass of his own to move up to second place as Sofronas was suffering with some damage to his car.
However, the fight wasn’t over yet, as Daskalos and Kurtz continued to go head-to-head in the final laps as the checkered flag loomed closer. In the end, Daskalos rose to the occasion, crossing the finish line to claim his fourth win of the season.
On the final lap, O’Connell was able to move past Kurtz to recover to a second-place finish, with Kurtz completing the podium in third.
“My goal was to pick up one position on the first lap, but turns out I picked up three, which was amazing,” exclaimed Jason Daskalos. “The CRP guys gave me a great car today, this was a fantastic win.”
GT2 class
Alan Grossberg drove a clean race in the GT2 class, navigating the highly technical track with precision on board his No. 102 TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2. The challenging conditions proved to be of great enjoyment for Grossberg, who continued to clock in some of his best lap times of the weekend, remaining on-par with his pace in the practice and qualifying sessions.
“It was super fun out there on the track,” Alan Grossberg expressed. “It was a little slick this afternoon due to the heat, but overall it was super, super fun.”
GT4 class
Isaac Sherman took the green flag from pole position in the No. 098 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, keeping out of trouble heading into the first corner before pulling a slight gap to the rest of the field behind.
Meanwhile, Curt Swearingin in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS was able to get the jump on Gray Newell in the No. 25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 to move up into second place early into the race. Following that, Newell found himself under pressure from Todd Parriott soon thereafter in the No. 31 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
Sherman continued to set the pace in the GT4 class, proving that he was uncatchable once again as he secured his seventh consecutive victory, putting him far above the rest in the championship standings. Meanwhile, Newell was able to close the gap to Swearingin ahead as the race progressed, and the battle for second place went all the way to the checkered flag. Swearingin was able to fend off the attack to retain second, with Newell rounding off the podium in third.
“COTA is an incredibly hard track,” said Isaac Sherman. “It’s fast, it’s technical, there are a lot of bumps and different lines you need to take. I just want to thank my sponsors, the team, and all my supporters.”
The GT America Powered by AWS field will return to the track for Race 2 on Sunday at 9:35 AM CT.