Eric Filgueiras built a lead and Steven McAleer protected it as the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 dominated the first race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America season from Sonoma Raceway. With just one safety car in the first ten minutes of the race, Filgueiras took advantage of the clean air his pole position awarded him to build a 9s margin once he handed the controls to McAleer.
Despite Elliott Skeer’s efforts in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3, he was unable to reel in McAleer in the second half of the race, leaving Skeer and Adam Adelson to settle for second overall but a victory in Pro-Am. Skeer crossed the line 1.538s behind McAleer.
The No. 120 Porsche briefly lost control of second overall in the pit stop cycle when Bill Auberlen in the No. 94 BMW M4 GT3 passed them in the slow lane, a violation of the rules. Auberlen was required to give the position back to Skeer. Apart from that, the pair of Porsche 911s from RS1 and Wright Motorsports locked out the top two spots from start to finish.
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Colin Braun in the No. 04 Crowdstrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 had a strong stint that saw him climb into the top five before eventually moving onto the overall podium after passing Auberlen into Turn 11. The No. 04 Mercedes was second in Pro-Am.
The No. 16 ACI Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 was fourth overall and rounded out the Pro-Am podium thanks to a strong drive from Spencer Pumpelly in the second half of the race that included a confident move on the brakes to the inside of Auberlen in the final five minutes.
Auberlen and Chandler Hull settled for fifth overall and second in Pro.
The No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 was the final car on the Pro podium and finished sixth overall. Ashton Harrison started the car and moved up seven spots by the time she handed the car to Mario Farnbacher.
There were two retirements in the race — first, the No. 91 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 which caused the race’s sole full course yellow after Jeff Burton spun at Turn 2 and hit the tire barrier; the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3, meanwhile, ran into mechanical issues in the final twenty minutes of the race.