The upcoming races at Barber Motorsports Park will not only serve as the penultimate event of the season, it marks the final double header event before the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS field takes on the season finale Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS. From September 6th to 8th, teams will compete in the two remaining 90-minute races of the year across the 2.38-mile, 17-turn circuit.
As the newest addition to the SRO America calendar, Barber Motorsports Park will serve as the perfect backdrop for an enthralling weekend of racing, putting championship battles into the spotlight on one of the country’s more technical tracks. The last time the series stepped foot on this track was back in 2016 under Pirelli World Challenge, previously racing in conjunction with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the Grand Prix of Birmingham, and becomes the feature headliner.
Fans won’t want to miss out on this opportunity to get up close to the spectacular array of GT machinery and top racing talents, with open paddock access, autograph sessions, local vendors, a Car Corral, and a pre-race grid walk before Sunday’s featured Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS race.
Pro Class
The prior event was a turbulent weekend for the new Random Vandals Racing entry, as the No. 99 BMW M4 GT3 faced setbacks in its debut weekend in the championship. However, they will be coming to Birmingham with renewed ambitions and a highly talented teammate pairing consisting of Kenton Koch and NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Conor Daly, who is already highly familiar with the intricacies of this circuit.
DXDT Racing have now earned a monumental six consecutive victories in the Pro class, as Alec Udell and Tommy Milner have reached the top step of the podium in every race since the debut of the No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Can they pull off another back-to-back weekend sweep? Only time will tell, but the championship implications are becoming more and more intriguing. Additionally, Udell already has experienced a weekend sweep at Barber, previously winning both races in the GT Cup series in the 2016 event.
The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 992 GT3 R of Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer still has a hold over first place in the standings, aided by two podium finishes last time out at Road America, but the DXDT duo have begun to close the gap, now sitting in second position ahead of Varun Choksey and Bill Auberlen in the No. 28 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3.
Luca Mars and Zach Veach had a strong weekend in Wisconsin, co-driving their No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 to two podium finishes as well.
Pro-Am Class
There was a success story for DXDT Racing in the Pro-Am class as well at Road America, as Bryan Sellers and Bryson Morris scored the first victory of the season for the No. 08 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R entry.
The other win of the weekend went to Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, who sought to close the gap in points to frontrunners Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen in the No. 38 BMW M4 GT3. However, the ST Racing co-drivers are still in a position to clinch the Pro-Am class title within the next two rounds.
The race to third place continues to heat up, as the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R of Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent sits just a mere three points ahead of DXDT Racing. Meanwhile, Jeff Burton and Phillip Ellis are only one point further behind in the No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The No. 92 MMG Porsche 992 GT3 R had a notable introduction to the championship, as Jean-Frederic Laberge and Kyle Marcelli secured a top three finish on debut. Similarly, this was the case when Jake Pedersen and Trent Hindman paired up for the first time in the No. 85 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R, and they will be looking to make a podium return soon.
Elias Sabo and Andy Lee completed their first event since switching to a new manufacturer, and the No. 8 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 will be back in action once again.
Finally, the field is further completed by two cars from AF Corse, with Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini coming back in the No. 88 Ferrari 296 GT3, while Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri represent the Am class entry in the No. 163 Ferrari 296 GT3.
Let’s Get Racing
The Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS field is set to take to the track for Practice 1 on Friday, September 6th. Click here for the full schedule of the upcoming round at Barber Motorsports Park.
If you can’t make it to Barber Motorsports Park, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTBHM.