- Mercedes Tops the Overall and Pro-Am Charts in Q1
- BMW Paces Overall and Pro-Am in Q2
- Provisional Results Qualifying 1
- Provisional Results Qualifying 2
Times dropped and intensity rose in Saturday morning qualifying for GT World Challenge America powered by AWS at Sebring International Raceway. The pressure ratcheted up even more ahead of Race 2, as a red flag in Qualifying 2 left limited running for competitors to bank a flyer around Sebring’s iconic bumps and treacherous concrete confines.
Regulator Racing and Turner Motorsport matched their Circuit of The Americas polesitting form, with both Pro-Am entries appearing at the front of the grid for Race 1 and Race 2, respectively. Random Vandals Racing and Dollahite Racing secured the top spots in Pro and Am for both races.
Pro Class
Qualifying 1 saw Kenton Koch in his No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO dip below the two-minute mark, with a 1:59.984 time, with the top three covered by only 0.205 of a second. The No. 18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R commanded by Alex Sedgwick was second at 2:00.149, with Michai Stephens third in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry at 2:00.189.
The same order occurred in Qualifying 2 with the second drivers aboard and only two laps to run owing to a red flag, and the times were similarly close with just 0.203 of a second covering the top three. De Phillippi, in the No. 99 Random Vandals BMW, clocked in at 1:59.925, marginally quicker than Koch’s time earlier, with Jan Heylen second in the No. 18 RS1 Porsche at 2:00.113, and Mikaël Grenier third at 2:00.128 in the No. 34 JMF Mercedes-AMG. The No. 51 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Varun Choksey and Bill Auberlen ended fourth in both sessions.
Pro-Am Class
In Qualifying 1, Regulator Racing again utilized its alternate strategy where Philip Ellis qualified opposite to most in the Pro-Am class in the No. 91 Mercedes-AMG GT3 he shares with Jeff Burton. It paid dividends with Ellis’ best time of 1:59.839 emerging atop both the Pro-Am class and overall timesheets, 0.871 of a second clear of the next Pro-Am competitor.
Blake McDonald was second quickest in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the car he shares with Matt Bell. This car slotted in second in Pro-Am, fifth overall. Justin Rothberg in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO was third in class. Jason Daskalos’ No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 was fourth, although needed to come down pit lane to tend to its left rear after Qualifying 1, and the No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO of Gray Newell and Darren Turner was fifth.
Qualifying 2 saw Robby Foley emerge fastest overall in his No. 29 Turner BMW. His best time of 1:59.478 was a full 0.317 of a second clear of Matt Bell in the No. 11 DXDT Corvette. Aaron Telitz, No. 88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, was third in the car he shares with Todd Coleman. Tom Sargent was fourth in his No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R, and Aaron Povoledo in the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R was fifth.
The No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 of Scott Dollahite and Stefano Gattuso topped Am both sessions, although stopped on course in Qualifying 2 with a loose left rear tire.
“ This morning was the fastest I've ever gone here,” said Justin Rothberg after the session. “ I thought it'd be quicker in GT America since the track was better, but this car was set up perfectly. Robby got a beautiful lap, so I am really happy with that. The team gave us a great car all weekend. We've been playing with a ton of different things, and it finally paid out.”
Let’s Get Racing
The GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will return to the track for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, May 17th at 3 PM ET.
If you can’t make it to Circuit of The Americas, 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 #GTCOTA.