Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first of two races this weekend at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for SRO GT America powered by AWS. We are racing to the halfway mark of the 2024 season with SRO3, GT2, and GT4 cars entered. The mixed classes produce some of the most competitive races as we begin race one here at Circuit of the Americas, 11 miles outside of the Texas state capital in Austin. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish reporting from the broadcast booth, with Amanda Busick reporting in the pit lane. It is a hot one, as far as ambient temperatures, and the track temperatures are screaming upwards as well. We have a pair of Audi's on the front row of the SRO3 grid. Johnny O'Connell and James Sofronas.
The top six grid spots are separated only by a quarter of a second! That is how close it is here in Austin, this afternoon, as we get set for the start of the race. Alan Grossberg has the lone GT2 entry this weekend with his #102 TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2. Isaac Sherman is on pole in the GT4 class aboard the #098 Rotek Racing Porsche Cayman. Sherman is perfect on the season so far. This is mixed class racing with the leaders interacting with lapped traffic in both classes, in SRO3 and GT4 just the same. George Kurtz missed a couple rounds earlier in the year but is doing all he can to make a comeback. He missed the two races at Long Beach due to a family emergency. He knows he needs to win races to have a shot at the title.
OK. The field is formed up, Noah's Ark style, in good formation. Our colleague, Amanda Busick, waves the flag, and away we go! Oh my! From third place on the grid, it is Justin Rothberg getting after it right away, going for the lead of the motor race, making a move on Johnny O'Connell already! James Sofronas runs wide. Isaac Sherman gets the jump as the GT4 cars take off. Jason Daskalos has jumped up to third spot from sixth place on the starting grid. George Kurtz drops back a place, not having the ideal start to the motor race. Rothberg is dropping like a stone as well.
Johnny O'Connell, meanwhile, he tried making a pass on Rothberg, but it didn't quite work out for him as the front end of his car went numb and washed out. Sofronas is aggressive. He has had pressure from his son Jenson who has asked constantly, "dad, when are you going to win a race?" Sofronas challenges O'Connell for the lead. Sofronas takes the lead from O'Connell. Jason Daskalos has moved up from sixth to third and wants second spot around Johnny O'Connell, the poleistter. He tries the inside into turn 20 and nabs the spot!
Holy smokes! Daskalos up to second and now Rothberg wants a bite of the cherry. I think that O'Connell and the SKI Autosport team are starting these sprints with lower tire pressures and maybe that could be a reason that "Johnny O" is not getting up to speed as quickly as we'd expect, watching these races develop. He straight lines through the esses, at 140 miles an hour. George Kurtz has climbed his way to fifth and he is resuming his duel with Justin Rothberg. We saw these two blokes sword fighting earlier today in the Fanatec GT World Challenge first race of the weekend, which of course is an all GT3 field.
In the GT4 class, Gray Newell has dropped to third, being passed by Curt Swearingin. So, advantage to the ACI Porsche Cayman, and disadvantage so far to the Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. Swearingin is hounding race leader Isaac Sherman. Porsche's battling for the lead and now, it is an Aston Martin scrap for third spot because Todd Parriott is reeling in Gray Newell hand over fist. Parriott in another Vantage GT4, the #31 car for Flying Lizard Motorsports. Parriott has had four fifth place finishes in recent races and now, he is challenging for a class podium here in GT America competition.
We are still early doors in this motor race as George Kurtz has scampered away from Kyle Washington and is reeling in Rothberg. It is harder to maintain apex speed through the turns in a GT3 car because of the aerodynamic wash off the car in front of you. That figures with the giant rear wings and the aerodynamic appendages that are molded into the bodywork of these cars. Parriott and Newell continue their boxing match through the stadium section, and now, the fifth place BMW M4 GT4 of Nick Shanny also wants a bite of the cherry. This is the #21 car for Carrus Callas Raceteam. The two Aston Martin's of Newell and Parriott continue their scrap.
Newell has started the 2024 GT America campaign solidly with five podiums. But he is yet to see victory lane and that is where he wants to be. Parriott has a head of steam up the hill into turn one. Newell is giving him space, being as gentlemanly as possible about it. The two are coexisting so far. With all this scrapping, Nick Shanny sees an opening and he is inching closer to this Newell and Parriott lead battle, wanting to make it a threesome. The esses are high speed. A lot of the corners here at Circuit of the Americas mimic famous turns or sequences of turns from race tracks around the world. This part is similar to the Maggots, Becketts, Chapel complex of turns at the Silverstone circuit in England, located in Northamptonshire.
This fight is for third, fourth, and fifth in GT4. James Sofronas is leading the motor race and he has uncorked the fastest lap of the motor race thus far. He could not use the curbs during qualifying in order to protect his race car from being damaged. The Audi's, some of the older GT3 cars in this field, have had trouble managing the curbing around Circuit of the Americas. Johnny O'Connell truly believes there are about five drivers with a legitimate chance of being able to score victory in the race here on this Saturday afternoon. Then, there's "the kid" "coming after me" says O'Connell. That young pup he speaks of is Justin Rothberg.
Now, Rothberg still has work to do because he has just been passed by George Kurtz. He is also falling into the clutches of the #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3R in the hands of Kyle Washington. BMW fastest in sector one, Audi quickest in sector two, Mercedes quickest in sector three. Every brand has it's pros and cons. 2:07.824 by Jason Daskalos is the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the motor race thus far. The BMW seems to be quickest through the first sector of the circuit. The Audi handles better through the twisting corners.
James Sofronas has gone purple in sector one, fastest of all. Daskalos in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 though, is surely answering the bell. Personal best sector time in sector two and now, George Kurtz snags the best sector time in sector two and Kurtz has caught O'Connell. They won overall here last year at COTA but had the race win taken away. Kurtz has track knowledge from his podium run earlier this afternoon alongside Colin Braun in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America race with a very similar Mercedes-AMG GT3. He dives inside late on the brakes past O'Connell.
"Johnny Red" is having none of it and is door to door, wheel to wheel with Kurtz! Oh my gosh! Kurtz uses the curbs and goes by O'Connell taking the spot away. A fire has been lit under George Kurtz after missing the doubleheader of GT America races at Long Beach. Jason Daskalos has taken control of the championship at this point. Sofronas and Daskalos are giving each other all they can handle, but Kurtz, look, has reset the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the motor race last time by at 2:07.241. Daskalos has the urgent incentive to make a pass.
Kurtz is charging and he knows he has to gain points in GT America before the final doubleheader at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this fall. Kurtz is dropping O'Connell out of sight. Now we are observing a battle brewing between Justin Rothberg in the BMW and Kyle Washington in the Porsche. Washington has really improved his pace in the last year, especially co-driving in Fanatec GT competition with Tom Sargent. Daskalos is going head-to-head with FIA Bronze graded drivers, and Johnny O'Connell is a Bronze due to age, but that should not fool anyone. O'Connell is an endurance sports car racing legend. He has won races in every conceivable important endurance sports car race in the world.
Daskalos seems to really be turning it on in sector two. James Sofronas is a multiple champion in SRO competition with four championships in total. It has been a few years, and he also has not run full seasons in several years. Trouble in paradise for Ross Chouest. He has flown Plummet Airways down the order in the #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Mercede-AMG GT3 in the SRO3 class. Meanwhile, in the GT4 class, Gray Newell has disposed of Todd Parriott. The fight is now on for fourth and fifth place between Parriott and Nick Shanny who is reeling him in ever so slightly. These two chaps were glued together in the most recent round of the championship at Sebring International Raceway just two weeks ago.
Gray Newell is putting together some great laps trying to reel in the Porsche's of Isaac Sherman and Curt Swearingin. Nick Shanny shares a car in Pirelli GT4 America with Terry Borcheller and he will be pulling double duty later this evening in the GT4 endurance race later this evening. You will find that race here on the blog, oh, maybe at the beginning of next week. Shanny had a couple of career best finishes in the doubleheader of races a few weekends ago. He was third in the Am class in GT4 America with a win, a few podiums, and fastest race laps, last year in 2023. Jason Daskalos has been a consistent championship contender since the inception of GT America. James Sofronas' son Jenson Sofronas, at age 13, he had the opportunity to turn laps in a Porsche Carrera Cup car at The Thermal Club in Thermal, California, last week.
Alan Grossberg is having a good race in the lone GT2 car. Jenson Sofronas says, "my main goal is to be driving an IndyCar, but my fallback plan is in GTP." Now, that would be something. The new IMSA GTP class is very competitive as we know. In the near future, will we see Jenson Sofronas driving a GT3 car, a GTP car (A Porsche, a Cadillac, an Acura, a BMW, or a Lamborghini), or an IndyCar? Well, we'll have to wait and find out. Why not. Why not have a dream and shoot for the stars? If he has any of his father's talent, he could very well be in for that kind of a career.
Johnny O'Connell's Audi has not hit the sweet spot just yet and we are closing in on the halfway mark. However, O'Connell is not matching the fastest lap we just saw laid down by George Kurtz at 2:07.241. The gap is clear for the final podium positions. It is 3.2 seconds to Daskalos and 3.4 to Sofronas. Daskalos has dropped away from Sofronas. He has lost a little bit of ground. Averages speeds in a GT3 car around COTA are nearly 100 miles an hour, about 93-94 as we see in the chart on the screen. There are slow, tight corners on the circuit, and lots of high speed stuff, too.
There are four or five turns that are about 40 miles an hour before the long, one kilometer backstretch. We might be seeing a difference in performance between these two brands with the Audi and the Mercedes as we near the halfway mark in this motor race. The Audi being a rear engine car and the Mercedes having it's motor in the front. That is what makes sports car racing so compelling. Ross Chouest now runs tenth in the Chouest Povoledo Racing Mercedes. Ross Chouest spun earlier. He is retraining his muscle memory transitioning from a GT4 car to a GT3 car including brake points. Everything is beefed up, with massive power, amazing downforce, and the rear wings on a GT3 car being far larger than those on a GT4 car.
You must be committed. Speaking of GT4, it is Isaac Sherman leading the motor race. Ross Chouest has been a champion in every kind of racing he has participated in, winning a Lamborghini Super Trofeo LB Cup championship in 2016, Ferrari Challenge in 2018, and a Pirelli GT4 America SRO championship in 2022. Besides all that, before his racing career he was an incredible athlete, a fabulous high school basketball player. He played Division 1 college basketball too. He has the mindset of a competitor.
Nick Shanny, before he became a racing driver, he had zero experience in any sports. No stick and ball, no go karts, no nothing. Ross Chouest has taken his discipline from the basketball court to the racetrack as we see Tim Savage spinning the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 through turn 20, with yaw through the turn. No stabilizing aids, just traction control, and a spin for the Naples, Florida, driver. Savage is driving the previous generation GT3 Aston Martin this weekend. This isn't the new Evo spec of the car that everyone in GT3 racing circles has been talking about and that we have seen on track here stateside in overseas in Europe already.
Sofronas has stabilized a second and a half gap. Daskalos' car came alive quickly but now the car is falling off on tire performance just a wee bit. We are also watching the battle for fifth spot between Justin Rothberg in the #29 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 and Kyle Washington in the #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3R. This is the 991.II version of the car, not the newer 992 model. We are just past the halfway mark. In Fanatec GT earlier today, the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 struggled late on in the stint with its tires. It is warmer on track this afternoon.
The track temp ought to peak about 5PM this afternoon just when we are set to go for the Pirelli GT4 America endurance race, which, by the way, we are very excited to bring to you, and as I mentioned, look for that event on Monday. Please do join us. With the massive 3.4-mile layout here at Circuit of the Americas, we are now seeing the SRO3 contenders slicing and dicing their way through the GT4 traffic. It is far more spread out in terms of traffic, than it was at Sebring. Qualifying gaps were much tighter than they are now in both SRO3 and GT4. We have a battle afoot in GT4, speaking of that class.
Gray Newell is in hot pursuit of Curt Swearingin. Something has befallen Todd Parriott, and he is at the tail end of the GT4 field. This will make it easier for the SRO3 drivers with less traffic to work through on the road. Gray Newell is catching Curt Swearingin as overall leader James Sofronas passes the undefeated (so far) GT4 leader, Isaac Sherman, for position. Sherman has won six races on the bounce and is looking for lucky number seven. Swearingin is looking to make his move on Sherman and has the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap in GT4. Now, I don't know what that lap time is, specifically, and we may get there. But, for sure, this gives Swearingin pole in GT4 for tomorrow in race two of the weekend for GT America.
Under 15 minutes remaining now. So, the race will finish soon. Todd Parriott is now off the track. He went out and set a fast lap for his grid position for race two tomorrow. What he is doing is now saving the car because we are going to see him start the Lone Star Enduro Pirelli GT4 America race this evening. I have been yammering on and on about that race coming up, but for good reason. Trust me on this. You will not want to miss what the full-on GT4 enduro has to offer as this is something that is a brand-new idea for SRO America. I think you might enjoy what you see and what you will read about in the report on tonight's race.
The heat is of concern before tonight and in tonight's GT4 enduro we are going to see pit stops, tire changes and driver changes, and refueling, which is something we only normally see with the GT3 cars, but of course is part of any and every sports car endurance race, and it matters not if the cars are the sleek, aerodynamic prototypes, or the Grand Touring cars of this championship here in SRO. We are running the GT4 enduro from 5PM-8PM this evening. It will not run into full darkness like a traditional enduro we see, say at the 24 Hours of Spa this summer, but it will run into the twilight and end at sunset.
Incidentally, for the three-hour GT4 enduro, to preview it, we are going to see traditional two driver lineups that we are used to and a maximum stint time of 50 minutes per driver. Now, you might be saying, "Skip, get back on topic." Well, yes. The topic at hand is GT America as we enter the last 12 minutes of this motor race. But I am just super wound up like a Swiss watch and ready to tell the stories of this GT4 enduro race. Worst case scenario is that a driver will be racing for an hour and 20 minutes. Not too much time between the two races.
SKI Autosports and Johnny O'Connell, O'Connell's podium streak could end because he is fourth. Traffic is now putting the cat amongst the pigeons in this scrap we are watching between Justin Rothberg and Kyle Washington, BMW vs. Porsche. Somehow, some way, the SKI Autosport Audi has not come alive and not found the pace. Washington gets stymied behind the ACI Motorsports GT4 spec Porsche Cayman of Curt Swearingin. I believe we are going to see a handful of the GT4 drivers in this race also entered in the endurance race this evening.
11 and a half minutes left on the board as Washington gets loose! Yikes! It is so inviting into the braking zones here to open the inside line and make a dive to the inside. This will do nothing but put junk on your tires. Oh dear. A loose diffuser and smoke emanating from the Audi R8 LMS GT3 of James Sofronas. This isn't good. Clattering over the curbs here at COTA can unsettle the rear diffuser. We saw that earlier this afternoon with one of the GT3 cars in the first Fanatec GT World Challenge America race of the weekend. Don't break one of the support strakes on the bottom.
The diffuser is definitely cattywampus. A wee while ago we also saw a chunk of debris of some sort flying off one of the cars. The driver is feeling a lot of inconsistencies with the downforce. It isn't a game changer. Remember, we saw Elliott Skeer during the Fanatec GT World Challenge race lose a diffuser completely and it did not greatly affect his lap times in the remainder of the first race of that series earlier this afternoon. It will make the car very edgy though. Race Control will have a Captain Cook at this and see it might be a safety hazard.
Jason Daskalos is aware Sofronas is a wounded duck. He smells the blood in the water and is the shark chasing the minnow, pouring on the pressure through the esses, look. Blimey! Now, have a go at this, because George Kurtz is closing in, fast. He is determined to give both Sofronas and Daskalos the rough end of the pineapple here before too long. Daskalos cannot find a gap, and now, Sofronas is guarding the inside line with everything he has! Daskalos grabs the lead and not a moment too soon because Kurtz too has found an extra turn of speed. Daskalos, forcing the issue.
Down the one-kilometer backstretch, Sofronas is not done yet. He isn't rolling over to have his tummy scratched. This dog is still hunting. Who is bravest on the brakes? The diffuser damage is affecting his braking ability as he brakes too deep into the turn, running out wide, and now Daskalos might just pop back through that hole as Sofronas is all over the shop here. Kurtz is now taking his shot at the blue Audi, and he needs to if he has any hope of running down and catching Daskalos before this motor race is done and dusted. At this stage of the game, it is a requisite for Kurtz to finish ahead of Daskalos on the road.
Daskalos has three wins to his credit in 2024 and is narrowly leading the points by just four for the title in SRO GT America. Kurtz is coming from a long way back after missing Long Beach, but he is going for it and Sofronas is vulnerable as Kurtz sends it and makes the move. Kurtz is catching, and Daskalos is being chased. This diffuser damage is putting pay to Sofronas' efforts in trying to secure his first GT America championship race victory in three years, which he earned back in 2021. Again, he is not in the championship picture, not running a complete season in 2024. We must not forget Johnny O'Connell. He too is still a contender aboard the #3 SKI Autosport Audi.
O'Connell is on a podium streak that he is hoping to keep intact. Under seven minutes of racing to go. What does George Kurtz have left in the locker relative to Jason Daskalos, with two evenly matched Mercedes? GT2 traffic looming ahead with Alan Grossberg in the Super Trofeo model Lamborghini Huracan ahead. He is 12th in the overall. No easy place to pass. Grossberg is being courteous and letting Daskalos play through. Will he do the same for Kurtz? I think so. Yes. That was an awkward pass, but Kurtz is now able to continue closing the gap on Jason Daskalos. Daskalos started sixth and came all the way up to second.
Daskalos wasted no time when he saw James Sofronas with the diffuser damage to the Audi. But George Kurtz is looming large behind Daskalos. This motor race is not, I repeat, not, a done deal. Kurtz came into the weekend 43 points behind Daskalos. If Kurtz finishes behind Daskalos, he will be 50 points behind before the next race tomorrow and if he finishes ahead, the deficit will be cut to just 36 points, and doing that simple subtraction, it is only a 14-point swing. Daskalos using all the road and a little bit more, kicking up the dust as Kurtz is doing all he can to find a way by. For some reason, the GT America Mercedes-AMG GT3 Kurtz runs, that specific car has more of a sweet spot in the chassis, the handling, the setup, than the identical automobile he races in Fanatec GT World Challenge America. Hard to understand why.
Daskalos continues holding his own and not getting defensive. In the meantime, Johnny O'Connell is now drawing a bead on James Sofronas for the third spot. These two battles are getting spicy with under four minutes left on the board. Yikes! A huge snap of the tail on Kurtz's Mercedes! He has to gather it up after getting behind in his steering and now, he will fall further into the clutches of Sofronas and O'Connell and allow Daskalos to scamper away. That could be a track limits warning from the stewards.
Sofronas continues hanging on with everything he has, but the wounded Audi, is a handful for the former champion to be able to drive. His lap times have fallen off a cliff. Through the high speed esses, you rely on the downforce and poor old Sofronas will have an evil handling Audi through this section of the course. O'Connell throws it in, and book it. He makes the pass for third spot and is now on the podium. Under three minutes of racing left and he can keep his podium streak alive. For the fifth spot, this scrap between Justin Rothberg in the BMW and Kyle Washington in the Porsche is still simmering.
Washington is going to know the part number on the rear wing of the BMW and is sick and tired of seeing the Laticrete logo on the back of that car as well. Daskalos has settled into a lead and Kurtz is not making inroads as we see the white flag this time by. Kurtz needs to close in if he wants to grab the victory in the waning moments. One lap left. White flag. Daskalos is in great position. The gap is 8/10ths of a second at the line. Jason Daskalos looking for his fourth win of the year and now, it is loose again for Kurtz. Too much bite in the front end.
Ross Chouest has spun, and George Kurtz is backing off. Oh no! That is more than a spin for Ross Chouest! He has plowed that Mercedes-AMG GT3 into the fence! That's terrible. Daskalos after lining up in sixth place, he has pushed the whole way. In GT4 the battle for second is still hot and heavy as Gray Newell is closing fast on Curt Swearingin. Curt Swearingin does not give up easily and is feisty when he needs to be. Gray Newell is right on his six. At the front, Jason Daskalos continues his dream season. He and CRP Racing win another one! Race one at COTA! Oh my heavens! George Kurtz has now fallen behind Johnny O'Connell right at the end of the race!
Kurtz limping to the finish line and Sofronas tries a move. Will he make it? Rothberg beats Washington for fifth place. O'Connell to second and Kurtz in third. In the GT4 class Isaac Sherman will get his seventh win on the bounce. Swearingin and Newell scrapping for second spot. Swearinging withstanding the challenge has a buffer on Gray Newell. Isaac Sherman and Rotek Racing win GT4 at Circuit of the Americas in race one, for the seventh consecutive time! Swearingin second and Newell in third place.
Overall/SRO3: #27 Jason Daskalos CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
GT4: #098 Isaac Sherman Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Kurtz seems to have had a drivline or suspension issue. In this replay, we see Ross Chouest's crash. Througn the turn, looking to the inside, he had his hands turned before the car unloaded, loses the rear end, and... ker-runch! It will be a late night for the team because they must get the car prepared for race two in Fanatec GT World Challenge competition tomorrow. What a crazy finish to race number one! Everything worked well even though Daskalos did not gap O'Connell. He is now 14 points behind in the championship table. He got lucky with the troubles for both Sofronas and Kurtz.
Alright. We'll see you tomorrow for more GT America action here at COTA. For now, bye bye.
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