Race one of the weekend here at the picturesque Road America in the Kettle Moraine in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for SRO GT America. SRO3, the catch all class for GT3 cars, and GT4 cars, combined, set to do battle for 40 minutes of hardnosed, competitive racing. We have a handful of new entries to the championship to speak of. Scott Smithson and DXDT Racing have a third Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R which Smithson is debuting in GT America after a tough go of it in the opening events of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America season, the former touring car driver, Smithson, taking a step back to the single driver sprint championship in SRO America to gain experience and improve his race craft. He will be one to watch in SRO3.
The GT4 class sees two new entries for the doubleheader of GT America races as well. Alan Grossberg, who came into the season in a GT2 class Lamborghini Super Trofeo, has traded that automobile for a brand-new GT4 spec McLaren Artura racing for TPC Racing with #102 on the car. Additionally, in GT4, we will see Farhan Siddiqi competing for FASTMD Racing with Remstar Racing, a dominant force with Jagger Jones in the LMP3 class of the IMSA VP Racing Fuels Sports Car Challenge this year, running in SRO GT America in the GT4 class with their #95 Audi R8 LMS GT4 set to be driven by Farhan Siddiqi.
On the pole in GT America, is Justin Rothberg at the wheel of the #29 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. The quickest contender in GT4 is Isaac Sherman in the #098 Rotek Racing Porsche Cayman. Oh, my heavens! The skies have opened! Look at the rain! Look at the water on the road! Mother Nature is going to play a part as we join Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish in the booth with D.J. Clark in the pit lane. For the first time today, we have a rainstorm and this is our second or third day of rain. Everyone changing over to the wet weather Pirelli tires. Do you change your car setup and the dynamics? That would be a good idea. It is definitely raining now. The big story is everyone changing to rain tires including Justin Rothberg and Isaac Sherman.
They both want to keep padding their respective championship leads before the finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. D.J., find a raincoat or an umbrella, mate. Hopefully the rain might be consistent over the next 40 minutes. We have just seen a deluge. We should see wet weather Pirelli tires in use. Road America has been repaved recently. The grip is good. Last year when we came here, the pavement was brand new. I don't think there will be too much trouble on the rain tries. We have seen a lot of rain earlier in the week. If it is raining, don't worry about the risk, and just go see what the conditions are like,
Mirco Schultis is back with the Callaway Corvette in SRO3. The engines have fired up. James Sofronas and GMG Racing are back this weekend as well, as part of a partial schedule. Championshop points see Johnny O'Connell and Jason Daskalos just eight points apart for the points lead, 169 points to 161 points, and Justin Rothberg is still a contender. This is a replay from both Thursday and Friday when it was absolutely pouring. There will be rivers all over the road. Everyone on wet weather tires.
Watch out for the visibility on the car, make sure the defoggers and the windscreen wipers are working with the mist in the trees. Neither Bryson Morris or Elias Sabo should take the start in this race as they were just warming up for the Fanatec GT World Challenge America race later on. So, we will not see the #8 BMW M4 GT3 or the #8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. This formation lap is critical. Get a good, clean run into the braking zones. These cars do have antilock brakes, but you don't want to get into the ABS and have it tuck you up like a kipper, taking you by surprise. Don't ramp up the traction control either, keep it on a low setting.
There's lots of water puddling in Canada Corner. We are going to be seeing a lot of standing water on the road. The safety car lights are still on, and we should start the race under safety car conditions as the clock will start. We will have at least one more formation lap with the torrential rain. You don't want to start this race in undrivable conditions. The rain adds to the challenge of this place at Road America. Run the rain line, which is more polished, on the outside. With the new surface, it won't be effective for having a rain line.
A good crowd on hand even with the rain. Everyone will be searching for grip. Keep your hands straight on the wheel and get the power down. There are more custom Road America license plates than there are for the Wisconsin sports teams like the Milwaukee Brewers, the Milwaukee Bucks, or the Green Bay Packers. There were races through the Elkhart Lake city streets before the track was built. The first race here was a battle between Sherwood Johnson in a Jaguar D Type and Phil Hill in a Ferrari. In 1956, the first professional race was a NASCAR race. Paul Goldsmith drove a Jaguar to victory and on day two it was Tim Flock, winning in the rain, in a Mercury.
Jason Daskalos is in second place in the GT America championship after winning three times in four races. He is still in striking distance of Johnny O'Connell and neither of them have been the class of the field this weekend thus far in testing and Free Practice. Plenty of cars have their pit lane procedure under review, with a time limit for working on the cars including changing tires. We'll have to see what is going to happen as we have been on the road now for about seven minutes and there is a river across The Kink, a high commitment turn with the car fully loaded even on wet tires at high speeds. The rain has lessened.
But there is standing water down there. It could be relatively dry on one side of the circuit and soaking wet on the other side. The radar tells us the rain will continue for 15 minutes but the rain is letting up. So much goes into prepping these cars for these races to happen and these 40-minute races are so short. The standing water is beginning to dissipate, and we should be able to see the lights off on the safety car. Next time around we should start the race get about half an hour of running. How do you have a sense for appropriate speed? Experience will tell you how to judge where the grip is, dancing on the fine line between being in or out of control. The leader will be the guinea pig, the pioneer.
Historically, the Porsche 911 thrives in these conditions. The new 992 generation 911 should be strong but these cars are so electronically assisted these days especially the GT3 cars. Kyle Washington won at VIR last time out and he has been racing here at Road America now for three straight weeks. Washington and co-driver Tom Sargent scored a win at Virginia International Raceway. James Sofronas made his first Pro start 30 years ago in SCCA Pro Racing, in 1994, right here at Road America. We should be single file for what is technically a restart.
Green flag! Away we go! Justin Rothberg leading the way over James Sofronas, Jason Daskalos, Johnny O'Connell, Mirco Schultis, and Jason Bell. Some drivers employing a rain line. In GT4 it is Isaac Sherman leading the motor race and we have drive through penalties for all those cars under investigation. Sofronas and Washington will both need to take the drive through penalties. Keep it clean. Feel the road. Stay in the middle of the road through a corner. The infraction in question is working on the car beyond the prescribed time limit for fitting rain tires. Sofronas is really going to push.
Take it through The Kink nice and easy with all that standing water down there. Pit stops will be a loss of 40 seconds at least and only 25 minutes left on the board because of the delayed green flag. No pit callers this time around. You cannot serve a penalty under Full Course Yellow, as we see the championshipprotagonists battling, O'Connell vs. Daskalos. O'Connell settles in. 179 points for O'Connell ahead by six over Daskalos with 173 points. SKI Autosport had a clutch problem on the Audi R8 LMS Evo II in dry conditions. The rain could help O'Connell and company.
Kyle Washington in the Porsche is one car owing a penalty and Daskalos makes the pass on Washington, making it stick. Many drivers compromising their exits. The Carousel is a crucial turn leading to The Kink as O'Connell flies past Washington in The Kink! Oh man! That was close! Drivers can only cross the stripe twice before serving their penalty without being docked more. Get the job done and then get in the fight. Washington diving for the lane and so is Sofronas. Take your medicine now, trundling down the long, long pit lane here at Road America. Justin Rothberg doing a great job uncorking the fastest lap of the race.
Isaac Sherman is motoring away from Gray Newell in GT4 and there is trouble in paradise for Curt Swearingin. Heart of Rscing has many entries for many championships with the new Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar. Roman De Angelis drove the new Valkyrie at Silverstone in England, in a test last weekend. At SKI Autosport, they have lit up like a Christmas tree with O'Connell's rain driving as Just Rothberg is still the leader at the halfway mark. But he has a handy lead. He almost goes off the road out of Canada Corner.
Jason Bell has gone off the road at the exit of turn 14 before the uphill. Bell was very bullish about his chances in these races. He was fifth when he spun and clonked the tire barriers but he seems to have gotten away with it without much damage. The lead is decreasing significantly as we see Jason Daskalos now beginning to reel in Justin Rothberg. Mirco Schultis has reset the fastest lap fot he race with the oldest car in the field, the Callaway Corvette C7 GT3. This car is a decade older than the other GT3 cars, a dinosaur. But the German is so good with Chevrolet powered race cars. Rothberg did not turn a good lap last time by.
Settle in and keep it up. Don't crack under pressure. He is feeling the heat from the cotnenders like Daskalos and O'Connell. He won from pole in race one at VIR. Rothberg has been on the podium in four of the last six races. Daskalos is a second and a half quicker in the Mercedes but he has a windscreen full of spray while Rothberg has no obstruction. His windscreen is fine. The grip level is actually good with 16 minutes of racing left on the board. Daskalos using more radius in the corner in turn seven. A rain mindset is similar to racing with tight margins on a street course and we have seen Jason Daskalos do that at Long Beach, California, back in the spring.
15 minutes to go. Turner Motorsports tells us that Rothberg is being coached by the team with the changing rain conditions. At CRP Racing, Daskalos is driving but thinking about both the race win and the championship fight. They are making their way, the leaders, through the GT4 traffic. 2:31 dead for Rothberg the last time around, Fastest Lap of the race, and so he is answering the bell as we speak. O'Connell has fallen behind the two leaders. It must be harder for the Audi to stay in it in the rain, the same way that the BMW and the Mercedes do. Rothberg went in deep and ran wide but now he continues trying to get back to power.
Lots of top-notch people at Turner Motorsports, Robby Foley, Don Salama, Will Turner, and Jay O'Connell among them. Daskalos and Rothberg are pretty evenly matched but he is making errors in the braking zones, washing out wide when he digs into the ABS and then stabbing the throttle too soon on corner exit. The Mercedes does so well under braking and the BMW might have more power. a 3-liter twin turbo V6 in the BMW with a 6.2-liter atmospheric V8 in the Mercedes. More rain encountered on certain laps. We are working lap ten. Sofronas just uncorked a 2:30.8, 7/10ths off Mirco Schultis' best race lap.
The scrap for third and fourth is intensifying between O'Connell and Schultis. Schultis is a GM fan and O'Connell drove with factory Corvette and Cadillac teams at General Motors for many years. Curt Swearingin has flown Plummet Airways from second down the order in GT4 after a penalty and he has been coming back up. Swearingin has fastest lap, eight tenths of a second up on Isaac Sherman. Fastest Lap means it will set the grid for tomorrow's race. Does Rotek Racing let Isaac Sherman know? I think he should just drive. Oh no! Isaac Sherman has a cut down tire! Man, oh man! He can limp back to the pit lane and this promotes Gray Newell into the GT4 class lead! Wow! The wheels are coming off the wagon!
Gray Newell takes the GT4 lead as Justin Rothberg is feeling the heat from Daskalos. Jason Daskalos is coming in a big, big hurry. Still five more rounds in the GT America championship after this race is over. Rotek Racing are changing the shredded left rear Pirelli tire. Something is amiss on the car on the SuperCuts haircuts sponsored Porsche Cayman and he is back on the road, stopping the bleeding. Daskalos has now closed in on Rothberg. Daskalos wants the race win and the championship lead. Six minutes and change left on the board.
Both of these drivers have uncorked their best first sector times. Daskalos is close to making a move, filling the mirrors of the BMW racer. Through The Carousel they go. The Mercedes is strong at this part of the circuit headed to The Kink. Five and a half minutes to go. It is a two-horse race for the win as O'Connell continues having his hands full with Mirco Schultis. James Sofronas is cooking right now, and cooking with spice! He is in the 1:27 bracket, but down the order after serving a drive through penalty. Daskalos might be able to have a grip advantage in the rain, if he runs that rain line on the inside, that polished racing space.
The track continues to dry and gets quicker. Rothberg gets squirrely under braking. Jason Daskalos is pressing Rothberg and her he comes again but can't get by. Rothberg compromising his speed through turn seven, being very conservative on corner exit. Daskalos is slapped with a track limits warning by the stewards. O'Connell has found the sweet spot with the Audi. O'Connell is in the 2:28 range while the leaders are in the 2:29 range. "Johny Red" O'Connell is steaming up behind these two. one lap to go now, four miles, 14 corners, for Justin Rothberg as the racing line is drying out.
I don't think Johnny O'Connell will be able to gain more ground. Rothberg looking for win number two on the year. Daskalos wants his second race win and wants the points lead. Curt Swearingin in GT4 is reeling in Gray Newell hand over fist! Newell has to hang on by his fingernails for a first win of the year in GT4. Rothberg keeps it together but Daskalos is really motoring and can possibly send it. Both of these drivers are fighting for the championship with only five races remaining. Both cars squirming under power! Yikes! Daskalos tries to send it. Rothberg covers it. Who will do it? Who will win? It will be Justin Rothberg in the BMW!
He wins for the second time with Daskalos second and O'Connell in third. Newell and Swearingin inside by side and they go off at the exit of turn five! Swearingin gets to the inside of Newell in the Aston Martin. Dueling fencers. Wow! What a move by Swearingin! He broke through for wins at Circuit of the Americas and Virgina International Raceway. His lap time is a whopping margin and poor old Isaac Sherman with the cut tire has plummeted to sixth place. Meanwhile, another battle is steaming, Todd Parriott vs. Nick Shanny. Curt Swearingin for the third time this year will win race one at Road America!
He comes home second. Parriott and Shanny for third. Parriott leaves a lane open and Todd Parriott will take home a podium!
Overall/SRO3: #29 Justin Rothberg Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3
GT4: #7 Curt Swearingin ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Cue the dance music for the results. The points standings are getting together and tighter as we head into the second race of the weekend tomorrow here at Road America. We should see a three-way title fight in the SRO3 class with races in the season and opportunities dwindling. The sun is now starting to come out. Isaac Sherman's points lead is shrinking over Curt Swearingin. We'll see you tomorrow for GT America race two at Road America. More racing to come today on Saturday. For now, bye bye.
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