Regulator Racing Secures GT World Challenge America Victory at Road America
In a dramatic conclusion to Race 1 of the GT World Challenge America at Road America, the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, driven by Philip Ellis and Jeff Burton, has been crowned the victor after the race was halted due to severe weather conditions. With only 41 minutes completed, the race was stopped after lightning strikes in the vicinity led to a red flag. At the time of the interruption, Ellis had established a commanding 3.5-second lead over the #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, piloted by Kenton Koch and Connor De Phillippi.
Ellis and Burton clinched the Pro-Am class title, while Koch and De Phillippi registered a win in the Pro class. The duo of Varun Choksey and Bill Auberlen, driving the #51 BMW, secured third overall.
The remainder of the top five featured the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG with Michai Stephens and Mikaël Grenier in fourth, and the #18 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R, driven by Jan Heylen and Alex Sedgwick, rounding out the top five. Notably, Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley finished sixth in the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW, claiming second in Pro-Am despite a recent head-on crash that raised concerns about their performance.
The race faced significant challenges, including a crash involving Scott Dollahite in the #6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3, who collided violently with a barrier at turn 11. Todd Coleman in the #88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren also spun off while attempting to avoid the incident. Both drivers emerged unharmed, though their participation in Race 2 remains uncertain.
Rounding out the overall top ten were the #11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in seventh, the #16 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 in eighth, the #27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG in ninth, and the #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette in tenth. The Am class victory was claimed by the #163 AF Corse Ferrari of Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri Jr., following the aftermath of the Dollahite crash.
Race 1 Results:
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91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
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99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO
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51 BMW
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34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG
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18 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R
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29 Turner Motorsport BMW
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11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette
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16 AF Corse Ferrari
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27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG
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50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette
Further updates on Race 2 will follow.
