DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell ran down and passed ST Racing’s Samantha Tan with 19 minutes to go Sunday (May 19). From there, Udell was able to hold to win Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Race No. 2 from Circuit of the Americas with teammate Tommy Milner. The victory gives DXDT Racing the weekend sweep.
“[This weekend’s performance] is a testament to the [Corvette] platform [and the] engineers that have put a lot of hard work getting the car to where it’s at,” Udell told SRO America’s Amanda Busick after the race. “For me to be able to jump in and plug myself in [was] just seamless.”
The margin of victory was 4.633 seconds over Wright Motorsports’ Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer. Tan and Neil Verhagen were third, then Turner Motorsport’s Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg. CrowdStrike Racing by Riley’s Colin Braun and George Kurtz.
In the Pro class, the top-two finishers were the top-two overall. Racers Edge Motorsports’ Luca Mars and Zach Veach finished third in class on the road, but were given a three-second post-race penalty due to multiple track limit violations. That allowed ST Racing’s Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey to claim the final spot on the Pro podium.
Verhagen started from pole in his BMW and was able to beat Foley to turn 1. However, the first lap was far from easy going.
In turn 11, DXDT Racing’s Bryan Sellers ran into issues with his right front tire. Contact broke the valve stem, instantly deflating the Pirelli tire. The Corvette briefly ground to a smoky halt before continuing. Sellers eventually got the car back to the pits, replaced the tire and continued. However, it took so long for that to happen that Sellers ended up a lap and a half behind by the time he returned to the race.
At the end of the backstretch, Foley was able to get a run on Verhagen and take the lead under braking for turn 12. Behind the leaders, Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Andy Lee spun out after contact from Veach. Lee was able to continue, but dropped nearly to the rear of the field. No penalty was called for either instance of contact.
The top-three drivers on the grid were the top-three in the Pro-Am class and they managed to keep themselves at the front for the entire first half of the race.
When it came time for the mid-race pit stops, Foley, Verhagen and Braun pitted on the last possible lap to stay within the regulations. When the stops were completed, Rothberg was in the lead in the…
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