Turner Motorsport’s Justin Rothberg led flag-to-flag in adverse conditions Saturday (Aug. 17) to win GT America Race No. 1 from Road America. It is Rothberg’s second win of the year.
“[This] was a really tough race. The braking zones and grip were changing every single lap,” Rothberg told SRO America’s DJ Clark after the race. “I was sort of the test dummy going into every corner, but I kept [the car] on the track and kept it together, so I’m happy.”
Rothberg won by .729 seconds over CRP Racing’s Jason Daskalos. SKI Autosports’ Johnny O’Connell was third, then Mishumotors’ Mirco Schultis. GMG Racing’s James Sofronas was fifth.
Rothberg started from the pole in his BMW after qualifying fastest in the dry. However, shortly before the race was scheduled to start, heavy rains moved wet conditions were considered severe enough to require the race to start behind the safety car.
When the green finally came out, there were a little more than 27 minutes remaining. Rothberg led with the all-important clear windshield free of spray. Meanwhile, Sofronas was given a drive-through penalty for work being done to his Audi beyond the time limit. He was one of six drivers between the two classes to be given such a penalty.
Once Sofronas and teammate Kyle Washington served their penalties, Rothberg ended up with a five-second lead over Daskalos. Despite that, he was still running hard. That was to his detriment as the ABS system kicked in at Canada Corner, forcing him wide.
Further back, Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Jason Bell spun exiting turn 14 and nosed into the tire barrier in his Aston Martin. He was able to get himself back underway and into the pit lane, but went no further after that point.
Daskalos was able to run down Rothberg with 15 minutes to go, just as the rain started to pick up again. However, Rothberg was able to hold Daskalos off.
In the closing laps of the race, the rain stopped outright. That allowed the pace to gradually increase.
In GT4, Rotek Racing’s Isaac Sherman qualified on pole in the dry in his Porsche. ACI Motorsports’ Curt Swearingin was Sherman’s main competition, but was hit with the same penalty that Sofronas received.
Swearingin’s penalty left Sherman with with a 10-second lead over The Heart of Racing’s Gray Newell. The penalties resulted in Sherman getting up to fifth overall briefly before dropping back.
Sherman had the quicker car and was able to pull…
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