- Ross Chouest Takes Maiden SRO3 Win
- Clean Sweep for Aaron Farhadi in GT2 Class
- Flawless Weekend for Isaac Sherman in GT4
- Final Results
The GT America Powered by AWS field took to the grid bright and early on Sunday morning to set off for Race 2 at Sonoma Raceway protected by CrowdStrike. Temperatures were crisp and cool for the 40-minute sprint race as the California sun gradually rose over the hills of Sonoma.
Ross Chouest claimed the victory in the SRO3 Class in his debut weekend in GT3 machinery, while Aaron Farhadi and Isaac Sherman took home back to back victories in the GT2 and GT4 Classes.
SRO3 Class
There was no shortage of action in the SRO3 Class, as pole sitter James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 and George Kurtz in the No. 04 Crowdstrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 got their elbows out on the very first lap.
As they approached the Carousel, the two made contact, which saw Sofronas drop positions while Kurtz ended up serving a drive-through penalty for the incident.
Ross Chouest was promoted to the lead in the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, followed by rookie Justin Rothberg in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.
In the final ten minutes of the race, the battle for the final podium positions came to a head, with racing incidents between several cars drastically changing the running order. As Jason Daskalos in the No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 made contact with Rothberg, Johnny O’Connell was able to avoid the argy bargy and sweep by into second place in the No. 3 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3, followed by Sofronas who utilized the chaos on track to recover some positions.
With five minutes remaining, O’Connell had gotten within reach of leader Chouest, reducing the gap to half a second. However, Ross Chouest remained unfazed and crossed the finish line to claim the Race 2 victory for the Chouest Povoledo Racing team in their debut SRO3 weekend, as well as the Super Fuel Hard Charger Award, with O’Connell and SKI Autosports finishing second, and Sofronas and GMG Racing recovering to third.
The CrowdStrike Fastest Lap Award in the SRO3 Class went to James Sofronas.
“GT3 has definitely required some acclimation,” said Ross Chouest. “The cars are very different from GT4. We recognize it's going to be a process. It's going to take a good part of the season, but the guys did a great job today and we had a little bit of luck on the start so I took advantage of that. I was able to hold off some of the other guys. We'll take this win today and continue building on it.”
*Post-race notice*
The Stewards apply a penalty of moving Car #50 to the last finishing position for Race 2. See Stewards Decision here.
GT2 Class
Brent Holden started from pole position in his No. 44 GMG Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2, with yesterday’s winner Aaron Farhadi running alongside him in the No. 127 TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2.
However, an issue for Holden enabled Farhadi to take over the lead, followed by Alan Grossberg in the No. 102 TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2.
Aaron Farhadi went on to claim his second consecutive win of the weekend, with Grossberg finishing second in the class in addition to claiming the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap Award in the GT2 Class, and Brent Holden completed the podium.
“It was a great weekend,” exclaimed Aaron Farhadi. “We got the job done. There was a lot of respect between me and my competitors. We had a really great battle at the start, and overall it was a successful weekend. Good debut for my first-ever SRO event.”
GT4 Class
It was a clean getaway for yesterday’s winner and Race 2 pole sitter Isaac Sherman in the No. 098 RotekRacing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. As the green flag waved, he immediately began to establish a gap between himself and the rest of the field behind.
There were battles raging on in the rest of the field, as Todd Parriott in the No. 13 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 and Nicholas Shanny in the No. 21 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 made contact, resulting in a drive-through penalty for the former. Meanwhile, Todd Coleman in the No. 69 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 was coming under threat from Gray Newell in the No. 25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 as they fought for second place.
Sherman completed a perfectly executed drive to claim back-to-back wins in the GT4 Class, an impressive feat in his debut weekend in the championship. Coleman finished in second place and claimed the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap Award in the GT4 Class while fending off a challenge from Newell, who finished third to clinch another podium result.
Isaac’s maiden weekend in GT America was everything he could have asked for, as this program came together late in the off-season. Here’s what the Florida resident had to say about navigating this new venture and his weekend sweep; “It was honestly just practice. I've kind of been used to some road course racing in the past. Here, the team and the car fit together and we brought it home and won the weekend.”
Up Next
The GT America Powered by AWS field will be back in California shortly for the iconic Long Beach Grand Prix from April 19th to 21st. Tickets are available for purchase and package options can be found here.
To follow the action from home, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free livestreams on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels.