GMG Racing’s James Sofronas all but had GT America powered by AWS Race No. 1 won Saturday (April 12). Then his Audi ground to a halt with two minutes to go.
Trouble for the race leader 😱
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That allowed Turner Motorsport’s Justin Rothberg to take over the lead. From there, Rothberg held on to take the victory.
“I saw [Sofronas] slowing down on the front straight, and then I realized who it was. While I don’t like to pray on other people’s downfall, it was a beautiful sight to see the first-place car broken down,” Rothberg said to SRO America’s Amanda Busick after the race. “It was an amazing race. Everyone was so respectful. It was one of the most fun races I’ve ever done.”
GMG Racing’s Kyle Washington finished second, followed by The Heart of Racing’s Gray Newell. CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports’ George Kurtz was fourth, while Chouest Povoledo Racing’s Ross Chouest was fifth.
Newell started from his first career SRO3 pole position in his Aston Martin, but he immediately came under pressure from Sofronas. It took a little more than a half a lap for Sofronas to snatch the lead away in turn 8.
Behind the leaders, Washington moved up to third on the start and managed to tack onto Newell. Newell and Washington were able to keep tabs on Sofronas for the first couple of laps before the veteran racer with over 20 years of experience pulled away.
Meanwhile, Rothberg was able to run both Newell and Washington down in his BMW, making it a three-car race for second.
Rothberg was able to methodically work his way past Washington for second, then had to work on Newell. He was able to take second with 20 minutes to go, but by that time, Sofronas had pulled out to a nine-second lead.
From there, Rothberg ran as hard as he could to close up the gap. He was able to set multiple quick laps that cut into the lead. However, he was only able to able to cut the lead down a little. At the same time, Rothberg put six seconds on both Newell and Washington.
The margin appeared to be too great for Rothberg to make up in the remaining time. However, Sofronas’ Audi came up with a box of neutrals right after exiting the hairpin. His car ultimately slowed to a stop just before the start-finish line, allowing Rothberg to pass.
Sofronas tried to get his car back underway, revving it multiple times, but it simply would not move. As a result, SRO America officials were forced to put out the safety car. The race would end under yellow, giving Rothberg the win.
In GT2, there was supposed to be a pair of cars doing battle. However, CJ Moses‘ Audi R8 LMS GT2 had electrical issues during the pace laps. As a result, Moses pulled into the pits and out of the race.
As a result, MLT Motorsports’ Adrian Kunzle got the victory by default in his Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo.
In GT4, Random Vandals Racing owner/driver Paul Sparta started from pole in his BMW. He immediately entered into a battle with Fast Track Racing’s Judson Holt.
For much of the race, Sparta was getting the better of Holt. Then, just after halfway, Sparta went too fast into turn 1 and went into the runoff. Holt was able to take the lead, while Sparta lost 26 seconds.
Sparta’s trip to the runoff gave Holt a big lead. From there, he was not threatened en route to victory.
ACI Motorsports’ Ricco Shlaimoun finished second on the road, but he incurred a five-second post-race penalty for a start violation. As a result, Sparta was able to jump over him into second.
GT America powered by AWS: Long Beach Race No. 1 Results
With a lap at 88.577 mph in his Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, DXDT Racing’s Blake McDonald set the quickest lap of the race. That will put him on the overall pole for Race No. 2.
Race No. 2 for GT America powered by AWS is scheduled to go green at 2:20 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. The race will air live on both the RACER Network and on the GT World YouTube channel.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.