Frederic Schandorff, Matias Perez Companc Claim Barber Park Victory

AF Corse’s Frederic Schandorff was able to get past McCann Racing’s Zach Vanier with 48 minutes to go Sunday (Sept. 27) to take the lead. From there, he was able to hold on to win GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Race No. 6 at Barber Motorsports Park with Matias Perez Companc. It is the duo’s first overall victory together and their second Pro win of the year.

“It was very much [a rollercoaster],” Schandorff told SRO America’s Amanda Busick. “We started well; Matias did really well at the start. Then, there were stints where the car didn’t really work well and we lost a few positions. Luckily, we had a good strategy and a few intense battles allowed us to make it [to the top of the podium].”

The margin of victory was 5.638 seconds over JMF Motorsports’ Mikael Grenier and Michai Stephens. Archangel Motorsports’ Todd Coleman and Aaron Telitz was third in their McLaren, followed by Rennsport One’s Danny Dyszelski and Jan Heylen. Vanier and Michael McCann Jr. were fifth.

In Pro, Perez Companc and Schandorff defeated Grenier and Stephens. McCann Jr. and Vanier were third, while Turner Motorsport’s Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg were fourth.

Perez Companc started from the Pro and overall pole in his Ferrari 296 GT3. Stephens gave chase in his Mercedes.

The leaders held steady through their first round of stops, but afterwards, Stephens started to put pressure on Perez Companc for the lead.

30 minutes in, he was able to get to the inside of the No. 12 Ferrari on the frontstretch and cleared him in turn 1. Perez Companc ran wide trying to defend the position, but kept himself under control.

Shortly after the lead change occurred, Random Vandals Racing’s Derek DeBoer lost control in turn 14a and spun. His rear wheels just barely dropped into the gravel, trapping him there and bringing out the first full course caution. DeBoer was able to continue, but dropped two laps down getting extricated from the trap.

Another caution followed about 15 minutes after the restart in more or less the same spot. Kellymoss’ Michael Clark spun in turn 14a in his Porsche. AF Corse’s Jay Schreibman spun his Ferrari to avoid Clark and had some trouble resuming. Both drivers were eventually able to continue.

On the restart, Perez Companc did not get up to speed quick enough. That allowed Dyszelski to move up to second in his Pro-Am Porsche. Stephens eventually pulled out to an eight-second lead.

A split strategy ultimately developed here. Everyone stopped not too far after the restart. However, McCann Jr. stayed out much further.

Despite the high tire wear, the move ultimately worked out. By the time the sequence completed, Vanier ended up with the overall lead.

Behind Vanier, Schandorff was able to take second away from Grenier and quickly ran down Vanier. The battle was short-lived as Schandorff was able to quickly take the lead and pull away.

Schandorff was able to pull away to a comfortable advantage as Vanier fell down the order. Once in comfortable position, he was able to maintain to take the win.

In Pro-Am, Rennsport One’s Danny Dyszelski started from the class pole in fourth overall. Despite dropping a wheel off the road exiting turn 1 on the first lap, he was able to settle into the lead.

Behind him, HP-TECH Motorsports’ Tony Davis went off the road exiting turn 3. He bounded through the uneven grass, but managed to continue at the rear of the field.

Eight minutes in, GMG Racing’s Kyle Washington spun in turn 13 after contact from Riley Technologies’ Slade Stewart. The Buc-ee’s-sponsored Porsche had been the fastest car all weekend in the hands of Tom Sargent, but the spun dropped Washington way back. Stewart was forced to bring “Sparklefarts” to the pit lane to serve a drive-through penalty for the contact.

A number of the Pro-Am teams chose to make their first pit stop barely 15 minutes into the race as tire wear was quite a factor. Dyszelski was the first of the Pro-Am drivers to stop. When the round finished up, Dyszelski ended up in third overall with a seven-second lead.

Dyszelski was able to lead the class until he got out of the car in favor of Heylen. However, a reverse pit strategy to the Pro class came into play here.

Archangel Motorsports short-pitted after the Clark-Schreibman caution to get Telitz into their McLaren. Once in the car, Telitz ran hard in clean air through the pit window. Once it was complete, he was in the Pro-Am lead in fourth overall.

Once out front, Telitz continued to pull away and ultimately put Vanier between himself and Heylen. Further back, there was an absolute scrum for third as Sargent fought hard with HP-TECH Motorsports’ Scott Andrews and JMF Motorsports’ Philip Ellis for the final spot on the podium.

With all that battling going on, Telitz held on for the first-ever Pro-Am victory for Archangel Motorsports with Coleman in third overall. The margin of victory was 16.873 seconds over Dyszelski and Heylen. Sargent and Washington were able to hold on for third in their Buc-ee’s Porsche. Ellis and Jason Daskalos were fourth, while Andrews and Davis were fifth.

GT World Challenge America powered by AWS: Barber Park Results

The final race of the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS season is the sole round run in combination with the Intercontinental GT Challenge. The Indianapolis 8 Hour will be at 12:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 10. Coverage will stream live on the GT World YouTube channel.