Yahoo Autos Gidley, Bell extend championship leads in GT America Race 1 at Sebring
Memo Gidley and Jason Bell extended their championship leads after the 45-minute Race 1 for GT America powered by AWS on the 3.741-mile, 17-turn circuit of Sebring International Raceway. Gidley led from start to finish after starting on pole in the SRO3 class. Bell made his pass for the lead on the opening lap and never relinquished.
SRO3 class
Gidley in the No. 101 TKO Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 stood atop yet another podium after a short hiatus of wins. His last win was in Race 2 at VIRginia International Raceway in June. Jason Daskalos went into the race 18 points behind Gidley but that gap will build to 25 points as the No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 finished second. Third place went to Adam Adelson in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Adelson had found the bumper of Daskalos before the two found GT4 class traffic. The traffic gave Daskalos room to push further ahead while Adelson defended third.
George Kurtz in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG GT3 was hot on the heels of Adelson throughout his race. He too used traffic to put pressure on Adelson but would hold steady in fourth. Fifth place went to Anthony Bartone in the No. 427 RealTime Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 who ran a race of his own as he turned consistent lap times on track well ahead of his competition. Todd Treffert in the No. 41 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 made his way around Johnny O’Connell in the No. 3 SKI Autosport Audi R8 LMS. The two kept each other honest never far from one another on track.
Alex Vogel in the No. 043 OnlyFans Racing by P1 Groupe with MRS Porsche 911 GT3 R advanced two positions for an eighth-place finish. Mirco Schultis in the No. 70 MISHUMOTORS Corvette C7 GT3 R finished ninth after missing the final lap. Andy Wilzoch in the No. 460 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 finished 10th also missing the final lap of the race.
GT4 class
Jason Bell in the No. 2 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 made the pass for the lead on the open lap. He passed polesitter Robb Holland in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 917 Cayman GT4 Clubsport and never looked back. Holland seemed to have Elias Sabo in the No. 8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 in his mirrors from green to checkered flag.
But Sabo stayed behind Holland to capture the final step on the podium. Tony Gaples in the No. 5 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4. R started and finished the race fourth. He was nearly glued to Sabo early in the race before settling into fourth. Finishing fifth was Gray Newel in the No. 25 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. He fought off pressure from Ross Chouest to come out ahead.
However, it was Tim Savage in the No. 009 TRG Aston Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 who took home sixth in Race 1. He was followed across the finish line by Scott Blind in the No. 045 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 in seventh. Nicholas Shanny pushed through the race to finish eighth in the No. 21 Carrus Callas Raceteam Toyota GR Supra GT4.
An interclass battle left Chouest and his No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 with damage to his diffuser. He pushed forward unbothered by the damage, but a last-lap spin would result in Chouest finishing ninth in class. Rounding out class competition was Thomas Collingwood in the No. 81 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Race 2 goes green Sunday, Sept. 24 at 8:40am Tickets are available for purchase online and for onsite. To watch the free live stream from home, subscribe to the GT World YouTube channel. Ash Vandelay hosts the SROMotorsport Twitch stream where fans can join the conversation or ask questions while watching the weekend races.
