Two battles at 2025 Grand Prix of Long Beach and GT World Challenge

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Starting on the 11th this month both IMSA and GT American will be doing races at Long Beach, Ca

The 2025 GT America powered by AWS season continues with rounds 3 and 4 on the streets of Long Beach, where a thrilling mix of seasoned contenders and fresh challengers will battle for wins at one of the most prestigious events in North America.
As the championship shifts to its first street circuit of the year, top teams across the SRO3, GT2, and GT4 classes are ready to navigate the tight corners and high-speed straights of this iconic venue.

The series boasts a rich legacy of competition at Long Beach, tracing back to the era of the Pirelli World Challenge. Since originally joining the Grand Prix lineup in 2006, it has always been an event everyone wants to win, with GT racing legends continuing to make their return for another shot at conquering the street circuit.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin is coming equipped with a mix of some familiar names and new talents on the grid. Jason Bell and Gray Newell are no strangers to the GT America field, as both ran full-season entries the year prior. Meanwhile, Max Hewitt had a stellar weekend last time out in Sonoma, taking a win and podium finish in his debut event.

• No. 2 RacersEdge Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO – Jason Bell
• No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO – Gray Newell
• No. 39 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO – Max Hewitt

Audi

Audi is set to compete in both the SRO3 and GT2 classes, represented by GMG Racing, with highly knowledgeable drivers James Sofronas and CJ Moses bringing years of experience and a proven track record to the grid.

• No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVOII – James Sofronas
• No. 58 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2 – CJ Moses

BMW


BMW heads to Long Beach with entries from Turner Motorsport, Flying Lizard Motorsports, and Fast Track Racing, and with the addition of Random Vandals Racing. Justin Rothberg and Elias Sabo are already off to a strong start after securing respective podium finishes at Sonoma, with Paul Sparta doing the same in Pirelli GT4 America competition.

• No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO – Justin Rothberg
• No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 EVO – Elias Sabo
• No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO – Paul Sparta
• No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) – Judson Holt

Corvette

Mirco Schultis had a successful outing in Sonoma, taking the final step of the podium in both races navigating through a difficult rainy weekend. Ross Chouest is taking full advantage of the opportunity to get better acquainted with his new Chevy machinery, with Blake McDonald doing the same.

• No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Blake McDonald
• No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R – Ross Chouest
• No. 70 MISHUMOTORS Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R – Mirco Schultis

Lamborghini

Lamborghini is set to join in on the action, bringing its renowned combination of cutting-edge engineering and racing pedigree to the streets of Long Beach as the Italian marque looks to battle for top honors in the GT2 class.

• No. 142 MLT Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 – Adrian Kunzle

Mercedes-AMG


Mercedes-AMG have returned to their winning ways already, as George Kurtz kicked off the season with a commanding victory in Race 1 at Sonoma, while Jeff Burton also showcased the brand’s strength with a Race 2 win in GT World Challenge America, adding momentum heading into Long Beach.

• No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 – George Kurtz
• No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Jason Daskalos
• No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Jeff Burton

Porsche


Kyle Washington had a formidable time in Sonoma, claiming his first victory in the championship after a triumphant drive in extreme wet weather conditions. GMG Racing is also adding a GT3 class entry with Patrick Mulcahy, while ACI Motorsports will see Ricco Shlaimoun take command of their machine.

• No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport – Ricco Shlaimoun
• No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R – Kyle Washington
• No. 54 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R (991.ii) – Patrick Mulcahy
• No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport – Robb Holland

Toyota

Anthony McIntosh took home the victory in his first outing in the series at Sonoma Raceway, and immediately followed it up with a second place finish the next day. Now, as he shifts from rolling hills to narrow concrete walls, he’ll be looking to carry that same strong momentum into the next rounds.

• No. 69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO2 – Anthony McIntosh

Take in Half a Century of History

Don’t miss the 50th anniversary of the historic Grand Prix of Long Beach from April 11th-13th as the grid battles it out around the challenging street circuit.
The action will be available on MAVTV, the GTWorld YouTube channel, and SRO Motorsports Twitch, so be sure to tune in!

 

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IMSA has published a 27-car entry list for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 12, the first sprint race of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. The 100-minute sprint on Saturday afternoon forms part of the Long Beach GP’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
The entry list features 11 cars in GTP and 16 in GTD.

The No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie makes its first sprint appearance in IMSA, joining a grid which features the three factory Cadillac V-Series.Rs, the two Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s, two BMW M Team RLL Hybrid V8s, two Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06es, and JDC-Miller MotorSports’ privateer 963.

It will be the first race without either the Lamborghini Squadra Corse SC63 or the Proton Competition privateer 963, which will only appear in the five Michelin Endurance Cup events.

In the IMSA WeatherTech GTP Championship, the No. 7 Penske Porsche and drivers Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy lead the standings by 91 points over their teammates Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell in the No. 6 Porsche. Behind them, the No. 60 MSR Acura of Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun is third in the standings, trailing by 173 points. Porsche also leads the GTP manufacturers’ standings by 56 points over Acura.

Cadillac was last year’s winning manufacturer, though this year Renger van der Zande will drive the No. 93 MSR Acura and his 2024 co-driver Sebastien Bourdais will not race at Long Beach in any capacity for the first time since 2010.

The much-anticipated IMSA GTD debut of Robert Wickens in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R headlines the category’s 16-car field. Wickens will share the cockpit with Corvette Racing factory driver Tommy Milner, in a specially prepared chassis with next-generation hand controls developed by Bosch and Pratt Miller.

GTD’s 14 full-season entries are joined by previously confirmed one-off entries from AO Racing and Vasser Sullivan Racing, who’ve brought their GTD PRO cars to Long Beach with revised driver line-ups. Jonny Edgar and Laurens Vanthoor will drive for AO Racing, while Aaron Telitz and Frankie Montecalvo will drive Vasser Sullivan’s second Lexus.

Long Beach also sees Gradient Racing debut its new pairing of Jenson Altzman and Robert Megennis in the No. 66 Ford Mustang GT3.

After winning the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Winward Racing’s Russell Ward and Philip Ellis lead the GTD standings by 41 points over Heart of Racing Team’s new pairing of Tom Gamble and Casper Stevenson. New Wright Motorsports owner/driver Adam Adelson and co-driver Elliott Skeer are only 57 points out of first place.

And in the GTD manufacturers’ championship, Mercedes-AMG leads Aston Martin by 40 points.

IMSA teams will get two practice sessions on Friday leading into qualifying that evening, starting at 5:10pm local time, with the 100-minute race set for a 2:05pm green flag.

FULL ENTRY LIST

 

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DETROIT (April 8, 2025) – Corvette Racing has a full weekend coming up with two high-profile entries for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third round of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

As part of the showcase with IMSA’s GTP and GTD classes, two Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are set for Saturday’s 100-minute street race on the famous 11-turn, 1.968-mile street circuit in southern California. Both have their own unique storylines:

No. 13 AWA Corvette: Matt Bell/Orey Fidani
Reigning Rolex 24 At Daytona GTD class winner AWA and its drivers made their first appearance at Long Beach a year ago and finished an impressive sixth in class.
The result served as a springboard for the rest of the season, which culminated in the Bob Akin Award for Fidani as the highest points-scoring Bronze driver in GTD. The award landed AWA an invitation to this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the momentum carried over to the Rolex 24 victory in January

No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette: Robert Wickens/Tommy Milner
One of the most followed and unique entries in this year’s race, DXDT Racing’s Corvette is equipped with a Bosch hand-control electronic braking system for Wickens who lost the use of his lower body in a racing crash in 2018 and Corvette factory driver Tommy Milner, who did the initial shakedown and testing of the hand-control system.
The No. 36 Corvette is a collaboration between Bosch, Chevrolet, Pratt Miller and DXDT Racing.

Long Beach will mark Wickens’ first race in a Corvette Z06 GT3.R. His impressive resume pairs well with the Corvette Racing program, whose history of success includes 140 race victories around the world, 117 of them in IMSA competition along with 14 Manufacturers championships for Chevrolet.

General Motors and Chevrolet have long been committed to accessibility for customers and employees. Upon hearing of Wickens’ interest in GTD, Chevrolet helped to bring Bosch, Pratt Miller and DXDT together to bring him into the Corvette family.

“Everyone within Chevrolet and Corvette Racing is excited to be part of this project,” said Mark Stielow, director, Chevrolet Motorsports Competition Programs. “Chevrolet’s commitment to accessibility and innovation in motorsports drove investment in this project.
We all support Robert’s drive to compete at the highest levels of motorsport and are proud to partner with groups like Bosch, Pratt Miller and DXDT Racing to realize part of that dream.”

In addition to the 100-minute IMSA race, two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will contest a pair of 40-minute sprint races in SRO Motorsports’ GT America series, Blake McDonald in the No. 11 Corvette for DXDT Racing and Ross Chouest in the No. 50 Corvette for Chouest Povoledo Racing.

Chevrolet and the Corvette brand have been a fixture at Long Beach since the Corvette Racing program first visited Long Beach in 2007. In 17 visits, Corvette GT cars have captured eight victories, with two additional in the Corvette Daytona Prototype era. Combined with results from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Chevrolet boasts a total of 22 victories in the Grand Prix’s two premier events.

The Grand Prix of Long Beach for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 12.

The race will air live on the USA Network starting at 5 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock, which also will stream Friday’s 8 p.m. ET qualifying session. IMSA Radio also will air Friday’s qualifying and the race at IMSA.com along with XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m looking forward to getting back to Long Beach. It was my first time there last season, and it was the surprise of the year for me. I loved the circuit and the event as a whole; it was a great experience.
We had great pace too, as we have so far this year, so I’m hopeful and confident that we’ll be able to put together another competitive showing.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Long Beach is a very challenging but also really exciting track. It’s so narrow and unforgiving, and with so little room for error, you know you have to be precise and make the right decisions. It’s a change of pace from Daytona and Sebring, but we’ve shown our consistency, and I’m looking forward to proving our competitiveness in the sprint races as well.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m excited to go back to Long Beach for a number of reasons. First off, it’s a really unique event with all kinds of history behind it great drivers, great cars and fantastic races. I’ve been fortunate to win there four times, a couple under some pretty crazy circumstances!
Second, it’s obviously a real privilege to be asked to team with Rob in this race. It’s such a big moment for him, for DXDT Racing, for Corvette, all the partners and racing in general. We all have high hopes going into the weekend.
The Corvette and the hand-control system have been solid in testing. Both Rob and I know the track very well. So we’re all optimistic of being able to race and challenge for a podium and hopefully the win.”

ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“After finally getting my first taste of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in Sebring a few weeks ago, I have been counting down the days until Long Beach. My first race with DXDT and finally my first race of 2025.
It is going to be a very steep learning curve, but I am thankful I have a strong team behind me and a great teammate in Tommy Milner to help get me up to speed. Hopefully when we look back on this event on Saturday night, we can be proud of what we accomplished together.”

 

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Robert Wickens is tough to satisfy. Many people would have been satisfied merely surviving that terrible IndyCar crash at Pocono International Raceway in 2018. Not Robert Wickens. Thankful? Yes. Satisfied?
No. Although partially paralyzed below his chest, Wickens vowed to stand and even dance at his wedding to Karli Woods.
And after more than a year of treatment and rehabilitation, in September 2019 he did just that.

But Wickens also vowed to return to motorsports competition and, with the aid of a hand-controlled, mechanical braking and throttle system, he did just that at the wheel of a Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR in 2022.

But just driving a race car was not enough for Wickens. He wanted to be competitive and to take the next step after that, namely winning races … and the next step after that, namely returning to championship-winning form.
All of which he did, scoring four wins in the Touring Car (TCR) class over a three-year run and capturing the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR title.

But Robert Wickens had still loftier goals. Namely, competing at the very pinnacle of the sport. He recently took the next step toward achieving that goal at Sebring International Raceway, testing the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R equipped with Bosch Motorsports’ new electronic braking and throttle control system (EBS) in preparation for his debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 11-12.
Provided he takes the green flag, it will mark his first WeatherTech Championship start since the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona in an open-top Prototype Challenge (PC) class entry.

“My goal from the outset of this was to get back to the highest levels of motorsport again,” Wickens says. “I’ve always seen that the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the highest level of sports car racing here in North America. Aligning myself with someone like General Motors and DXDT Racing, it was just the perfect fit. It would be a dream if I could call it a 10-year career here in the IMSA WeatherTech series racing against the best drivers in the world in one of the best series in the world.”

Long Beach is the first in a five-race schedule on tap for Wickens this season, one that sees him focusing on WeatherTech Championship sprint races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Road America and VIRginia International Raceway in addition to Long Beach.

While enormously excited about the prospects, as you might imagine, Wickens won’t be satisfied “just” to race at Long Beach.
He wants to use success in sprint races to springboard to a full-time entry.

“I think this is a big step,” he says. “For me to officially get that fulfillment, I want to be a full-time contender in the WeatherTech series.
Honestly taking the green flag in Long Beach is going to be a tremendous step forward in my career and my journey back to the highest levels. Basically, you could say, ‘We did it. We’re racing against the best cars and the best drivers in the whole sports car industry.’

“My goal is always to get to the highest levels, and I feel like I’m here. So the next step becomes a week-in, week-out staple of the series and make sure I can get myself to a full-time position for 2026 and then start fighting for championships. Hopefully we can challenge for race wins and podiums here this year.”

As Wickens’ competitors and Long Beach co-driver Tommy Milner can attest, podium finishes, let alone race wins, are hard to come by in GTD competition. Given that the two-day run at Sebring is Wickens’ only scheduled testing in the DXDT Corvette this year, there are no guarantees he will have the satisfaction of a top-three finish in 2025, let alone a victory.

“I’ll bet you a win is going to be (Robert’s) goal (at Long Beach),” says Milner, the Corvette Racing factory ace and four-time Long Beach class winner who’s available because the GTD PRO class isn’t racing this event.
“And I certainly think that’s possible. The Corvette has been fast at Long Beach (but) I also think the weekend goals-wise will be to help set himself up and the team up for a successful rest of the season as well. It’s not a checkers or wreckers kind of thing.
It’s definitely going to be about getting the best result that we can, but I’m certainly not counting on a win.”

From the sounds of it, neither is Wickens.

“Getting acclimated into the car was kind of Job One,” Wickens says of the Sebring test. “Honestly, Bosch did so much preparation ahead of this that there wasn’t a lot. The first run with the system if that was all I had and there was no ‘tunability’ I wouldn’t have been upset about it. We started off in such a great window where I just kind of got to figure out the car.

“I got my first taste of a long run on double-stinted tires to see what the car behaves like. This is my only test for the whole year, and we want to make sure that I have as many tools in my belt as possible, so there are no surprises when we get to Long Beach or further down the road. The best thing about Sebring is a lot of these apex and exit curbs are not super friendly. So you can treat them like walls.
So in terms of getting used to Long Beach, that’s been good.”

Although Wickens won’t have the luxury of any additional on-track testing prior to Long Beach, he will doubtless log plenty of laps around the 1.968-mile street circuit on his home race simulation set-up.

“Racing on my home simulator is not only fun, but it made my dexterity and kind of my resolution of my hand for throttle application in particular just stronger and stronger,” he says.
“After driving the Corvette Z06, I feel like the next step for me is actually to start doing more throttle application with my right hand just to build muscle memory
My brake that I use on my home simulator is very different to what we have in the race car, but for the throttle purposes, I think it’s very helpful.”

And while two days of on-track testing and virtually unlimited time on the sim can shave tenths of a second off lap times, perhaps even more critical will be the time gained or lost in the driver swap on what figures to be the Long Beach race’s one and only scheduled pit stop.

While time can be gained or lost on any pit stop in any race, at 100 minutes in length, Long Beach (along with Detroit) is the shortest race on the IMSA calendar making pit stop execution more vital than ever, especially given that on-track passing opportunities generally are few and far between.
Also of note, minimum drive time in the GTD class is 35 minutes, so Wickens would likely qualify and start before the driver change sequence is initiated to turn the car over to Milner.

“We’ve always talked about the driver change being a pretty important part of the (Long Beach) race because that typically ends-up being kind of the limiting factor in the pit stop,” Milner says. “The tires and the fuel typically take a little bit less time (than a driver change). Robbie obviously comes from a place where he has the sports car racing experience, where he’s had to do those driver changes. From that side, there are no limitations, so to speak. He knows what he needs to get out of the car.”

It’s safe to say Robert Wickens won’t be satisfied unless and until he gets everything possible, himself included, out of the DXDT Corvette.

 

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IMSA Schedule

 

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GT America Schedule

 

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The GT America Powered by AWS field rolled onto the streets of Long Beach early Friday morning, diving into Practice 1 under clear skies.
The city awoke to the roar of engines as drivers tackled the tight corners and high-speed straights of the iconic circuit, officially kicking off race weekend.

Seventeen cars representing three classes took part in the 30-minute session. James Sofronas topped the charts in SRO3, Adrian Kunzle led the GT2 timesheets, and Judson Holt set the pace in GT4.

SRO3 Class

It was a tight battle in the SRO3 class, with multiple drivers trading the top spot throughout Practice 1. Ultimately, James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVOII rose to the occasion, narrowly edging out Blake McDonald in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R by just 0.136 seconds.

Early in the session, Jason Bell showed strong pace in the No. 2 Racers Edge Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, leading the field before Sofronas surged to the top. What followed was a game of musical chairs in the top five as drivers traded fast laps.

Midway through the session, Gray Newell took over the lead in the No. 24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, while Patrick Mulcahy climbed to second aboard the No. 54 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R.
In the closing stages, Elias Sabo delivered an impressive lap in the No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 EVO to slot into second place. But as the checkered flag flew, McDonald reclaimed the second spot, with Mulcahy, Newell, and Sabo rounding out the top five.

GT2 Class

Adrian Kunzle set the benchmark in GT2 with a fast lap of 1:24.454 in the No. 142 MLT Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2.
CJ Moses, returning to the GT2 class in his No. 58 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2, did not take part in Practice 1.

GT4 Class

Judson Holt posted the fastest lap in the GT4 class, clocking a 1:27.819 in the No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4. His effort secured the top spot early in the session.
It was a BMW battle, as Paul Sparta in the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 secured the second-best time in class.
Young rising star Ricco Shlaimoun, driving the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, did not post a time during the session.
The GT America Powered by AWS field will return to the track for Practice 2 on Friday, April 11th at 11:40 AM PDT.

If you can’t make it to Long Beach, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free livestreams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTLongBeach.

 

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The GT America Powered by AWS field returned to the streets of Long Beach late Friday morning for Practice 2.
With rising temperatures and evolving track conditions, the circuit felt noticeably different from their earlier outing. Drivers took full advantage of the second 30-minute session to fine-tune their setups ahead of this afternoon’s Qualifying.

James Sofronas delivered another late-session flyer to claim the fastest overall time. Adrian Kunzle reaffirmed his dominance in GT2, while Judson Holt once again led the way in GT4.

SRO3 Class

It was another tightly contested session in SRO3, with several drivers trading places at the top of the leaderboard.
In the end, James Sofronas prevailed once more, setting the fastest time with a blistering 1:19.878 in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVOII, becoming the only driver to dip below the 1:20 mark.

Sofronas edged out Elias Sabo, who put in a strong showing behind the wheel of the No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW M4 GT3, falling short by just 0.441 seconds. Mirco Schultis, who led during a portion of the session, finished third in the No. 70 MISHUMOTORS Callaway Corvette Z06R GT3.

Newcomer Blake McDonald continued to impress in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. After briefly climbing to second on the timing sheets, he ultimately secured fourth place. Justin Rothberg, the 2024 series Vice-Champion, improved from his Practice 1 result and rounded out the Top 5 in the No. 29 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3.

GT2 Class

Adrian Kunzle continued his strong pace by topping the GT2 class once again, posting a best lap of 1:21.651 in the No. 142 MLT Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2.
CJ Moses, who was hampered by transponder issues in Practice 1, was on track and in great shape. Piloting the No. 58 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2, Moses was able to put down solid laps and left the session confident in the car’s pace heading into Qualifying.

GT4 Class

Judson Holt once again led the way in GT4, laying down a best lap of 1:26.722 in the No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4. The Laguna native continued to impress on home soil with another dominant session.
“It’s great to come back to my birthplace and get the opportunity to drive one of the best urban tracks in the United States,” said Holt. “It’s my first time on a street course, so we’re having a great time. It’s going well so far, and the BMW is amazing.”

Paul Sparta secured second place in the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4, adding to BMW’s strong showing in the class. Newcomer Ricco Shlaimoun rounded off the Top 3 in his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

The GT America Powered by AWS field will return to the track for Qualifying later on Friday afternoon at 4:35 PM PDT.

If you can’t make it to Long Beach, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free livestreams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTLongBeach.



In just his second IMSA WeatherTech practice session at Long Beach, Robert Wickens set the fastest time in the GTD class, headlining another practice session that also brought another BMW M Team RLL finish 1-2 in GTP.

Wickens used all 90 minutes of the afternoon practice session to his benefit. Using his hand controls, he drove the No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R to the top of the leaderboard with a 1m18.157s. Then, on his next lap, the Canadian driver improved to a 1m17.891s to secure the top spot in GTD heading into Qualifying.

Practice 2 wasn’t all perfect for Wickens, though. He went off at the end of Shoreline Drive, into the Turn 1 runoff, and couldn’t restart in time to avoid bringing out a red flag. Because he brought out a red flag, the No. 36 Corvette will lose its best time in Qualifying later this afternoon, starting at 5:10 PM PT (local time).

But that was a small inconvenience in what was otherwise a productive session. Wickens completed 34 laps and improved by over 2.5s from his personal best in Practice 1 this morning.
The two BMW M Hybrid V8s led GTP in the opposite order to Practice 1. Dries Vanthoor set a 1m12.201s in the No. 24, to lead Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 25 BMW, on a 1m12.342s.

Then it was Jack Aitken in third, driving the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R, followed by the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Mathieu Jaminet in fourth, team-mate Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Penske Porsche in fifth, and the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 of Tom Blomqvist in sixth.

Blomqvist’s co-driver Colin Braun slid off into the tire barrier at Turn 1 to bring out the last of four red flags that interrupted practice. The No. 60 Acura suffered damage to the front end, but a nose change was all it needed to get back on track.
Single-car incidents involving GTD drivers Trent Hindman (No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini) and Misha Goikhberg (No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini) brought out the other red flags, and a few others also strayed off course as the pace began to pick up.

Ross Gunn also found another second of improvement aboard the No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie – still 11th and last in GTP, but still finding more one-lap pace with no major issues.
Behind GTD leaders Wickens and DXDT Racing, Philip Ellis went second-fastest in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, ahead of Jonny Edgar in the No. 177 AO Racing ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3 R in third, and Parker Thompson in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3.

 

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On the IMSA side, using the same track
Both Z06 GT3.R drivers took first place in practice

 

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British drivers busy this weekend as 3rd race this weekend is in Asia for the GT World Challenge
There are two GT3.R Corvettes running

Practice was Friday

GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS debutant Alexander Sims set the pace in practice ahead of this weekend’s season opener at Sepang.
It was also a dream start for JMR’s Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which – like its British driver – has never contested the series before.

The combination set the day’s fastest time 2m04.097s just 12 minutes into Free Practice after Markus Winkelhock briefly occupied the top of the timesheets in Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom’s R8. It ultimately finished 0.281s adrift.

Harmony’s #55 Ferrari set the session and day’s third-fastest time in Lorenzo Patrese’s hands, while Bastian Buus’ Pre-Qualifying benchmark of 2m04.715s helped Origine’s #4 Porsche slot into fourth overall.

Friday’s second session might have been slower than the first, but its leading contenders were separated by fractions. Reigning champion Leo Ye Hongli lapped 0.06s slower than Buus and just two hundredths faster than Climax Racing’s Mercedes-AMG driven by Ralf Aron. The gaps extended thereafter, although a second still covered the top-10 at the end of Pre-Qualifying.

Patrese’s time saw the Italian end up quickest of the Silver-Am entries, while Harmony team-mate David Chen set the day’s Silver benchmark.
Am honors went to Anthony Liu (Phantom Porsche) who topped the Bronze session.

Saturday begins with qualifying at 10:25 before 2025’s season opener goes green at 14:15 local time (GMT +7). Both are live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.

 

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The 2 Corvettes running the IMSA Long Beach race
did not do very well as coming in at 8th and 11th in qualify

 

[teamzr1]

Gray Newell claimed the ROWE Pole Award for Race 1 of the GT America powered by AWS weekend at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, earning his first pole position as a GT3 driver with The Heart of Racing Team.

While GMG Racing led the times early, Newell banked his 1:21.754-second benchmark in the No. 24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo just before a red flag interrupted the session and brought out an early checkered flag.

James Sofronas was second-fastest, 0.150 seconds off of Newell’s pace in the No. 14 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, with stable mate Patrick Mulcahy in third aboard the No. 54 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Turner Motorsport’s Justin Rothberg was fourth-quickest, with George Kurtz rounding out the top five fastest SRO3 times in his No. 4 CrowdStrike Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.
Adrian Kunzle will sit on the GT2 class pole for Saturday’s Race 1, eclipsing GMG’s CJ Moses’ best time by over two seconds.
Paul Sparta claimed the GT4 class pole for Random Vandals Racing ahead of Judson Holt.

Jeff Burton ground to a halt on the back straightaway in his No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG roughly halfway through the 15-minute session, ultimately bringing out the red flag.
Burton lost his two fastest qualifying times as a result of bringing out the red.
Moments later, Jason Bell also appeared to stop on track in the first sector in his No. 2 RacersEdge Aston Martin.

Race 1 is slated for 5:20 p.m. PST on Saturday with live coverage on SRO’s GT World YouTube Channel, Twitch, and on MAVTV.

Qualifying for the Grand Prix of Long Beach delivered its fair share of drama, with a red flag stopping the session with just seven minutes remaining. The interruption added a layer of complexity as drivers were forced to adapt quickly, knowing their shot at pole could come down to a single flying lap.

In the end, it was Gray Newell who claimed his first career pole position in the SRO3 class. Adrian Kunzle set the pace in GT2, while Paul Sparta came through in the final moments to secure the top spot in GT4.

SRO3 Class

Gray Newell delivered a breakthrough performance in the No. 24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO, setting the fastest time of the session and securing his first pole in a GT3 car. It also marks his second career pole at Long Beach, as he previously earned the top spot in GT4 last year.

“It was pretty satisfying to come away with a solid fourth place in our first practice session,” explained Gray. “It gave me a good feel for the track and the car. Everything was still green for me, as this is only my second weekend in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. In the second practice, I think I was the only car not on fresh tires, but we still put down competitive times. That gave me confidence going into qualifying, knowing we had a strong car. I just had to dig a little deeper.”

“I’m still learning where the limit is without overdriving it. We knew there was a high chance of a red flag during qualifying, especially with the changing temperatures and traffic. So the plan was to go all-out from lap one. I did catch a bit of traffic, so I wasn’t sure how representative the lap was, but then the red flag came out. I came into pit lane not thinking much of it, and they told me I was first. Furthermore, I didn’t really believe it because I thought we would go green again. But we didn’t. And here I am. I am pretty happy with that outcome.”

Newell rose to the top just before the red flag was shown for Jeff Burton, who encountered issues in his No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Before the stoppage, Patrick Mulcahy appeared to be in strong contention in the No. 54 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R, with James Sofronas close behind in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVOII. Justin Rothberg also made an early impression, running third aboard the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

Sofronas will start alongside Newell on the front row, with Mulcahy and Rothberg occupying Row 2. Series veteran George Kurtz rounded out the top five in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3.

GT2 Class

Adrian Kunzle delivered a commanding performance in the GT2 category, putting the No. 142 MLT Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 on pole. Taking advantage of the improving tire temperatures, Kunzle’s quick lap held up even after the red flag brought Qualifying to an early end.
CJ Moses followed closely behind, earning second place on the grid in the No. 58 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2 after a consistent and competitive run.

GT4 Class

Paul Sparta claimed pole position in GT4 aboard the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4, edging out Judson Holt in the No. 188 Fast Track Racing entry. The battle between the BMWs was tight, with Sparta emerging ahead as the session came to a halt.
Ricco Shlaimoun completed the top three in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. He briefly topped the charts early in the session with an impressive lap, but Sparta and Holt responded with quicker times to secure the front row.

The GT America Powered by AWS field will return to the track for Race 1 on Saturday, April 12th at 5:20 PM PDT.

If you can’t make it to Long Beach, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free livestreams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTLongBeach.

 

[teamzr1]

Robert Wickens experienced a bit of a roller coaster day in his GTD debut in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
His day got off to a difficult start as mechanical gremlins kept Wickens’ Bosch electronic braking system-equipped ‘Vette stationary on pit lane for some 20 minutes of the hour-long morning practice session before the issues were resolved.
Even then Wickens found himself sharing the track with drivers, cars and most of all tires that had fully warmed to the task.

Later, Wickens yielded to co-driver Tommy Milner who posted one of the fastest laps of the session one that gave Wickens a target to shoot for when he got back in the car with about 15 minutes left in the practice session.

“I felt like I was just kind of flustered the whole session,” he said. With our issues that we had at the start of the session, when I finally went out for my installation lap, I felt like everyone else had already had hot tires, and I was just a nuisance on the track
I had a hard time kind of just settling down and finding a rhythm.
But Tommy drove the car, put in a great lap. And then when I got in at the end of the session, I had a great reference lap on the dash to understand how to extract lap time from this Corvette Z06 GT3.R around Long Beach.

“It’s kind of the exact reason why I was so happy to have a teammate like Tommy here this weekend. I know after this practice we can look at some data and calm down and come up with a strong approach to try and find time to improve.”

If only it was so easy as all that. Given the complications of getting Wickens to the IMSA paddock on the outside of the track between Turns 10 and 11 what followed was a rather unique debrief post-press conference, as the DXDT engineering group huddled with Wickens and Milner outside the press room in the bowels of the Long Beach Convention Center to go over the data from the practice and prepare for the second practice and, later qualifying.

The debrief must have worked as come the second practice session in the afternoon and who should top the timesheets, but Robert Wickens. The Canadian shaved the best part of three seconds off his morning’s best to turn a lap of 1:18.157, followed immediately by a lap of 1:17.897.

So much for the good news.
The bad news is that during the session, Wickens slid down the escape road in Turn 1 and was unable to get the DXDT Corvette turned around to rejoin the track, thus triggering a red flag.
And according to IMSA rules, anyone causing a red flag in practice automatically forfeits their fastest lap in qualifying.

Knowing he needed not one but two quick laps to qualify at or near the front of the GTD field, Wickens posted a flyer at 1:18.411 and quickly followed that with an even quicker lap at 1:18.239, the latter of which would have put him fifth on the GTD grid.
As it was, the 1:18.411 was good enough for eighth spot in the 16-car GTD field.

 

[teamzr1]

Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Robert Wickens and Tommy Milner met with members of the media Friday morning after the first practice for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The two recapped the one-hour session in DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, the preparations ahead of the race and the continued progress of the Corvette with Bosch’s state-of-the-art hand-control braking system.

ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R

Rob, take us through the first session on-track for you.

“The first session was definitely not the session I had envisioned or dreamed. It was honestly a pretty shaky start. We had some issues on my installation check at the start of the session, which we got resolved, but we missed probably the first 20 minutes or so of FP1. And when you only have 60 minutes of the first practice, you want to try to utilize everything you can.

So I think a lot of it was probably just myself, but I just felt like I was rushed kind of the whole time. I had a hard time kind of just settling down and finding a rhythm. But Tommy drove the car, put in a great lap.
And then when I got in at the end of the session, I had a great reference lap on the dash to kind of understand how to extract lap time from this Corvette Z06 GT3.R around Long Beach. And it’s kind of the exact reason why I was so happy to have a teammate like Tommy here this weekend.

I know after this practice when we’re done here we can look at some data and we can calm down and come up with a strong approach to try to find time and improve.
It’s my first time here in a GT3 car, it’s only technically my third day and in the Corvette, so I feel like I’m still a little rusty.

The last time I did a race was Road Atlanta last year, so a lot of my competitors here have already done the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring; they already have 36 hours of racing experience under the belt and I’m just still getting through rough stuff a little bit but we’re going to keep pushing and keep working hard. I’m excited for the second practice this afternoon.”

Robbie, can you just talk a little bit, if you could, about how the systems are coming together for you with the Bosch system?

“This track is kind of the ultimate challenge for hand controls given how tight some of the corners are. The fountain and obviously the Hairpin, so something I’ve never experienced with racing with hand controls is kind of having to deal with so much like steering angles around these tight corners.
I was relatively prepared to know what to expect into the Hairpin, but when you experience it in real life… I’ve done iRacing sessions and other stuff where you understand there’s a lot of steering involved to get through the Hairpin, and I drove it in an IndyCar, so you also understand.

But once you live it with hand controls going through the Hairpin, when you turn so much and you realize that you can’t reach the brake paddle that I was initially using and I need to switch hands to continue to slow down the car, it’s going to take some time to continue to get lap time.
I think that’s honestly probably one of my biggest time losses to Tommy that I could see inside the car in that session. But the Bosch electronic braking system is working flawlessly.

It’s giving me confidence. It’s definitely not the reason why I was struggling for pace in that session. I think it’s just going to take some time to get up to speed and hopefully get a good look at data, look at some on-board videos and do some self-coaching and with the help of Tommy beside me, we’re going to find some more speed for second practice.”

Robbie, obviously you’ve had test sessions in the Corvette with the hand control system, but this was your first day on track, not in a testing capacity with others on track. How was that for you? Did that change your approach at all?

“It did. It was hectic. It’s kind of like what I touched on. I felt like I was just kind of flustered the whole session. When I did my two days in Sebring, there were only maybe three other cars on track the whole two days, so we pretty much had the entire track to ourselves.
This was my first time obviously experiencing the speed difference of a GTP versus a GTD car. Then with our issues that we had at the start of the session, when I finally went out for my installation lap I felt like everyone else already had hot tires and I was just like a nuisance on the track so that was an adjustment.

Then once Tommy got in and set a good baseline time for the car and everything, I think we all settled down a little bit. It’s a busy track out there when all of us are out there.”

Now that you’ve had some seat time in testing capacity and practice capacity, can you talk a little bit about the feel of the system? Obviously it’s going to be wildly different compared to what it was in the TC car because it’s a different beast, but you said you were happy so far.

“From the feeling of it, I know exactly where I feel like the threshold is on the brake and I feel like I understand how much I need to brake for each corner. I just need to try and figure out how to extract performance from the Corvette, and I think that’s kind of the beauty of this Bosch EBS it’s just integrated into this car so well that I don’t even really there’s no quirkiness or I feel like I’m not driving around any issues. It’s just I hit the brakes and the car slows down, which is pretty much exactly what you want it to do.”

Can you maybe take us through the rest of today, what the schedule is, you know, the next practice session, maybe assume that you’re going to get back to the bulk of the time?

“The rest of the day we’re going to finish up here, get back to the truck, look at some data and some video, and harass my teammate Tommy on how to drive one of these cars quicker.
Honestly, the car balance felt like it was going to be in a really good spot. With it being a temporary circuit with no room for error, I’ll set up to err on the side of caution.

I just need to figure out how much more I can push, if I need to brake later, harder, more entry speed, kind of stuff like that. Then, hopefully a bit of lunch. We get an hour and a half in FP2 instead of an hour, like we had this morning. So I’ll focus a little more on getting settled into the car and then keep working away on driving the Corvette.”

Can you give us a walkthrough of a lap at the Long Beach Grand Prix from your own perspective?

“First off, it’s great just to be back. I’ve had the privilege of racing here in IndyCar in 2018 and then being here every other year that IndyCar’s been here with the coaching roles that I do with Andretti Global and IndyCar.
So I feel like I’ve experienced this culture for so many years, but to be putting on a fire suit and sitting in the car again, I feel like I’m home where I belong.

It’s just such an amazing event, the track obviously has so much history, the 50th anniversary this year… I think everyone wants to win to kind of be a part of that milestone. Regardless of the category, whether it’s been Formula 1 races, CART races, IndyCar races, Champ Car races, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races, I think every driver wants to win here because just being on the podium, it’s just an historic place. The track is amazing.

It’s raw, it’s unforgiving and you have to commit to put the lap in. For me, I think that’s the next step, I felt like I got to a point in that first session, where without risking the car, I needed to kind of see a lap of data to understand how to go quicker. So I’m just really excited for Practice Two here coming up in a little bit and try to make it a big step forward.”

 

[teamzr1]

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R

Now over to Tommy, a four time winner here at the Grand Prix. How much did that help you in this session?

“Certainly having been a racer helps me in situations when things are a little bit rushed, just to get settled in quickly.
I’m very fortunate to have spent so much time with Corvette Racing over the years, and spent a lot of time in the Z06 GT3.R. I know the last two or three years now I’ve missed this race but didn’t feel like it hopping this Corvette and then getting comfortable again.”

Milner on Wickens’ first session…

“For somebody who’s in his third day in this GT3 car, I know his standards for himself are super high, but to come here for the first time to Long Beach in a long time, driving basically a car new to himself and be a second off the pace in about 10 minutes of practice is quite impressive. He’s talking from the position of who he is. He wants to be the fastest.

And that’s why, for me, I’m excited to be here this weekend with him and his journey. But also just having a teammate as competitive as Robbie is awesome, rewarding and exciting for me. It’s been easy talking to him about driving this Corvette because it’s like talking to any other teammate that I’ve ever had in my career. So he sounds a little bit down right now.
But I can tell you for 10 minutes in the car here at Long Beach, that’s a good place to start from, for sure.”

Robbie, so much of being a race driver is second-nature, instinctive feel. How long does it take for a lot of these things you need to do in the car to become instinctive?

“From a hand-control perspective, it’s definitely instinctive now. I guess it is like using your feet to understand that, you know, your right foot applies the throttle and sometimes with race drivers your left foot applies the brakes. So I’m still trying to get up to speed with understanding the ABS system and if the car likes it a lot or less or whatever the case is.

So I’m still trying to figure out a bit of that muscle memory of how hard do I have to squeeze my brake to kind of achieve that happy threshold for braking performance. I think definitely it’s driving with my hands that have been second nature now for quite a while, but I’ve said it every time I feel like every time I’m driving a race car, I’m continuing to learn something and continuing to perfect my driving ability with my hands. Obviously, I’m jumping into a different car with a slightly different control system.
There’s going to be a level of adjustment, but for the most part, I feel like I’m in a pretty good starting spot.

I think that’s down to a lot of the design work. It was such an evolution from what I used in my TCR car, and we needed to learn in TCR to be where we are now, 100 percent. The first time I drove the Corvette at Sebring, I was all blown away by how comfortable I was with the brake system straight away and how much feeling I had.
Even here, I’m not worried of figuring out how to apply the brake or apply the throttle. I know all that, and it all feels great. It’s just trying to extract pace from the car now.”

Can you give us a walkthrough of a lap at the Long Beach Grand Prix from your own perspective?

“It’s such a high-commitment racetrack. Obviously, any mistake here typically ends in a concrete wall. So it’s a place that requires a lot of comfort and confidence in the car. It’s one of the best street tracks that I’ve ever raced in my life. Just got a good flow and rhythm to it. It ends up being pretty good for multi-class racing, with some passing opportunities to let the faster GTP cars go by.

The first section has lots of character and has a lot of nuance to it to find lap time. It has the pretty unique corner there with the fountain in turns Two and Three. Then you go to two of the more difficult corners on the racetrack in turns Four and Five where there are curbs here at the apex in some places. For us, it’s quite difficult to use all of those.

So for me, it’s just a lot of fun. You know, it’s a place where when the car gives you the confidence, you can really hustle around here, and I think that’s what makes the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit so much fun for us as drivers. And then you add all that with just the atmosphere of the fans being on top of you and being close here on Shoreline Drive the whole event itself is one of the races that I’ve missed the last couple of years. Now that I’m back, it reminds me of how special this place is.”

In your experience, how much does the track change and evolve from what was this morning’s session?
What do you want to just see here when you go back out?

“Yeah, certainly it’s a big part of this weekend. Typically, we’re one of the first series on the racetrack. So parts that are dusty and doesn’t have a whole lot of rubber laid down after our next session, once the IndyCar guys come on track a little bit as well, it just adds grip to the racetrack and makes the first session or two for us a little bit tricky because you start finding lap time as time goes on.
It’s always not entirely clear if that’s you making gains with your driving or with car setup, or it’s just the track itself getting faster. So this weekend is challenging.

It’s a compressed schedule, and playing catch-up with the racetrack and continuing to improve yourself in the car while the track is improving is just always a moving target. So that’s another aspect of this weekend and this race that makes it challenging but also rewarding when you have success.”

Do you learn anything from the way Robert approaches this racetrack? I realize you might have some differences in the car, but what about the way he looks at data? Are you able to pick up any things that will help do his driving?

“Certainly. I’ve been very lucky throughout my career with Corvette Racing to have very talented teammates, and with every single one of them, you learn something about their driving style, about their preparation, how they look at data, things like that. And this will be the most important thing for me.
The first thing I’m going to do is I’m going to be the first one to take a look at data with Robbie. But already from the experience that I’ve had with him, we rode together after the first test that I did with this hand-control car in between the Daytona Roar and the Rolex 24.
Just talking to him, understanding how his brain works a little bit, there’s always things to learn and pick up, and someone with the talent that he has, I’m always keeping my mind and my ears open to understand what makes him as good as he is.
So I’ll be stealing as many secrets as I possibly can this weekend.”

 

[teamzr1]

The story continues in 2025 Porsche Penske Motorsport, Nick Tandy, and Felipe Nasr remain undefeated in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Tandy and Nasr drove the No. 7 Porsche 963 to victory in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, leading a Penske 1-2 finish 3s ahead of the No. 6 Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell. It’s Porsche and Penske’s second straight 1-2 finish, and extends the No. 7 car’s lead to 123 points in the WeatherTech GTP standings.

Pole-winning RLL BMW with their No. 24 M Hybrid V8 of Dries Vanthoor and Philip Eng led until the race went under a full course yellow after the first 20 minutes of Saturday’s 100-minute sprint. Quicker pit work from Porsche Penske Motorsport’s two crews helped get the two factory cars out ahead of the No. 24 BMW, where they remained until the checkered flag.

Whelen Cadillac led the V-Series.R contingent as the No. 31 (Jack Aitken/Earl Bamber) finished fourth, holding off the No. 25 RLL BMW (Sheldon van der Linde/Marco Wittmann) in fifth.

Behind the two Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillacs, the No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie of Ross Gunn and Roman de Angelis completed a trouble-free race and finished eighth, while the two Meyer Shank Racing Acuras lost out on strategy and, in the case of the No. 93, a mechanical black flag for damage from an earlier incident that dropped Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly to last in class.

The No. 60 MSR Acura ARX-06 (Tom Blomqvist/Colin Braun) could only muster a ninth-place finish, and lost its left-rear wheel after the finish, just to add further insult to a tough day.

Laurens Vanthoor also remains undefeated in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech series, as he and co-driver Jonny Edgar teamed up to give AO Racing the win in GTD.

AO Racing and “Rexy” used the overcut to their advantage as the No. 177 Porsche 911 GT3 R, making a one-off cameo appearance in GTD, took the win. It was AO Racing’s second GT win in a row, after taking the GTD PRO victory in last month’s 12 Hours of Sebring.

Vasser Sullivan Racing narrowly missed out on a Long Beach three-peat. The No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 of Parker Thompson and Jack Hawksworth led early but dropped to second, one place ahead of the No. 89 of Frankie Montecalvo and Aaron Telitz which, like the winning car, was making a special entry out of GTD PRO.

GTD Championship leaders Russell Ward and Philip Ellis finished fourth in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, with the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO (Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley) in fifth.

Robert Wickens and Tommy Milner ran a strong race in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, but contact between Milner and Foley at the hairpin Turn 11 inflicted damage on the Corvette and forced Milner to pit from fifth place.
They finished a lap down in 15th.
The 13 Corvette was also hit by another car so it also ended up at the back of the pack, 1 lap down in 13th place

IMSA returns to action further up the California coast at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on May 11th.

 

[teamzr1]

Race 1 of GT America at Long Beach completed
There were 3 Corvettes in the race
#70 is a Callaway older C7 Z06 and the other two #11 & #50 are C8 GT3.Rs
Finished 5th, 6th and 7th
Race 2 tomorrow, Sunday

Justin Rothberg won the opening GT America race of the weekend at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to become the third different winner in as many races this season, after late drama for James Sofronas.

The GMG Racing team owner/driver looked set for a comfortable victory in Southern California after making an early pass for the lead before bringing his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II to a stop on the main straight, bringing out a yellow flag with less than two minutes to go.

Rotherberg then assumed the overall lead of the race just before the field fell under caution to complete a charge up the order from fourth on the grid in his No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Sonoma Race 2-winner Kyle Washington finished second after making early progress from his starting position of seventh. Washington was locked in numerous battles, including one with eventual third-place finisher and pole-sitter Gray Newell.
CrowdStrike Racing’s George Kurtz came home in fourth, with Ross Chouest rounding out the overall top five in SRO3 aboard the No. 50 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Seventh-place finisher Blake McDonald will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Race 2 after reeling off the fastest racing lap in Saturday’s contest.

With fellow GT2 class competitor CJ Moses encountering an electrical gremlin on the formation lap, MLT Motorsports’ Adrian Kunzle took the class win in the No. 142 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2.

Paul Sparta held off consistent pressure from Judson Holt behind for the GT4 class lead with the pair of BMW M4 GT4 EVO drivers running nose-to-tail for roughly 15 minutes before the Random Vandals Racing driver went long at Turn 1, allowing Holt to assume the class lead and eventual GT4 win by the time the checkered flag fell.

Multiple cars fell by the wayside before the field took the green flag, with Jason Bell’s RacersEdge Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo unable to join the field for the formation lap due to electrical issues before Moses took to pit lane before the start.

Patrick Mulcahy was set for a third-place start in his No. 54 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 R, but a throttle cable issue prevented him from taking the start.

Race 2 is slated for 11:20 a.m. PST on Sunday, with live-streaming coverage available on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and on Twitch.

 

[teamzr1]

 

[teamzr1]

Justin Rothberg swept the GT America powered by AWS weekend on the streets of Long Beach after jumping to the overall lead in the first corner of the opening lap to become the first repeat winner of the season.
The Turner Motorsport driver wasted no time bringing his No. 29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to the head of the field, passing pole-sitter Blake McDonald into Turn 1 seconds after the drop of the green flag in the 40-minute sprint race.

Kyle Washington and GMG Racing stablemate James Sofronas followed suit, leaping past the DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R on Lap 1 to claim second and third, respectively.
With clean air, Rothberg led every lap of the race to take a 2.482-second win over second-place finisher Washington in his No. 32 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 R.

McDonald’s Corvette came alive mid-race, however, with the DXDT driver engaging in a tight battle with Sofronas and Washington for the podium positions, which came to blows on the final lap.

McDonald initially forced his way into third after making final lap contact with Sofronas’ Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II at the hairpin, with the GMG team owner/driver nosing into the outside wall as a result.

While Sofronas eventually continued, McDonald was handed a post-race time penalty for incident responsibility, demoting him to eighth overall and handing the final SRO3 class podium position to Elias Sabo in the No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW.

George Kurtz finished fourth in his No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, with Ross Chouest completing the top five.
Adrian Kunzle swept his SRO America debut weekend, taking the GT2 class win for MLT Motorsports over CJ Moses on Sunday.

Paul Sparta and Saturday GT4 class winner Judson Holt resumed their battle from Race 1 in the early stages, with the Random Vandals team principal fending off the Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO before a loose nail forced him to relinquish the lead and take to pit lane with a right-rear puncture.
Ricco Shlaimoun took second in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

Mishumotor’s Mirco Schultis suffered right-rear suspension damage in the opening stages, managing to limp his Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R to the pit lane after running in the top five.
On the opening lap, Gray Newell spun his No. 24 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo after tussling with Schultis at Turn 2, temporarily lodging his Heart of Racing Team entry into the flowerbed of the fountain before continuing to pit lane.

In the final ten minutes, Jeff Burton slowed on track and brought his Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG into the pits.
Jason Bell, meanwhile, made multiple trips down pit lane with early reported front-end damage to his RacersEdge Vantage GT3 Evo.

RESULTS: Race 2

 

[teamzr1]

• Clean Sweeps for Rothberg, Kunzle and Hudson in SRO3, GT2 and GT3
• Kurtz Earns Hard Charger Award
• 05_Provisional_Results by Class_Race 2

The GT America Powered by AWS championship wrapped up the Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend with an exciting Race 2 on Sunday morning in front of packed grandstands.
Action was non-stop throughout the 40-minute race, a testament to the talent found in the GT America field.
It was a flawless weekend for the winners in the SRO3, GT2, and GT4 Classes, as Justin Rothberg, Adrian Kunzle, and Judson Holt each claimed back-to-back victories in their respective categories.

SRO3 Class

The closing round on Sunday delivered once again in the SRO3 Class. Blake McDonald took the green flag from pole position, having set the fastest lap in Race 1 aboard his No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
However, he wasn’t able to hold the lead for long, as Race 1 winner Justin Rothberg surged ahead before Turn 1 in his No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

Kyle Washington in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R followed closely and managed to slip by, as did series veteran James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVOII.
Trouble struck for Gray Newell, whose No. 24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO spun briefly at the iconic fountain.

Rothberg wasted no time building a solid lead, while the GMG Racing teammates battled it out for second place. Behind them, a heated fight developed between California native Elias Sabo in the No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 EVO and George Kurtz in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 for fifth position.

As the race wore on, the pressure mounted. Washington and Sofronas continued their internal duel, while McDonald re-entered the mix in the closing laps, eyeing a podium finish.
In classic GT America fashion, the action came to a head in the final lap when McDonald made contact with Sofronas at the hairpin, sending Sofronas wide and dropping him to seventh.
McDonald was handed a post-race penalty, promoting Elias Sabo to third. George Kurtz, who earned the Eboost Hard Charger Award after gaining five positions, finished fourth, with Ross Chouest rounding out the top five.

“We started out second behind the Corvette, and I was able to get by him into the first corner. From there, it was pretty smooth sailing,” said Justin Rothberg.
He added, “This win is huge for me. Winning at Long Beach once is insane, but twice?
That’s just crazy. I didn’t expect this at all, and I’m thrilled with the weekend.”

GT2 Class

Adrian Kunzle completed a weekend sweep in GT2, once again taking the win with a commanding drive in his No. 142 MLT Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2. He came under constant pressure from CJ Moses in the No. 58 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2 throughout the race.

Kunzle remained unfazed, responding to the challenge by laying down purple sectors lap after lap.
“This track is surprisingly punishing,” said Kunzle. “I definitely felt yesterday’s race today. But it’s such a blast. You start getting comfortable with the walls. It’s just so much fun!”

GT4 Class

Paul Sparta led the GT4 field to the green flag in his No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4, having set the fastest lap time in Race 1. As the 40-minute race unfolded, the seasoned driver had increasing pressure from local driver and Race 1 winner Judson Holt in the No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 machine.
Though Sparta remained cool and collected, even when the GT4 pack got caught up with the GT3 field, adding a layer of challenge.

With 22 minutes left in the race, bad luck plagued Sparta who had to come down pit lane due to a flat tire caused by a nail. Holt inherited the lead, with young driver Ricco Shlaimoun running in second place in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.
As the race came to a closing stage, the order didn’t change, however Paul Sparta was caught up in some GT3 traffic, but mastered the situation perfectly, staying out of the way of their race.

“ It was all about being patient, and waiting for an opportunity to make a pass,” hometown hero Judson Holt. “ And the opportunity came. It was just right there in the right moment. I am ectatic about the weekend, now on to COTA where I will be back in GT4 America!”

Paul Sparta led the GT4 field to the green flag in his No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 after setting the fastest lap in Race 1. Early in the race, he faced increasing pressure from local driver and Race 1 winner Judson Holt in the No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4. Despite GT3 traffic creating added complexity, Sparta remained composed until misfortune struck.

With 22 minutes to go, Sparta was forced down pit lane due to a flat tire caused by a nail. Holt inherited the lead, with young standout Ricco Shlaimoun moving into second in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. The order held until the checkered flag. Despite being shuffled in some GT3 traffic, Sparta handled the situation cleanly, staying clear of interference with their races.

“It was all about being patient and waiting for the right opportunity to make a pass,” said hometown hero Judson Holt. “The opportunity came, it was just right there at the right moment. I’m ecstatic about the weekend.
Now, on to Circuit of the Americas, where I’ll be back in GT4 America!”

Up Next

The GT America Powered by AWS field will be back on track in just two weeks at Circuit of the Americas from April 25th to 27th. 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.