SKI Autosports’ Johnny O’Connell led flag to flag on Sunday morning (July 21) to win the AWS Race-powered GT America No. 2 at VIRginia International Raceway. It was an excellent comeback after squandering the lead on the last lap. on Saturday.
“I thought we were going to get [a win] yesterday. I went for this [win] for the team. It was a tough weekend getting the car up and running. Now we want to get even more [wins].
O’Connell’s margin of victory is 0. 118 seconds over Turner Motorsport’s Justin Rothberg. CRP Racing’s Jason Daskalos finished third, followed by Chouest-Povoledo Racing’s Ross Chouest and GMG Racing’s Kyle Washington.
Thanks to his fastest lap in the first rainy race on Saturday, O’Connell took pole in his Audi. He spent the early rounds fighting Rothberg.
The boy on the move from the start started Daskalos, who started at the back of the SRO3 class after his crash on Saturday. In the first two laps, Daskalos went from ninth to fourth place on the grid. Fourth position has temporarily become third after Jason Bell almost went off the road.
Tim Savage spun his Aston Martin coming out of turn five and stopped on lap two after five minutes of racing. This resulted in the first generation of race defense cars and regrouped the field.
The green returned with 18 minutes remaining. Rothberg kept up his pressure on O’Connell and even made a move one lap after the restart in Turn 1. O’Connell controlled to contain the move.
This precaution also led Daskalos to interfere with his Mercedes. The leading trio opened a 10-second lead over the rest of the class and settled the race between them.
In GT4, Rotek Racing’s Isaac Sherman started from pole after setting the fastest lap in his class on the final lap of Race 1. Once the green came out, Sherman immediately began to pull away from the rest of the class.
The warning about Savage’s disorders erased a three-second lead for Sherman. However, he was quickly able to regain the merit once the green came out. In the end, no one will be able to stop Sherman from getting his sixth win of the year.
Sherman’s margin of victory was 2. 174 seconds over ACI Motorsports’ Curt Swearingin. Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Damir Hot finished third in his Nissan, followed by The Heart of Racing’s Gray Newell and Carrus Callus Raceteam’s Nick Shanny.
It will take some time for the series to return to action on Road America. Race No. 1 will take position on August 17 at 1:55 p. m. And.
Phil Allaway has three main roles in Frontstretch. Es the manager of the site’s FREE e-newsletter, which is published Monday through Friday and on weekends. He helps keep broadcasters fair with the 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, New York. It covers all the action on the steeply sloping dirt track, from regular DIRTcar Modified races to occasional, touring series like the Super DIRTcar Series.