Hello everyone! First off, I would like to apologize for this post being a little late – I'm new to writing motorsports articles, and I'm still figuring out my style, but I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to get some practice! With that being said, here’s my recap of the Round 1 race at Sonoma!
Race Start
As soon as the green flag was waved, there was an impressive display of skill between drivers to start the race. A. Sedgwick in the No. 18 RS1 Porsche quickly overtook the No. 16 AF Corse Ferrari driven by A. Khodair for P4. Just behind them, J. Rothberg in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW moved past B. McDonald in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Corvette for P7. Meanwhile, B. Auberlen was making a stunning start in the No. 51 Random Vandals BMW, climbing six positions on the opening lap – going from P18 to P12.
Class Battles & Strategies
Pro Class:
Auberlen kept up the pressure in the No. 51 BMW, continuing his charge through the field and jumping up to P6 by just Lap 7. Even though he was in the middle of Pro-Am traffic, Auberlen showcased some seriously impressive skill and determination during his stint.
The No. 99 Random Vandals BMW – driven by K. Koch in the first stint – led the Pro Class for almost half the race, but the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes – driven by M. Stephens at the time – managed to chase them down and take the lead while the Vandals were in the pits on Lap 25.
M. Grenier took over for Stephens in the No. 34 on Lap 28, who not only held onto the Pro Class lead, but ended up taking the overall lead just two laps later. JMF would go on to win the race, narrowly holding back the #99 BMW by only 0.683 seconds. This was an impressive way to make a debut, and sets the
Pro-Am Class:
Regulator Racing stuck with their double-stint tire strategy from qualifying, hoping it would give J. Burton an advantage during the second half. It was a risky move after Ellis built a commendable lead in the early portions of the race– but Turner Motorsport had other plans.
Burton held the lead for a while, but R. Foley in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW made the move on Lap 39 and never looked back. Ellis and Burton ended up P6 in class, P11 overall, after a well driven race.
Notable Overtakes & Mechanical Issues
After some hard-fought defensive driving in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Corvette, B. McDonald eventually had to give up P7 to J. Daskalos in the No. 26 CRP Racing Mercedes on Lap 12. It was a nice move after a lengthy 7-lap battle.
The Heart of Racing crew had a bit of a rough go to start the season – one of their wheel guns wasn’t cooperating, so they had to double-stint three tires. It definitely wasn't an optimal position to be in, but they pushed through and fought hard to finish the race.
DXDT Racing just seemed like they couldn't catch a break – their No. 11 Corvette ran into electrical gremlins around Lap 40, resulting in a battery swap that cost them a bunch of spots, dropping from P9 to P16.
There was a bit of drama coming into Turn 12 on Lap 43 – J. Heylen tapped the back of T. Sargent, who ran a little bit wide as a result. That moment gave Choksey the window he needed to snag P3 with under 15 minutes to go.
Auberlen was on fire in his opening stint, moving up 12 spots before handing the car over to V. Choksey, who brought it home for a P3 finish. From P18 to the podium – what an outstanding drive to start off the season!
Final Results
Pro Top 3:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | M. Stephens/M. Grenier | JMF Motorsports | No.34 Mercedes | 56 Laps - 1:31:17.748 |
| P2 | K. Koch/C. De Phillippi | Random Vandals Racing | No. 99 BMW | +0.638 seconds |
| P3 | B. Auberlen/V. Choksey | Random Vandals Racing | No. 51 BMW | +34.397 seconds |
**Pro-Am Top 3: **
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P5 | J. Rothberg/R. Foley | Turner Motorsport | No.29 BMW | 1:32:08.978 |
| P6 | G. Kurtz/C. Braun | Crowdstrike Racing | No. 04 Mercedes | +3.405 seconds |
| P7 | A. Khodair/M. Hahn | AF Corse USA | No. 16 Ferrari | +16.651 seconds |
Am Class:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P16 | J. Schreibman/O. Negri | AF Corse USA | No. 163 Ferrari | 54 Laps - 1:32:46.623 |
Other Notable Performances:
Archangel Motorsports' No. 88 McLaren secured a respectable P9 overall, placing 5th in the Pro-Am class – an excellent start for the new team!
Chouest Povoledo Racing’s No. 50 Corvette finished P15 overall. Rough start to the season, especially with representing a new manufacturer.
DXDT Racing’s No. 11 Corvette and Dollahite Racing’s No. 6 Mustang struggled, finishing P17 and P18 respectively. Not the start I would have expected for both of these teams.
Incidents & Retirements:
Other than the bump mentioned earlier, there was only one off-track incident during the race, which is when E. Sabo went off track in the No. 8 Flying Lizard Motorsports’ BMW on Lap 11, but fortunately he was able to resume racing shortly after.
Both the No. 6 Dollahite Mustang and the No. 163 AF Corse USA Ferrari received 10-second pre-race procedure penalties, which were to be served during their mandatory pit stops. For some reason, S. Dollahite brought the Mustang in on Lap 10 to serve the penalty, which didn't end up counting! That's definitely not the way that Dollahite Racing would have liked to start the season.
The No. 51 Random Vandals BMW received a 3.430-second penalty for being under the mandatory stop time, which was applied post-race. This penalty didn’t end up affecting the final results for the Pro Class since Grenier built up such a sizable lead over P4 Sedgwick before the end of race.
Looking Forward:
With Round 1 finished and in the books, it’ll be interesting to see how teams will adjust their setups heading into Round 2. Some of them will be chasing redemption, while others are looking to build on a seemingly solid foundation, but only one thing is for sure – it's going to be an all out brawl from start to finish!
Thank you for checking out my blog, and I hope you have a wonderful day! See you on the next one!