Random Vandals Racing Claims Race 1 Win in Exciting Showdown at COTA, DXDT Racing and AF Corse Victorious in Pro-Am and Am Classes

Race 1 of the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship at Circuit of The Americas delivered non-stop action from the green flag to the checkered. Random Vandals Racing emerged victorious after a thrilling battle for overall honors that truly came down to the wire, while DXDT Racing stole the show in Pro-Am with a commanding performance from Matt Bell and Blake McDonald. Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri co-commanded their No. 163 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 masterfully, clinching the win in the Am class. Every class saw intense fights and standout drives, setting the tone for a high-stakes weekend in Austin, Texas.

Pro Class

Kenton Koch faced a tough start to Race 1 in his No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 after receiving a penalty in qualifying, which forced him to start from the back of the pack. At the front, Michai Stephens settled into second overall and first in class in his No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 , but the race was quickly neutralized with a full course yellow on the opening lap. Once racing resumed with 1h20 minutes remaining, the battles throughout the field quickly reignited.

Bill Auberlen, driving the No. 51 Random Vandals Racing BMW, applied relentless pressure to Alex Sedgwick in the No. 18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R in the fight for third place, shadowing him closely as the race progressed. Meanwhile, Sedgwick began reeling in Stephens for class position, managing to pull a small gap over Auberlen in the process. Further back, Koch launched a spirited charge against Auberlen, turning it into an exciting BMW showdown. Koch eventually made the move stick on Lap 9, with Auberlen leaving him ample racing room.

As the pit window opened, Koch set his sights on Sedgwick, who soon pitted to hand over driving duties to Jan Heylen. Koch followed a lap later, swapping with Connor De Phillippi. The battle between their RS1 and Random Vandals Racing entries resumed immediately after pit stops, running nose to tail on track. In the midst of this, as JMF Motorsports completed their driver change over to Mikaël Grenier, the No. 34 Mercedes was handed a 1.74-second post-race time penalty for a short pit stop.

De Phillippi was quickly able to get past Heylen as he took over driving duties, then set his sights on closing the gap to Grenier, aiming to capitalize on the time penalty hanging over the Canadian. Though De Phillippi couldn’t complete the overtake on track, with Grenier crossing the line first, the margin was tight enough for No. 99 to inherit the win once the post-race penalty was applied, with JMF Motorsports having to settle for second place, with RS1 completing the podium in third.

Pro-Am Class

The race start was chaotic, with trouble striking at Turn 1 involving the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 of Kyle Washington, the Am class entries of the No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 driven by Am class’ Anthony Lazzaro, and the No. 163 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Oswaldo Negri.

At the restart, overall pole sitter Philip Ellis capitalized on a strong launch in his No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 to pull away from the field, quickly establishing a comfortable gap.

Washington recovered well from the opening lap incident and began carving his way through the field before handing over his machine to teammate Tom Sargent, who continued where Washington left off. Out front, Ellis extended his lead to a commanding 19 seconds before swapping with Jeff Burton.

However, penalties continued to shake up the order, with the No. 91 Mercedes receiving a 10-second post-race penalty for a pit exit merge line violation. Despite this, Matt Bell managed to take over the Pro-Am class lead in the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, passing Burton even before the penalty could take effect.

Robby Foley followed suit in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO, moving into second in class after he and teammate Justin Rothberg drove a calm, collected, and controlled drive. In the closing stages, Sargent made a decisive move on Burton to secure the final podium position.

Results are HERE