Double Wins for RS1 and Turner Motorsport at VIR, Dollahite Racing Scores Comeback Victory in Am

The GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship closed out the weekend at VIRginia International Raceway with a thrilling 90 minute showdown. With close battles across all three classes and a mid-race caution adding a twist, Race 2 delivered another round of championship-shaking results.RS1’s Jan Heylen and Alex Sedgwick had a perfect weekend in Virginia, scoring their second win of the season in the Pro class. In Pro-Am, it was a great birthday celebration for Robby Foley, who took the top step again alongside Turner Motorsport teammate Justin Rothberg. In the Am class, the Dollahite Racing duo of Scott Dollahite and Eric Powell fought against an early setback to take the win.

Pro Class

It was a commanding opening stint for Jan Heylen in the No. 18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R, who got a clean getaway from the start and wasted no time stretching out a gap to the rest of the Pro field. Mikaël Grenier was in second for JMF Motorsports in the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG GT3, with Connor De Phillippi in the No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 and Bill Auberlen in the No. 51 Random Vandals BMW rounding out the Pro challengers.

A full-course yellow bunched the field, but Heylen was able to maintain a comfortable buffer, with two Pro-Am cars serving as a cushion between him and Grenier. On the restart, Heylen managed the field brilliantly, pulling away from the rest of the field again.

Random Vandals made their stops first, with Kenton Koch taking over for De Phillippi and Varun Choksey subbing in for Auberlen. JMF Motorsports’ swap came shortly after and saw Michai Stephens take the wheel, emerging ahead of Koch thanks to well-executed pit work. Choksey had a brief off-track moment but rejoined without damage.

Sedgwick, meanwhile, jumped in last in order to extend Heylen’s stint as much as possible, and he in turn was untouchable up front. The Brit controlled the final stint with poise, bringing home a dominant victory and completing the weekend sweep for RS1.

JMF Motorsports secured another P2 finish, and the No. 99 Random Vandals entry rounded out the Pro podium in third.

“Like we said yesterday, the start of our year was a bit of a struggle,” explained Jan Heylen. “We’ve been waiting for this change in momentum, and hopefully we can keep this going. I think we still have a good shot at the championship. I’m really looking forward to the next race and I hope we can keep this up. This is fun!”

“ I mean, it was easier said than done out there,” added Alex Sedgwick. “The car was pretty hot, but Jan did all the hard work and got me a nice lead. It was just my job to keep the car in shape, keep it on the track, and bring it back home in front of everybody. Not a lot of drama out there, but we’re really, really pleased. RS1 did an amazing job all weekend and I think hopefully this is more of what’s to come.”

Pro-Am Class

The Pro-Am category saw intense jostling from the very beginning. Tom Sargent rocketed forward from the green flag in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche, running second early on behind polesitter Robby Foley in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. Matt Bell in the No. 11 DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R also picked off multiple cars at the start.

There was early trouble for the No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 as Jeff Burton went off and damaged the car, triggering the full-course yellow. Meanwhile, the No. 88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren suffered an electrical issue and retired after battling ECU problems.

Turner Motorsport pitted from there, with Foley handing off the machine to Justin Rothberg, while GMG stretched their opening stint. Sargent stayed out two extra laps before handing over the Porsche to Kyle Washington. That decision initially paid off as Washington rejoined ahead of Rothberg, but the two were back in battle quickly, which saw the advantage swing back in Rothberg’s direction.

The final stages of the race saw DXDT Racing’s Blake McDonald charge forward, passing Washington and setting his sights on Rothberg. Despite the pressure, Rothberg held firm to take the win, sweeping the Pro-Am weekend for Turner Motorsport. DXDT Racing secured second, and a late push by Gray Newell and Darren Turner earned the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin the final podium spot.

“Today I gave Robbie a good birthday gift of a clean sweep weekend,” exclaimed Justin Rothberg. “So I think everyone's happy!”

“This birthday is up there for sure,” expressed Robby Foley. “Better than last year, I'll tell you that much. It was an awesome weekend. Turner Motorsport gave us a great car, the crew had this thing really hooked up and we showed that today. These were tough track conditions out there. Justin did a great job. Blake put on a really good show trying to get by him, but Justin did a good job to stay in front.” 

Am Class

In the Am class, Eric Powell put the No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 in the lead early, but contact caused steering issues that plagued the team throughout the race. That allowed Oswaldo Negri in the No. 163 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 to slip by just before the halfway mark.

However, the story wasn’t over. After the pit stop and driver swap, Scott Dollahite climbed aboard and delivered a strong second stint. Despite the lingering issues, he reclaimed the class lead and powered through to a resilient Am class win, showcasing the Mustang GT3’s grit and determination.

“There was a little incident at the start,” explained Scott Dollahite. “It knocked the steering a little loose, but it’s a tough car! We had a blast out there.” 

“I am just so excited to be here,” stated Eric Powell. “P3 is a dream. There's so many legends out here and the field is stacked. It's great to be amongst those guys. Thank you to Scott and the whole team for bringing me on. The Ford Mustang GT3 is just so awesome.”