After a long absence, the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship returned to Barber Motorsports Park for the first time since 2016, and the event was a smash hit. The eleventh and twelfth rounds of the 2024 season served as the last two 90-minute sprint races of the year before everyone shifted their focus towards the Indy 8 Hour. As a result, competitors in the Pro and Pro-Am classes knew that there were crucial points on the line, and sought top results to set themselves up for success heading into the final event.
In the Global Manufacturers Championship, Porsche still retains the top spot in the standings with 15,740 points. However, Mercedes-AMG has continued to chip away at the gap, with less than 300 points separating the two manufacturers following the events in Birmingham, Alabama and at Donington Park Circuit in the United Kingdom. Ferrari sits in third place with 12,963 points, but Audi is only trailing by a little over 100 points.
- DXDT Racing made it eight in a row as they earned another set of consecutive wins in the No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Tommy Milner and Alec Udell have gone undefeated in every single event since their debut earlier in the season in Austin, Texas and their success streak has now brought them closer than ever in the Pro class championship fight. They sit behind the leaders by a mere 7 points going into the final round.
- The team also picked up another victory in the Pro-Am category as Bryson Morris and Bryan Sellers secured the Race 1 victory with the No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which marked their second win of the season.
- It was a similar story for Regulator Racing as well, who took the top step of the podium for the second time in 2024 as Jeff Burton and Phillip Ellis claimed the Race 2 win in No. 91 Mercedes-AMG GT3.
- Kenton Koch and Conor Daly took home a second place finish in their debut as teammates in the No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3, and nearly secured the Race 2 win as well before an unforeseen trip down pit lane changed their outcome.
- ST Racing’s Pro pairing, Varun Choksey and Bill Auberlen, also earned a second place finish of their own in the No. 28 BMW M4 GT3 in Race 2. Meanwhile, in the same race, Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen also drove their Pro-Am No. 38 BMW M4 GT3 machine to a third place result.
- Racers Edge Motorsports rounded off the podium in both races at Barber Motorsports Park, as Luca Mars and Zach Veach treated the crowds to thrilling battles across the track in their No. 93 Acura NSX GT3 EVO22.
- In Pro-Am, the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 had a strong weekend as Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley stood on the podium twice, finishing third in Race 1 and second in Race 2.
- RS1’s Jake Pedersen and Trent Hindman also made their podium return after co-driving their No. 85 Porsche 992 GT3 R to a second-place finish in Race 1.
- Tom Sargent locked in the fastest lap in Race 1 with a time of 1:22.161 in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R, in addition to earning the SUPER FUEL Hard Charger award, with Robby Foley doing the same in Race 2 with a time of 1:22.314.
- Race 1 covered a total of 64 laps, with Race 2 running just one lap fewer. The final sprint races of the season featured action, excitement, and unpredictability to across both 90-minute events.
- The series will return for the thirteenth and final round of the 2024 season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from October 4th to 6th, joining forces with Intercontinental GT Challenge for the coveted Indianapolis 8 Hour powered by AWS. Tickets are available for purchase now.