Regulator Racing Claims Overall Pole for Race 1, Turner Motorsport Follows Suit for Race 2

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Regulator Racing Claims Overall Pole for Race 1, Turner Motorsport Follows Suit for Race 2

Qualifying day at Circuit of The Americas brought no shortage of tight margins and standout performances as the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS teams battled for starting positions ahead of Race 1 and 2. Across both Pro and Pro-Am classes, the leaderboard saw constant movement, with drivers trading fastest laps and pole positions decided by mere fractions of a second. 

As the starting grids took shape, it was Regulator Racing and Turner Motorsport who stood above the rest heading into the feature races deep in the heart of Texas.

Pro Class

Qualifying 1 in the Pro class saw an intense battle unfold between the Random Vandals Racing BMW entries. Bill Auberlen set the pace early in the session, going quickest in the No. 51 BMW M4 GT3, with Kenton Koch responding immediately in the No. 99 BMW, slotting into second position. However, the fight for provisional pole wasn't over yet. Just one minute later, Michai Stephens jumped to the top of the timesheets in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, temporarily taking control of the session. 

With two minutes to go, Koch delivered another strong lap, reclaiming the fastest time in class and held on to the top spot in Pro, with Stephens finishing second and Auberlen rounding out the top 3.

In Qualifying 2, the Pro class delivered a thrilling back-and-forth battle as the leaderboard shuffled constantly throughout the session. Connor De Phillippi, Jan Heylen, and Mikaël Grenier traded fastest laps, each briefly holding the top spot as the times continued to tumble. In the final moments it was Grenier who emerged on top for JMF Motorsports. His late-session flyer secured the quickest time in class, with De Phillippi settling for second. Heylen remained right in the mix, finishing third, a mere 0.047 seconds behind, underscoring just how tight the competition was in the Pro field.

Pro-Am

In the Pro-Am ranks, it was a strong showing from Allam Khodair, who was rapid from the start in Qualifying 1 in the No. 16 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, holding the top spot in class for the majority of the 15-minute session. Justin Rothberg mounted a late-session challenge in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO, closing in on Khodair’s benchmark, but ultimately fell short of eclipsing the Ferrari driver’s time. 

In the final minutes, Philip Ellis delivered a standout performance, stealing the overall fastest lap in the No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 as the team pursued an alternate strategy again this weekend.

“The track is ever changing,” said Ellis. “This morning when we came out and watched the GT America Qualifying, we decided to change a couple of things on the car again. It was perfect for that one lap, but that's what it is, it's one lap, and after that, you don’t have it anymore. So, going into the race, we have to make some changes again, and hope that we keep all the BMWs behind us.”  

For Qualifying 2 for the Pro-Am class, it was Robby Foley who came out on top in dramatic fashion. Driving the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Foley set the quickest time overall and in class late in the session, edging out the competition by the narrowest of margins. His lap was just enough to put him 0.008 seconds ahead of Tom Sargent in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R, who had looked very strong throughout the session. Rounding out the top 3 in class was Matt Bell, who delivered a solid effort behind the wheel of the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

“We've gotten up to speed with this BMW M4 GT3 EVO this weekend and improved on what we had last year, which was already a really good car,” said Robby Foley. “So I’m really happy with that. Justin's been doing a good job getting up to speed, so I'm looking forward to a good race later today.” 

In the Am category, veteran Oswaldo Negri put in a strong run in Qualifying 1, securing the fastest time in class and an impressive top 10 overall result. Meanwhile, Anthony Lazzaro claimed second in the Am standings in the No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3. Qualifying 2 saw the teams swap spots, with Scott Dollahite going quickest in class, while Jay Schreibman claimed second in the category. 

Let’s Get Racing

The GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will return to the track for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, April 26th at 1:05 PM CT. 

If you can’t make it to Circuit of The Americas, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTCOTA.