Rothberg Edges Out Washington for COTA Race 2 Win

Photo: Brian Cleary/SRO

Justin Rothberg came out on top following a race-long duel with Kyle Washington for top honors in the second GT America powered by AWS race of the weekend at Circuit of The Americas.

The Turner Motorsport driver steered his pole-sitting No. 29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to a 1.927-second win over Washington’s No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, which won Saturday’s opening race of the event.

The two cars fought tooth-and-nail for the majority of the 40-minute contest, which saw multiple lead changes.

It marked Rothberg’s third win of the season and saw him solidify his points lead in the SRO3 class.

The No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ross Chouest completed the class podium in third, having set the race’s fastest lap.

Memo Gidley and Marc Muzzo rounded out the top-five in their SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II and R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 entries, respectively.

It was reported that Gidley was nursing clutch issues at the start of the race.

The GT4 results were reversed from Saturday, with Max Hewitt winning in his No. 39 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo, ahead of Race 1 victor Anthony McIntosh in the No. 69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.

McIntosh nursed a broken rear diffuser on his Toyota, which appeared to have affected his car’s performance.

Denny Stripling was third in the No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO, despite having a spin near the halfway mark of the race.

A total of ten cars started the race following the mid-event withdrawal of the No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsports BMW of Elias Sabo due to a business commitment.

The No. 47 Nolasport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Michael Auriemma also did not start Sunday morning’s race.

RESULTS: Race 2