Rothberg, Hewitt claim GT America Race 2 wins at COTA

Race 2 of the GT America powered by AWS weekend at Circuit of The Americas delivered the kind of elbows-out racing fans have come to expect from the series. The championship battle continued to heat up, and the contenders in both classes were making waves.

Justin Rothberg had to hustle hard to claim the victory in the SRO3 class, with a tense battle with Kyle Washington keeping him sharp. After losing out on a last lap showdown the day prior, Max Hewitt bounced back to win at his home track in GT4.

SRO3 class

It was all set for Elias Sabo to lead the SRO3 field but with the Flying Lizard Motorsports driver sidelined by another commitment, it was Justin Rothberg who inherited pole position in his No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

At the green flag, Rothberg led the way cleanly, with Kyle Washington slotting his No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R into second, while Ross Chouest held on to third aboard the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Marc Muzzo quickly added spice to the opening laps, surging past Memo Gidley and closing in on the leading pack in his No. 13 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3.

The battle heated up with 30 minutes remaining, as Washington threw everything he had at Rothberg, banging wheels and testing the BMW’s straight-line speed against Porsche’s cornering prowess. This fierce exchange brought Chouest right back within striking distance to the front-runners.

Washington briefly seized the lead with 16 minutes left, but Rothberg wasn’t about to roll over. The Turner Motorsport driver retaliated just three minutes later, reclaiming the top spot with a bold move. Once ahead, Rothberg slammed the door shut and built a comfortable gap to the checkered flag.

Rothberg held on to secure the victory, with Washington finishing second and Chouest completing the podium — his first podium appearance in GT America competition.

“That was one of the most fun races I’ve had in a while,” said an elated Rothberg at the podium. “Kyle was in my mirrors the entire time putting great pressure on me, and then he got by me with a nice move, and we traded back. That’s what you want in racing. It’s not ideal to get passed, but when it’s really fun racing like that, you can learn from it.”

GT4 class

In the GT4 class, Max Hewitt started from pole position in his No. 39 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO after setting the fastest lap in Race 1, eager to carry that momentum into Sunday’s contest. From the drop of the green flag, Hewitt immediately began to build a gap on the field, while Anthony McIntosh once again found himself in hot pursuit behind the wheel of the No. 69 JTR Engineering Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4. Despite McIntosh’s early pressure, Hewitt managed to carve out a 2.5-second lead as the opening 15 minutes of the race ticked by.

Drama struck for McIntosh shortly after when an issue with his exhaust left it hanging loose beneath the car. In a stroke of good fortune, a trip over one of the circuit’s curbs jolted the component back into place, allowing him to continue without losing significant time. Elsewhere, Denny Stripling experienced a minor moment of his own in the No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO, going for a quick spin but managing to recover and keep the car moving without incident.

As the race reached its halfway point, McIntosh began gradually chipping away at Hewitt’s advantage, setting up what looked to be a tense battle to the finish. However, Hewitt responded by upping his pace in the final stages, reasserting his control over the race and eventually crossing the line to claim a well-earned victory on home soil.

“I went out there and stretched my legs in the beginning,” related Hewitt. “I got my fastest lap and made that gap. After that, it was just all about conserving those tires. I made Anthony work for it to try to catch up to me. I noticed a couple of times he really pushed to catch up, but at that point he burned off his tires, and I was just there conserving energy. So this was an ideal way to finish off a race.”

The GT America powered by AWS field will return for the seventh and eighth rounds of the season at Sebring International Raceway from May 16-18.

RESULTS

Live coverage of SRO America action from COTA is available on the RACER Network and the RACER+ App.