Wright and Racers Edge win GTWC America races at COTA

The Circuit of the Americas was host of the third double header of the 2023 FANATEC GT World Challenge America season, and none of the races disappointed, as the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R of Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer and the No. 93 Racers Edge Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 of Mario Farnbacher and Ashton Harrison took the wins in open battles between the Pro Cup and Pro-Am Cup cars without reservations because of class.
 
The No. 28 RS1 Porsche had a better launch and took the lead of the Race 1 immediately, while the No. 21 Conquest Ferrari was cornered to the third place by the No. 94 Bimmerworld BMW, with the No. 53 MDK Porsche joining the party as practically all Pro Cup cars were in the leading pack.
 
Over time the gaps were kept stable with only the No. 28 opening a bit more, and with a bit more than 30 minutes of racing, Chandler Hull was trying to take second place back from Manny Franco, only for the No. 94 and the No. 21 to make contact and hit hard the Turn 1 barriers and call the Safety Car, promoting the No. 53 to second place.
 
From behind the Safety Car, everybody went to the pits on the following lap as the neutralization was done during the pit window, and due to overlapping lines in the pit lane, the No. 28 had to hand over the lead to the No. 53, but this basically was the magnet to the Pro-Am Cup field as they started to mix with the Pro Cup leaders, resulting in contact that spun the at the moment Pro-Am Cup leader No. 04 Crowdstrike Mercedes and in a puncture for the No. 38 ST Racing BMW.
 
At this point, not only the No. 120 Wright Porsche took the Pro-Am Cup lead but also the overall lead, and the No. 16 ACI Porsche was also trying to play a part on it, though the No. 28 RS1 Porsche took it as opportunity to retake the Pro Cup lead from second overall. The No. 53 sustained damage from the earlier battles and basically was tumbling down the table as the collapsing diffuser wasn’t helping with cornering.
 
The No. 120 Wright Porsche had no threats until the finish line and won overall and in the Pro-Am Cup, and despite some late pressure, the No. 28 RS1 Porsche was able to keep second place overall while the Pro Cup win was more than certain.
 
GTWC America - COTA Race 1 results
 

Crowdstrike Racing and Triarsi were in the front row for the second race, and Colin Braun did a good job to protect the lead of the No. 04 Mercedes while the rest of the field was fighting left, right and center for positions, and Braun had a bit more relief as the No. 33 Triarsi Ferrari was penalized with a drive through for improper starting position.
 
Another thing from these first minutes was the fall of the No. 28 RS1 Porsche as it tumbled to seventh place as most cars bullied their ways to pass, with the No. 93 Racers Edge Acura making the most of it by getting the Pro Cup lead from fifth overall.
 
The drama wasn’t stopping though, as the No. 04 had engine issues that forced Colin Braun to go straight to the pits, and with this the No. 120 Wright Porsche was again in the lead, pressured by the No. 9 TR3 Mercedes, which kept the distance close until Daniel Morad was able to make a move for the lead with 45 minutes of racing.
 
Eventually the No. 9 and the No. 120 lost terrain to the No. 93 Racers Edge Acura, losing their positions after the pit window, and while the No. 28 RS1 Porsche made its way past the two Pro-Am Cup cars to close down on the No. 93, it wasn’t enough as the pace simply came too late, so the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 was safe to get the checkered, while the No. 120 Wright Porsche kept the Pro-Am Cup win by finishing behind the top 2 Pro Cup cars.
 
GTWC America - COTA Race 2 results
 
Virginia International Raceway is the next destination of the series, with the fourth double header of the season set for 17 and 18 June.
 
PHOTOS: SRO/Fabian Lagunas