Random Vandals steal the show at Sonoma.
Hello GT3 Racing Fans! This article is a little late, but honestly, I had taken quite a lot of notes during the race (maybe even too many) so trying to condense them all into a cohesive article has been a little trying. But, I would like to thank you in advance for bearing with me as I refine my writing style! With that being said, welcome to my recap of the GT World Challenge America Round 2 Race at Sonoma Raceway!
Race Start:
Green Flag is waived diring Round 2 at Sonoma Raceway. C. Braun made a clean getaway to keep the No. 04 Crowdstrike Mercedes in the lead. J. Burton quickly fell back into P5 with Telitz up to P2 in the No. 88 McLaren, R. Foley up to P3 in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW, and C. De Phillipi in P4 in the No. 99 Random Vandals BMW. Meanwhile, the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes had started the race in P12 but had quickly fallen back to P15 to start the race – definitely not the start that they would have wanted after winning the race on Saturday, but it could be worse.
First Stint Highlights
Lap 5 - 6:
Things got a little interesting as M. Cooper in the No. 2 Racers Edge Aston Martin started trading paint with D. Turner in the No. 24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin coming into a turn on Lap 5. This little incident resulted in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes, driven by M. Grenier, capitalizing on the exchange and moving up to P14, with Cooper moving past Turner to claim P13.
A. Lee had a wonderful drive to start the race in the No. 8 Flying Lizard BMW and on Lap 6, he made a nice move on I. Sherman in the No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes to grab P9 Overall after starting in P15. There was still a lot of time left to race, but this was the sixth spot he grabbed in just as many laps – not too shabby in my opinion!
Lap 7:
M. Hahn was running at a solid P7 overall in the No. 16 AF Corse Ferrari until he put his tires in the dirt and got a little squirrely leading up to the carousel as a result. This little mishap immediately caused him to lose 3 positions, being pounced on by O. Negri in the amateur class No. 163 Ferrari, Lee in the No. 8 BMW, and Sherman in the No. 27 Mercedes.
M. Hahn in the No. 16 Ferrari, being chased by the No. 163 Ferrari, the No. 8 BMW, and the No. 27 Mercedes - drivers mentioned above. Now running in P10, Hahn was sent wide after getting bump-drafted by T. Sargent in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche as a pack of cars was going through the carousel. As a result, Hahn ended up cutting off the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Corvette driven by A. Povoledo as he was attempting to pass the pair. Sargent picked both of them off, moving up from P12 to P10.
Still reeling from the near collision, Povoledo had been slowed just enough to be overtaken by Grenier in the No. 34 Mercedes, and getting put back to P12 in the process. Meanwhile, Hahn and the No. 16 Ferrari were dropping back fast, finding themselves back at P18 by the next lap.
Lap 15 - 17:
After falling back to P6, the am-rated Burton in the No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes did really well during his stint and held his own against the pro-rated drivers on the track. However, by Lap 15 he was down to P9 and heavily defending against Negri in the Am Class No. 163 Ferrari, who was getting closer and closer to the overtake.
Jeff Burton in the No. 91 Mercedes, being chased by O. Negri in the No. 163 Ferrari. When Negri did make his move on Lap 16, Burton was ready for it and pushed him out wide. This allowed Povoledo, V. Choksey in the No. 51 Random Vandals BMW, and Cooper to capitalize, with Burton retaining P9 and Negri down to P13 overall.
Burton was able to hold off Povoledo as they wound their way along the track until the next lap, when Burton went too far inside, jumping the curb on the chicane coming into the backstretch. This allowed both Povoledo and Choksey to get a good run, coming alongside Burton to go 3-wide down the back straight. Choksey held his ground on the inside coming into the Turn 11 hairpin, jumping his way up two spots into P9 overall after starting the race from P18.
Sherman's Shenanigans:
Sherman had a good start in the No. 27 Mercedes, clawing his way up to P7 overall by Lap 13, that is until he spun across the track and into the grass around Turn 4. When he finally drove back onto the track, he had fallen all the way down to P16 overall – which is where he would stay for a few laps.
Then, during Lap 17, Sherman was able to make a clean move to the inside of Turn 4, taking P15 from M. Bell, who was driving the No. 11 DXDT Racing Corvette, and immediately started putting the pressure on Turner in the No. 24 Aston Martin.
I. Sherman in the No. 27 Mercedes, before the shenanigans. Turner showed a great defensive effort but pushed a little too hard coming around turn 3, resulting in a snap of oversteer leading into the next braking zone. Turner was then bumped by Sherman coming into Turn 4, forcing the No. 24 out wide and allowing Sherman the easy overtake for P14. I'm not sure if there would be a penalty for this, but I don't think that it was intentional by any means, so I guess we'll see!
(Side note: in Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC), in that instance you would have received a safety penalty that reduced your overall driver rating, not a time related penalty. But, that's just a game, so I'm not sure how the real drivers’ ratings or licensing works.)
Unfortunately for Sherman, his off-track excursions weren't quite finished yet, as on Lap 21, he put two tires into the dirt while he was coming side-by-side Negri in the No. 163 Ferrari coming into the chicane. This caused Sherman to spin out in the grass, narrowly avoiding two sets of tire barriers, and falling back to P16 in the process.
Second Stint Highlights
Lap 30:
All of the mandatory pit stops had been completed by Lap 30, meaning the Pro Class should start to take their rightful positions up front with the Am-rated driver's in for the Pro-Am Class – except for Ellis in the No. 91 Mercedes – which meant he still had a shot to climb the grid before the checkered flag.
A. Sedgwick, who was now piloting the No. 18 Porsche, was running first in the Pro Class and P2 overall. K. Koch was now driving the No. 99 BMW and running second in class at P5. The No. 34 Mercedes was driven by M. Stephens after the stop and currently in P7 overall for third in the Pro Class, and B. Auberlen was up to P10 overall in the No. 51 BMW, and was looking to carve his way through the field the way he did during Round 1.
K. Koch in the No. 99 BMW giving chase to A. Sedgwick in the No. 18 Porsche. I don't believe it was ever said during the race itself, but the No. 163 Ferrari came into the pits twice before switching drivers. To me, this indicated that something could be wrong with the vehicle.
Laps 31-35:
Auberlen wasted no time, making a nice move to get around J. Bell in the No. 2 Aston Martin to take P9 on Lap 31. Not long after, on the very same lap, Stephens sent his No. 34 Mercedes around E. Sabo in the No. 8 Porsche for P6. Koch was clearly on a mission in the No. 99 BMW, taking P4 from T. Coleman in the No. 88 McLaren on Lap 33 and just a few turns later snagging P2 from J. Rothberg in the No. 29 BMW.
Meanwhile, Ellis was making his way up the field, taking P11 from R. Chouest in the No. 50 Corvette and P10 from Bell in the No. 2 Aston Martin by Lap 34. Unsurprisingly, but still amazing nonetheless, Auberlen was still pushing hard, overtaking K. Washington in the No. 32 Porsche for P8, as well as Sabo in the No. 8 Porsche for P7 on Lap 35. Although Koch was creeping up behind, Sedgwick was pushing the No. 18 Porsche as hard as he could, overtaking G. Kurtz in the No. 04 Mercedes-AMG for the overall lead.
Safety Car!
Safety Car during Round 2, the first of the weekend. Just moments later, J. Schreibman experienced some issues in the braking zone of the hairpin at Turn 11, driving the No. 163 Ferrari straight into the barriers. This immediately drew a yellow flag, and resulted in the first safety car of the 2025 season with only 29:34 left to race. This would bunch all of the cars up, and eliminate the gaps that the leaders had built, giving anyone a chance to fight for a podium finish.
Green Flag: Lap 40, 19 minutes left.
It was an amazing show of force by the pro-rated drivers as the green flag waved once again, with Sedwick taking off to secure his lead after the re-start. Koch and Stephens both got a good jump as well, ending with them overtaking Kurtz for P2 and P3 respectively. Auberlen made a few good moves, pushing his way up to P5 by passing Rothberg in the No. 29 BMW and A. Telitz in the No. 88 McLaren after restarting in P7.
Ellis was definitely a man on a mission at the restart, overtaking Washington in the No. 32 Porsche, Sabo in the No. 8 Porsche, Coleman in the No. 88 McLaren, and Rothberg in the No. 29 BMW – jumping the No. 91 Mercedes all the way up to P6.
A. Lazarro in the No. 6 Ford Mustang received a penalty for an improper pass, resulting in a 10 second stop AND a 3 minute and 10 second time penalty – effectively ending Dollahite Racings’ hopes for a top 10 finish.
Lap 41-46:
Auberlen continued to put on an impressive display of driving, as he passed Kurtz in the No. 04 Mercedes on Lap 41, taking P4 overall and was now right behind the rest of the Pro Class – and to think the No. 51 started all the way back in P18! Ellis wasn't far behind them, and eventually caught and passed Kurtz a few turns later, putting the No. 91 up into P5 overall and was now the Pro-Am Class leader with only a few laps left to go.
From here, positions stayed relatively the same until Lap 51, which is when we saw Koch make a move on the Pro Class leader Sedgwick with only a minute left on the clock. Koch was able to make the moves stick, taking the lead from Sedgwick in the final moments of Round 2.
Final Thoughts
The checkered flag would finally wave, bringing an end to the Round 2 Race after 53 Laps. All in all, it was a very good and exciting race that was full of action from start to finish. Honestly, I was hoping that the Mustang and Corvette would do better than they did, but this is only the first of many race weekends so maybe we'll see them pick it up a notch before the end of the year.
Final Results:
(Drivers are listed in racing order)
Pro Class:
Pro Class Podium. | Pos. | Drivers | Team | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | C. De Phillipi/K. Koch | Random Vandals | No. 99 BMW |
| P2 | J. Heylen/A. Sedgwick | RS1 | No. 18 Porsche |
| P3 | M. Grenier/M. Stephens | JMF Motorsports | No. 34 Mercedes |
| P4 | V. Choksey/B. Auberlen | Random Vandals | No. 51 BMW |
Pro-Am Class Top 5:
Pro-Am Class podium. | Pos. | Drivers | Team | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| P5 | J. Burton/P. Ellis | Regulator Racing | No. 91 Mercedes |
| P6 | C. Braun/G. Kurtz | Crowdstrike by Riley | No. 04 Mercedes |
| P7 | R. Foley/J. Rothberg | Turner Motorsport | No. 29 BMW |
| P8 | I. Sherman/J. Daskalos | CRP Racing | No. 27 Mercedes |
| P9 | M. Hahn/A. Khodair | AF Corse USA | No. 16 Ferrari |
Am Class:
| Pos. | Drivers | Team | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| DNF | O. Negri/J. Schreibman | AF Corse USA | No. 163 Ferrari |