Round 2 of the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge saw a Saturday doubleheader at Circuit of the Americas as part of the support bill for the NASCAR weekend.

Race 1

Beautiful midday weather greeted the 17-car starting field. Wyatt Brichacek (LMP3) and Westin Workman (GSX) started from pole position looking to stay up front in the sprint. In LMP3, Brichacek raced into the lead ahead of Gebhardt’s Oscar Tunjo and started to gap the field immediately. In GSX, Courtney Crone came out of Turn 1 a surprise leader and lead most of the lap. Towards the end of the lap, Workman managed to find his way back to the front and proceeded to assert his presence out front.

Farhan Siddiqi would be the race’s first casualty with mechanical issues. As Siddiqi was falling out of Bronze Cup contention, Bronze Cup battles in both classes were becoming quite competitive. Travis Hill and Brian Thienes were battling in LMP3 while Jon Brel and Marc Austin go head-to-head in GSX. Concurrently, Titus Sherlock made his way to second passing Tunjo at the 13-minute mark of the race. Sherlock and Brichacek showed the Ligiers were the car to have around COTA setting the pace in the mid-afternoon conditions.

The first half of the race was clean and green. The second half was the complete opposite. At the halfway mark, Jon Hirshberg suffered a heavy crash in the Esses, causing a full course yellow. After a 10-minute yellow flag period, the field went back to green with 13 minutes to go. The restart did not last a lap. Brian Thienes and Jeremy Siffert collided at Turn 2, both cars damaged. The full course yellow was called again. Due to damage and clean up, the yellow would stay out for good. Brichacek cruised to victory after a dominant performance. Sherlock completed a Toney 1-2 with Tunjo in 3rd and Travis Hill winning the Bronze Cup. Workman won convincingly in GSX with Crone in second and third place Mark Austin topping the Bronze Cup.

Race 2

With a picturesque Texas sunset, the field set out for the second 45-minute race of the day. The race was not at full strength, however. Due to the damage suffered from accidents in Race 1, Jeremy Siffert and Jon Hirshberg did not make the start for Race 2. A clean start saw Wyatt Brichacek pull away to the lead from the pole once again. Titus Sherlock once again had to do a little work to get through the field, but eventually made his way to second passing Oscar Tunjo after only eight minutes. Over in GSX, Westin Workman powered away into the lead from pole.

In a race that was clean and green through the entire 45-minute duration, the leaders pulled away and established big leads. After only 10 minutes, Brichacek had a 9 second lead in LMP3 while Workman had a 5 second lead in GSX. Towards the conclusion of the race, we saw the only drama. Brian Thienes pulled his #77 Ligier off the track, but at a marshal’s post and off racing surface, no yellow was needed. Simultaneously, Rafa Martinez was closing in on Mark Austin making the GSX Bronze Cup a battle to watch. Martinez would get within 1 second of the Mercedes but stalled out in the race’s closing stages.

At the flag, Brichacek took the victory in LMP3 by over 11 seconds. Titus Sherlock gave Toney Driver Development a double 1-2 on the day with Oscar Tunjo again finishing third. In the LMP3 Bronze Cup, Travis Hill swept the races in his Shoplify Ligier. In GSX, Workman was untroubled finishing 20 seconds clear at the flag. Courtney Crone was second for CarBahn BMW and Marc Austin rounds out the podium, taking top honors in the GSX Bronze Cup.

Next Up

There is no rest for the LMP3 teams as they are off to Sebring next weekend. The 2 Hour race that makes up the opening round of the IMSA AirBnB Endurance Challenge takes place on Sunday, March 8. On the other hand, GSX is on hiatus for the next three months. They will return as part of the IMSA O’Reily Endurance weekend at Mid-Ohio June 5-7 when the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge sprint race format returns.

Featured Photo: Start of Race 1 at COTA Photo Courtesy: IMSA News Wire