Sunday’s fourth round of GT World Challenge (GTWC) America powered by AWS definitely went off script from what we have seen so far in 2026. In the series’ first visit to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in fifteen years, the track and race delivered. What it produced was headlines you didn’t see coming. Still confused? Follow along.

Mother Nature…and a Roll of the Dice

So far in 2026, mother nature has been kind to the series. And to be fair, mother nature was kind on Sunday. But not before she threw a curveball. A brief, but hard, rain fell on the track as the teams were on the grid. The clouds made way for the sun with the track very damp. Teams had already bolted on wet weather Pirellis for the start, but then a decision had to be made. Keep the wets or switch to slicks with the sun quickly drying the track?

Most of the field played safe, electing to stay on the wet tires. Three cars, the No. 27 JMF Mercedes, the No. 8 McCann Porsche and the No. 14 Riley BMW, decided to go for slicks from the start. Furthermore, on the second pace lap, Derek Deboer and Random Vandals decided to make the switch and start from the pit lane.

At the start, polesitter Matias Perez Companc led the opening lap in the No. 12 AF Corse USA Ferrari. The lead didn’t last long as Michai Stephens in the No. 34 JMF Mercedes took the lead into Turn 1 at the start of Lap 2.

Early Spins

The Am drivers were having their difficulties in the mixed conditions. First, Todd Parriott sent his No. 13 Kellymoss Porsche for a spin at Turn 11 on Lap 2. He kept it on the asphalt, recovered and kept going. Then, Brayton Williams went for a loop the following lap in Turn 7 the following lap. Williams had to take to the grass though to get pointed in the right direction, but the No. 9 TR3 Mercedes kept going with no damage.

Dollahite Sets The Tempo

The fastest man in the race’s opening stanza without question was Cameron Lawrence. Lawrence worked his way up to second and was hounding Stephens for the lead before deciding to come in at the end of Lap 7 to switch to slick tires. TR3 would also come with Dollahite on the same lap. After Dollahite came to the pits, it was a domino effect with the rest of the field that started on wets following shortly thereafter.

After the pit stops, Lawrence continued to hound Stephens. Finally, on Lap 17, in lap traffic Lawrence pounced to seize the Pro class lead from the JMF Mercedes. This move would become the overall lead when Jason Daskalos in the Pro-Am JMF Mercedes pitted at the end of Lap 23. By that point, Lawrence had gapped his compatriots in Pro by five seconds.

“A Little Too Aggressive”

By Lap 38, Lawrence had managed his gap out front to seven seconds and cruising right along. Meanwhile going into Turn 10, Derek Deboer attempted to switch lanes to make a pass on the No. 28 RS1 Porsche of JP Martinez. The No. 99 BMW ran into the back of the Porsche and both cars ended up in the gravel trap and heavily damaged. A full course yellow was immediately deployed to retrieve the cars that were done for the day on the spot.

It was a crushing blow for RS1 who started the season with three straight podiums in Pro-Am. As for Random Vandals, this was their second straight DNF after being sidelined before the finish at Sebring.

 

It was a great run for the No. 6 Dollahite Mustang until it wasn’t Photo Courtesy: Fabian Lagunas/Lagunas Photography/SRO Motorsports Group

Promise Mounts to Nothing

After the restart, Cameron Lawrence continued to lead the field. With the 65-minute stint limit impending, Lawrence pitted from the lead at the end of Lap 50 to hand the No. 6 Mustang to Alex Sedgwick. Sedgwick would only get one lap at full speed. On Lap 52, the Brit would abruptly exit Turn 7 slowly. The car crawled back to the pits and went no further. Mechanical problems would force Dollahite Racing to be the third retirement of the day.

Lemonade from Lemons and Hero to Zero

McCann Racing had an adventurous first hour. Michael McCann Jr. was handed a drive-thru penalty for the aforementioned Brayton Williams spin. The team took advantage while other teams switched from wet to dry to make a driver change for Zachary Vanier. During the full course yellow, McCann Jr. got back in for a full stint to ensure he met the 75-minute minimum drive time and taking one of three mandatory fuel stops.

Thanks to being one of the few cars to pit during the full course yellow, the McCann Porsche found itself leading from Lap 52 and would pace the next half hour on an alternate strategy.

Emphatically, the race changed on Lap 73 as Sebring winner Robby Foley was slow entering Turn 6. He would stop the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW at the marshal post past the exit of Turn 7. The car lost drive and prevented Foley from being able to make it back to the pits, hence the end of their day. The stationary BMW would leave race control no choice but to deploy a full course yellow for the second time on the day.

Fading…

The end of the full course yellow left one hour to decide everything. TR3 led on the restart, but that was a red herrin. Brayton Williams got back in during the pit stop made under the yellow because he had not done his seventy-five minutes. Therefore, Williams got ate up by the pros behind him on the restart. Simultaneously, race control saw the No. 34 JMF Mercedes did not meet their 78-second minimum pit lane time on their final stop. Grenier and company were handed a post-race time penalty as a result.

Meanwhile, Philip Ellis restarted fifth in the Pro-Am JMF entry No. 27. Ellis first made quick work of Williams. Then the Swiss driver went to work on the Pro cars, first the Silver-rated Vanier in the McCann Porsche. Vanier, subsequently, sank as the other top Pro-Am entries also got around the No. 8 911 GT3R.

The Chase Is On

When Ellis picked up third place on Lap 81, he did so four seconds behind race leader Mikael Grenier. For the next twelve laps, Ellis would slowly chip away at the gap between him and the two leaders. Ellis caught first and second on Lap 93 and started to size up Frederik Schandorff. This was great for JMF, although it was at this point the No. 34 would be handed an additional five second penalty for improper pit procedure.

Finally, on lap 101, Ellis on the backstretch gets along side Schandorff’s blue No. 12 Ferrari. Through the flying Turn 9 sweeper, Ellis gets fully ahead into second place. But he was not satisfied.

With a fast Mercedes-AMG beneath him, he shadowed his teammate. Coming over the brow and descending down the hill on Lap 110, Ellis passed Grenier into the lead of the race.

Just Not Their Day

In addition to the post-race time penalties assessed, the No. 34 JMF Mercedes then inquired handling issues in the final minutes. Grenier, trying to bring the car home in one piece, lost the race leading pace he had and any hopes of the Pro class victory with it. Schandorff would make the pass for second overall on Lap 115 with the Pro-Am battle for second also getting past the Canadian. The drop-off would demote Grenier down to fifth position, which would become sixth overall after the time penalties were added.

JMF Wins…Just Not the One You Think

Philip Ellis would go on to lead the final twelve laps to complete a brilliant performance. Ellis, subbing for Lorcan Hanafin called away to Le Mans, and Jason Daskalos scored the overall win in the No. 27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. It’s the second overall win for JMF this season while it’s their first triumph in Pro-Am, breaking Porsche’s dominance of the class.

Breakthrough for Archangel and McLaren

Behind Ellis, Aaron Telitz would hold off Tom Sargeant to take second in Pro-Am and third overall. This would be a monumental result for Archangel Motorsports and McLaren. While the car has showed pace and promise, the team has had nothing but bad luck so far this season. Pole in Pro-Am on Saturday looked like things would change.

But the mixed weather start put Todd Coleman and the team on the back foot as the car does not perform well in the wet. Regardless, the team kept their head down and fought on. Thanks to a combination of pit strategy and strong driving from Aaron Telitz in the race’s second half, Archangel got the long-awaited result it was deserving of.

Sargeant, tried hard as he might, could not get past Telitz in the closing stages. He and teammate Kyle Washington would round out the Pro-Am podium and maintain their points lead in the class.

 

First Pro class win of 2026 for the No. 12 AF Corse USA Ferrari Photo Courtesy: Fabian Lagunas/Lagunas Photograhy/SRO Motorsports Group

Double Delight for AF Corse

Second overall may not have been the result Matias Perez Companc and Frederik Schandorff desired. Especially since they had showed so much pace at the start of the weekend. But to score their first Pro class win of the season has to take some of the sting away. We have known the AF Corse USA team to have pace this season. Finally, everything came together on this day for them to be top in Pro. Importantly, their win now brings them within eight points of class leaders Grenier and Stephens.

Grenier and Stephens did manage to hang on for second in class despite the pace escaping the car under Grenier late. The McCann Porsche of McCann Jr. and Vanier rounds out the Pro class podium.

Finally, a respectable performance for the No. 163 AF Corse entry with Jay Schribeman and Benny Simonsen brings the race’s sole Am entry home in fourteenth place. Nevertheless, a win is a win for Schribeman and Simonsen, the latter filling in for the injured Oswaldo Negri.

Summer Break

GT World Challenge America powered by AWS is now on vacation for the next two months. This is primarily due to all SRO activity turning focus to Belgium for the famed Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa. The organization’s blue riband event for takes place June 25-28 and we will have full coverage for that race here on GT REPORT.

As for GTWC America, the paddock will reconvene at the end of August at America’s National Park of Speed. GT World Road America will host round five of the season August 28-30.

Featured Image: Philip Ellis in the No. 27 Mercedes under the checkered flag, crossing the line to take victory at Road Atlanta Photo Courtesy: Fabian Lagunas/Lagunas Photography/SRO Motorsports Group