Wright Motorsports converted late-race misfortune for its rivals into a surprise overall victory in the second round of the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS season at Circuit of the Americas, as Dave Musial Jnr and Ryan Yardley claimed honours in Texas.
The Pro-Am pairing inherited the win after the dominant #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Michai Stephens and Mikaël Grenier was hit with two penalties in the final phase of the three-hour race, including a decisive ten-second post-race addition to its time.
Images by Kyle Roberts
Stephens had set the tone from the outset after starting from pole, controlling the early stages despite interruptions from Full Course Yellow periods that prevented him from escaping the chasing pack. A driveshaft failure for the Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 on the opening lap triggered the first neutralisation and helped compress the field.
Once the race settled into rhythm, JMF Motorsports reasserted control, with Stephens building a margin before handing over to Grenier, who extended the advantage to nearly 20 seconds during the middle portion of the contest.
However, the race turned in the final hour. Grenier was first handed a drive-through penalty for blocking and later received a ten-second penalty for exceeding track limits in the esses while making an overtake. Although he retained enough pace to retake the lead on the road in the closing stages, the cumulative penalties proved decisive.
Grenier took the chequered flag first, but the time penalty dropped the #34 Mercedes-AMG behind the #31 Wright Motorsports Porsche in the final classification, handing Musial and Yardley their first overall victory in the championship.
“I just found out that we won overall,” Yardley said after the race. “I knew we had the class win, but I didn’t know about the overall win.”
Wright Motorsports also enjoyed a strong result with its second entry, as Thomas Merrill and Therese Lahlouh completed a Pro-Am one-two and finished third overall, underlining the team’s strategic execution across the race.
Behind them, Turner Motorsport secured fourth overall and second in the Pro class with Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg, while the battle for the final Pro-Am podium position went down to the wire, with RS1 holding off GMG Racing in a close finish.
The result continued a strong start to the season for Wright Motorsports, which had already shown competitive form in the opening round at Sonoma, and moved the team into a leading position in the Pro-Am standings after two events.
Although JMF Motorsports lost out on the overall victory, it still secured maximum Pro class points, ensuring its championship challenge remains intact heading into the next round.
Images by Kyle Roberts
