Story and photos by Tim Adams
On the final weekend of August, GT racing took center stage at Road America. The top class GT3 racers were joined by GT America, Pirelli GT4 America, TC America, Toyota GR Cup, and McLaren Trophy America. The weather was typical for August, hot and muggy, with some rain thrown in for good measure on Saturday.
GT America and GT World Challenge America may seem very similar to each other, but there are some big differences. World Challenge races this year are 3-hour endurance races with two drivers per car in Pro, Pro-Am, and Am classes. The race cars are top level, current spec GT3 cars.
GT America races are 40-to-45-minute sprint races with no mandatory pit stops or tire changes, with only one driver per car. You may see GT3, GT2, and GT4 cars. Balance of Performance (BoP), just like IMSA, is used to try to keep each car competitive.
The Pirelli GT4 races use two driver lineups for two 60-minute sprint races during the weekend. They are split into three classes, Silver for pro and elite amateur drivers, Pro-Am for pro drivers and amateur drivers, and Am for strictly amateur drivers. Actor Frankie Muniz won his first professional career race this weekend. Winning the Am class on Saturday and Sunday.
TC America is very closely related to the actual car that we drive on the street. They are still purpose-built race cars. You will see cars like the BMW M2, Toyota GR Corolla, Hyundai Elantra N, and Acura Integra Type-S. This was a class that was low on entrants. There were only 10 cars competing in two 35-minute sprint races. At tracks like Road America with the added pit stalls, they would have been better off running GT4 and TC together, similar to what IMSA does in the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series.
The Toyota GR Cup racers are GR86 Cup cars. They have the stock 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine, with of course the added roll cage, seat, better brakes, better exhaust, and slick racing tires. They were featured in two 45-minute sprint races. A nice field of 29 entries competed. With only the stock engine, the races are close and competitive. Very similar to the Mazda MX-5 Cup races.
Finally, McLaren Trophy America features identical Artura Trophy Evo cars, based on the GT4 platform. They also have a push-to-pass system that can be used by the driver. Since the cars are all identical, driver skill is focused on. Two 50-minute races were held featuring two driver line ups. Again, there are three classes, Pro, Pro-Am and Am. In 2027 this series will be leaving the SRO group and moving under the IMSA umbrella.
If you are looking for a more laid-back weekend with some fantastic GT racing and want to avoid the huge crowds on the IMSA weekend, this is a great race to attend.
Thankfully the main event of the weekend on Sunday was a 3-hour race. Almost the entire first hour was run under caution with three different incidents. The biggest was huge four-car incident in the Kink. This led to a very long safety car period. The first hour of the race was brutal. Cars parading around the track at 60mph. Thankfully almost the entire final hour of the race was run under the green flag. Turner Motorsports No. 29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO took the overall win in the Pro class. The Pro-Am class winners were the No. 9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG. The top Am finisher was No. 67 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 296 GT3. Only 14 cars were running at the end of the race.
In the winter of 2025 Road America added Grasscrete to the entry and exit of a number of corners. One of the corners was turn 14 at the exit of the corner which leads into the long front straight. It is becoming a problem that will need to be addressed by the track, or race organizers. If you give drivers an inch, they will take a mile. The added Grasscrete allows them to carry more speed into and out of the corners, running wide of the original rumble strips. Now the drivers are running to the edge of Grasscrete, and actually off of the Grasscrete many times. At turn 14 this created a giant rut in the sand and dirt. Every time a car went through it, sand and dirt were spread all over the track. There was sand and dirt for a few hundred yards up the front straight. There has to be a penalty for track limits. The race organizers such as IMSA, IndyCar, or SRO need to penalize drivers for leaving the track, it was ridiculous at this race. Another solution, gravel added to the edge of the Grasscrete. Race cars hate gravel, maybe that will keep them on track. Something needs to change though.
This was my final race of the year at Road America. If you have not had a chance to visit America’s National Park of Speed, put it on your list. I am sure more improvements will be made in the winter of 2026 to make it an even better spectator experience. I will see you at the track in 2027.
