Gidley Wins Championship in Straightforward Race One at IMS

Gidley Wins Championship in Straightforward Race One at IMS Holland Wins GT4 BattleBell, Holland Separated by Nine Points in ChampionshipRace One ResultsThe SRO3 Class Driver’s Points Championship is wrapped up in the SRO3 Class with Memo Gidley winning Race One at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rob Holland is keeping the GT4 Class championship exciting as he is now separated from points leader Jason Bell by nine points. The GT2 Championship heats up with a first win awarded to Dan Knox.SRO3 Class The story at the start of the race was Johnny O’Connell in the No. 3 SKI Autosport Audi R8 LMS splitting points between leaders Memo Gidley and Jason Daskalos as he sat second in qualifying. Gidley took off at the green flag while O’Connell allowed Daskalos a free pass at the start of the race, but his competitive drive took over. He would reclaim the second position halfway through the race. O’Connell would spend the remainder of the race chasing winner Gidley in the No. 101 TKO Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. Daskalos in the No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 had his hands full of Mirco Schultis in the No. 70 MISHUMOTORS Corvette C7 GT3 R. A little rough racing caused some damage to the Callaway Corvette. Daskalos continued forward. However, Schultis would then take a short off-course excursion through the grass of the infield.  George Kurtz in the No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 came out ahead when it came to close racing while maneuvering around Tony Gaples in the No. 5 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4. R. When Kurtz made the pass in Turn 5, Gaples took a spin after the move, giving Kurtz a clean path to fourth place. Lap traffic would stack the top three competitors. However, cutting the chicane would give Daskalos a post-race time penalty, dropping him to sixth and giving Kurtz a third-place finish. Schultis would recover to finish fourth place. He was followed across the finish line by Kyle Washington in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.Marc Austin would finish seventh in his No. 011 Lone Star Racing/Mad Joker Mercedes-AMG GT3 ahead of Alex Vogel in the No. 043 OnlyFans Racing by P1 Groupe with MRS Porsche 911 GT3 R. Vogel found himself in inter-class battles but a late minute move kept him ahead of the GT4 Class battle for the lead. Todd Treffert in the No. 41 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 would round out the field in ninth.GT2 Class Winner Dan Knox in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2 made his way around pole sitter Kevin Woods in the No. 094 Chicago Performance & Tuning, Co. KTM X-Bow GT2 for the win. While CJ Moses was out of the mix of the lead, he had plenty of competition battling in his No. 58 GMG Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2 against the SRO3 Class entries.GT4 Class Bell made a Lap 1 pass on pole sitter Grey Newell to take over the lead. His No. 2 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 was then under pressure by Robb Holland in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 917 Cayman RS Clubsport. Holland would go on to not only make his way around Newell, but with three minutes remaining, he would take the lead. A meager nine points separate the Bell and Holland in the Driver Points Championship. Newell would go on to finish the race third.Ross Chouest in the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 finished the race fourth. While Chouest was once in the conversation for a repeat championship, this will take him out of contention. Tim Savage in the No. 009 TRG Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 took home fifth after capitalizing on Gaples spin while fighting with Kurtz in the SRO3 Class. Gaples would finish sixth.Nicholas Shanny in the No. 21 Carrus Callas Raceteam Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO took home seventh ahead of Todd PArriott in the No. 19 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. Let’s Go RacingGT America, powered by AWS is one race away from completing the 2023 race season. Saturday, Oct. 7, gives the GT America powered by AWS field a break as it's dedicated to the fourth running of the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS. The 2023 season ends on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 8:35 a.m. with Race Two.