- Mario Farnbacher and Ashton Harrison claim a pair of SRO GT World Challenge America Pro/Am wins for Acura and Racers Edge Motorsports
- RealTime Racing’s Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper take top-five Pro/Am finish Sunday
- Racers Edge Motorsports celebrates 100th win since the team’s 1990 founding
Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher swept the weekend in their Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 at Road America in Rounds 9 & 10 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS, putting them second in the Pro/Am championship series and achieving the team’s 100th win since its 1990 founding.
Saturday’s race dealt a rough start to some teams, when Steven Aghakhani—who had qualified second overall—spun in the third corner of the first lap, leading to a chain-reaction crash involving three other drivers.
Before the subsequent full-course yellow, Harrison climbed five positions to seventh overall. However, Erin Vogel, who started in 11th—one position ahead of Harrison—was involved in the incident, and the RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 sustained damage to its left rear bodywork and wheel. Of the four vehicles involved, the RealTime Racing machine was the only one to continue racing after the team successfully repaired the vehicle in the pit while the safety car was still on the track.
Following the cleanup, Harrison climbed to fifth overall and second in Pro/Am before handing the Racers Edge Motorsports machine off to co-driver Farnbacher. He steadily closed the gap between himself and Pro/Am leader Bill Auberlen, and with just 10 minutes left in the race, Farnbacher passed Auberlen to claim the win.
Sunday’s race started with a slightly smaller field, with two teams’ race weekends cut short following Saturday’s incident. This led Mario Farnbacher to start on the Pro/Am pole and second overall, and Michael Cooper starting sixth in Pro/Am and ninth overall.
Farnbacher held his lead throughout his stint, and Harrison brought their Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 to Pro/Am victory and third overall. Cooper and Vogel climbed to fifth in Pro/Am and seventh overall.
Quotes
Ashton Harrison (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22), following Saturday’s race win: “Our goal long-term is the championship. Wins help us with that. And we’ve had a bit of unfortunate luck the last couple of rounds, so this is well-deserved for us and the team. And Racers Edge Motorsports gave us a really great car. It was an exciting race the entire time.”
Mario Farnbacher (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22), following Saturday’s race: “[The pass on Bill Auberlen] was really difficult. These cars put a lot of downforce on the front, so you can’t really follow close, and it was really hard to stay close to him without [over-heating] the front tires. But I could tell that his tires [were degrading] quite a bit, so I waited a little bit and tried to keep close, knowing at some point I would have to take a chance to get by.”
Ashton Harrison (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo22), following Sunday’s race: “I trust Mario to always give me a good car. I had to basically remind myself that whenever we get out of pit lane, I have one job to do, and I know I can do it. We’ve proven before that we’re a great pairing. As soon as I left pit lane, my job was to keep it in the front and keep the gap. I don’t even remember what times we were doing; I just remember focusing forward, and it paid off. So I was really glad to hear we had a comfortable gap, and it was just about taking it home.
Jon Mirachi (Racers Edge Motorsports Team Owner), following the Racers Edge Motorsports’ 100th win Sunday: “It’s just unbelievable—I’m without words right now. It’s an incredible experience. I thought I would be relaxed and calm, but to have these two drivers do the job they did and bring it home is unbelievable. And what a crew it takes to accomplish that—they’re the ones who made it all happen. I’m just lucky.”
Next
The Acura NSX GT3 teams will head to Sebring International Raceway in Florida for Rounds 11 & 12 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS, September 23 – 25.
Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS Saturday Race Results
1st Pro/Am – #93 Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher, Racers Edge Motorsports NSX GT3 Evo22
6th Pro/Am – #43 Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper, RealTime Racing NSX GT3 Evo22
Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS Sunday Race Results
1st Pro/Am – #93 Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher, Racers Edge Motorsports NSX GT3 Evo22
5th Pro/Am – #43 Erin Vogel and Michael Cooper, RealTime Racing NSX GT3 Evo22
