Race 1 of the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship at Circuit of The Americas delivered non-stop action from the green flag to the checkered. Random Vandals Racing emerged victorious after a thrilling battle for overall honors that truly came down to the wire, while DXDT Racing stole the show in Pro-Am with a commanding performance from Matt Bell and Blake McDonald. Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri co-commanded their No. 163 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 masterfully, clinching the win in the Am class. Every class saw intense fights and standout drives, setting the tone for a high-stakes weekend in Austin, Texas.
Pro class
Kenton Koch faced a tough start to Race 1 in his No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT3 after receiving a penalty in qualifying, which forced him to start from the back of the pack. At the front, Michai Stephens settled into second overall and first in class in his No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 , but the race was quickly neutralized with a full course yellow on the opening lap. Once racing resumed with 1h20 minutes remaining, the battles throughout the field quickly re-ignited.
Bill Auberlen, driving the No. 51 Random Vandals Racing BMW, applied relentless pressure to Alex Sedgwick in the No. 18 RS1 Porsche 992 GT3 R in the fight for third place, shadowing him closely as the race progressed. Meanwhile, Sedgwick began reeling in Stephens for class position, managing to pull a small gap over Auberlen in the process. Further back, Koch launched a spirited charge against Auberlen, turning it into an exciting BMW showdown. Koch eventually made the move stick on lap 9, with Auberlen leaving him ample racing room.
As the pit window opened, Koch set his sights on Sedgwick, who soon pitted to hand over driving duties to Jan Heylen. Koch followed a lap later, swapping with Connor De Phillippi. The battle between their RS1 and Random Vandals Racing entries resumed immediately after pit stops, running nose to tail on track. In the midst of this, as JMF Motorsports completed their driver change over to Mikael Grenier, the No. 34 Mercedes was handed a 1.74-second post-race time penalty for a short pit stop.