Brichacek, Workman convert pole positions to victories at COTA

Wyatt Brichacek and Westin Workman successfully converted the pole positions they earned in Friday night’s qualifying sessions into race victories in the first race of an IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Saturday doubleheader at Circuit of The Americas.

Driving the No. 30 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325, Brichacek earned his first career victory in the series, leading a 1-2 sweep for the team ahead of Titus Sherlock in the No. 95 Titus Driver Development Ligier JS P325.

Brichacek moved out into a fairly comfortable lead from the drop of the green flag in the 45-minute race before the race’s first full-course caution was displayed around the halfway point in the race when Jon Hirshberg crashed in Turn 3 aboard the No. 86 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320. Hirshberg was evaluated and released from the infield care center shortly after the incident.

Brichacek had Sherlock in his tire tracks for the ensuing restart with 13 minutes remaining but the full-course caution quickly returned when Jeremy Siffert in the No. 31 GEBHARDT Young Driver Academy Duqueine D08 and Brian Thienes in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320 crashed in Turn 2. Both drivers were also evaluated and released from the infield care center, with Siffert earning a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.

The race finished behind the safety car due to the incident, with Brichacek recording the first victory in VP Racing SportsCar Challenge competition for the new Ligier JS P325 LMP3 car.

“It was really good,” Brichacek said. “The Toney Driver Development team, put together a really good car, the Ligier JS P325 is amazing. You know, from the start, we just pulled away and managed for most of the race and then the cautions started to come. So, it was a bit of managing the pickup on track and trying to clean the tires was the most difficult part. But yeah, overall, I’m really, really happy, and happy for the team on the first 1-2 finish.”

Both Brichacek who hails from Johnstown, Colorado, and Sherlock, from Prosper, Texas, were added to the entry list earlier this week. But both proved to be quick studies with top-two results in their VP Racing SportsCar Challenge debuts.

Third place went to Oscar Tunjo in the No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. Duqueine D08. Tunjo won both races of the 2026 season-opening weekend at Daytona in January and the podium run was more than enough to keep him atop the P3 class championship standings. He currently leads Thienes by 180 points, 1,000-820, heading into the fourth round of the season later this afternoon.

Travis Hill finished fifth overall and won the P3 Bronze Cup class in the No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325.

Workman Goes Three-for-Three to Start GSX Season

Credit: Chris duMond/IMSA

Whereas Brichacek was never challenged for the lead in P3, Westin Workman had his hands full at the start of the race in the GSX class when second-place starter Courtney Crone found her way past and into the lead in Turn 1.

Crone’s lead would be short lived, however, as Workman reclaimed the top spot in Turn 13 before the first lap was completed. Workman wouldn’t be challenged the rest of the way, bringing home his third consecutive GSX victory in the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.

“They gave me a battle there on the start,” Workman said. “I fell back to second and then got back to the lead and tried to pull out a gap and manage it, and then the yellow flag at the end.

“It's unfortunate that it ended under yellow. I always like races to end under green no matter what. But, yeah, thank you to RAFA Racing. They gave me a great car. Thank you also to Toyota Gazoo Racing, and a lot of people around me.”

Crone came home second in the No. 35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 EVO for her best result of the season, topping a previous best of fourth last time out at Daytona. She moved into second place in the GSX season standings, trailing Workman – who has a perfect 1,050 points – by 210 points.

Third place in GSX went to Texan Marc Austin in the No. 22 Mad Joker Racing by Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. Austin – who hails from nearby Buda, Texas – also earned the Bronze Cup class victory.

The second race of Saturday’s doubleheader at COTA is scheduled to follow the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET).

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