Turner Motorsport capitalizes on drama to claim GT World Challenge America victory at Sebring

A strategy-heavy battle over the Sebring bumps delivered drama across the board in the third round of the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS season. From early pit gambles and fierce on-track fights to heartbreak in the closing hour, this race had everything.

What looked destined to be a runaway victory for JMF Motorsports unraveled late, opening the door for Turner Motorsport’s Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg to claim an emotional overall and Pro-class victory. Meanwhile, Pro-Am saw post-race penalties reshuffle the podium and give the advantage to GMG Racing’s hard-fought effort, and AF Corse USA continued its upward trajectory in Am with another composed and competitive performance.

Pro Class

Michai Stephens led the field to green in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 as Alex Sedgwick immediately began applying pressure at the front in his No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3. Strategy quickly became a talking point, with Sedgwick and Cameron Lawrence among the first Pro competitors to complete driver changes just 20 minutes into the race.

Trouble then struck for the No. 12 AF Corse USA Ferrari, which was handed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility involving the No. 88 Pro-Am car, dropping the car down the running order.

Shortly before halfway, the leading JMF Motorsports entry came to pit lane for a driver change, swapping Stephens for Mikael Grenier. With a nearly 30-second advantage over the rest of the field, the No. 34 returned to the track with the lead still intact.

Behind them, Robby Foley in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO and Michael McCann Jr. in the No. 8 McCann Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R (992) EVO put up a tough fight for third. Foley eventually got a strong run onto the final straight and completed the move before setting his sights on Sedgwick ahead. The BMW continued to charge forward, with Foley eventually taking second place after catching and passing Sedgwick.

JMF Motorsports appeared firmly in control following its final stop with one hour remaining, but disaster struck shortly afterward. Smoke suddenly began pouring from the No. 34 Mercedes as Grenier slowed on the back straight before pulling to the side of the track, triggering a full-course yellow.

When green-flag racing resumed with under 30 minutes remaining, Roley had taken over the lead and never looked back, pulling away to secure the overall and Pro class victory for Turner Motorsport alongside teammate Justin Rothberg.

Behind him, Frederik Schandorff in the No. 12 Ferrari mounted intense late pressure on Cameron Lawrence in the battle for second, but Lawrence held firm for Dollahite Racing to secure runner-up honors while AF Corse USA completed the podium in third.

“It was good fun, it was tough,” said Robby Foley. “The track temperature started dropping, so it took me a while to get my tires going at the end there. But once we did, the Turner guys and girls gave me a great BMW today and it’s awesome to get back in victory lane, especially for the first time in the Pro class and an overall win.”

“This feels awesome,” added Justin Rothberg. “It would’ve been great to not get it through a car dropping out because they were having a really strong race. But we were there, Robby finished it off really strong, and the car was amazing.”

Pro-Am Class

The Pro-Am race unfolded around aggressive strategy calls early on, with RS1 and GMG Racing among the first to gamble on short opening stints by diving into pit lane early for fuel. The move triggered a wave of similar strategy calls from Wright Motorsports, Kellymoss, Triarsi Competizione, JMF Motorsports and TR3 Racing.

As the race approached the halfway mark, the driver change sequence shuffled the order dramatically. Aaron Telitz emerged with the Pro-Am lead in the No. 69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren after jumping ahead of Lorcan Hanafin’s No. 27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes, which lost valuable time during a slow pit stop.

However, the McLaren’s lead proved short-lived. Mechanical issues forced Telitz to pull behind the wall, handing the lead back to Hanafin. Daniel Morad’s TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG slotted into second while Jan Heylen kept RS1 firmly in contention in third.

Tom Sargent then laid down the fastest lap of the race in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche before engaging in a heated fight with Ryan Yardley in the No. 31 Wright Motorsports Porsche. During the battle, Sargent’s front bumper was knocked loose but somehow stayed attached long enough for him to continue charging forward. He eventually completed the move for fourth before climbing even higher up the order, going off track in the process and re-attaching the bumper in place.

Chaos erupted on the late race restart when Morad made contact with Hanafin, costing the latter the class lead. Sargent capitalized on the disruption to climb into third as the order was reshuffled yet again.

The new Pro-Am running order became Morad in the lead for TR3 Racing, followed by Heylen for RS1 and Sargent for GMG Racing. Sargent’s momentum continued as he passed Heylen for second and began hunting down Morad in the closing stages.

TR3 Racing crossed the line first on the road, but a 10-second post-race penalty for incident responsibility dramatically altered the final classification. The penalty dropped TR3 to sixth, promoting GMG Racing to victory, RS1 to second, and JMF Motorsports to third.

TR3 Racing crossed the line first on the road, but a 10-second post-race penalty dropped them to sixth, promoting GMG Racing to first place. Photo credit: Fabian Lagunas

“When I saw it come up on the dash, I was like, ‘Oh, thank God,’ because we missed it at COTA,” Sargent recalled. “That would’ve been the one we needed, and we didn’t get it, but we got it this round. Obviously I had a little bit of contact, and I could see the fenders weren’t quite in place. I came on the radio asking if it was alright, and they told me it fixed itself. Luckily it did, because we were able to finish the race.”

“It was definitely a big effort,” echoed Kyle Washington. “It might be a big night for the boys. We’re all very excited.”

Am Class

AF Corse USA’s No. 163 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, driven by Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri, continued to impress with another steady and competitive performance. The duo spent a significant portion of the race running inside the overall top 10, showcasing both consistency and improving pace throughout the event.

AF Corse USA’s No. 163 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, driven by Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri, continued to impress with another steady and competitive performance. Photo credit: Fabian Lagunas

Schreibman battled through physical discomfort during his stint but was thrilled with the experience of racing at night.

“The cramping started on stage two, and I was like, ‘Oh boy, we’ve got to get through this,’” Schreibman described. “But it was a great drive, and first time driving at night like that. Super fun!”

“Every race we are upping our pace,” added Oswaldo Negri. “At the end I was running with everyone, so I was very happy with it. The car was amazing, and our engineers did a great job giving us a great car. Another win!”

The GT World Challenge America powered by AWS field will return for the fourth round of the season at Road Atlanta from June 12th to 14th, 2026. 

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