The latest GT World Challenge instalment was anything but predictable. Under darkening skies, it delivered a thrilling mix of high-speed duels, costly errors, and strategic masterstrokes.
From pole position to the podium’s top step, Arise Racing’s Jaxon Evans and co-driver Elliot Schutte executed a near-perfect race—but the path to victory was far from straightforward.
Evans launched from pole alongside co-driver Schutte, with AM class ace Renee Gracie lining up right beside them.
Behind them, a packed field of Pro contenders waited to pounce: Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher in third, Thomas Randle and Marcel Zalloua in fourth, and George King and Sergio Pires in fifth.
Brendon Leitch and Tim Miles started from sixth, while Steve Brooks and Ryan Wood were further back in 10th.
Early Chaos: Cold Tyres and Hot Tempers:
Turn two on the opening lap set the tone for what would be a wild race. Schumacher made an ambitious lunge on Gracie but ran wide on cold tyres, giving the AM front-runner the space to dig in and hold P2. Not long after, Turn 5 claimed its first victims.
Liam Talbot and Tim Miles made contact, sending both off. Talbot was fortunate to continue facing the right way, but Miles spun around and dropped to the back, 26 seconds adrift.
“I’m not sure who’s at fault; with cold tyres, it’s very easy to spin, and once you’ve had a bit of a moment with somebody, it’s hard to control the car on that first lap,” said Brendon Leitch on the incident.
“We’ve started to recover; he’s doing really well. He’s done some purple sectors and got the fastest lap of the race at the moment, so he just needs to get into a rhythm and hope for a safe car and see what we can do in the second half.”
Meanwhile, Evans and Schumacher were locked in a fierce battle for the lead. Schumacher briefly snatched P1 before Evans clawed it back just two corners later.
Gracie settled into third with a comfortable gap to Mark Rosser, while Schutte kept his lead hovering around six-tenths of a second over Schumacher.
Pit Stop Strategy and Penalty Drama:
With mandatory pit stops looming and a complex penalty system based on previous race results, strategy was everything.
Gracie, who had won her last AM race, was set to serve an extra 15 seconds.
Schumacher had the same penalty in Pro, while Talbot and Schutte were tagged with 10 and 5 seconds, respectively.
Just as Miles began recovering and catching the field, disaster struck again. A heavy collision with Stephen Wyatt shredded his front right tyre. Sparks flew from the rim as he limped back to the pits—but with the Pro-class window not yet open, the stop didn’t count.
To make matters worse, the #7 Audi R8 was slapped with a 15-second time penalty for the incident.
By the halfway mark, Schutte continued to lead as the Pro pit window finally opened. The top three—Schutte, Schumacher, and Pires—dived into the lane for their driver swaps. Gracie pitted from third overall and retained the AM lead after serving a marathon 101-second stop.
Rosser, running fourth, spun at Turn 5 and handed his position to Zalloua.
Evans Emerges with a Massive Lead:
When the pit stops cycled through, Evans emerged with a jaw-dropping 19-second lead—despite Arise Racing serving a 5-second penalty. Even the team was surprised.
“To be honest, I’m not sure, but I’m glad that’s where we ended. It felt like the rears went off a fair bit throughout my stint, so I was a little bit nervous getting out of the car, for Jaxon’s sake. I’m glad we got a 20-second lead; I’m not quite sure how, though,” Schutte admitted.
Chief Engineer Adam DeBorre offered a clue:
“Well, warm tyres are faster than cold tyres, and I don’t know if you noticed outside, but it’s pretty dark. We know that we struggled yesterday to get the tyres up to temperature. We made a calculated decision to keep them on and see if it pays off today.”
It did—and then some.
Ojeda’s Record-Breaking Charge:
With the front of the field reshuffled the battle behind Evans intensified. Ryan Wood rejoined in 7th, while Jayden Ojeda was charging hard, smashing the lap record with a 1:26.39 and slicing through the pack. He quickly picked off Wood and Gracie before locking onto Feeney’s rear wing.
Meanwhile, Randle and King were engaged in their own scrap for second place, with just half a second separating them. Ojeda was relentless, eventually passing Feeney for fourth and then muscling by King to move into third.
Wood moved past Peroni for sixth while Randle pulled a textbook move on King to take second. Ojeda wasn’t done yet—he chased Randle down, closing to within seven-tenths of a second with three minutes to go. But a bad sportsmanship flag for track limits forced Ojeda to toe the line.
Evans Seals It as Gracie Doubles Up
Evans cruised across the line to take the win for Arise Racing, his and Schutte’s strategy, speed, and consistency delivering a dominant victory by 15 seconds.
“It was a pretty easy race for me; Elliot did all the heavy lifting at the beginning, so credit to him. He did a really good job.
“Obviously, cool conditions out here, and he hung on to it, kept it on track and gave the car to me with a bit of tyre left, so from there on, it was just about managing, but really happy to bring home another race win, it’s been a good start to the year,” said Evans post-race.
Randle held off Ojeda for second, with Ojeda rounding out the podium after a sensational charge. Feeney and King completed the top five, while Wood’s efforts saw Team MPC finish sixth.
Gracie was peerless in the AM class, converting her class pole into a commanding win—her second in a row.
“Yeah, I’m very proud of myself, actually. I’m still a bit shocked. I just wanted to go a second quicker than last year, which was around 1:28, so to get a 1:26 was a bit of a shock, but I’ll take it, that’s for sure,” said Gracie post-race.
Final Thoughts
In contrast, it was a day to forget for Leitch and Miles, who finished a lap down in 13th overall and last in the Pro class after being struck twice by misfortune.
But for Arise Racing, it was a day to remember—highlighted by clever strategy, raw pace, and a little bit of mystery in how that 19-second lead came to be.
Header Image: Tigani Motorsport
