Multimatic Closes In on CTSC Title With Win at COTA

Photo: Action Sports Photography/Continental Tire

Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell scored their fifth Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge win of the season at Circuit of The Americas, closing in on the GS class title with only one race to go.

The Multimatic Motorsports driver pairing dominated Friday’s two-hour and 30-minute race in their No. 15 Ford Shelby GT350R-C, after late-race suspension damage for title rivals CJ Wilson Racing.

An incident for Marc Miller sent the No. 33 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport behind the wall with less than 15 minutes remaining, resulting in major championship implications for he and co-driver Danny Burkett.

Maxwell and Johnson will only need to complete the minimum drive time in next month’s season finale at Road Atlanta to be crowned champions.

While CJ Wilson’s Porsche dropped down to seventh in the closing stages, the similar Bodymotion Racing car driven by Cameron Cassels and Trent Hindman came through for a second-place finish.

C360R drivers Pierre Kleinubing and Paul Holton completed the podium in third, after a strong showing in their Ford, which led for parts of the race.

Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing took the ST victory in their Porsche Cayman. Mosing hails from Austin, while Foss is from Dallas, making this win extra sweet for the Murillo Racing drivers.

Second place went to Cameron Lawrence and Chad Gilsinger in the HART Honda Civic Si, while the sister No. 92 car picked up a puncture towards the end of the race.

The ST class also had major championship changes, as points leaders before the race, Spencer Pumpelly and Nick Galante, suffered early race problems in their No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman.

RS1’s No. 19 car did take third in class, however, with the No. 27 Freedom Mazda in fourth.

As a result, Steven McAleer and Chad McCumbee are the new championship leaders in the No. 25 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5 that finished seventh in class, despite suspension issues.

RESULTS: Race

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.