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GT World Challenge America

Cooper Victorious at Mid-Ohio as Championship Leaders Falter

Michael Cooper wins at Mid-Ohio as championship leaders struggle…

Photo: Brian Cleary/www.bcpix.com

Photo: Brian Cleary/www.bcpix.com

Michael Cooper took his second Pirelli World Challenge win of the season in Race 2 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, while his championship rivals struggled on Sunday.

The Cadillac Racing driver assumed the lead at the start, as pole-sitter and Saturday winner Alvaro Parente dropped a few positions.

Ryan Eversley looked set to challenge Cooper for the lead throughout most of the race but was unable to do so, allowing the No. 8 Cadillac ATS-V.R. GT3 to take its fist win since Barber Motorsports Park in April.

Eversley finished second in his RealTime Racing Acura TLX-GT, while Cooper’s teammate Johnny O’Connell completed the podium.

Parente had been running solidly throughout most of the race until contact with Preston Calvert pushed the K-PAX Racing driver off track, picking up grass into the front grill of the No. 9 McLaren 650S GT3.

The Portuguese driver was leading the championship heading into the Ohio rounds, but a 14th place finish damages his title campaign.

Patrick Long was second in the standings but could only manage 9th in his Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The win gives Cooper a strong boost in the championship standings with only six races remaining.

The two Always Evolving Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s of Bryan Heitkotter and James Davison finished fourth and fifth, ahead of Michael Lewis and Jon Fogarty.

Unlike in Saturday’s race, this round was run fairly cleanly with no cautions and only a handful of incidents.

Of note, the K-PAX Racing crew had a disappointing run with Parente’s setback, damage to Austin Cindric’s car on the start, and a non-start from Colin Thompson following heavy damage from yesterday.

Michael Schein took another win in GTA for Wright Motorsports, ahead of Martin Fuentes’ Scuderia Corsa entry.

This gives Schein his sixth win of the season and a clean sweep of the weekend in his No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Alec Udell passed Sloan Urry for the GT Cup honors, resulting in the GMG driver’s ninth class victory of the season.

The move came mid-race when Urry braked too deep into a corner, allowing a relatively easy move from Udell.

RESULTS: Race 2

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

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