SRO America Drivers Set for Round 2 of GT Rivals at Misano

Following an entertaining opening round of GT Rivals esports action at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, drivers look ahead to Misano World Circuit for Round 2 this weekend with 35 drivers entered.

The Italian circuit hosts a number of large two-wheel and four-wheel motorsports events including GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS competition, however, this will be many of SRO America’s drivers first time to experience the 2.53-mile, 16-turn circuit.

Heading into this weekend’s 60-min contest, momentum favors Laguna Seca winner Bryan Heitkotter who will once again drive the Nissan GT-R GT3 NISMO.

His unique experience in sim racing and professional GT racing makes him one to watch as a new circuit creates a challenge for all.

Nissan will also be represented by TechSport Racing’s Kevin Anderson who showed good pace with Champion Motorsport’s sim racer Takis Weekes piloting the GT-R this Sunday as well.

Kenton Koch drove to a top-five finish after a first-lap miscue cost him multiple drive-thru penalties.

The young Californian kept his cool and finished out the race with a strong finish in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. PF Racing’s James Pesek will continue in the Vantage along with Champion Motorsport sim racer Dom Belanger representing the British marquee.

For Audi, Alec Udell is back behind the wheel of the R8 LMS GT3 Evo and maybe the only driver with real-world experience at Misano during his time racing in the GT4 European Series.

Parker Chase will look to utilize his GTWC America Sprint Am class-championship winning experience with the Audi to improve his finishing position from Round 1 with Champion Motorsport’s Josh Staffin flying the Audi Sport flag.

The Bentley Boys continue with the K-PAX Racing duo of Guy Cosmo and Patrick Byrne out for redemption from a rough first round in a pair of Continental GT3s.

Classic BMW drivers Toby Grahovec and Stevan McAleer bring the BMW M6 GT3 to Misano with Champion Motorsport sim racer Dirk Groenveld in M machinery.

Ferrari pilot Trevor Baek makes his first appearance driving the Ferrari 488 GT3 for Vital Speed Motorsports. With FR America’s Dakota Dickerson back after a strong fourth place finish at Laguna Seca in the prancing horse.

Honda returns with a strong contingent of drivers, most notably recruiting Laguna Seca podium finisher Karl Wittmer to pilot the Acura NSX GT3 Evo. Racers Edge teammates Shelby Blackstock and Kyle Marcelli are back, learning sim racing and gaining speed every time out.

Formula racers Jacob Abel and PWC champ Tom O’Gorman ran in the top-five at Laguna Seca and are expected to be contenders this weekend.

CrowdStrike Racing and Mercedes-AMG bring their full lineup of drivers from GTWC America and TC America to compete at Misano.

Teammates George Kurtz and Colin Braun will be joined by touring car racers Kevin Boehm and C.J. Moses in the Mercedes-AMG GT3. Daniel Morad will look to bounce back and show off his sim racing skills with Mark Ramsey back behind the wheel of the Mercedes.

Porsche will feature Wright Motorsport’s GTWC America driver Max Root and GT Sports Club America GT2 driver Jason Bell.

Also driving the Porsche 911 GT3 R, Nicolai Elghanayan and Nikko Reger are searching for better results than the first round. With Champion Motorsport’s sim racer Dominic Guerin behind the wheel of the rear-engine machine.

Race action gets underway Sunday at 3 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on the GT World YouTube page, as well as on Facebook and Twitch.

Prize packs from esports partners, including an ASUS ROG peripherals bundle featuring the delta gaming headset, Chakrim mouse, Sheath mousepad, and Scope keyboard, will be given away, as well as five PC codes for Assetto Corsa Competizione.