Kohlbecker Delivers Victory in Saturday’s GR Cup Race

Championship leader Spike Kohlbecker took victory in an entertaining first Toyota GR Cup North America race of the weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta that was interrupted by four full course yellows.

From third on the grid, Kohlbecker’s No. 15 TechSport Racing GR86 Cup car charged to the lead on the opening lap by passing Ethan Ayars and pole-sitter Jeremy Fletcher.

He remained there for the duration, surviving three restarts to lead home Fletcher at the flag, as the 45-minute race ended under caution following Ayars’ crash exiting Turn 5.

Fletcher’s No. 22 Copeland Motorsports entry was edged wide and dropped to fifth in his first lap battle with Kohlbecker, who then set about defending from Ayars in the No. 78 BSI Racing machine.

At the first restart triggered by series debutant Robert Mosteller spinning into the tires at Turn 7, Parker DeLong (TechSport) immediately passed Ayars for second to allow Kohlbecker some breathing room, but his lead was neutralized again when Liam Harrison spun his Blackdog Racing entry to bring out the caution for a second time.

A thrilling battle for third ensued involving Ayars and Will Robusto, but the major beneficiary was the recovering Fletcher, who took advantage and moved onto DeLong’s tail.

Following the third caution period when Massimo Sunseri spun into the tires at Turn 1, Fletcher worked his way past DeLong after going side-by-side for several corners, but ran out of time to get back onto Kohlbecker’s tail.

As DeLong completed the podium, Robusto’s RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate entry took fourth while TechSport’s Malbec Ramos prevailed in a battle with Ayars and Max Schweid (RVA) to complete the top five.

Race 2 of the GR Cup at Road Atlanta is scheduled to start at 1:10 p.m. EST, with live coverage on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and on GRCup.com.

RESULTS: Race 1