Robusto Hangs On to Win Race 2 in Sonoma

Will Robusto hung on to win a close battle with Jaxon Bell in the second race of the Toyota GR Cup North America weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

The RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate driver survived a pair of restarts and near race-long pressure from Bell behind to take the checkered flag with a 0.823-second margin of victory in his No. 2 Toyota GR86.

Robusto led the 31-car field to green in a single-file start following an additional formation lap on a damp but drying racetrack.

Behind, Bell pounced on Max Schweid to take over second place at the start in his No. 7 Copeland Motorsports GR86, quickly closing in on Robusto’s lead. Bell remained attached to the RVA driver’s bumper, applying consistent pressure for the lead following both of the race’s restarts.

The two became locked in a lengthy battle for the win in the final ten minutes of racing, with Robusto ultimately able to hold his advantage at the head of the field and take the win.

Drama in the fight for the final podium position saw the No. 71 TechSport Toyota of Christian Weir initially cross the line in third, but eventually drop down the order after a pair of penalties were issued to him post-race for incident responsibility.

While official results are pending, the delivered penalties would appear to promote Westin Workman to a podium finish for BSI ahead of TechSport’s Ethan Goulart in fourth, with both drivers surviving the late-race chaos.

Casey Mashore’s finishing position was also elevated, seeing the No. 50 Mashore Autobody GR86 finish fifth.

Ethan Ayars spun from third position after side-by-side contact with Weir at the Turn 9 chicane, collecting Legends Cup driver John Dean in the process. Post-race investigations yielded hefty penalties for Weir, dropping him down the order.

The TechSport driver was first handed a 50-second time penalty for causing the Turn 9 melee and ordered to start the next race of the season at Circuit of The Americas from pitlane.

He was subsequently penalized an additional 50 seconds for causing a collision with Spike Kohlbecker, who appeared to be on track for a top-five finish before suddenly losing pace after an apparent final lap incident at Turn 11. Weir also collected 7 total warning points from Race Control in the process.

Race 1 winner Lucas Weisenberg was on the move early, making up significant ground in the opening laps, propelling his No. 46 BSI Racing Toyota up the order after starting ninth.

However, his run would end early when he stopped his BSI machine on track at Turn 7A, bringing out a full-course yellow with just over 30 minutes remaining.

Later on, Legends driver John Lennon was hit and spun by the stablemate Beltre Curtis, triggering the race’s second caution period for the recovery of the No. 5 Copeland Motorsports machine, with Curtis also collecting a time penalty for the incident.

RESULTS: Race 2

This report was updated with the most recent information as of 4:50 p.m. PST on March 30.