Peter Spijkman and Jason Allen delivered an outstanding performance, securing a second consecutive victory for the #71 Sim City Racing Porsche at iconic Long Beach street circuit.
The MV Skinlab Grand Prix of Long Beach marked the second round of the 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship and the first round of the Sprint Cup. Held under sunny skies, the 1-hour, 40-minute endurance race featured only the GTP and GT PRO classes for the first time in series history. The 1.90-mile street circuit, with its tight corners and narrow straights, was the perfect stage for high-stakes action.
Marco Silva of #183 Blocco Motore Simsport started on pole with a blistering lap of 1:18.485. However, Silva’s pole position advantage was short-lived. A collision with the #67 Kinetic Racing Acura relegated both cars down the order after post-race penalties were applied. This incident would prove pivotal as the race progressed.
Sim City Racing’s Triumph
The #71 Sim City Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), driven by Peter Spijkman and Jason Allen, once again proved unbeatable. After qualifying second, Spijkman battled long-time race leaders and pole sitters #183 Blocco Motore Simsport. The duo led a majority of the race and the #183 Blocco Motore machine crossed the finish line first, but was later assigned a post-race penalty by race control for an incident involving the #67 Kinetic Racing Acura. So it was Sim City Racing picking up the win, 3.309 seconds ahead of the competition. This win marks Sim City Racing’s second consecutive victory of the season, keeping their perfect record intact.
Podium and Top-Ten Standouts
#77 Adrenaline Motorsports’ Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, driven by Derek Tirums and Alex Carver, fought hard to earn their first podium finish of the season. Despite being the only Lamborghini on the grid, the team showcased remarkable consistency, finishing in second place.
The #69 North Sim Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, driven by Alessio Tranquilli and Michele Villazzi, rounded out the podium in third. The team’s performance was a rebound from a challenging Daytona race.
Notably, the #68 TwoLemmaTree Racing McLaren impressed by climbing from P13 to P4. The #151 World Of SimRacing Team Porsche had its best finish since last year’s Road America, claiming P5. Fischer Motorsport’s #84 Porsche took P6, while the #157 iRacing Today Motorsports Mercedes finished seventh.
In eighth, the #112 Rusty Spatulas Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R showed grit, followed by the #12 Delta Racing BMW in ninth. The #44 Fischer Motorsport Porsche, defending series champion, rounded out the top ten after a pit speed violation hampered their race. The tenth-place result marked the entry's worst result since the beginning of last season.
Post-Race Quotes
Tyler Redden, #183 Blocco Motore:On incident with #67 Kinetic Racing Acura at the fountain: "To us he was just extremely slow coming out of the pits which caused the contact. Regardless we take the blame for that because even if the other car is slower coming out of the pits that doesn’t mean we ram into him. It was accidental. We didn’t want to ruin their race either."
"It was unfortunate that it happened but we can’t afford incidents like this. Sim City is steadily pulling a absolutely Mega Gap in the standings so it is absolutely imperative that we don’t have anymore incidents this season so hopefully we can start getting that gap down and hopefully win the championship."
Derek Ekmanis, #77 Adrenaline Motorsports:
"It is quite amazing to stand on the podium after that race. We practiced a lot for this event, so having this result makes all the time spent worthwhile."
"It's hard to say (what the key moment of challenge was in the race). Traffic for sure slowed us down during that final stint and we were fuel saving for the entirety, but the #71 had great pace and kept us behind, so big congrats to them."
"We for sure want to stand on the podium at every event, but our focus is on the next event. We just need to keep this momentum up, while minimizing mistakes."
Alex Carver, #77 Adrenaline Motorsports: "I am feeling great to be honest. I just feel like we executed the best would could have for today’s race and it’s a great rebound from Daytona."
"Being the only Lamborghini is giving us motivation as a team to try our best as the “underdogs” of this series. It certainly is fueling everyone on our team when we score big like today."
"To put it simply, our goal is to just execute. We did that today and it showed. I think we are aiming to win the whole championship our rookie season, but it wouldn’t be bad if we finished in the Top 3 either. To do that with the only Lamborghini would be a statement."
Aedan Campbell, #67 Kinetci Racing: "The crash with the 183 was devastating to say the least. Everything happens so fast at this track aMs that was a good example. Right out of the pits and I don’t think I got into third gear before our race was essentially over."
"I'm not really sure what I could have done differently there. It really looked like Marco went into the fountain way too deep or confused the headlight flash button with the brake pedal. You’ll have to ask him what happened there."
"Either way it’s a real shame because we love racing here and felt like we had a good car towards the end of the fuel stint compared to the Porsches."
"I don’t think this result will change our approach. These race seasons are long and we know that we can still climb back into championship contention. The competition this year seems like it’s the highest it’s ever been for the GT PRO class so it’ll be very tough. This one hurts right now but we will get the car fixed and use it as motivation and come into Sebring and the rest of the season strong."
Marco Silva, #183 Blocco Motore: "Huge disappointment of course, we knew margins were going to be very slim and were very happy to have taken pole. Together with the #71 Sim City Racing guys we pushed forward and managed a gap on the field early on."
On the incident with the #67 Kinetic Racing Acura: "The 67 pitted which meant they exited the pits right in front of us into T1, with us right on their rear bumper. A combination of a light car with warm tires, a heavy car with cold tires... we just had very different braking points and approaches into turn 3 there and what turned out to be heavy contact."
"It's a shame for all involved as both teams lose out on a good result. The #67 guys are really fast so the situation just caught our us by surprise, our driver panicked and jumped onto the brakes but the outcome was inevitable at that point."
On the strong pace of the #183 car so far this season: "I would not say we are the fastest. For sure, we're happy to be right up there. It is only Round 2 and many other circuits to go to and different teams and drivers are going to perform really well. But yeah, we're extremely happy with our one-lap pace. But margins are so small that it can really be anybody's game right now."
"The #71 Sim City Racing guys have made stellar performances and capitalised on it. Kudos to them on another win. At Daytona we were neck and neck with them with a short few hours to go until we electrical issues. Today this could have been the race where we clawed back some points. But yeah, maybe our luck will turn when we keep the car scratch free. That is what we are looking for on the trip to the east coast for Sebring now."
Jason Allen, #71 Sim City Racing: "The Entire Team is ecstatic! I am super proud of all of our team members to make this possible, the testing we put in as a team shows!"
"We felt the key here at Long Beach would be qualifying. It can be very difficult to make passes with the tight street circuit. We had a little scare in qualifying as Peter hit the wall on his first try. It came down to him putting in a perfect lap at the last minute to gain the second starting spot. Kudos to him for putting it together there at the last minute."
On the strong start to the season so far: "We have a great team at SCR that puts in time to help with our setups and it really shows on race-days. We really try to make a car that is comfortable to drive and can handle little driving mistakes. We focus on consistency and drivability throughout a run. I was little shocked at Peter's pace and that Blocco car - those guys were on a different planet early."
"Our game plan is always to be consistent; we try to drive at that 98% level and take care of the car first and foremost. Finshing P2, P1 and P1 to start the season is cool stat, but looking at the points we have managed both races well and have been a little lucky as well. Looking at the other teams, to this point, they have had one good and one bad race, so we just need to stay consistent as it is very early in the season."
"We are going to take a few days off before we get the car ready for Sebring. I will be buying Peter all the beer he wants, as he won this race for us from start to finish. My job was to just take care of the car the final hour. He drove incredible from qualy to the first stint. I just didn't want to mess it up! (laughing). I also want to give a shoutout to VSCA, MV SkinLabs, and all the Teams and Drivers in VSCA. We could not do this without our great partners at SCR as well. Thank you and hope to see you on the podium again!"
Championship Standings and Next Stop: Sebring
The #71 Sim City Racing Porsche now leads both the overall SportsCar Championship and Sprint Cup standings with 941 and 480 points, respectively. Fischer Motorsport and Adrenaline Motorsports round out the top three in both rankings.
The next round, the fourth annual Engine59 12 Hours of Sebring takes place at Sebring International Speedway on March 1, where the LMP2 and GT AM classes will rejoin the action. Sebring's famous concrete track promises a grueling test of endurance for all competitors.
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