The seventh round of the 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship brought the series to Detroit for the annual Detroit Sports Car Race at the Raceway on Belle Isle. This marked the fifth of six rounds in the Sprint Cup championship, contested exclusively by LMP2 and GT AM classes. On a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon, with ideal weather conditions of 22°C ambient and a track temperature of 41°C at the 3 PM start, the GT AM field delivered a dramatic and tactical race defined as much by chaos and strategy as outright pace.
In qualifying, Jack Hedgcoxe secured pole position for Gowin Racing in the #18 Mercedes-AMG GT3 2020 with an impressive 1:28.259 lap. He capitalized on that advantage at the green flag, pulling away cleanly from the pursuing #34 Wastegate Racing Corvette of Kyle Birnie. The early stages, however, were anything but smooth for the rest of the field.
Early Incidents Trigger Chaos in the Pack
The opening lap proved treacherous. A braking error by Shreyas Venkataraju in the #65 Vulture Motorsports Ford Mustang resulted in contact with the tire barrier at Turn 7. While attempting to recover, Venkataraju became entangled with the #555 PULSAR MV Skinlab eSports Team McLaren of Carlos Miguel Duarte, setting off a chain reaction that disrupted the trailing field. In Turn 8, the #515 Wolf Motorsport Porsche of Christopher Limprecht made contact with the #33 Wastegate Corvette of Manuel Mayer, a one-off entry. Though initially unscathed, Mayer later spun in Turn 9 and ended up beached on the curb, requiring a tow and dropping the car down the order.
The only full-course yellow of the race came just 26 minutes in, when the #677 Valkyrie Exype LMP2 car hit the wall at Turn 7. The incident also involved the #23 Twin Turn Simracing LMP2 and the #94 SWF Motorsports Porsche, though SWF driver Jason Brothers managed to avoid serious damage with quick reactions.
By the time the yellow flew, Hedgcoxe in the leading #18 car had already built a 4-second lead. While several competitors used the caution to complete driver changes and refueling, Gowin Racing opted to stay out, banking on track position.
Strategy Shuffle and Penalties Alter the Running Order
The race resumed at the 47-minute mark, and just five minutes later, Hedgcoxe brought the #18 into the pits for a routine stop and driver swap with Cedrik Gaudreault. That move handed the race lead temporarily to Antonio Beired in the #13 KTD Competición McLaren, followed closely by the #83 Off in the Esses McLaren of Michael Garrone and the #74 SRN Motorsports Corvette. Each of these stints atop the leaderboard proved fleeting, as pit stops cycled through and strategy gambles either paid off or backfired.
SRN Motorsports appeared to have caught the field off guard by making their mandatory stop early, on lap 19. However, this early timing came at a steep price—driver Laurence Dobrot exceeded the maximum allowable drive time, a violation that relegated the team to last in class in the final results. Similar infractions were later identified for both the #64 Vulture Motorsports Mustang and the #34 Wastegate Racing Corvette, who had been fighting for the top spots late in the race.
Calm Among the Chaos: Gowin Racing Seals the Win
With the strategy gambles unraveling and post-race penalties looming, consistency and compliance ultimately prevailed. Cedrik Gaudreault brought the #18 Gowin Racing Mercedes to the finish line with a commanding 23.119-second margin of victory. The team led the most laps (25) and stayed largely out of trouble, a key to success on the tight Belle Isle layout.
Finishing second was the #13 KTD Competición McLaren of Diego Colarusso and Antonio Beired, who overcame early contact and pit strategy cycles to secure a solid result. The standout drive of the day came from the #532 Pandemonium eSports x Sim-Lab McLaren, which stormed through the field from 14th on the grid to finish third, thanks to a clean and measured performance by drivers Josh Toothman and Henry Handy.
Top Ten Results and Standings Impact
Behind the podium finishers, the top ten was rounded out by a mix of veterans and newcomers. The #33 Wastegate Corvette finished fourth despite its rough opening stint, followed by the resilient #94 SWF Motorsports Porsche in fifth. Sixth went to the #312 Real Pixel Motorsport Acura, despite being caught in the late-race incident triggered by a desperate dive from Ronald Gross on the final lap. The contact with the #29 Team Vortex Acura, among others, set off a multi-car collision in Turn 11 that marred the closing moments.
Rounding out the top ten were the #83 Off in the Esses McLaren in seventh, the #29 Team Vortex Acura in eighth, the #515 Wolf Motorsport Porsche in ninth, and the #555 PULSAR eSports McLaren in tenth.
The outcome shook up the championship standings. In the GT AM SportsCar Championship, the #64 Vulture Mustang now leads with 1863 points, five ahead of the #83 Off in the Esses McLaren. The #94 SWF Porsche remains third, 104 points behind the leader. The Sprint Cup standings also saw movement, with the #33 Wastegate Corvette jumping to second, closing in on the #64 Mustang, which continues to lead with 1190 points.
Post-Race Reactions
Gary Brown, #64 Vulture Motorsports Ford: "To be honest, this is another punch in the gut (talking about the post-race penalty for exceeding drive time). This is becoming a theme for the team this season, and it's not a theme I want to continue. We drove a solid race with no mistakes, but once again, we were not rewarded for it; instead, we were punished."
"Of course, for short races, it is more of an issue. But as far as I know, there are no more 100-minute races left in the season, so it should not be an issue moving forward. That being said, we will have to make sure to build in a 1.5- to 2-lap gap in the driver times since the league has decided to use an undefined finishing time, unlike IMSA, which uses a definitive clock to allow teams to make real-time calculations."
On taking the championship lead despite the misfortune: "This shows how strong we are as a team and what kind of season we have been having so far. So of course, we feel strongly about where we are right now, but this is not the time to start clearing shelf space for trophies. We need to keep our heads down and focus on what is next. Right now, that is Watkins Glen and the new car that comes out next week. We are gong to have to get to work right away and put this race behind us."
Diego Colarusso, #13 KTD Competición McLaren: "Honestly, we are very happy. After the tough start we had this season, securing second place in this race is a huge boost for all of us. It's a mix of relief and excitement. We've worked very hard these past weeks, and it's great to finally see the results on the track."
"I think the key was perseverance and trust in the process. We didn't panic after the first few races—we analyzed everything, adapted the car setup, and strengthened our teamwork. We stayed focused, and today everything worked."
"The first four races of the season were definitely tough. It's challenging to show up every race day and not get the results you believe you can achieve. But instead of letting it affect us negatively, we used it as fuel. We knew we were better than what the standings showed. Getting on the podium today really validates that belief and lifts the whole team's spirit. It proves that we belong at the front and gives us a huge boost for the rest of the season."
Thomas Fisher, #64 Vulture Motorsports Ford: "I feel pretty awful, it’s a shame for sure but there were positives from today and we will take those and move forwards."
"The timing of the FCY was the worst it could have been for us. Given that the length of previous FCY have been very inconsistent, it seemed most likely that if we didn’t pit under the FCY, we were going to exceed the max drive time for the Gold driver anyway, so when we saw the time tick over to under 65 minutes to go, we pulled the trigger. In hindsight, this was one of the shortest FCY we’ve had this season so we would have just been safe if we pit the first lap after the restart but we can’t predict that."
"I think, given the luck we have had a times this season, the lead that we have now in the championship goes to show how strong of a performance we have had this season. We’ve a long way to go in the season with a lot of race time to go but the guys will put in their all."
Looking Ahead to Watkins Glen
The VSCA paddock now turns its focus to the Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen International, scheduled for June 21. As the eighth round of the 2025 championship and a return to the endurance format, the race will provide a stark contrast to the frantic 90-minute sprint at Belle Isle. With strategy once again proving crucial in Detroit, teams will be looking to fine-tune their approach as the title race heats up heading into the final stretch of the season.
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