The season began modestly for the #33 Wastegate Racing Corvette of Aaron Beaver and Ryan Steinhoff. A difficult opening round at Laguna Seca saw the team finish 11th in class after being caught up in multiple incidents not of their own making. Despite evasive driving to avoid collisions and penalties impacting other cars, the result left the team 10th in the GT AM standings and well outside early title contention.
However, the team’s composure under pressure became a hallmark of their campaign. Each race brought cleaner runs, sharper coordination, and a renewed focus on consistency — the cornerstone of their eventual championship charge.
Finding Their Footing at VIR and Detroit
At the Virginia Sports Car Grand Prix, the #33 Corvette showed its first real signs of momentum. Finishing third in class, Beaver and Steinhoff climbed six spots in the championship, rising from 10th to 4th. That result, achieved through patience and precision amid traffic and yellow flags, set the tone for the rest of their Sprint Cup journey.
Detroit’s tight street circuit pushed the team’s discipline to the limit, but they once again delivered — finishing fourth in class. With Manuel Mayer joining the driver lineup, the Corvette proved both quick and dependable, moving Wastegate Racing up to second in the standings. The championship fight was suddenly real.
Road America: A Win That Sealed the Deal
The Sprint Cup finale at Road America was where everything came together. With Christopher Daniel and Neill Forbes behind the wheel, the #33 Corvette delivered its strongest performance of the year, taking the class victory and the championship lead in one decisive blow.
Forbes later reflected on the moment with humility: “Having not taken part in many of the races I can't claim much glory for the team's achievement,” he said, “but it was nice to get a class win from a selfish point of view in the final sprint round at Road America.”
The triumph didn’t just clinch the GT AM title — it also marked the team’s emotional high point after a year marked by personal loss.
Challenges, Lessons, and Redemption
Team owner Kyle Birnie described the 2025 season as both rewarding and deeply emotional: “This has been an amazing achievement by the team to win the Sprint Cup in our first year,” he said. “In a season marred by trouble and the unexpected losses of two of our members, there really is no other way we could have asked for this season to end to lift the spirits of everyone at Wastegate Racing.”
Birnie emphasized that there was no single secret to success — rather, it was persistence and clean racing that made the difference: “We didn’t really think we were in contention, so our focus was just to get decent results. Keeping it clean in the final races leading up to Road America was extremely helpful and a confidence booster.”
He also acknowledged the steep learning curve faced throughout the season: “Staying out of trouble and avoiding race-ending penalties such as failure to meet drive time or using ineligible drivers was tough. Between the two GT AM entries, we lost about three races to things completely within our control — and that stings.”
The Numbers Behind the Triumph
The #33 Wastegate Racing Corvette finished the 2025 Sprint Cup with 1564 points, eight clear of the #555 PULSAR eSports Team McLaren and the #18 Gowin Racing Mercedes - both strong contenders all year. Across four rounds, the team earned one win and three top-five finishes, never once falling out of the top 10.
Their consistency stood in contrast to many rivals who alternated between podiums and DNFs. It was that steadiness — not raw pace — that ultimately delivered the championship.
Forbes summed up the team’s approach to the high-pressure environment of multiclass racing: “Avoiding prototypes and ensuring we stayed as clean as we could was pivotal. So much time can be lost with a drive-through, and avoiding those became key to our strategy.”
The #33’s season may not have started like a championship run, but it ended as one — forged through resilience, teamwork, and a steadfast refusal to give up.
With two GT AM entries showing promise and the team now a proven title-winner, Wastegate Racing looks toward 2026 with confidence and renewed purpose. After turning heartbreak into hope, the Corvette squad’s story stands as a reminder of what endurance and spirit can achieve — both on and off the virtual track.
Related Links