Grow Racing Team's long-awaited breakthrough finally arrived at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. After showing front-running pace throughout the 2026 season, the Portuguese squad converted that speed into its first-ever VSCA victory as the #14 Dallara of Tiago Maduro Dias and Alirio Jorge won the LMP2 class in the #NEVERLIFT CRISPY 160.
The victory came in a race that will be remembered as much for controversy as competition. A multi-car pileup involving much of the LMP2 field erupted almost immediately after the start, triggering the first of three full-course yellows and setting the tone for a race filled with penalties, strategy swings, lead changes, and post-race debate.
Historic Breakthrough for Grow Racing Team
The #14 Grow Racing Team Dallara started second and led a class-high 76 laps on its way to victory. Twelve lead changes were recorded throughout the event, but Grow Racing Team repeatedly found a way back to the front before Alirio Jorge secured the win by 10.4 seconds.
For the team, the result was historic. It marked the organization's first VSCA victory in its 17th LMP2 start and 24th overall VSCA appearance. It also continued a remarkable CTMP tradition for the number 14, which previously won the LMP2 class at the circuit in 2022 with Fischer Motorsport.
"It wasn't an easy one, but nothing ever comes easy in this championship," said Tiago Maduro Dias. "We felt the pace had been there all season, but today we finally managed to put everything together when it mattered. After 17 LMP2 starts, getting Grow Racing Team's first VSCA win is a huge weight off our shoulders."
Dias identified the final caution period as the moment the race nearly slipped away. Rather than fitting fresh tires at the final stop, the team relied on a tire-saving strategy developed before the race and stretched an older set long enough to maintain track position and ultimately secure victory.
Opening-Lap Disaster Engulfs the Class
Few could have predicted the chaos that unfolded seconds after the green flag. Pole sitter Doriano Ricchiuti initially led the field away, but contact involving a large portion of the LMP2 field triggered a caution less than a minute after the race began. The incident ultimately resulted in a 60-second post-race penalty for the #87 Ric Team Racing entry driven by Roberto Artur. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
The incident dramatically reshuffled the order. Front-runners suddenly found themselves buried in traffic, while teams that escaped significant damage immediately inherited valuable track position. The caution period also produced additional penalties, including closed-pit violations for both Vision 1 Motorsports and RedLab Competizione.
Roberto Artur accepted responsibility for the contact but argued the circumstances were more complex than the final ruling suggested.
"I accept that I'm responsible, but not guilty for everything that happened," Artur said. "The grid was very compressed between classes. I accelerated in the correct zone, but I was braking repeatedly because of what was happening ahead. I was frustrated to be the only driver held responsible because I felt I was more a consequence of the situation than its sole cause."
Lead Changes, Strategy Calls, and Recovery Drives
The race settled into a fascinating strategic battle once the opening chaos subsided. Grow Racing Team, Old Dogs Racing, Flight Level Racing, Vision 1 Motorsports, RedLab Competizione, Ric Team Racing, Wolf Motorsport Simracing, and Patti Engineering SRT all spent time near the front.
Ricchiuti's #59 Old Dogs Racing machine converted its second consecutive pole position into an early lead, but a closed-pit violation and later setbacks dropped the Italian team out of contention. After leading several times during the opening hour, Old Dogs Racing eventually finished eleventh after completing only 33 laps.
The #757 Flight Level Racing Dallara emerged as Grow Racing Team's most persistent challenger. Paolo Calvo and Jonathan Fojtik led multiple times and remained in the fight until the closing stages before ultimately finishing second.
"It feels like a bit of the win getting away," Calvo admitted. "With our pace and how the strategy played out, I think we certainly could have won. We even led laps ahead of the GTP cars. In the end we made a conservative strategy call and got stuck behind the #11 while they were fuel-saving. Credit to them for making it work."
Vision 1 Motorsports delivered one of the strongest recovery drives of the race. Despite receiving a 95-second post-race penalty for a closed-pit violation after a simulation crash, Kyle Allen and Matthew Routon climbed from ninth on the grid to finish third. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
RedLab Competizione's return after missing Homestead-Miami was equally impressive. Starting eleventh, Kevin Burnett and Sergio Ostos charged through the field, briefly led the race, and eventually finished fourth despite penalties and contact setbacks along the way.
"We missed Homestead, came back at CTMP, started eleventh, led laps, fought near the front, overcame adversity, and still finished fourth," said team manager Daniel Perez Santiago. "That's a strong statement for our LMP2 program."
Championship Leaders Limit the Damage
Although the #87 Ric Team Racing Dallara endured perhaps the most frustrating afternoon among the championship contenders, the Portuguese team still salvaged fifth place and retained the lead in both the overall SportsCar Championship and Sprint Cup standings.
Francisco Silva described the day as an exercise in damage limitation.
"Of course, we were disappointed with what happened, but we are prepared for both positive and negative outcomes," Silva said. "This time things did not go as planned, which led us to adopt a different strategy."
The final top ten was completed by Gamma Sim Racing in sixth, Track Limits SimRacing in seventh, Fury Simsport in eighth, Patti Engineering SRT in ninth, and Wolf Motorsport Simracing in tenth.
Despite failing to reach the finish, Wolf Motorsport Simracing spent significant portions of the race near the front and even led laps before penalties and attrition ended its challenge. Patti Engineering SRT likewise showed strong pace before contact and mechanical issues dropped the team down the order.
Post-Race Controversy and Team Withdrawals
The story of the weekend did not end with the checkered flag.
Track Limits SimRacing publicly criticized the race start ruling that assessed a 35-second post-race penalty against the #420 Dallara for a start violation. Driver Randy Marino strongly disputed the decision and argued that the true problem originated farther ahead in the prototype field.
"Is this a joke? They said we jumped the start, but we clearly took off after the green was dropped," Marino said. "The GTP leader not taking off for several seconds after the green should be the penalty. We moved when the green came out. The start was a disaster whether we moved out of line or not. The leader did not go on green. That's what caused the problem."
Series officials noted that VSCA regulations require the pole sitter to accelerate within the designated race start zone rather than on the iRacing green flag itself, and those procedures had not changed for CTMP.
The controversy escalated further when Track Limits SimRacing announced its immediate withdrawal from all VSCA competition following the race. Team manager Akash Rajesh cited concerns about the league's penalty structure despite major changes introduced only two weeks earlier.
On May 17, VSCA transitioned all incident reviews to a peer-based Incident Review Panel consisting of 17 competitors and two external stewards. Organizers also significantly revised the regulations, removing many prescriptive conduct rules to provide reviewers greater discretion.
Even so, Rajesh remained critical of the system.
"The penalty system as a whole, while I understand the reason behind the LPP system and the focus on clean racing, often feels like double or triple punishment," Rajesh said. "Despite these measures, driving standards are only marginally higher than comparable official races. The harshness of the penalty system promotes an over-cautious, anti-racing attitude. After discussing it with the team, we have elected to withdraw for the rest of the season."
The departure follows another significant withdrawal elsewhere in the paddock, with GT AM competitor SRN Motorsports also announcing that its #75 Mercedes will leave the championship after CTMP while citing similar concerns about the league's regulations and penalty philosophy.
Tributes Give the Victory Extra Meaning
The race carried emotional significance beyond the championship battle. The #NEVERLIFT CRISPY 160 honored the memory of Martin "Crispy" Crisp, whose favorite circuit was CTMP. Several entries also carried memorial decals for Kyle Busch following his sudden passing on May 21.
The VSCA community and Wastegate Racing additionally remembered former competitors Tom Hennes and Thomas Baker, both of whom passed away during 2025.
Those tributes were not lost on the winning team.
"This race carried extra meaning because of the tributes to Martin 'Crispy' Crisp and Kyle Busch," Dias said. "That makes winning this particular race even more special, because it gives us the privilege of being the ones standing here today to say that racers don't forget."
Post-Race Reactions
Tiago Maduro Dias, #14 Grow Racing Team Dallara: "It wasn't an easy one, but nothing ever comes easy in this championship. We felt the pace had been there all season, but today we finally managed to put everything together when it mattered. After 17 LMP2 starts, getting Grow Racing Team's first VSCA win is a huge weight off our shoulders."
"For once, we stayed clear of the chaos at the start. The last full-course yellow was the moment my heart sank because it shifted the pit cycle toward the cars behind us, but our tire strategy worked perfectly."
Paolo Calvo, #757 Flight Level Racing Dallara: "It feels like a bit of the win getting away, but after the chaotic start, a lead-lap finish still feels good. We certainly had the pace to win and even led laps ahead of the GTP field."
Kyle Allen, #11 Vision 1 Motorsports Dallara: "We felt our closed-pit penalty was unfair because the simulation crashed. We started from the back on the restart and focused on driving clean. We never felt we had the fastest car, but we believed we could score a strong finish by staying out of trouble."
Sergio Ostos, #552 RedLab Competizione Dallara: "Communication was crucial throughout the race. The pace and determination have always been there; we just haven't had much luck yet. Maybe we need a lucky sock or lucky hat to help us get another podium."
Roberto Artur, #87 Ric Team Racing Dallara: "After the contact we had to stay calm and focus on the championship. The race became about losing as little as possible rather than trying to win it."
Doriano Ricchiuti, #59 Old Dogs Racing Dallara: "The second consecutive pole position gave us hope, but unfortunately circumstances and later incidents changed our race. We'll use this as motivation to do better at Watkins Glen."
Watkins Glen Awaits
The SportsCar Championship now shifts to the Abruzzi Six Hours of the Glen on June 20 at Watkins Glen International. Round 8 of 11 will also mark the final event before the VSCA summer break begins the following day.
Grow Racing Team arrives in New York carrying tremendous momentum after climbing to third in the overall championship and second in the Sprint Cup standings. Vision 1 Motorsports moved into second overall, while Ric Team Racing continues to hold both championship leads despite its difficult afternoon at CTMP.
Watkins Glen's six-hour format will introduce new strategic challenges and provide teams additional opportunities to recover from setbacks. With only Indianapolis remaining in the Sprint Cup after the summer break, the battle between Ric Team Racing, Grow Racing Team, and Flight Level Racing has suddenly become one of the defining stories of the season.
GreenFlag TV will broadcast the entire six-hour event live beginning at 16:00 GMT.