Bravo Snow Schatten made it two GT AM wins in a row at Watkins Glen, as the #23 Ford Mustang GT3 of Danilo Vaz, John Palauro and Henrique Gomes won the Abruzzi Six Hours of the Glen by 8.904 seconds over the #83 Off in the Esses Racing BMW.
The #33 Wastegate Racing Mercedes finished first on track with Tamer Elbaga at the wheel, but a 35-second post-race penalty for earlier contact with the #23 dropped Wastegate to fifth. FR13DA Sport completed the podium with the #912 Porsche after a chaotic race that featured 10 full-course yellows, 2 hours and 50 minutes under yellow, and 11 GT AM lead changes.
Gowin Takes Pole, But The Race Turns Early
Nicholas Gowin started from GT AM pole in the #19 Gowin Racing Ferrari with a 1:42.682, earning his third career class pole and Gowin Racing's fifth in GT AM. The Ferrari led early, but the race was interrupted almost immediately by the first full-course yellow just over six minutes in.
The early phase also brought trouble for several contenders. Diego Rodriguez spun the #912 FR13DA Sport Porsche on the opening lap, dropped to the back of the class and later received a warning for contact with the #90 Fischer Motorsport Porsche. The #90 had already been forced to start from pit lane due to an entry declaration violation.
Blocco Motore Leads Most, Bravo Stays Close
Steven Yanusauskas moved the #283 Blocco Motore Simsport Aston Martin into the class lead on Lap 24. The returning Aston Martin led a race-high 48 laps, but penalties and race-management issues eventually pushed it down to ninth at the finish.
Bravo Snow Schatten first reached the front on Lap 35 with Henrique Gomes. The #23 Ford did not dominate on raw pace, but the team stayed in contention through the repeated cautions, avoided major damage and kept itself close enough to profit when the race changed late.
The key moment came before halfway. At 47 minutes, Neill Forbes in the #33 Wastegate Racing Mercedes made contact with the #23 Bravo Snow Schatten Ford in Turn 7. Race Control issued a 35-second post-race penalty, and the Incident Review Panel upheld the decision after Wastegate appealed. That penalty later decided the winner.
Gowin Racing Loses Its Chance
Gowin Racing looked like one of the strongest cars in the field before its race unraveled after the halfway point. The #19 Ferrari had led again on Lap 44, but contact with faster-class traffic near the Esses left the car multiple laps down.
Ailton Andrade in the #21 BMW M Team Delta Racing BMW received a 155-second post-race penalty for that incident, but Gowin Racing's result was already gone. The pole-winning Ferrari finished eleventh, two laps down, missing a major chance to cut into Wastegate's championship lead.
Wolf Motorsport Gains Six Places
The #515 Wolf Motorsport Simracing Mercedes was one of the strongest recovery stories of the race. Lukas Henke and Claudio Di Santo started tenth and finished fourth, gaining six positions despite contact while being lapped by another class, a bent steering wheel for two stints and a drive-through penalty for too many incident points.
It was not the fastest GT AM car at Watkins Glen, but the #515 stayed alive while several quicker entries lost time through contact, penalties or damage.
Wastegate Leads On Track, Bravo Wins Officially
The final hour put the #283 Blocco Motore Aston Martin, #3 Tri-State Racing BMW, #33 Wastegate Mercedes, #23 Bravo Snow Ford and #83 Off in the Esses BMW in the fight. Thomas Marcelino took the #3 BMW into the lead on Lap 140, before Tamer Elbaga moved the #33 Wastegate Mercedes ahead on Lap 157.
On track, Wastegate appeared to have completed a difficult rebound after CTMP. Officially, the earlier 35-second penalty dropped the #33 to fifth and promoted Bravo Snow Schatten to victory. Off in the Esses Racing finished second, FR13DA Sport third and Wolf Motorsport fourth.
SWF Motorsports finished sixth with the #94 Porsche, ahead of the #74 SRN Motorsports Mercedes in seventh and the #747 Flight Level Racing Ford in eighth. Blocco Motore Simsport was ninth despite leading the most laps, while Fischer Motorsport completed the top ten after starting from pit lane.
Tri-State Disqualified After Final-Lap Crash
The biggest controversy came in the closing minutes between the #3 Tri-State Racing BMW and the #12 Delta Racing BMW GTP prototype. Earlier, the #12 attempted a pass on the inside of the #3 in Turn 3, where contact sent the #3 into the wall with significant suspension damage.
According to the VSCA investigation, the #3 continued for four more laps with that damage, running about six seconds off normal pace while needing roughly 45 degrees of left steering input to drive straight. When the #12 caught the #3 again on the start-finish straight and attempted to pass on the right, the #3 moved right and contact caused a heavy crash for both cars.
VSCA Organizers deemed the incident intentional, retaliatory wrecking. The #3 Tri-State Racing BMW was disqualified, Thomas Marcelino received 12 License Penalty Points, was suspended immediately, and had his VSCA membership terminated indefinitely with no right of future reinstatement.
Championship Picture
Wastegate Racing still leads the GT AM SportsCar Championship with 2950 points. Gowin Racing remains second, 175 points behind, after losing only 10 points to Wastegate despite finishing eleventh. The #74 SRN Motorsports Mercedes moved up to third, 410 points off the lead.
In the Endurance Cup, Wastegate remains first with 28 points, but the #83 Off in the Esses Racing BMW has moved level after finishing second at Watkins Glen. Flight Level Racing is now four points behind the co-leaders.
Post-Race Reactions
Diego Rodriguez, #912 FR13DA Sport Porsche: We started fifth, which was better than I expected. I spun on the first lap and dropped us to the back, but the safety car helped us catch back up. Later, I had to pit before Race Control opened pit lane because we were short on fuel, so Logan had to serve a self-serve drive-through. I took over for the last two and a half hours, picked cars off slowly and used the safety cars to our advantage.
I think the warning was fair. They checked up in front of me and I did not react in time. Thankfully, I do not think either car had damage, but I am embarrassed that I let it happen. The race was wild, but also very fun.
John Palauro, #23 Bravo Snow Schatten Ford: It was a hard-fought race. With that many full-course yellows in six hours, strategy and good calls mattered a lot. That kept us in contention even if we did not have the most competitive car of the week.
Two wins in three races is a strong start for our GT AM program. It gives us a morale boost going into Road America, and we will try to make the most out of this Mustang. Big shoutout to Henrique for a monster drive, and to LionGP, Bravo Snow and Danno Design for the special livery.
Danilo Vaz, #23 Bravo Snow Schatten Ford: I am thrilled. This race was a rollercoaster with all the full-course yellows, but we managed to stay near the front and give ourselves a chance to fight for the win. Two wins out of three races is a great number, and it gives us a lot of momentum going into the summer break.
Henrique Gomes, #23 Bravo Snow Schatten Ford: Strategy and consistency were more important than taking the lead right away. It was a series of small decisions: saving fuel early, avoiding damage and staying calm in the final stint while attacking Marcelino and defending against Elbaga. Chasing Wastegate in the draft was more useful than fighting too hard and risking others catching us.
Claudio Di Santo, #515 Wolf Motorsport Simracing Mercedes: Thanks to consistency and a mostly error-free race, we had another good result. We were rear-ended while lapping another class and had a bent steering wheel for two stints, so finishing fourth makes us very happy.
Lukas Henke, #515 Wolf Motorsport Simracing Mercedes: We went in with no expectations. I just wanted to drive cleanly, even if I did not quite manage that twice. We gambled a bit under full-course yellow, sometimes staying out and sometimes pitting. The last caution helped us after we had damage, but at the restart I saved a little too much fuel and could not get past the FR13DA Porsche.
Neill Forbes, #33 Wastegate Racing Mercedes: CTMP was tough. Our race was basically over after the #3 took us out under the full-course yellow a few laps in, and the penalty did not really reflect what that did to our race. Here, I had my worst race of the season. I picked up more incident points in this one race than I did across Daytona and Sebring combined, and I cost us the win with the incident you mentioned.
What I have taken away from this is that any contact, tiny or major, feels like entering a lottery when it comes to penalties. Being accused of intentional wrecking by the #3, and then later watching them intentionally wreck the #12, was honestly surreal. We also gave positions back after our incident, which cost us time, and that was not taken into account either. So yes, I am pretty disappointed with how Race Control handled several major decisions this week.
Tamer Elbaga, #33 Wastegate Racing Mercedes: I am utterly gutted. To finish first on track and have it taken away by a borderline call with the maximum penalty is something I am still struggling to understand.
In the moment, it was exciting. I spent one and a half hours driving very conservatively to avoid the single incident point that would have given us a drive-through, but still had the pace to finish first on track. I think the break will be good for the team. We need to reset and put the last two tough races behind us.
Nicholas Gowin, #19 Gowin Racing Ferrari: The car felt incredibly fast from the moment we unloaded, and pole proved the extra testing paid off. We did everything right early, but just past halfway we were the victim of a bad decision by another car going up the Esses. That put us five laps down and basically ended our race.
It is heartbreaking. We had a real chance to close the gap to Wastegate with probably our best pace of the season. The only silver lining is that we only lost 10 points to them. With three rounds left, we need better luck, but I am confident our pace will be strong at Road America.
Road America After The Break
GT AM now enters the VSCA summer break before returning on August 15, 2026 for the Advanced Sim Racing Endurance Grand Prix at Road America. The race will be Round 9 of 11 in the SportsCar Championship and will be broadcast live on GreenFlag TV from 16:00 GMT.
Wastegate still leads the championship, but the last two races have been bruising. Gowin Racing remains close enough to keep the title fight alive, Off in the Esses is now level with Wastegate in the Endurance Cup, and Bravo Snow Schatten heads into the break as the form team after back-to-back GT AM wins.