Willow Springs International Raceway (Big Willow)

In the Nissan GTP class at Willow Springs, the race was defined by the collapse of early leader Laust Olsen. After starting strong and maintaining a position at the front of the field for approximately 24 laps, Olsen’s race fell apart due to a series of incidents, totaling 15 for the event. This allowed Shady Ahmad to take over the lead on lap 7. Ahmad held the top spot for 22 laps until Gabri Martinez, who started in 10th position, surged through the field to take the lead on lap 29. Martinez maintained his advantage for the remainder of the race, leading 28 laps total to secure the victory despite a single incident. Emilio Dicharri, who started 3rd, capitalized on the attrition to finish 2nd, while Shady Ahmad rounded out the podium in 3rd. The Audi 90 GTO class saw the front of the grid remain relatively stable throughout the 49-lap race. Mickey Friesen converted his pole position into a class victory, completing 49 laps with 7 recorded incidents. Noel Luneburg, starting from 2nd, maintained his position to finish 2nd, recording 8 incidents. Jack Wells2 completed the podium in 3rd place, having started in that same position and finishing with 5 incidents. The top three starters in the GTO class successfully defended their grid spots throughout the duration of the event. Outside of the podium finishers, the race was characterized by varying levels of car control. In the Nissan GTP class, Pablo Rangel2 demonstrated significant pace, gaining 5 positions relative to his starting spot. Conversely, several drivers struggled with the technical nature of the track; alongside Laust Olsen’s 15 incidents, Matthew Cockerham also recorded 15 incidents, and Krzysztof Olejniczak finished with 10 incidents. These high incident counts for several competitors highlighted the difficulty of managing the Nissan GTP machinery at Willow Springs.