Round 1 of the US Touring Car Championship series (USTCC) had Geoff Sykes in the Replay XD E46 M3 starting in second position next to the BMW M3 of polesitter, Daniel Akhromstev.
Sykes was able to take the lead in the first lap and carved out a several second advantage by lap 2, however the TurboHoses Noble M400 driven by Rob Rodriguez moved up to second place behind Sykes and began to close the gap to just a car length.
The Noble had more horsepower but Geoff was able to hold him off in the turns. Rodriguez then ran wide in turn 1 and fell out of contention by lap 4 with mechanical issues.
“We had our own mechanical gremlins to deal with, and were lucky to even make it to the grid” said Sykes.
The Akhromstev BMW was then able to move up and give Geoff a close battle to the finish, however Sykes was able to keep the lead and take the win in the GT class by a half second. Geoff also recorded the fastest lap of the race.
“A very exciting start to the US Touring Championship season!” said Geoff. “To win the race, let alone finish, was thrilling!”
