WRL COTA - Race Recap

What a race weekend it was at the World Racing League championship finale at Circuit of the Americas! With a National Championship on the line in the GP2 Class, a talented driver line-up, and our TCR Canada championship winning car in the top class, the stage was set for an exciting final race weekend of 2023!

Driver Line Up

We kicked off the weekend by introducing our strong lineup of Canadian drivers, ready to conquer the double 8-hour races. Karting starts Curtis Fox and Anthony Martella would join F3 vice champion driver Gianmarco Raimondo, alongside TWOth veterans Khalid Eidoo, Trevor Hill, and Travis Hill  – a roster full of talent and diversity.  From karting to touring cars and open wheel, there was a large range of Canadian racing experience across the line up with drivers eager to showcase their talent behind the wheel of TWOth's Audi RS3 TCR and the Honda Civic FE1 TCA cars.

The goals for the weekend were to get everyone up to speed with the cars and track, while navigating a 90+ car field. Thanks to our strong results in past race weekends, the Honda was in contention for the GP2 National Title and the stage was set for a promising weekend. 

Race 1

Midway through the first 8-hour endurance race, both cars are running strong, and our #122 FE1 TCA Honda was making an impressive climb, up over 30 places and fiercely contending for the GP2 class. The TCA showed good pace all weekend, coming home with a top 5 finish in Race 1, just narrowly missing out on the podium. On the other side of the garage, race one saw our Audi RS3 TCR shine on the track with clean, consistent laps from our drivers. Despite debris on the track causing a cut in the charge pipe on the last lap, the Audi had a large enough lead that it didn’t lose any positions in class, allowing us to secure a solid P22 finish.

The crew did a fantastic job turning over the cars and getting the prepped to run yet another 8hr race the following day. 16hrs of racing is definitely a hard ask for both car and driver, with 90 cars to navigate on track the risk is high, however the drivers kept it clean and the crew did a great job keeping the cars humming despite the mileage. 

Race 2

As the green flag dropped on Sunday, the Audi RS3 was out of the gate with a strong start, moving up the order an impressive 20 positions over the first stint. Driven by Curits Fox the car was flying and had broken in the top 10 when we suffered an unfortunate fuel pump issue that required a tow back to the pits. The crew worked at lighting speed and were able to locate and fix the problem and get the car back on track quickly.

Once back on the circuit the drivers kept consistent laps times and managed traffic well, running a smooth clean race. Sadly we then had a suspension failure with a broken shock mount which ended our race early. Not the ideal ending for COTA, but that’s racing, the crew worked together smoothly and the drivers had great pace and showed skill navigating traffic with 90 cars on track. Keeping it clean and consistent throughout the race weekend.

The #122 Honda was running in 3rd place in GT2 at the 7th hour mark, when a left rear hub broke, forcing a retirement with 1 hour left. Remarkably the car had built up such a lead that, with a little help from some safety cars, it only dropped to 5th by the time the checkered flag waved. 

Texas Wrap-Up

We extend our gratitude to our drivers, crew, and the World Racing League for an unforgettable weekend. Despite the challenges, we're proud of the team's resilience and professionalism. We fielded a strong driver line up and we’re proud to have represented Canada well at the 

Looking ahead, we're already gearing up for more exciting events in 2024! If you're passionate about racing and dream of joining WRL next season, reach out to us. The TWOth Autosport family is growing, and we want you behind the wheel!

Stay tuned for more updates on Instagram: @twothautosport 

Photos provided by: @Pointby.Photography