Mario Farnbacher’s 2023 GT World Challenge America season began with ups and downs. The Franconian and his team Racers Edge Motorsports were aiming to climb onto the top step of the rostrum again at the Austin race weekend (19to 21 May) in Texas – and they succeeded. In the second race, Farnbacher and his team colleague Ashton Harrison secured the victory. The previous day, the duo had already clinched a second place in the Pro category at the Circuit of the Americas.
“Our weekend definitely wasn’t an easy one, we always lacked a bit of pace. We can be all the happier about the results now. We certainly got the most out of it”, said the 31-year-old. “We felt a lot of pressure. After the last, not quite so successful weekend, we desperately wanted to score a lot of championship points. And that’s what we did!”
After the Saturday qualifying, at first it didn’t look as though the race weekend in Austin would proceed so successfully. Farnbacher and Harrison entered the race from just 15th on the grid. A drive-through penalty right at the start made a catch-up all the more problematic. However, the Racers Edge Motorsports duo were not put off and fought their way steadily, position for position, to the finish line. In the end, they finished seventh overall, which secured them second place in the Pro category.
The second race took them even further forwards. Starting from seventh, Farnbacher managed to avoid all scuffles and handed the wheel in a promising position to Harrison. The US American driver in the Acura NSX GT3 maintained a consistently high speed and was able to land the season’s first overall win.
“A very big compliment to Ashton and the whole crew. The team did a perfect job and their pitstops were awesome. Ashton delivered a strong performance on the track”, the Acura works driver explained. “Of course, we profited a bit from competitors’ bad luck in the first race, but that’s life in motorsport. We also weren’t always the lucky ones. Now we hope things will continue so positively in Virginia. The circuit should suit us.”
The next GT World Challenge America race weekend is scheduled for 16to 18 June at the Virginia International Raceway. Season rounds seven and eight are on the programme.
