The second round of the GT World Challenge America with Racers Edge Motorsports was on Mario Farnbacher’s schedule from 28 to 30 April. Together with teammate Ashton Harrison, the Ansbach native had been focusing on a top placement, but despite strong qualifying sessions, the duo couldn’t make it onto the podium.
„We were in fact very confident about the weekend”, said Farnbacher. „Last year we did well on the track. We also had a good pace in the training sessions but couldn’t turn that into good results this time.”
Turbulent weather conditions made it clear that the race weekend in Avondale, Louisiana, wouldn’t be an easy one. Harrison started the first race from fifth on the grid, gained positions and cut the gap to the leaders. Farnbacher hoped to follow up on this positive trend, however, the part-dry, part-wet track made it difficult. He managed to gain ground and had the frontrunners well within reach, until a slide into the gravel dashed all hopes of a top result.
„Initially, things looked really good on Saturday. Then I made a mistake which cost us the good placement”, the Acura works driver explained. “My apologies to the team, but mistakes are human. I’ll learn from them, and I’ll do better next time.”
Farnbacher had the opportunity to make amends a day later and secured a pole position in the Pro category after a strong qualifying. He and Harrison displayed all their skills in the race, but another participant touched their car, which spelt the end for the duo. US driver Harrison went into a spin and got stuck in the gravel, causing a loss of several laps. Another 16th place was the result.
19 to 21 May is the next date on the GT World Challenge America calendar. Season races five and six will take place on the Circuit of the Americas.
