Podium finish for PT Autosport’s Sedgwick at Barber

Birmingham, Al (September 9, 2025) – PT Autosport’s Alex Sedgwick and RS1 co-driver Jan Heylen powered into their ninth podium in 12 races last weekend, in the second of two GT World Challenge America powered by AWS races at Barber Motorsports Park.

Finishing fourth in race one, Sedgwick, Heylen, and the RS1 team combined for a flawless run to bring the No. 18 RS1/Race Brew 0.0% by Momentum Brewery/PT Autosport/Porsche Naples Porsche 911 GT3 R home in second position in Sunday’s race two.

“Good result in race two and overall, a good weekend, though we’re still looking for a bit more pace,” said Sedgwick. “But the team executed really well, and Jan and I did what we needed to do.”

The 26-year-old Warwickshire, UK native had coached at Barber before but never raced on the tricky circuit. Prep for the weekend’s pair of 90-minute races began with two test sessions Thursday and two official practice sessions on Friday, with Sedgwick focused on adjusting his driving style to manage Barber’s 17-turn, 2.38-mile, high-commitment layout.

“We worked through a good number of setup options in practice,” said Sedgwick. “This is my first time actually racing at Barber so there’s been a lot of adapting. Barber is a much more downforce dependent track than probably anywhere else we’ve been to, so there has been some adaptation on my part, learning how to make the most of that. We’ve made good progress but there just isn’t a ton of time to get where we want to be.”

In Saturday morning qualifying, Sedgwick put the No. 18 Porsche into second position in the Pro class (fourth overall), with Heylen set to start race two third in class (sixth overall) after posting the team’s quick lap of the weekend, a 1:21.259.

At the start of race one on Saturday afternoon, Sedgwick held his inside position through the early corners, looking to make his way forward while avoiding the typical lap one chaos. A caution flag flew soon after for a car off track. The race quickly returned to green but returned to yellow for 11 minutes when that car stopped on track. Once the race returned to green, Sedgwick continued the fight before heading to pit lane for fuel, tires and a change to Heylen with 50 minutes remaining.

Heylen swiftly caught the back of the Pro class field, in sixth overall, with the top three Pro cars battling for position. In the late stages of the race, the four Pro class cars led the race, but with too much separation for Heylen to make a move, taking the checkered flag in fourth.

“The team really worked hard to get us to a point where we’re performing well,” said Sedgwick. “They executed the pitstop very well, but it wasn’t quite enough to overcome the speed difference between the Porsche and some of the other cars. But I’m happy with where I’m at relative to Jan, knowing that he has a lot of single-seater experience, so he understands the higher downforce running.”

In race two, Heylen took the green flag third in the Pro class and sixth in the overall field and wisely tucked into single-file formation, ensuring he would not be a part of any lap one incidents. The race settled in quickly, with Heylen patiently stalking the BMW ahead. He earned one position 25 minutes into the race when a car ahead made an early pit stop. Heylen headed to pit lane with 48 minutes remaining, with Sedgwick jumping behind the wheel of the No. 18 Race Brew 0.0% Porsche.

When pit stops had cycled through, Sedgwick sat in second position in the Pro class, with two Pro-Am cars between him and the leader. Within 15 minutes, Sedgwick had dispatched both cars, looking to make a move on the leader. He was able to get close but not close enough, taking the checkers in second position for the team’s ninth podium of the season.

But by race’s end, Sedgwick was already thinking about the season finale, the eight hour endurance classic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“We’re really looking forward to Indy,” said Sedgwick. “We’ll have Rafa Hess, our engineer from VIR, back, and I’m looking forward to working with him again. The team is firing on all cylinders and historically, the Porsche ran well there, so hopefully we can finish the season strong.”

Next up for GT World Challenge America will be the season-ending Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, October 18. The races will be streamed live on YouTube, with an interactive broadcast on Twitch.