Heart of Racing Finishes Third on Streets of Long Beach
Unfortunate Early End to Heart of Racing’s IMSA Grand Prix of Long Beach
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Long Beach, Calif. (22 April 2024) – Gray Newell and the Heart of Racing No. 25 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 team scored a third place finish on Sunday afternoon during the Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend.
GT America powered by AWS was featured in the Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend with two practice sessions and a 15 minute qualifying session on Friday before two 40-minute races on Saturday and Sunday.
Newell placed the No. 25 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 on pole with a 1:25.718 second lap time to score his first-ever pole award on a street circuit.
Newell made his debut on the streets of Long Beach on Saturday afternoon. The Seattle native was forced to fourth early on in the race. As the race went on Newell continued to build speed, laying down his fastest lap of the race on lap 22 of 28 laps, ultimately crossing the finish line in fourth.
Based on the fastest lap of Race 1, Newell started the second race on Sunday afternoon from the second row. Newell spent the majority of the 40-minute race battling for second, but came up just short, crossing the finish line in third.
“My first time at Long Beach had its share of frustrations and victories,” said Newell. “Putting the car on pole at a track we clearly suffer on the BOP was extremely satisfying. Unfortunately with no straight line speed, we weren’t in the contention for the win but bringing home more crucial points and another podium is a positive but bittersweet cap to the weekend. I’m looking forward to continuing my momentum into Sebring.”
GT America powered by AWS and Pirelli GT4 America will head to Sebring International Raceway May 3-5 before competing at Circuit of the Americas later in the month.
