NASA Northeast kicked off its 2025 season under challenging conditions April 24-25 at the historic Watkins Glen. German Touring Series drivers saw intense battles, preseason scrambles, and impressive drives despite unpredictable weather that included rain showers Saturday and relentless, cold winds Sunday.
With a long offseason behind them, many drivers faced the familiar rush to prepare their machines. “It was chaotic and the usual last-minute stuff going on,” said Regional Director Suzan Casella. For some, like Eric Wong, competing in GTS3, it meant prepping a borrowed car after a crash sidelined his primary vehicle. Others, like rookie Chris DeLucia, were wrenching until the final hours. “The whole front end of my car was apart at 3 p.m. on Thursday. I got in at 2:00 in the morning and made it happen,” DeLucia recalled. Friday’s test sessions proved crucial for shaking down cars and dialing in setups.
Qualifying Sets the Stage
Saturday morning qualifying saw Sean McElgun secure the GTS2 pole with a 2:12.3 lap time, while Chris Cavallero topped GTS3 qualifying with a 2:02.3, and Nicholas Grizey led GTS4 with a 2:06.2. The large Thunder group, combining GTS and Super Touring classes with nearly 40 cars, made finding clear track a challenge. “Even despite how large Watkins Glen is, you never know how you’re going to get mixed into other classes and get slowed down or throw off your lap,” GTS3 driver Leo Zick noted.
The unpredictable weather played a role, too. David DeJesus opted out of qualifying his GTS4 car due to wet conditions. “I thought the track was going to be wet, and being the first race of the season, I decided to sit out. That put me at P36,” he explained. The GTS2 field narrowed slightly when Roy Farfel suffered an engine failure during the session.
Saturday Race: Comebacks and Close Calls
Drama unfolded quickly in GTS3 as both Vasil Vykhopen and rookie Chris DeLucia missed shifts at the start, bogging down and losing several positions. “I was in second just sitting on the rev limiter, grinded third and lost three positions by like Turn 1,” DeLucia recounted. Their misfortune allowed Eric Wong and Leo Zick to engage in a multi-lap battle for position early on. DeLucia managed a strong recovery, climbing back to finish fourth in his first-ever race.
“It was a lot more fun to hunt than to be hunted,” he reflected. Chris Cavallero took the GTS3 win from pole, followed by Vykhopen and Zick.
In GTS2, pole-sitter McElgun admitted to a hesitant start. “All of a sudden I heard the engine of my competitor go and I was like, ‘Oh, wow, I think that’s the green flag,’” he said. McElgun held the lead, but faced relentless pressure from Barry Smith. Their battle was complicated by faster out-of-class traffic.
“It’s very tough for a GTS2 car to be around those kind of cars when you’re battling, and then a 600-horsepower car jumps in the middle of you and breaks you up,” Smith lamented. McElgun ultimately secured the win, with Smith second and Brian Jacon in third.
The GTS4 race featured a remarkable drive from David DeJesus. Starting 36th, he methodically worked through the field. “When you start from the back, you have this immediate like sense of urgency, but I just picked my spots,” he said.
DeJesus not only won, but also set a personal best lap of 2:01.722, crediting offseason car improvements, including weight reduction and a new diffuser. Nicholas Grizey finished second, struggling with car setup, followed by Michael Gershanok.
Sunday: Wind, Strategy and Survival
Sunday brought brutal winds, measured up to 50 mph, which impacted car handling and track conditions despite the lack of rain. “It went from a tailwind to a headwind to a crosswind,” Zick described. A morning qualifying race set the grid for the afternoon’s main event for GTS2 and GTS3, while GTS4 drivers opted to start based on Saturday’s results.
Vasil Vykhopen won the GTS3 qualifying race. In the final race, rookie Chris DeLucia, starting sixth after a less-than-ideal qualifying race, drove impressively. He battled past Leo Zick, who encountered rev limiter issues, and held off a charging Tomasz Tuniewicz in a fast Cayman. “I was able to make that pass, coming into the Bus Stop for P2,” DeLucia said. He nursed his car home with overheating brakes and a failing transmission, aided by a late-race caution. Vykhopen took the win, noting the increasing challenge from the aerodynamically efficient Caymans. “They’re gaining on straightaways seven to eight cars on us easily,” he observed. Tuniewicz finished third.
In GTS2, Sean McElgun completed a weekend sweep, but not without a fight from rookie Edgars Silovs, who improved his lap times significantly while chasing the leader. “Edgars was coming for my throat. He was giving it, you know, 110 percent to get me,” McElgun said. Silovs secured second place, while Brian Jacon retired with a coolant issue. David DeJesus mirrored McElgun’s feat with another win in GTS4, followed again by Michael Gershanok.
