The price of admission likely is a barrier to entry to the GTS5 class. With two cars on grid, podium finishes were guaranteed. First place, however was not. For second-place finisher Jay Matus, just getting his Porsche 996 to the grid wasn’t guaranteed.
“We had a differential go bad on it,” Matus said. “We rebuilt the diff on Friday afternoon. Flying Lizard helped us out, so a big thanks to them. They helped us get it done. My crew chief Mark Evans was on top of it and that’s why I’m back racing today.”
Because he did not race Friday, Matus was relegated to start the Championships race from 19th in a 27-car field. Matus clawed his way through the field, but didn’t have enough to take the top spot.
“Yesterday I went from 25th to fourth, which got me a little bit closer, five or six positions, but overall starting 19th and going to fourth overall and second in class,” Matus said afterward. “I feel very good.”
Daniel Akhromstev, started from pole in GTS5 — second in the field — and ran consistently fast lap times that kept him out of Matus’ reach.
“The race was great,” said Akhromstev, who also is the USTCC GT Champion. “It was a little bit slippery, but thanks to my team and all my sponsors, my car is still in one piece. I had a good race.”
