Five cars lined up for the GTS5 start, all of them Porsche 911s. Four finished. Peter Spencer, who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, and calls Miller his home track, scored pole position. He was trailed by Steven Streimer in second. David Leyvas started from third, but he had two GTS4 cars between himself and Streimer.
When the green dropped, the Porsches were getting passed left and right by 3-series BMWs in slower classes. The rainy track was tricky to drive, so patience was key. As a genuinely dry line developed, about five laps in, the GTS5 cars could use their horsepower, and they began slicing through traffic. Not all of the GTS5 cars made it to the front, but the order at the end was the order at the beginning.
“We went out on brand-new dry tires,” Spencer said. “The chassis was set up soft for the rain but we literally made the decision at the last minute to go out on dries, which turned out to be the right thing to do. It was like driving on grease for those first few laps and I didn’t have any heat in the tires and the BMWs obviously had a lot more grip than I did. So I decided to let them all by and not get in the middle of their scrum, and get some heat and some traction because I knew I could pass them all later without too much trouble.”
Leyvas took third and Streimer took second.
“Peter gave me quite a challenge to keep up with him,” Streimer said. “But the Porsche ran well and it was a great race. I’ve raced here a few times but this is my first NASA National Championship. We struggled a little bit to find speed, but all in all the car drove well.”
