Philip Ellis and Jason Daskalos took the No. 27 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 to overall and Pro-Am class victory in Sunday’s three-hour GT World Challenge America race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the first overall win for Daskalos in his second GTWCA season.
Ellis, substituting for Lorcan Hanafin who was competing at Le Mans, passed teammate Mikael Grenier in the sister No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 with less than 20 minutes remaining and conserved fuel to finish 2.525 seconds ahead. Daskalos led the majority of the race’s opening hour before handing off to Ellis, who managed tire degradation in the heat and then made the move on Grenier when the fuel calculation demanded clear track ahead.
The victory came after a pre-race gamble on slick tires despite a heavy rain shower just before the scheduled start. Daskalos was one of the few drivers not on rain tires and worked into the lead as the 2.258-mile road course dried and the majority of the field pitted for slicks. The track position held for the entire race.
Grenier and co-driver Michai Stephens led a majority of the race in the No. 34 but suffered a late power-loss issue in the closing minutes. Grenier faded to sixth overall but was classified second in the Pro class, maintaining and increasing the No. 34 team’s Pro division championship lead. The No. 34 team unofficially leads the Pro class standings with 78 points, eight clear of the nearest challengers heading into the series’ two-month summer break.
Sunday’s result gives both JMF Motorsports and Mercedes-AMG the distinction of being the first team and manufacturer to secure overall race wins with two different entries in the new GT World Challenge America three-hour race era. Grenier, Stephens, and the No. 34 team won the inaugural three-hour race overall at Sonoma Raceway in March.
Ellis drove in Friday’s opening practice, then flew to St. Louis for an engagement party with his fiancée that had been planned months in advance. He returned to Atlanta early Saturday morning after 2:30 a.m. EDT. Daskalos hosted seven family members at the track, including his 91-year-old father Pete, who joined his son and Ellis on the victory lane podium.
The No. 9 TR3 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Brayton Williams and Daniel Morad was in contention for the Pro-Am and overall victory before a miscue on minimum driver time requirements forced costly pit stops and an extra driver change. Morad finished seventh in Pro-Am and 10th overall.
In Pirelli GT4 America, the No. 39 Dome Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Marc Miller and Allen Patten finished third in Pro-Am in Saturday’s race, with Patten taking the checkered flag. The Am-class No. 37 Dome Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Eddie Killeen and Laura Hayes finished fourth in class on Saturday, just over eight seconds behind the first-place class finisher.
The next GT World Challenge America event is at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 28–30.
Source: Mercedes-Benz. Images courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.
