Andy Smedegard Breaks Autobahn CC Record in GLTC Qualifying
GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC) returned to Autobahn Country Club on Saturday after a year away, this time with a 38-car field primed for four wheel-to-wheel races in Round 8 of the season. Saturday’s on-track action features practice, qualifying, and the first race of the weekend. The 2.06-mile, 15-turn circuit has been an entertaining venue for GLTC in years past, and many of the series’ front-runners are present this weekend.
Qualifying on Saturday afternoon featured a battle between some of GLTC’s veterans aiming for pole. The #212 Honda S2000 of Andy Smedegard from AS Motorsports went quickest, eclipsing the prior track record with a time of 1:31.870. Smedegard is running the car known as “Trainer 3”, the most successful chassis in series history. GLTC champion Tom O’Gorman won 20 of 40 races in this car in 2022, and both Smedegard and the black and blue Honda S2000 seem poised for further success at Autobahn Country Club.
Matan Rosenberg’s #484 Chevrolet Corvette was a distant second, clocking in at 1:32.595, with the #82 Honda Civic of Eric Kutil, the #41 Acura TSX of James Houghton, and the #19 Porsche Cayman of Aaron Leichty rounded out the top 5.
Championship leader Luke McGrew has elected to skip this round, but maintains a comfortable lead over Rosenberg, Houghton, and Kutil, who each need to amass more wins to challenge McGrew. Eric Kutil seemed hopeful about his chances to claim more victories this weekend after diagnosing a clutch sensor issue that plagued his 1992 Honda Civic Si at Lime Rock Park. Autobahn Country Club may be the best suited circuit remaining on the calendar for Kutil’s light-weight, low power formula.
James Smith, who previously competed in Falken Sundae Cup in the NOS Energy TrackBattle Championship, is running his first weekend in GLTC in the #130 Honda S2000. Smith qualified ninth, but expressed that he is just looking to gather experience in the competitive field. Other new drivers entering this weekend include Natalie Corder (qualified 30th), Matt Cater (qualified 33rd) and Oliver Gillinson (qualified 36th).
The #109 Subaru BRZ of Dana Basinski qualified 6th, followed by Matt Waldbaum, Tony Marchev, the aforementioned James Smith, and Eric Jensen. Adam Jabaay, GRIDLIFE Co-founder and Motorsports Director, returns to racing in the series he helped create after a year hiatus. He qualified 31st in his EF generation Honda Civic.
Six drivers were disqualified from qualifying for being underweight on the scales. To the rear of the field for race 1 will be Hans Horpedahl, Jason Kankry, James Forbis, Ernestas Puzelis, Jeremy Boysen, and Jake Joraanstad.
GRIDLIFE Touring Cup races once on Saturday and three times on Sunday as part of its four race format. Race 1 goes green at 5:40 PM CT. Live timing and scoring is available on RaceHero.io.
GLTC Qualifying Results
