Sargent saluted with GT win

Australia’s Tom Sargent scored a maiden GT World Challenge America Pro-Am win in a wild race at Virginia International Raceway.

Sargent teamed up with Kyle Washington to drive their GMG Racing Porsche to glory in a special last-to-first triumph in Race 1.

It was their first drive in the team’s all-new Type 992 Porsche 911 GT3 R, while it was also a maiden success for GMG Racing in the current era of formats that feature two 90-minute races.

The pair started last due to an electronic transponder issue in qualifying and Washington worked his way up the order in tricky conditions were a wheel off-line could prove costly.

This stint and a well-timed pit stop saw Sargent emerge second when he took over driving duties.

He inherited the lead when Verhagen was hit with a drive-through for an incident with Foley.

Tom Sargent on track in Virginia.

But it was far from a done deal for the Australian, who desperately had to fend off a resurgent Verhagen in a thrilling run to the flag.

In the end, Sargent held on by just 0.299s to get the breakthrough win in Pro Am.

Sargent said he “gave it everything” to hold on.

“Ultimately, we did nothing wrong really, but I had to work for it on the last lap,” Sargent said. 

“I haven’t had to do that in a while, but it was good fun at the end. On the second to last lap, he got really close to me, and was actually pushing me down the back straight. 

“He was trying to do everything he could, I knew I was going to be close on the edge, I might have just dropped a wheel on the last lap, but I gave it everything I had to build a gap to keep me safe for the final half lap. 

“It’s unbelievable, I truly can’t believe it, and it is just great for everybody on the team. It is important for everyone.”

Tom Sargent celebrates his Pro-Am victory.

Sargent left Australia at the end of 2022 having overcome now Supercars driver Ryan Wood in a thrilling fight for that year’s Porsche Sprint Challenge title.

Last year he made the move to the states to compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Championship with McElrea Racing and finished a strong second in the standings.

Now he has stepped up to GT and in his fourth round has stood on the top step of the podium.

Sargent was full of praise for his co-driver Washington to make so much ground in the opening stint.

“I take my hat off to Kyle,” Sargent said. 

“He never put a foot wrong, just quickly turned over laps, and then we had an absolutely perfect pit stop, the best we have done all year, and we have all been working really hard on those. 

“We nailed that and from then on it was up to me to bring it home.”

After the breakthrough success on Saturday, a drive through penalty for speeding in the pits meant Sargent/Washington had to settle for 11th on Sunday.

The next GT World Challenge America round is at Road America on August 16-18.

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