Two races into SRO GT World Challenge America’s new three-hour format, and JMF Motorsports has yet to lose. The No. 34 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mikael Grenier and Michai Stephens took the Pro-class win Sunday at Circuit of The Americas, making it a perfect two-for-two to start the 2026 season.
But this one came with scars.
Unlike the near-flag-to-flag romp at Sonoma in March, the COTA round was messy. Grenier caught a drive-through penalty and a separate 10-second post-race time addition after contact with Pro-Am traffic in the final hour. The combined punishment cost the team the overall victory, handing that honor to Wright Motorsports’ Porsche entry of Dave Musial Jr. and Ryan Yardley in Pro-Am.
Still, JMF walked away with the only thing that matters for the championship: full Pro-class points.
Stephens set the tone early, pulling away cleanly from pole before the first Full Course Yellow arrived inside five minutes. The No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 went dead on the opening lap and needed retrieval. Once green-flag racing resumed, Stephens was untouchable at the front.
The handoff to Grenier at mid-race was clean. The veteran Canadian rejoined with a comfortable buffer that grew as Pro-Am cars slotted between him and the nearest Pro-class threat, Robby Foley in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Then the trouble started. Grenier tangled with a Pro-Am runner while navigating traffic, drawing the 10-second penalty for incident responsibility plus the drive-through. Worse, the team’s radio was cutting out. Grenier could only hear fragments — enough to catch the word “drive-through” and see a pit board confirming it. The 10-second addition he learned about secondhand, from a teammate.
He served the drive-through, rejoined still ahead of Foley, and then did what experienced racers do: he put his head down and built enough margin to absorb the post-race hit. He crossed the line first on course, more than six seconds clear of Turner in Pro and 35 seconds up on third-place McCann Racing. After the 10-second adjustment, the overall win went to the Pro-Am Porsche, but the Pro-class result stood.
“We are here to learn from it,” Stephens said afterward, choosing his words carefully. “Be present and execute.”
Elsewhere in the Mercedes-AMG customer racing camp, the weekend produced a mixed bag. The debuting Am-class pairing of Marc Austin and Jason Golan in the No. 11 Mad Joker with Lone Star Racing entry fought hard for a runner-up finish despite a late spin caused by on-track debris. They had led at mid-race and were battling a team that included former Rolex 24 overall winner Oswaldo Negri Jr.
Daniel Morad’s return to GT World Challenge America with TR3 Racing was less glamorous. A qualifying red flag caught the No. 9 Mercedes-AMG GT3 mid-lap, forcing co-driver Brayton Williams to race through the field. An early contact incident added front-end damage, and the pair salvaged only a top-10 Pro-Am finish. Morad, characteristically, looked forward: “The pace is good. Brayton is going to just keep getting stronger.”
In the supporting GT America series, Dan Knox scored a pair of sixth-place finishes in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Over in Pirelli GT4 America, the No. 39 Dome Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Marc Miller and Allen Patten saw a potential Pro-Am podium destroyed by collateral damage from a crash between the overall leaders with minutes remaining.
The series heads to Sebring International Raceway May 8-10 for Round 3. JMF arrives with a maximum points haul and a target on its roof. Two poles, two wins, and now two penalties that nearly cost them at COTA — a reminder that perfection in the points column doesn’t require perfection on the track. It just requires enough speed to absorb the mistakes.
Grenier knows it. “I need to avoid those mistakes,” he admitted. The championship lead says he can afford a few. The trend says he’d better not push that luck much further.
Share this Story