ASHTON HARRISON BECOMES FIRST FEMALE OVERALL GTWCA WINNER WITH COMPASS RACING

Originally published on Racer.com

Almost overlooked due to the sometimes confusing race-within-a-race format of the Intercontinental GT Challenge Indy 8 Hour and the GT World Challenge America finale was the first overall victory for a woman, and the first victory for Ashton Harrison in her first GT World Challenge America race.

Harrison, a recent participant in the Honda GT3 Academy that has also produced standouts Dakota Dickerson and Taylor Hagler, teamed with regular Matt McMurry in the #77 Compass Racing Richard Mille Acura NSX Evo for the first three hours of the Indy 8 Hour. When the cars crossed the finish line after the three-hour mark, the GT World Challenge America race was over, and the Compass Racing pro/am duo were in the lead.Harrison and McMurry were helped by several factors affecting the Pro cars: Turner Motorsports withdrew due to an illness for driver Michael Dinan; K-PAX’s dominating duo of Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper had already clinched the championship, and so opted for a strategy that would position them better for the 8 Hour; and Winward Racing’s Mercedes AMG was involved in an accident early on.

After the podium ceremonies were done, Compass Racing got news of another victory. After Harrison, McMurry and Mario Farnbacher celebrated an apparent second-place finish in the Silver Cup class, the No. 26 Sainteloc Racing Audi of Aurelien Panis, Lucas Legeret and Nicolas Baert was penalized 53 seconds — the equivalent of a drive-through — for entering a closed pit during the race. That promoted the Compass squad to first in Silver Cup.