by John Dagys @ sportscar365
Lawson Aschenbach held off Gabriele Piana for victory in Saturday’s Pirelli World Challenge GTS Sprint season-opener in St. Pete for Blackdog Speed Shop.
The defending class champion took his No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R to a 0.547-second win over PWC debutant Piana, who started his Muehlner Motorsport Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR from pole.
Aschenbach got around Piana for the lead on Lap 2 and held the Italian driver at bay, despite heavy pressure at times throughout the 50-minute race, which saw sprinkles of rain.