Race Recap GT3-Espresso Cup
Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
Tue, Aug 11, 2026Round 12
Williams13 Dominates Motorsport Arena Oschersleben: Leads from Pole to Victory
Race at a Glance
Field Size
12
Laps
15
Avg Lap Time
1:23.540
Clean Runners
5
Lead Lap Finishers
7
Margin
+3.119s
Winner Spotlight
Jonathan Williams
P1 Finish
At Motorsport Arena Oschersleben on Tuesday night, #1 Jonathan Williams converted his pole position into a race victory in Round 12 of the GT3-Espresso Cup, holding the lead across all 15 laps in a caution-free affair to claim his third win of the season for the Old Guy Racing League. Williams, who arrived at Oschersleben with two prior victories this season, was unchallenged at the front as zero lead changes across the 15-lap distance told the story of a dominant evening for the #1 entry. Completing a clean front-row lockout result was #17 Alan Purser, who ran second from the start and crossed the line in that same position, logging a strong points result in what was otherwise a controlled run through the field.
The race's most notable storyline behind the top two belonged to #89 Bradley Tidwell, who climbed two positions from his fifth-place starting spot to secure the final podium position. Tidwell's P3 result earned him the Hard Charger honors on the night and, critically, it was enough to keep him perched at the top of the GT3-Espresso Cup standings. All five classified positions from P1 through P5 shifted at least once from their starting slots, with #77 Kevin Miller dropping a spot from third to fourth and #43 John Gardner Sr. advancing one position to fifth. Further back, #137 Heath Olinger and #20 Alex Claudio each accumulated 12 incidents on the night — the most of any finishers — though Claudio still managed a one-position gain to seventh.
Five drivers completed the race without a single incident — #9 Nicholas Marshall, #074 Ric Wishon, #60 Mark Bolton, #11 Pernell Hanelt, and #87 Patrick Rawicz — a commendable showing in the GT3 machinery around Oschersleben's demanding layout. Marshall in particular ran a clean race from seventh on the grid but fell one spot to eighth at the checkered flag, illustrating how tidy racing does not always translate to position gains in a field of 12.
With 38 races still remaining in the GT3-Espresso Cup season, the standings picture is extraordinarily tight at the top, with Bradley Tidwell leading Jonathan Williams and Alan Purser in what projects to be a three-driver battle for series supremacy. Williams' Round 12 victory did nothing to separate the top names in the standings, meaning the fight at the front of the GT3-Espresso Cup remains wide open heading into the weeks ahead.
Top Movers
Bradley Tidwell89
▲ +2John Gardner Sr43
▲ +1Alex Claudio20
▲ +1Finishing Order
| Finish | Start | +/- | Car # | Driver | Inc | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Jonathan Williams | 2x | — |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 17 | Alan Purser | 3x | — |
| 3 | 5 | +2 | 89 | Bradley Tidwell | 2x | — |
| 4 | 3 | -1 | 77 | Kevin Miller | 4x | — |
| 5 | 6 | +1 | 43 | John Gardner Sr | 3x | — |
| 6 | 4 | -2 | 137 | Heath Olinger | 12x | — |
| 7 | 8 | +1 | 20 | Alex Claudio | 12x | — |
| 8 | 7 | -1 | 9 | Nicholas Marshall | 0x | — |
| 9 | 9 | 0 | 074 | Ric Wishon | 0x | — |
| 10 | 10 | 0 | 60 | Mark Bolton | 0x | — |
| 11 | 11 | 0 | 11 | Pernell Hanelt | 0x | — |
| 12 | 12 | 0 | 87 | Patrick Rawicz | 0x | — |
