Hans Horpedahl Wins First GRIDLIFE GT Season By 2-Point Margin
This year, GRIDLIFE introduced a brand-new ruleset - GRIDLIFE GT, designed around the popular Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup ruleset but with more power and aerodynamic allowance. Hans Horpedahl was an early adopter, a long-time competitor in Eibach GLTC with his familiar black and gold Honda S2000. This year, he purchased a silver C5 Chevrolet Corvette, and entered the new GLGT class at its first event, GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival. Though the class size was small to start, star power from the GRIDLIFE community showed up, including Tony Barber, Allen Patten, and James Houghton.
At Midwest Festival, the newness of the category was highlighted by the presence of extreme home-brew builds, like AJ Hartman’s V6 twin-turbo Mustang, and factory racecars - James Houghton’s Honda Civic TCR and Allen Patten’s Thunder Bunny Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4. But Horpedahl’s simple Corvette quietly scored two top fives that first weekend, then followed that up with two more at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Though Patten and Houghton dominated the first two rounds, bolstered by an entry from Aaron Leichty in a C8 Corvette, Horpedahl continued to plug away with championship points.
Though Road America led to just two race finishes, a 7th and a 6th, Circuit Legends at Lime Rock Park was a breakthrough for the Ohio-based driver. While dealing with a new ECU and some braking issues, Horpedahl scored 8th in the first two races, but scored his first podium in race 3, followed by a 2nd in race 4, despite electrical gremlins.
The event at Autobahn Country Club brought more solid results for Horpedahl, including two fourths. Following the event in Joliet, IL, Hans brought his car across the country to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for a run at a weekend title. He was up against Chris DeLucia, a New York-based competitor in a BMW M3 who posted a handful of podiums earlier in the year. Maxwell Lisovsky, Rob Tachovsky, Charles Spence, Anthony Scafuto, and Jordan Wisely also showed up to battle at the scenic course in Monterey. Collin King, a race winner from earlier in the season, was well-prepped to dominate the weekend in pace, but had tires that were slightly out of compliance - awarding Horpedahl two race wins. Horpedahl would go on to win the following two races, setting him up for a season finale battle against AJ Hartman.
Though James Houghton still led the standings after racking up 7 race wins, either Hartman or Horpedahl would win the championship with Houghton absent for the last race. Horpedahl struggled in race 1, but rallied for a podium in race 2, while Hartman took 2nd and 5th on Saturday’s races. On Sunday, Hartman scored 3rd, while Horpedahl scored 7th, which meant that Hans would be forced to win race 4 to win the championship. A relentless downpour soaked the racetrack, but Pittsburgh International Race Complex retains plenty of grip even in the rain. While things looked treacherous, the race went on. Hartman finished second. Hans won the race.
Horpedahl won the championship by just two points, finishing out an inaugural season as the master of consistency, earning 271 points to Hartman’s 269. While he battled mechanical issues and chased wins on track, Horpedahl assisted the GRIDLIFE team off track with the Eibach GLTC series, offering support and guidance to new drivers to the series. There can only be one first champion for a GRIDLIFE wheel to wheel series, and Hans Horpedahl will go down as the 2025 GRIDLIFE GT champion.
