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Matan Rosenberg is GRIDLIFE’s Back-To-Back GLTC Champion

WAMPUM, PA – Team Falken is excited to announce that team driver Matan Rosenberg is the 2025 GRIDLIFE GLTC champion. Rosenberg’s 1st place overall performance at the GRIDLIFE Pitt Race earned him a historic back-to-back championship achievement for the wheel-to-wheel class. The young driver confidently maneuvered the 2.78-mile road course and finished the series piloting his #484 Chevrolet Corvette equipped with Falken Azenis RT660+ tires.

With high stakes for the final GRIDLIFE race, Matan ensured that he and his car were as ready as possible. Fellow competitor Eric Kutil was also in championship contention and trailed Rosenberg by only eight race points. Rosenberg has previous experience on the track; however, he spent most of Thursday’s test day adjusting the Corvette. Team Rosenberg brought several Eibach springs to test before the primary race to get the car’s suspension tuned to Rosenberg’s preference. The team spent most of the day changing shocks and springs and adjusting shock pressure, but Matan was unable to find the pace he was looking for. By the end of the day, Rosenberg felt the adjustments were dialed in and balanced, so the team left the car as is for the next day’s practice.

The following day, the event started with two practice sessions. Rosenberg used the first practice session to test the Corvette’s suspension adjustments made the day before and to understand the difference between the track’s morning and afternoon conditions. The car felt balanced at first, but Rosenberg quickly discovered that it struggled with cornering and braking, which caused a loss in pace. Team Rosenberg decided to install a fresh set of Azenis RT660+ tires for the second practice session since they did not want to waste time chasing suspension setup issues. The fresh set of tires instantly remedied the problems and inspired confidence in Rosenberg’s driving.

On Friday afternoon, Team Rosenberg put on another new set of tires for Friday’s qualifying race to ensure maximum performance for the fastest lap time. Rosenberg could not fully utilize the tires because he was a bit unlucky during this session and could not complete a clean lap. On his first flying lap, traffic released in front of him, and on the second flying lap, a fellow competitor spun out in front of him, causing him to slow down for both laps. Although there were a couple of setbacks that prevented Rosenberg from qualifying with 100% of his effort, he qualified in third place behind Eric Kutil and his Honda Civic by six-hundredths of a second.

Rosenberg went into Saturday’s first race with great confidence in his car with new tires on. He was initially concerned about not starting beside Kutil; however, Rosenberg knew the Corvette had good pace but could not show it during the qualifying session. On the first lap, Rosenberg trailed behind Eric Kutil’s nimble Honda Civic and the 2022 GLTC Champion, Tom O’Gorman’s Honda S2000, who could expertly out-brake the field. Rosenberg felt the car drove well out of the corners and the car’s power helped significantly on the long straights. He made his first attack in the second lap on Kutil during the straight after turn 15. The two battled it out from turns 16 to 18, but Rosenberg made up the distance and positioned himself inside the track after turn 18 to take advantage of his car’s power to overtake on the straight. Shortly after at the end of the third lap, Rosenberg went in for an attempt to pass O’Gorman before the first turn, but O’Gorman outbroke him to defend his position. On turn 7, O’Gorman made an error and slipped out of the racing line, which allowed Rosenberg to quickly capitalize on the mistake and make the pass to gain the first-place position. Rosenberg dominated the rest of the race and slowly widened the gap, finishing in 1st place by nearly 3 seconds faster than O’Gorman.

For Saturday’s second race, Team Rosenberg installed another set of new tires before the start. With a well-earned start in first place, Rosenberg chose to race on the inside line going into the first turn, but quickly learned that racing on the outside was better since O’Gorman pulled ahead of Rosenberg using the outside line. Rosenberg quickly shook off Tom passing him and instead was concerned about Kutil trailing behind with a fresh set of tires. Both Rosenberg and Kutil passed O’Gorman early in the second lap, which led to a multi-lap battle between the two championship contenders. Although Rosenberg’s Corvette was strong and created space on the straights, Kutil would reel him in on the more technical portions of the track and would follow Rosenberg very closely. Both drivers would put pressure on each other and drive flawlessly until Kutil’s foot slipped off the brake pedal at the start of lap six, going into the first turn. Kutil would go off the track and into the grass, quickly lose position to O’Gorman, and eventually retire out of the race due to overheating issues. Rosenberg would pull away cleanly with a 1st place finish and a comfortable 8.5-second lead over O’Gorman and a 38-point buffer over Kutil, relieving the pressure for championship contention.

The final GRIDLIFE races were held the following day, with the third race’s starting grid based on the second race’s fastest time. Rosenberg started up front with the fastest lap time of 1:55.00, and Kutil started right behind in second with a lap time of 1:55.40. At the start, Rosenberg learned from his previous race to take the outside lane at the start, which allowed him to pull away and maintain his lead, and his focus shifted to managing his tires. During the race, an incident caused the field to race under a full-course caution, with a pace car leading. On the restart, Rosenberg jumped too early and had to check up. The flag to proceed with racing waved right as Rosenberg checked up, and the mistake allowed O’Gorman to pass him on the first turn. Rosenberg trailed O’Gorman for a lap and eventually made a pass to take the 1st place win for the race, which also allowed him to clinch the championship win.

Sunday’s final race featured the seven-car invert for the starting grid, putting Rosenberg in 7th place. The forecast was eerie with possible rain; however, it looked like the slippery weather was going to miss the track, so Team Rosenberg stayed with the same setup. With the GLTC championship in lock, Rosenberg’s strategy was to finish the weekend clean without any issues. After the start, O’Gorman pulled off the track with a differential issue, and shortly after, Rosenberg experienced a puff of smoke in his cabin. Thinking it was an issue with his car, Rosenberg frantically checked the gauges, but his oil pressure looked fine, and the smoke did not smell like engine or gear oil. Rosenberg opted to continue thinking it was an issue with his transmission fluid, and he wanted to finish the weekend completing every race. During the race, Rosenberg saw several opportunities and made several passes into third place. Right before the checkered flag, Rosenberg used the strength of his straight-line speed to make a final pass to finish behind Eric Magnussen, ending the last GLTC race of the year and the final race at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex ever in 2nd place.

“Matan never failed to amaze me during each race,” said Gerald Alvarado, Falken Tires’ Supervisor, Passenger Car Motorsports & Events. “He always comes in to compete and is always looking to take the win. We are proud to have him represent Team Falken and take home the GLTC championship win.”

“This season was by far our most challenging series yet,” said Matan Rosenberg. “Taking home the 2025 title at Pitt Race this past weekend was the culmination of an incredible season, and we couldn't have done it without the support of our amazing team, sponsors, family, and everyone who's been with us throughout the year.