Aschenbach earned his 3.614-second victory after some early race drama. Starting second in the No. 71 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si, Aschenbach made a mistake in turn 10 and fell all the way to fifth with polesitter Aaron Povoledo leading in the No. 88 K-Pax Racing Volvo C30.
Aschenbach moved around Tristan Herbert's No. 33 Brimtek Motorsports Volkswagen GTI on the third lap of the Touring Car race and past teammate Brett Sandberg in the No. 70 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si on lap five. Aschenbach then chased the No. 81 Durabond Honda Civic Si of Anthony Rapone for the next 14 laps.
Finally within striking distance of the lead battle between Rapone and Povoledo on lap 19, Aschenbach moved past Rapone and, on the same lap, slid past Povoledo for the lead on the inside of the track's final corner.
Aschenbach led the last nine laps of the race to earn his second win of the season and fourth in his Pirelli World Challenge career.
“First and foremost, I have to say hats off to Compass360 and Honda Racing/HPD,” Aschenbach said. “We had an awesome car. We knew we were fast here, we knew this would be a good track for us, but there was a big question about whether we had the power to keep up with the other cars. I fell back initially a little bit. I got a little loose in the final corner, it was totally my fault, and I lost a couple spots, but then fortunately I was able to kind of slowly pick people off. It wasn't really so much I was passing them, except probably Aaron at the end, but everybody else was making a few mistakes and I was able to capitalize on it. At the end, I put a bit of a low-percentage move on Povoledo and I've got to thank him for racing clean.”
Rapone, the 2010 Canadian Touring Car champion from nearby Thornhill, finished second on his home track in his World Challenge debut.
Povoledo finished third for his second-consecutive podium finish in the Touring Car class after a win in Round Four at Miller Motorsports Park.
Gary Kwok, another Canadian Touring Car participant making his first appearance in Pirelli World Challenge, finished fourth in the No. 82 Durabond Honda Civic Si. Kwok also earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for improving eight positions overall during the race. Sandberg held on for a fifth-place finish, his best of the season.
Aschenbach extends his Championship lead with the win to 115 points over Povoledo, 604 to 489. Ron Zitza, who recovered from a qualifying crash to scrape together a seventh place finish, is third with 438 points, followed by Herbert (388) and Robb Holland (387). Honda leads Volkswagen, 40 to 31, in the Touring Car Manufacturers' Championship, followed by Volvo (31).
Round Six of the Pirelli World Challenge Championships will take place on Sunday at Mosport International Raceway. Both rounds will air on Versus on Saturday, June 18 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Position, class, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out (if any).
1. GT, (1), Mike Skeen, Charlotte, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 30.
2. GT, (3), Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, Ga., Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, 30, -2.506.
3. GT, (8), Jason Daskalos, Albuquerque, N.M., Dodge Viper, 30, -4.764.
4. GT, (6), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 30, -9.251.
5. GT, (4), Andy Pilgrim, Marina Del Rey, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, 30, -9.808.
6. GT, (5), Patrick Long, Bellaire, Fla., Porsche 911 GT3, 30, -12.114.
7. GT, (7), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette, 30, -13.040.
8. GT, (10), Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 30, -17.836.
9. GT, (11), Rob Morgan, Dallas, Texas, Porsche 911 GT3, 30, -18.291.
10. GT, (9), Alex Figge, Denver, Colo., Volvo S60 AWD, 30, -20.495.
11. GT, (12), Fred Roberts, Mississauga, Ontario, Dodge Viper, 30, -35.997.
12. GTS, (14), Ben Crosland(R), Salt Lake City, Utah, Ford Mustang FR500S, 29, -1 lap.
13. GTS, (15), Eric Foss, Dallas, Texas, Ford Mustang FR500S, 29, -1 lap.
14. GTS, (17), Chris DeSalvo(R), Charlotte, N.C., Ford Mustang GT, 29, -1 lap.
15. GTS, (20), Brad Adams(R), New Orleans, La., Ford Mustang 500S, 29, -1 lap.
16. GTS, (18), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee, Wis., Acura TSX, 29, -1 lap.
17. GTS, (19), George Winkler(R), Frederick, Md., Ford Mustang FR500S, 29, -1 lap.
18. GTS, (21), Nick Esayian, San Diego, Calif., Acura TSX, 29, -1 lap.
19. GTS, (23), Ardee Toppe, Houston, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, 29, -1 lap.
20. GTS, (22), Ernie Jakubowski, Oakville, Ontario, Porsche Cayman S, 29, -1 lap.
21. TC, (26), Lawson Aschenbach, Darnestown, Md., Honda Civic Si, 28, -2 laps.
22. TC, (27), Anthony Rapone, Thornhill, Ontario, Honda Civic Si, 28, -2 laps.
23. TC, (25), Aaron Povoledo, Toronto, Ontario, Volvo C30 FWD, 28, -2 laps.
24. TC, (32), Gary Kwok, Markham, Ontario, Honda Civic Si, 28, -2 laps.
25. TC, (30), Brett Sandberg, Allendale, N.J., Honda Civic Si, 28, -2 laps.
26. TC, (31), Robb Holland, Denver, Colo., Volvo C30 FWD, 28, -2 laps.
27. TC, (38), Ron Zitza, Orlando, Fla., Volkswagen Jetta, 28, -2 laps.
28. TC, (29), Eric Meyer, Indianapolis, Ind., Mazda RX-8, 27, -3 laps.
29. TC, (35), Ray Mason(R), Columbus, Ohio, Honda Civic Si, 27, -3 laps.
30. TC, (34), Kurt Langeveldt, Bowmanville, Ontario, Mazda RX-8, 27, -3 laps.
31. TC, (28), Tristan Herbert(R), Reston, Va., Volkswagen GTI, 25, -5 laps.
32. GT, (2), Patrick Lindsey, Santa Barbara, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 19, Engine.
33. TC, (36), Carolyn Kujala, Tucson, Ariz., Volkswagen Jetta, 17, Mech.
34. GTS, (16), Alec Udell(R), Houston, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, 8, Crash.
35. GTS, (13), Paul Brown, Covina, Calif., Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 6, Engine.
36. TC, (33), Patrick Seguin(R), Calrence Creek, Ontario, Honda Civic Si, 4, Elect.
37. TC, (37), Devin Cates, Broad Run, Va., Volkswagen GTI, 0, Mech.
38. GTS, (24), Jason von_Kluge(R), Ann Arbor, Mich., Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 0, DNS.
39. GT, (39), Sonny Whelen, Old Saybrook, Conn., Chevrolet Corvette C6, 0, DNS.