Kal Fortner is using EBC Brakes Racing’s sintered brake pads on his Mercedes track car
Kal Fortner is competing in the 2026 season of Gridlife in the USA, using his Mercedes AMG GTS as weapon of choice.
The driver is utilising EBC Brakes Racing’s SR-21™ sintered endurance motorsport brake pads to ensure stopping power is optimal in his super-coupe.
Following podiums in Carolina and Atlanta, alongside another SR-21™-equipped driver, Eric ‘Dewey’ DeWitt, Fortner next visited Michigan’s Gingerman Raceway for Gridlife Midwest, with more top results secured across the weekend.
Read how it panned out in his own words below…
“Coming off of another strong showing at Gridlife Atlanta with a double podium in Streetmod for EBC, I was feeling all the momentum and all the confidence heading into my 10th Gridlife Midwest, the event that started it all for me! The energy at Gridlife Midwest is just unmatched in every way, from the massive crowds to the festival vibes throughout the weekend, it’s always been my favourite event making a podium here just that much more meaningful. This is Gridlife’s Indy 500.”
“This weekend proved to me more of a challenge that I could have ever expected though. Right at the first corner of the very first session, my ABS failed, making each braking zone incredibly challenging. While racing a car designed without ABS is relatively straightforward, racing one without it that’s designed to have it is nothing short of dangerous.”
“Because of this, I was far off of the pace I needed to be fighting at the front, and potentially too far off to even put it in the top-5 for the podium sprint. I knew that if I wanted a podium, I needed to give it my absolute everything to at the very least make it into the sprint in order to give us the chance to fix our ABS issues, and I was able to do just that! Modulating my SR-21™ pads and focusing on perfecting each and every braking zone, I got us into the sprint by just over a second! This gave us a full day to chase whatever electrical issue was causing our problems. Thankfully, Gridlife is a paddock full of the most helpful people, and after getting help from a couple mechanics on a Rush SR team, we found the blown fuse, and the ABS was back to working as it should!
“Come Sunday, I knew what I had to do, and now that I could actually lean into the full potential of my EBC brakes, I knew I could give it my everything to go for my third podium in a row for the season! Although I missed out on second place due to fuel cuts from the car getting little too hot waiting in the pits from an incident on track, I was able to secure third, and with Eric Dewitt in first, this was yet another double podium for EBC! After such a challenging event, to be able to come home with a podium is something I’ll forever be grateful for. Next up we’ve got Watkins Glen, one of my favourite tracks and a place that the Mercedes really shines at! The last time we were there, not only did I set the Streetmod record, I was also able to get the overall record! I’m so hyped to see what we can do this time!”
SR-21™ Race and Endurance Pads
A variation of SR-11™ that offers ultra-high friction and is targeted for the front and rear of race cars with bias controls only. SR bites harder and lasts longer.





















