Random Vandals Racing took home the overall Pirelli GT4 America and Silver class wins, with ACI Motorsports on the charge to secure another Pro-Am victory, while Rotek Racing fought all the way to the line to do the same in the Am category.
Silver
John Capestro-Dubets started on pole position in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, but Tyler Gonzalez had a phenomenal start in the No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO, sweeping around the outside to move into first overall. Colin Garrett and Kevin Boehm were running side by side throughout multiple corners in the No. 51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82 and No. 97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82 as they both battled for third.
Gonzalez came to perform the driver change with teammate Corey Lewis just before the halfway mark, and the other frontrunners followed suit as well. As they returned to the track, they retained the lead, with RS1’s Eric Filgueiras exiting pit lane just behind, followed by Zac Anderson in the AutoTechnic machine. Kenton Koch joined the conversation shortly after in the No. 97 BMW, going wheel to wheel with Anderson and getting his elbows out in the process in order to move ahead.
However, Smooge Racing were handed a 5s post-race penalty for a pit stop infringement, reigniting the battle for podium positions. The pack continued to shuffle around on the leaderboard as the second half of the race progressed, with Koch going on the attack to pass Lewis for the lead with 12 minutes to go.
Koch was untouchable as he sped away down the track, roaring ahead to claim the opening race of the weekend for Random Vandals Racing. It was a good day for BMW, with AutoTechnic Racing finishing in second place. Following the post-race penalty for Smooge Racing, RS1 were able to remain within reach to move ahead and complete the podium in third.
“I was just trying to hang on to that group, and it definitely got a bit more intense than I expected at times, especially during that wild ride at Turn 13,” explained Kevin Boehm. “ I managed to stay in touch with the guys and wanted to make it easier for Kenton when he took over the car. We had some work to do, but I knew Kenton would do a great job with it. It was a crazy start, and what a way to finish it!”
Koch echoed his teammate’s thoughts, saying: “It was a heck of a race! Kevin handed me a good car, not a scratch on it, though there might be a couple now. Winning this one feels really good. We were battling hard, and I need to review the contact with Zach. It was an aggressive move, and once we touched, things cascaded from there. I’m fortunate to co-drive with Kevin and be part of the Random Vandals family. Looking forward to the next one tomorrow.”
Pro-Am
The Pro-Am class saw action throughout the entirety of the field. Roman DeAngelis stayed out of trouble in the first lap of the race, keeping his No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 away from the argy-bargy unfolding around him. The Canadian driver had a dramatic showdown with out-of-class traffic, but managed to keep his machine on track. Curt Swearingin, who was running second in class, had his work cut out for him as Silver class traffic was separating him from DeAngelis.
The Heart of Racing Team driver handed over the No. 27 Aston Martin to his teammate Gray Newell, who went on to fight with Kay Van Berlo in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Van Berlo kept Newell honest for a few laps, before eventually snatching first places away from him. From there, it was smooth sailing for the Dutchman, who set off and never looked back until he reached the checkered flag.
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In the closing stages of the race, Jonathan Neudorf invited himself into the mix, lurking behind Newell. With less than 10 minutes on the clock, the No. 23 TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4 was able to grab second place. However, the Nissan got into trouble and fell back down the order, which in turn also allowed Andy Lee to claim the place in his No. 5 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4, further bumping Newell to third in the process to round off the podium positions.
“To be honest, I didn’t have to do much today,” joked van Berlo. “It felt like all the hard work had already been done. Major credit to the ACI Motorsports crew; we’ve been making steady progress throughout the season, and things seem to be getting easier. Curt qualified in P7 this morning, which was P2 in class, which was a tremendous help. He did a fantastic job at the start—no damage, no mistakes—and we had a perfect pit stop. From there, it was about managing the race, minimizing risks, and scoring as many points as possible. I’ve had tougher races than today’s, but all the credit goes to Curt and the ACI team. I’m thrilled with the points we’ve earned.”
“We hope this becomes a habit for the rest of the season,” Swearingin said. “Let’s win this thing!”
Am
Robb Holland wasted no time moving ahead into the Am class lead on board his No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, pushing James Clay back to second in the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82, and Wisconsin native Nicholas Shanny on the move in the No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82, slotting himself up to third in class.
The running order remained unchanged as the top three in class handed over their machines to their co-drivers during the pit stops and driver changes. The fight was far from over though, because with under 20 minutes remaining, Rotek Racing’s Jaden Lander ran wide and slightly off-track in his Porsche, allowing Charlie Postins to sweep past into the lead for BimmerWorld.
However, a 3s post-race penalty was handed to BimmerWorld for a pit lane speed violation, providing Lander with an opportunity to recover. Postins tried his best to pull a gap, but traffic kept Lander within striking distance, and as they crossed the finish line, Rotek Racing were crowned the winners.
BimmerWorld were able to hold on to second place, with third belonging to Carrus Callas Raceteam’s Nicholas Shanny and Chris Walsh.
“Turn 1 on the first lap of my stint was intense, but I managed to hold the car steady,” explained Jaden. “My focus was on maintaining a 3s gap to Postins ahead, and we got it done. It was close, but that’s racing—anything can happen.”
Robb Holland had some colorful insights about the race; “It was absolutely nuts. I could see the tension building early on; the guys were fighting a bit too hard. My main priority was making sure Jaden had a solid car. He’s been quick all weekend, so when he got in, we were pumped. We had the gap and just needed to hold it. Then, out of nowhere, everything kicked off, and I was literally on the edge of my seat. I’m used to single-driver sprints, so this had me nervous, the whole car shaking. But in the end, we got it done—P1, first place!”
The Pirelli GT4 America field will return for race two on Sunday, August 18th at 10:55 a.m. CT.