As temperatures began to rise at VIRginia International Raceway, the on-track action in Pirelli GT4 America heated up as well in Race 2. It was a nail-biting last few laps as the podium finishing order was only decided as the checkered flag waved, with thrilling battles across all three classes all the way to the line.
In the end, RS1 were untouchable as they secured their second win of the weekend in the Silver class. In Pro-Am, it was an astonishing and daring move by P1 Groupe that saw them take home the victory. Rotek Racing completed a confident drive as they laid their claim over the top step of the podium in the Am class.
Silver
The Silver class field began jostling for position from the moment the green flag waved, with pole sitter Jake Cowden in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 coming under threat from Eric Filgueiras in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport and Zac Anderson in the No. 51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82.
Anderson made a charge to the front of the field, and soon thereafter was entangled in a fierce battle with Filgueiras. As pit stops and driver changes unfolded under a full course caution, the RS1 machine beat the AutoTechnic Racing car out of pit lane as John Capestro-Dubets and Colin Garrett took over from their teammates.
Kevin Boehm added himself into the mix in the No. 97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82 in the second half of the race, sitting in third as the final laps approached. Boehm took advantage of the No. 51 of Collin Garrett sliding off the track and into the grass, effectively losing out on second place.
Dubets went on to complete another dominant drive for RS1 alongside Filgueiras, taking back-to-back wins at VIR and extending their championship lead. Boehm and teammate Kenton Koch secured second-place, with Anderson and Garrett completing the podium despite the late-stage mishap.
“We’re just trying to keep with this route we’ve been going on, and we’ll keep working as hard as we can,” said John Capestro-Dubets. “I think this race was really about the details. Eric did a great job out there, our pit stops are what got us out front today. That detail was something we actually worked on right before the race and I think it paid off today, so I’m really proud of that.”
When asked about the level of talent in the GT4 America field, Eric Filgueiras added that “I think everybody’s a threat at this point. It’s such a strong field. I had an amazing battle with Zach (Anderson), he is stellar in that BMW. You have so many big names and factory drivers that are in this field. It’s a really competitive year, that’s why this win is so rewarding. Thanks to our RS1 guys, and thanks to JCD for killing it out there. We’re hoping that we can look back at the year and look at this as the turning point in our season. We started out a little slow at Sonoma and I think we’ve been building up and finding our chemistry as we return to our winning ways again.”
Pro-Am
Mike Skeen was leading the charge early in the No. 53 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82, aided by a multi-car buffer of Silver competitors separating him from Michael Cooper in the No. 9 Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4.
AutoTechnic Racing’s lead was further extended as Mark Brummond got behind the wheel at the halfway mark, but Curt Swearingin gradually tried closing the gap in his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.
The podium fight heated up drastically in the final five minutes, with Swearingin storming past into the Pro-Am lead ahead of Brummond as the two went side by side. However, Matt Bell was putting the pedal to the metal in the No. 43 P1 Groupe Mercedes-AMG GT4 and inserted himself into the conversation as he sat on Swearingin’s rear bumper.
On the final lap, Bell forced Swearingin’s hand and performed a superb move to sweep past and grab the lead. It was a thrilling exchange, and Swearingin attempted to fight back, but Bell’s pace carried him all the way to the line and into victory lane. The duo were also handed the Super Huel Hard Charger Award after gaining a total of 23 positions over the course of the race. ACI Motorsports earned their second podium finish of the weekend, with Brummond and Skeen rounding off the top three with AutoTechnic Racing.
“Alex did a great job taking care of the tires,” expressed Matt Bell. “Because of my fault in Qualifying, we didn’t get a chance to set a lap so we had to start last. The plan before the race was for Alex to tag along with the pack and keep it clean, and he did exactly that. When I got in the car, everybody else had worn out their tires, the car was pretty perfect. Not enough can be said about P1 Groupe and RENNtech. Alex had an off-track moment on the test day, which involved a lot of body work. I had a moment in qualifying, resulting in even more body work. We made the team’s weekend as hard as humanly possible, and they still gave us a car that could win.”
“It’s been a long time coming,” echoed Alex Vogel. “It takes a while to get up to speed with these guys and it has been especially helpful to have Matt as a coach over the last year and as a co-driver this year. He has really helped me get comfortable in the car and put us in a position to be here. It’s great!”
Am
The opening half of the race saw a very tight battle emerge in the Am class. Jaden Lander was up front in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, followed by Race 1 winner Charlie Postins in the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82, and Chris Walsh in the No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82.
As driver changes ensued, Virginia native James Clay returned to the track in the class lead in the BimmerWorld BMW, followed in turn by Rotek Racing’s Robb Holland. Another Virginia local, Paul Sparta, joined the party in his No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82.
However, the race leaders ran into issues with just over fifteen minutes remaining as they had to come down pit lane to change a tire, dropping them down the running order.
Holland benefitted as a result, inheriting first place with a healthy buffer of Pro-Am cars to keep Sparta at bay, who was now followed by David Peterman in the No. 52 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. In the end, the No. 98 commanded by Paul Sparta edged out Peterman to claim the second place on the podium, relegating Random Vandals Racing’s BMW to third place.
“ The start was very hectic,” stated Jaden Lander. “Getting through turns 1, 2, 3, and 4 cleanly was hard but we got through there and just got into a groove.”
Holland sung his teammate’s praises, saying that “this guy is such a class act, we stuck him in with all the Pros because we knew he could hold his own, and that’s what he did. He ran up front for most of his stint and handed me the car in second place, and we did the rest from there. The Rotek Racing guys are crushing it. It’s been a blast and we hope to get some more wins.”