Tag: road america

Celso Neto led from green to checkered at Road America in TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School’s TCX class, earning his third victory of the year. It was a very strong weekend for MINI JCW Team, with Cristian Perocarpi picking up his second win of the weekend with a last lap pass, while PJ Groenke pulled away in TCA and never looked back.

TCX

With the exception of a big lock up from Neto on the opening lap, the driver of the No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S was calm and collected throughout the remainder of the race. He managed to pull a significant gap over the rest of the field, aided by the fact that championship leader Chris Walsh was entangled in an early battle with Cooper Broll.

The drivers of the No. 104 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M2 CS (Cup) and No. 19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S swapped positions briefly before Walsh reclaimed second place.

It was smooth sailing for Neto from there, going unchallenged as he focused on the clear track ahead all the way to the finish line. As he reached the checkered flag, he swept the weekend in the process, standing on the top step of the podium for the third time this season.

Walsh wrapped up his time at Road America with another second-place finish, accompanied by Christopher DeFreitas on the podium, who drove his No. 39 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura Integra Type S to his first podium result of the year.

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“The plan was the same as yesterday—to get a strong start,” explained Neto. “Chris (Walsh) had really good pace at the beginning, so I focused on putting my head down and building a gap. My teammate Cooper Broll also had a great start and got between us, which really helped create that early gap. The draft is really important here, and Chris didn’t have it today, which worked to our advantage. The car was fantastic, and I have to thank the entire team at Skip Barber, SimCraft Racing Simulators, and all the people who support me, including my sponsors. It was definitely a great weekend—we swept it. I couldn’t ask for anything better than pole position, and P1 in both races.”

TC

Perocarpi was on the charge early on in his No. 37 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro, moving up to first in class and fourth overall right at the start of the race. However, Jeff Ricca was eager to challenge in the No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC.

Ricca muscled his way past Perocarpi on the second lap, and the two remained neck and neck, swapping positions a couple of times before Ricca began to pull ahead slightly.

The TC class championship leader was looking poised to take the win in race two, but ran into trouble on the final lap, allowing Perocarpi to sweep past at the last minute to claim back-to-back victories. Ricca concluded the event in second place, with the podium completed by teammate Sally McNulty in the No. 780 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC.

“Honestly, I feel bad for him,” Perocarpi said about Ricca. “He had a great race, and we really battled hard. We had an issue midway through that set us back, but we managed to recover, got our boost back, and put in some great laps toward the end. That definitely put us in a better position.”

TCA

Groenke was back in the winner’s circle at Road America, claiming an uncontested victory in the TCA class aboard his No. 62 MINI JCW. The Canadian driver stayed out of trouble for the 40-minute race and was able to offer MINI JCW Team the win and valuable championship points.

Behind Groenke, it was looking like a strong podium finish for Alex Garcia in the No. 14 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si FE1, however, he suffered a suspension failure at the halfway mark and was unable to complete the race.

Bruce Myrehn finished in second place, bringing home more hardware for the MINI JCW Team.

“To sweep at Road America, my favorite track in North America, is just incredible” said Groenke. “Achieving this in front of so many fans at such an iconic venue is truly out of this world. I can’t thank MINI USA, the MINI JCW team, my sponsors, and everyone else enough for all their support. This win is for all of you. We are number one!”

The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field will return on track at Barber Motorsports Park from September 6th to 8th.

RESULTS

James Sofronas drove flawlessly at Road America to clinch his first GT America powered by AWS win of the season in the SRO3 class, while Isaac Sherman returned to victory lane once again in the GT4 category, further extending his championship points advantage.

SRO3

Sofronas started from pole position in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 and was in full control of the race, but he still had his hands full as Justin Rothberg was all over his rear bumper, looking for any opportunity to overtake in his No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

The two were neck and neck lap after lap, with Sofronas executing brilliant defensive driving to keep his challenger at bay. At the halfway mark, Rothberg launched an attack but ran wide in the process, giving the leader a little bit of breathing room.

A few laps later, Rothberg had regrouped and closed the gap once more, but GT4 class traffic came into play, resulting in Sofronas dropping a wheel off-track in order to maneuver past as they ran three-wide.

Rothberg tried with all his might, but Sofronas was perfectly poised, leading from start to finish as he went on to take the checkered flag, claiming his first win of the season in the process. Rothberg had to settle for second, but the strong points haul from his weekend at Road America has brought him into championship title contention. Johnny O’Connell had a smooth and untroubled race, completing the podium in third, but retaining the overall championship lead.

“I’ve been coming here since ’94, so this feels really good,” said James Sofronas after the race. “We’ve had the pace, earned poles, led laps, and honestly, this year has been tough. But the team has done an incredible job, and that’s what truly matters. To get the win today—especially with Rothberg coming at me like a freight train—means a lot.

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“The Audi in sector two is amazing, so I just had to hold him off through the Kink and pray he didn’t get too good of a run. Hats off to him; he drove great, but the GMG guys did an outstanding job. We were done by 7 p.m. last night, and Kyle treated about 40 of us to dinner, which is where I saw Ryan and told him, ‘I’m due. I need to make this happen.’ After that, it was head down, full focus.

“The GMG, Audi, Kyle, and all the guys—Mobil 1 has supported us since ’94. My son is racing in GR Cup now, and I get emotional thinking about it because I want him to follow in my footsteps but be even better. I don’t have many years left in racing, so I need to get these wins under my belt. This one is for my wife and my kids.”

GT4

Action unfolded in the GT4 class as Grey Newell spun out on the first lap, falling down the running order after originally starting in second place. The driver of the No. 25 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 spent the remainder of the race clawing his way back up the field.

Meanwhile, Sherman was unstoppable in the No. 098 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Right from the opening lap, he didn’t lose any time moving from fourth to second place, before shifting focus and putting pressure on Curt Swearingin, who was in the lead while commanding the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

The two drivers went wheel to wheel, offering a nail-biting show to all the spectators sitting trackside. Sherman was able to grab the lead from Swearingin, which later translated into another victory, with the ACI Motorsports Porsche bringing home second place.

Newell put his head down, slowly making his way back towards the pointy end of the field. He had a remarkable fight with Nicholas Shanny in the No. 21 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 and Farhan Siddiqi in the No. 95 FAST MD Racing with Remstar Audi R8 LMS GT4. The drivers went three-wide for several corners, each eager to overtake the other. Eventually Newell got the best of them, and Siddiqi was forced down pit lane due to an issue.

The last battle to win was against Todd Parriott, who was sitting third in class. The Heart of Racing Team driver and the No. 31 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 driver went nose to tail with only six minutes remaining in the race. Newell eventually prevailed and claimed the last spot on the podium.

The GT America Powered by AWS field will be back on track at Barber Motorsports Park from September 6th to 8th.

RESULTS

Pirelli GT4 America Silver class championship leaders Eric Filgueiras and John Capestro-Dubets fought back from early setbacks to claim the overall win for RS1 at Road America. In Pro-Am, Heart of Racing Team’s Roman DeAngelis and Gray Newell trekked through the field to take the victory. It was a great weekend for Rotek Racing in the Am class, with Robb Holland and Jaden Lander winning back-to-back races.

Silver

Zac Anderson and Kenton Koch started on the front row in their respective No. 51 AutoTechnic Racing and No. 97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82, and the two got their elbows out early as they went wheel to wheel from the moment the green flag waved. Filgueiras was lurking in third in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport as he moved ahead of the No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO of Corey Lewis.

Chaos began to unfold as the frontrunners went three wide down the track, resulting in Filgueiras being sent wide into the grass. Koch took the opportunity to sweep into the lead ahead of Anderson, while Pro-Am competitor Kay van Berlo avoided the mess and moved himself up the overall running order.

As the field performed their driver changes at the halfway mark, a full course yellow emerged shortly after they exited pit lane and returned to the track. As the race restarted just before the last fifteen minutes of the race, AutoTechnic Racing’s Colin Garrett made contact with Curt Swearingin, sending the ACI Motorsports Porsche into the gravel.

Capestro-Dubets took advantage of the situation, moving his No. 28 RS1 Porsche into second overall, putting himself in prime position as a drive-through penalty was given to race leaders Random Vandals Racing for a pit lane speed violation.

The No. 28 had to fend off an intense last-lap attack from Tyler Gonzalez, but he powered ahead to take the race two victory in very dramatic fashion. Smooge Racing finished just behind in second after a drag race to the line, with third place occupied by Heart of Racing Team’s Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier in the No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, scoring their first podium finish in the Silver class.

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“That was tough,” said Filgueiras at the podium celebrations. “It was really close racing with some contact, but you’ve got a lot of great drivers out there who really want it. In the first half of the race, I felt pretty bad because I got pushed back and didn’t feel like I put JCD in the best position. But he pulled it off—this guy’s my hero. Huge thanks to RS1 for giving us a great car, and a big shoutout to my family at home.”

“That was a wild race” continued Capestro-Dubets. “It got a little physical, but we stuck it out. The team was on the radio saying we had to get back in the fight, and I was like, ‘We’re already there.’ Last year, we came into this championship leading, but then I broke my back and missed out on two championships. So to come back and get a win here is incredibly special. I want to thank my family, all my supporters. We appreciate all the love, and we can’t wait to celebrate!”

Pro-Am

In the opening half of the race, van Berlo was unstoppable in his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, cutting his way through the field and moving up into the overall lead within the first twenty minutes.

The No. 23 TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4 also made up a lot of ground as Jonathan Neudorf made his way up to third overall before handing over his machine to teammate Johan Schwartz at the halfway mark.

There was trouble for the No. 33 Rigid Speed BMW M4 GT4 of Lucas Catania, who was shedding bodywork while limping back to pit lane with a puncture. A full course yellow was brought out to collect the debris on track.

As the race restarted, it was heartbreak for Swearingin in the No. 7 Porsche as he was clipped by Colin Garrett in the Silver class. On the other hand, DeAngelis had a fantastic restart in the No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, going from eleventh to fifth overall, and claiming the Pro-Am lead in the process.

The Canadian expertly handled the final minutes of the race, clinching the Pro-Am win with Newell ahead of TechSport Racing’s Neudorf and Schwartz. Austin Krainz and Roland Krainz added to RS1’s success, taking home more hardware for the team with a third place result.

Am

Charlie Postins in the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82 had a decent buffer of out-of-class cars separating him from the next closest competitor, but Lee Carpentier was on the charge in his No. 52 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. By lap 4, the NOLASPORT was in position to take over the class lead, pushing Postins back to second place.

As the opening twenty minutes elapsed, Chris Walsh made significant progress through the field, and launched an attack on Postins, muscling his No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82 past, relegating Postins to third.

However, NOLASPORT were caught out by the safety car, and went tumbling down the running order when they eventually came in to complete their pit stop and driver change.

A perfectly timed pit stop for Rotek Racing allowed Holland to emerge in the Am class lead in his No. 099 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport ahead of David Petermen in the NOLASPORT machine and Lance Bergstein in the No. 72 KRUGSPEED Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO.

Holland was able to translate his lead into a win, sweeping the weekend with Lander for Rotek Racing. Carrus Callas Raceteam added another podium to their tally, with Chris Walsh and Nicholas Shanny taking second, while KRUGSPEED’s Lance Bergstein and Anthony Geraci wrapped up the event in third.

The Pirelli GT4 America field will return at Barber Motorsports Park from September 6th to 8th.

RESULTS

The racing action resumed late Saturday morning at Road America for race one of the TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School championship, with a yellow flag briefly punctuating the race.

It was Celso Neto, Cristian Perocarpi, and PJ Groenke who came out on top when it was all said and done, putting in strong performances to walk away with the victories in the TCX, TC, and TCA classes.

TCX

As the green flag waved, Neto started from pole position and led the field in his No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S. He immediately found himself being challenged by Chris Walsh in the No. 104 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M2 CS (Cup), while TC class competitor Perocarpi was also eager to join the battle.

Neto and Walsh went wheel to wheel in the opening laps of the race, but the fight was momentarily halted as a full course yellow emerged due to contact between Aaron Kaplan in the No. 18 Kaplan Racing Systems BMW M2 CS (Cup), Cooper Broll in the No. 19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S, and TC class driver Ruben Iglesias Jr. in the No. 77 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC.

With under 10 minutes remaining, the green flag running resumed. The Brazilian driver retained the lead after a masterful restart, and kept his composure in the final laps to take the checkered flag first, claiming his second win of the season. The podium was further completed by Walsh and Broll in second and third, respectively.

“It’s been a significant work in progress, and all this emotion comes from knowing how much we’ve developed this car,” said Celso Neto. “Each time we’re on track, it proves to be better and better. We’ve definitely improved on tire degradation, which was our main concern today. I can’t thank everyone enough—my team, sponsors, and everyone who supports me. It’s truly amazing.”

“In this race, I just put my head down, focused on myself, and didn’t make a single mistake,” he explained. “That’s really what brought it together for us. The battle with Chris (Walsh) was interesting—he had a lot of pace in sector 2, especially in the braking zones, while I had the advantage in the Kink and faster sections. It was tough, but he’s a great driver, and it was a clean, exciting battle. I’m really happy with how it all played out.”

TC

Action arose across the board in the TC Class, as Cristian Perocarpi established himself as the driver to beat right from the start of the race. On the opening lap, Jeff Ricca in the No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC briefly overtook the No. 37 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro of Perocarpi. However, the young gun regained control of the race, even challenging the TCX class leaders in the early stages.

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As a full course caution was brought out for a significant portion of the race, it resulted in a final nine-minute dash to the checkered flag, which saw Ricca and Perocarpi going wheel to wheel, quite literally. The fight behind them was just as intense as Connor Attrell, commanding the No. 75 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, had to defend from teammate Sally McNulty, who was persisting in her car. As Attrell fell down the order, McNulty was able to claim the third step on the podium in her trusty No. 780 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC.

“Honestly, I had no idea what was going on in the first three laps,” said race winner Cristian Perocarpi. “ I thought the others were going to pull away, but they never did. On that first lap, I found myself going around the outside of the carousel on one of the BMWs, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ Then Chris (Walsh) and another driver started battling, and I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m actually fighting for the overall lead!’ I even said it on the radio, ‘I guess we’re fighting for overall today.’”

He continued, “ the car was amazing, though the restart got a little hairy. On that first lap after the restart, I thought I was going around in the first corner, but I kept my foot in it, front-wheel-drive style. Honestly, I think practicing on iRacing last week, running consistent races, really paid off. It was an absolute blast.”

TCA

The TCA class competitors were kept close together throughout the race, with Canadian driver PJ Groenke leading from start to finish in the No. 62 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW, with Alex Garcia in hot pursuit in the No. 14 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si FE1.

However, in the final five minutes, Bruce Myrehn in the No. 63 MINI JCW moved up ahead of Garcia into second position, making it a 1-2 finish for MINI JCW Team.

“This was absolutely amazing,” stated PJ Groenke. “To win a race at America’s Nurburgring, Road America of all places. I’ve always been really good here, I like to say this is my home track, and now I’ve finally proved it.”

The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School will return Sunday, August 18th for race two at 9:50 a.m. CT.

RESULTS

GT America’s first race at Road America started behind the safety car as the heavy rain came down around the circuit. The green flag running finally got underway with 27 minutes remaining as the downpour gradually subsided.

It was a fierce battle for the lead from start to finish in the SRO3 class, with Justin Rothberg emerging as the overall winner. In GT4, Curt Swearingin climbed on to the top step of the podium, scoring his third win of the season.

SRO3

Rothberg started from pole position in his No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, navigating his way through the wet conditions while simultaneously trying to establish a gap to the competitors behind.

Numerous drivers, including James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 and Kyle Washington in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R, came down pit lane to serve a drive-through penalty just before reaching the halfway mark of the 40-minute race. As a result, Jason Daskalos moved up to second in his No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, with Johnny O’Connell following in third in the No. 3 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3, attempting to close the gap to Rothberg ahead.

As rain made way to the sun in the final minutes of the race, Daskalos closed in on Rothberg, challenging the young talent for the overall win. Rothberg could not afford to make any mistakes as Daskalos was on his rear-bumper in the closing minutes.

It was a dramatic final lap as Daskalos and Rothberg went nose-to-tail, but in the end it was Rothberg who ultimately prevailed to take the checkered flag, with Daskalos just behind in second place, and O’Connell on the third step of the podium.

“The braking zones and grip were changing every single lap,” said Rothberg after the race. “You couldn’t really have a memory bank. I was kind of just the test dummy going into every corner, but I pulled it together and kept it on the track. I’m very happy with the win!”

GT4

Despite the rain, it appeared as though it was going to be smooth sailing for Isaac Sherman in the No. 098 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, who comfortably led ahead of the rest of the field for the majority of the race.

Swearingin, who also started on the front row, had to serve a drive through penalty in his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, allowing Gray Newell to gain a position in his No. 25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. However, Swearingin was determined to make up lost ground, recovering up to third and closing in on Newell.

With less than 10 minutes remaining in the race, drama unfolded for Isaac Sherman, who was plagued by a puncture, promoting Newell to first place, Swearingin to second and Todd Parriott in the No. 31 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 to third.

Just when it all looked to be decided, Swearingin caught up to Newell and pulled off a daring overtake on the last lap of the race before powering down the track to snatch the win in thrilling fashion. Newell had to settle for second, with Parriott claiming his first podium finish of the year.

“It was fun,” Swearingin said at the podium celebrations. “We like the weather, we like the rain. The car is good under these conditions and we had decent pace. So it was a good day.”

The GT America Powered by AWS field will return to the track for Race 2 on Sunday, August 18th at 8:45 a.m. CT.

RESULTS

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.

RESULTS