Friday, October 15, 2021

Pirelli GT4 America: Indianapolis, Race 2

We are racing towards the end of the 2021 Pirelli GT4 America season.  Time to go for the gold as the championships have been decided.  The cars are out on their formation lap.  Everyone ought to be on the slick Pirelli P Zero tires.  One hour race with a mandatory pit stop between 25-35 minutes.  2.59 miles, 14 corners, on the road course here at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the greatest race course in the world.  This is a flowing track.  Rain is in the area, but we home this will be a dry event.  Frenchman Valentin Haase-Clot has pole for Aston Martin.  This is his second race after also driving yesterday.  

Green flag!  Away we go!  Valentin Hasse-Clot leads as we go five wide down the fornt straight!  Andrew Davis is moving in and here comes Tom Dyer, filling in for Greg Liefooghe.  Jason Hart in the Porsche Cayman is pressing hard as John Capestro-Dubets is being monstered by Bill Auberlen.  Watch for Colin Mullan in the Silver class Mercedes AMG GT4.  Tom Dyer battles Andrew Davis.  They run through the infield for the first time.  Dyer defends from Davis and John Capestro-Dubets, sharing with Tom Capizzi, he is going for it.  The offline pass is going to be tough.  Here comes Bill Auberlen, too.  Spencer Pumpelly in the #66 TRG Porsche Cayman is sixth as well and we also see Jason Hart in the Porsche Cayman GT4, car #47.  

Colin Mullan is pushing as well as Kyle Marcelli and Guy Cosmo are coming.  These two drivers are also in Mercedes AMG GT4's for Renntech, as the Conquest team example leads.  John "Smooge" Gesbreght along with Kevin Conway, they are up there as well.  Toby Grahovec in the #11 Classic BMW BMW M4 GT4, that team can pick up points and get into second place for the season.  Derek DeBoer teams with Spencer Pumpelly.  Fast cars and fast drivers in this race in GT4.  Kyle Marcelli passes Colin Mullan who won yesterday's race.  Mullan is reeling in Jason Hart, the new champion in this division.  

Hart is monstering Pumpelly, trying the crossover.  Tom Dyer, meanwhile, has John Capestro-Dubets to push alongside.  JCD is really pushing.  Dyer has been drafted in.  Liefooghe has a broken collarbone and will recover from that before next season.  It's got to be a bear for Greg Liefooghe to not be in the race today.  Kenton Koch is moving up in the Aston Martin as well.  But, Sean Quinlan, he is really confident.  Koch and the Aston Martin had a tech infraction, a ride height of one milimeter too low.  Koch and co-driver Brian Putt really have to push today.

Koch is a man on a mission and Putt will finish this motor race.  Koch wants to move past John Geesbreght, the Am champion with Kevin Conway.  He wants to step up into one of the other classes in GT4 in 2022.  #7, the Nolasport Porsche Cayman of Sean Gibbons and Sam Owen, they're out of it, and in Gasoline Alley.  Game over.  Bill Auberlen, meantime, is really pushing.  Andrew Davis is just behind the BMW's.  Auberlen is pushing Tom Dyer and John Capestro-Dubets, both.  Andrew Davis is next up in the Aston Martin Vantage GT4, car #2.  Davis is hanging in the shadows as Dyer runs wide through turn one and here comes JCD!  Tom Dyer knows he is being pressed hard.

The new configuration in the middle of the course gives BMW trouble but they are better for the Mercedes and the Porsche.  Kyle Marcelli is now being monstered by Kenton Koch.  Jason Hart and Kyle Marcelli are there and so is Colin Mullan.  Geesbreght, he is pressing hard, too.  Former NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Conway has helped out.  Steven Cameron Racing, Autotechnic, and Bimmerworld are all running well.  JCD moves past Bill Auberlen and Tom Dyer.  Dyer has Auberlen all over him.  Dyer takes the spot away.  Andrew Davis right on Auberlen's six.  

Dyer is the cork in the bottle for sure.  JCD has taken off and we have VHC, Valentin Haase Clot in the lead.  Can Auberlen move past Dyer?  Dyer is wiggling around a bit.  He does not have the speed.  He has GT4 experience but in Audi's, and he has run a GT3 Acura NSX as well.  Dyer was a junior open wheel driver and is now in sports cars.  What will JCD do?  Capestro-Dubets has the top speed at 106.2 miles an hour and the BMW's are fastest.  Everyone else in the 105 mile an hour range.  Valentin Haase Clot leads by eight seconds.  From 25th to seventh, Jason Hart is motoring.  What will Bryan Putt do as co-driver for Jason Hart?

Auberlen tags Dyer and poor old Dyer, spins out!  Sean Quinlan will be upset about that one.  Kenton Koch and Bryan Putt will be able to move through.  Oh dear.  Bill Auberlen has right front damage, outside the pit window.  Goodness gracious.  You can make a single tire change if you prove a tire is damaged and the stewards buy your argument.  Toby Grahovec is running well, but we will see Stevan McAleer next into that car.  40 minutes still on the board.  Pit window opening soon, and we'll get to halfway soon, too.  Incident responsibility drive through penalty for Bill Auberlen.  Kenton Koch has passed Spencer Pumpelly for fourth place.

Haase-Clot extends his lead to 8.8 seconds over John Capestro-Dubets.  Kenton Koch is up to fourth place and nearly on the podium.  John Geesbreght is eighth overall and he is pressing Jason Hart, hard, the Pro-Am champion.  Go for it.  Don't freak out about the championship.  Just race.  Smooge Racing Team have run two cars and they will have one in the Indianapolis 8 Hours on Sunday and they will have a customer car in this championship for next year.  

Marcelli is pushing Spencer Pumpelly in turn 13.  He won't quit. You have to overly commit in turn 13 headed onto the front straight.  The pit window will open soon and stay open for ten minutes.  Traffic ahead.  Kyle Marcelli still monstering Spencer Pumpelly.  Kenton Koch moves past Todd Heatherington in the TRG Porsche Cayman.  Pit lane will open now.  You don't have to be the leader to get first dibs.  Marcelli is still fighting and here comes Geesbreght as well, look.  Matt Travis will be the driver into the #47 taking over from Jason Hart.  Colin Mullan is coming as well, leading Jon Miller in the Bimmerworld BMW.  Who will blink first?

Geesbreght makes the move and here comes Mullan, locking the brakes!  GT4 cars have ABS but there's a lockup in the damp.  The Mercedes emblem is knocked off the front of that Conquest automobile.  Three classes but set by driver ranking.  All of these cars are GT4 machines.  Toby Grahovec gives way to Stevan McAleer.  Fast Track Racing have made their pit stop.  There is a one second joker pit stop that can be used once per weekend.  Starting drivers' final stints of the year coming to a close as Kenton Koch is right on Andrew Davis' decklid!  Wow!  This is going to be a real fight.

Koch to the outside.  Will he ahve the grip?  Yes.  Andrew Davis decides discretion is the better part of valor.  Jason Bell is going to race the second stint and he will also run in GT America.  Dexter Racing also had a nearly perfect pit stop.  Half an hour to go now.  Halfway through this race.  Matt Forbush in the Forbush Performance Toyota Supra makes his way to the lane.  The leaders are maximizing driver time.  Colin Mullan hands the #35 Mercedes to co-driver Michai Stephens.  Kyle Marcelli and Spencer Pumpelly head for the pit lane.

Tons of Pro-Am cars are in the lane for service now.  There's a 53 second pit lane delta here at Indianapolis.  Valentin Hasse-Clot is now in the lane for the WR Racing Aston Martin, French GT4 champion.  He hands the car over to co-driver Paul Terry.  John Geesbreght comes to the lane hot, but the Am class champion team will now have Kevin Conway round out this motor race.  The WR Racing Aston Martin is back on track with Paul Terry now driving.  Sean Quinlan takes over from Tom Dyer in the Stephen Cameron Racing BMW.  

Michai Stephens now leads over Matt Travis and Chris Gumprecht.  Gumprecht I believe at the wheel of the Mercedes, and he has a scrap on his hands with Chandler Hull and Kevin Conway.  Bryan Putt is now at the wheel of the Aston Martin, the BSport Racing Aston Martin.  Putt and company will race in GT4 America and GT America in 2022.  GT America have a race of their own, coming up.  Matt Travis has passed Derek DeBoer and here comes Chandler Hull past him, too.  Kevin Conway still leads in Am.  Chandler Hull has raced a lot in Europe as well, staying busy in different championships and categories.  Kenny Murillo passes Kevin Conway.  Murillo in the Silver division for his team in the Mercedes AMG GT4.

The track is dry now here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as we see Jason Bell, Stevan McAleer, and Gray Newell.  Newell in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.  Tim Barber moves past Derek DeBoer.  Tim Barber being chased by Warren Dexter.  GT4 class manager for SRO America, Jack Baldwin, is really happy with the cars and the star power in this championship.  Paul Terry leads Bryan Putt.  Matt Travis is third in the Pro-Am class.  Chandler Hull wants by Tom Capizzi and makes the move stick.  

Kenny Murillo will now chase down Chandler Hull.  Michai Stephens is really pressing on.  The team wants another class win.  Eric Bachelart is the team owner for the #35 team, a two-time Indianapolis 500 starter.  Valentin Haase-Clot is amazed to be at Indianapolis and his first time here in America.  Bryan Putt, meanwhile, has Michai Stephens passing him.  Putt is thinking of the big picture.  Secure the second position in the championship.  Kenny Murillo runs defense and passes Chanlder Hull.  But Hull won't give up.  Warren Dexter and Tim Barber are still scrapping as well, look.  They are fourth and fifth in the Silver class and eighth and ninth overall.

Ty Isaac and Sean Whelan have been running well.  Isaac is a driver who used to be a speed skater in Red Bull Crashed Ice.  Now, he is trying to drive a race car.  He runs Zelus Racing as well.  McAleer and Barber are having a good scrap.  Kenny Murillo is in the fight too, with ten minutes to go.  Warren Dexter closes on Chandler Hull as well.  BMW vs. Aston Martin.  Matt Travis has caught Bryan Putt.  Kenny Murillo is also back there.  Paul Terry continues to lead the motor race.  Warren Dexter has the spot on Chandler Hull but no.  Hull passes Dexter and Tim Barber is keeping a watching brief.

Murillo moves past Putt.  Matt Travis now is ahead in Pro-Am.  But the Silver class in GT4 is getting hot and heavy.  Bryan Putt needs clean air.  Final seven minutes of the motor race and the championship.  Hull tries Putt.  Dexter and Barber are back there, too.  This is a real scrum!  Here's Stevan McAleer too!  Will we see argy bargy?  Three BMW's and an Aston Martin in the Silver division.  Kenton Koch is very happy to be at BSport Racing, and they want to go for the championship in 2022.  Michai Stephends is pressing hard too.  Paul Terry has a massive lead over Matt Travis.  Paul Terry is really pushing.  

Stevan McAleer is off the road, in speedway turn one.  Oh dear!  Contact with one of the other BMW's.  Tim Barber has slid down to fifth in Silver and tenth overall.  Michai Stephens wants by Paul Terry and makes the pass stick with two minutes to go.  Conquest Racing moves to the lead.  Paul Terry is not going to give it up, but he might have to.  This team will close out 2021 with four straight wins in Pirelli GT4 America.  Chandler Hull in deep misses the braking point.  He cannot pass Warren Dexter.  Race Control notes the Barber and McAleer contact and they will sort hat out after the race is over.

Wow.  A team that started only at Road America earlier in the season, they are going to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Colin Mullan and Michai Stephens sweep the weekend in GT4 America at Indianapolis! Fastest lap for the #35 team as well.  Pro-Am winners are Paul Terry and Valentin Hasee-Clot for WR Racing and Aston Martin.  In Am, Kevin Conway and John Geesbreght win Am!  Break out the broom for both of these teams!  They still have the Indianapolis 8 Hour in GT4 as well, does Smooge Racing.  

Overall/Silver: #35 Stephens/Mullan        Conquest Racing West Mercedes AMG GT4

             Pro-Am: #59 Terry/Hasse-Clot     WR Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4

             Am: #68 Conway/Geesbreght        Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4

They have swept Indianapolis!  So, this puts a bow on the final race of the season in Pirelli GT4 America.  We'll see you, next year, for more action.  For now, so long, everybody.  See you again in 2022.  


             

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