Time for the first race of the weekend, and the final race on Saturday, in SRO at NOLA. It is time for the Pirelli GT4 America cars to come out and play. GT4, the final race of the day on Saturday. Pirelli GT4 America tackling this 2.75 mile, 16-turn course on the bayout for the first time. Cloudy skies overhead. Hot and muggy, and we have a five minute hold on race activity as the weather has moved in here at New Orleans. Wind, temperatures getting hotter, rain expected. Nolasport at home, at their home circuit. The GT4 cars, we could see mroe side by side racing than in GT3 we just saw. Eric Filguiers and Stevan McAleer are the real deal having won at Sonoma and at Daytona International Speedway in GT4 in a different series.
Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer are both on top of things as well in the #34 of Gavin Sanders and Michai Stephens. Sam Owen is the Am class pole man with Sean Gibbons in the #7 Nolasport Porsche Cayman. Johann Schwarz will race Marco Solo. Team boss Todd Brown had to leave the track due to a family emergency. All the best to Todd Brown. His minimum pit stop time will be ten seconds longer at 94 seconds vs. 84 seconds for the delta between the 25-35 minute pit stops, adjusting tire pressures and changing drivers. Porsche Cayman's on the front row. We have the BMW M4 GT4 and the Mercedes AMG GT4 as well as the Toyota Supra GT4. The Toyota has a BMW motor and the Aston Martin has a Mercedes engine. We should see a fantastic race today.
The cars roll off onto their recon and pace laps. The hold for the weather has been lifted and we get ready for a great race today. There are ripples in the pavement because of the ground it is laid on in the Louisiana gumbo mud soil. Stevan McAleer says that cars in GT4 have airconditioning but it saps horsepower. Use the AC under yellow. Horsepower vs. speed and how cool you want to be. Eric Filgueiras will be going for it indeed. Greg Liefooghe and Damon Surzshyn are hot with no airconditioning. They have 140 degree cockpit temperatures as well.
Chouest Povoledo Racing in the #50 Aston Martin, Ross Chouest's uncle built this track, and he and Aaron Povoledo had catalytic converter trouble so they have been on the back foot. Race one will be an extended test session for some. Tomorrow there is a definite threat of rain. Safety car to the lane. Adam Adelson vs. Eric Filgueiras and then comes Gavin Sanders and Tom Capizzi. Through turn 16 and away we go! Filgueiras leads and there's a spin already collecting a bunch of cars! Local yellows out and this is a massive spot of bother. James Walker Jr. spun the #82 BMW M4 GT4 and we may have had one other car off the road but everyone drives on.
We stay green here at NOLA. Nope. Nope. We go uyellow with debris. Full Course Yellow. Full Course Yellow. In replay, we can see some scrapping and quite a few cars off in a cloud of dust. Big crunch as James Walker Jr. was drilled by an Aston Martin. Couldn't tell who it was. Ah. Bryan Putt in the #15 B Sport Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. One of he other BMW's looked to have suspension damage. Hard to tell who it was. A number of cars stranded on the road. Not sure which car it was insofar as the make and model. We have the slippery surface flags out too. One of the BMW's looks like it was involved but hard to tell what number it was.
Goodness me. We have had two races fairly clean today for TC America and for GT World Challenge America. But in GT4, not so much. NOLA is very wide. Ross Chouest though, he gained ten places slicing and dicing through the pack. He was a high school basketball phenom and played collegiately as well. He moves from 29th to 19th. Alain Stad moves to 13th and third in Am and Johan Schwarz moves up as wel. Tom Capizzi will be right behind Adam Adelson, the Pro-Am leader. Austen Smith dropped a few places.
This will be a lengthy cleanup. Eric Filguieras had some success years ago in SCCA racing but has now gottejn a true opportunity. He ran in Euro NASCAR as well I believe. He won the Formula 2000 national championship. Zach Andersen, Michai Stephens, and Collin Mullen, as well as Elliott Skeer, all these guys are getting a good shot at making a name for themselves in Pro-Am alongside other drivers who are far more experienced but still successful. Stevan McAleer is the magic man right now in production sports car racing and so he is regarded as a top shoe and a great driver coach.
Kenton Koch says that one of the Autotechnic cars spun Bryan Putt out and collected many cars and drivers. They will be fixing the car for tomorrow. Broken oil cooler and zero oil pressure. Engine busted. They'll be bakc tomorrow. Kenton Koch, another great driver with lots of talent and he and his wife run this team for B-Sport. He is also racing in GT4 Europe and Aston Martin. Still cleaning up the track after this first corner incident we have seen. Adam Adelson in second for Premier Racing out of Las Vegas run by Kent Moore. Their paint scheme is a throwback to the White Lightning team from 20 years ago with drivers like Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister.
Adam Adelson wants to take this team across the pond to race the 24 Hours of Le Mans one day. It was White Lightning's first appearance for the team since their race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 18 years ago, back in 2004. Eric Filgueiras leads Adam Adelson and Tom Capizzi. Co-driver John Capestro-Dubets is another good driver. Sam Owen and Sean Gibbons, running fifth. He and Gibbons were neighbors who's kids knew each other from school. They did track and test days together and then began to race together.
Sean Gibbons is in real estate and is now a racing driver as well. Llooking at the sky, it is very grim. It was sunny not long ago but that sky here in New Orleans is very dark. Nick Shanny was another car involved running 28th a lap down. James Walker Jr. was in that mess, Bryan Putt, and Rob Walker as well. Jason Alexandridis drove away from the crash and kept himself on the lead lap. Co-driver Derek DeBoer. The start of the race will be reviewed after the race and they want to see onboard camera footage.
The finishing order will be provisional and we will have to pick the bones out of it. Ominous dark skies not withstanding, the cleanup is complete. Hopefully we can resume. It looks like a big thunderstorm is coming. There is weather in the area and it sounds like we will go into a hold and wait for it to clear up. Red flag. The race has been stopped. We could have lightning. In New Orleans and in the south, there will be lightning when it rains. Play it safe for the corner workers as well as the pit crews and the drivers. We will step aside for now. Red flag due to weather ad we have the clock stopped. Red flag.
We have a chance of light rain for the next hour and on and off until 8PM tonight. So, we wonder if the race will resume. When and if it does, we will be here. So, everyone, stay tuned for a part two. Will go back and see about any news from the previous races we have already seen here at NOLA. We'll see you in a wee while. I hope.
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