It is time for race two, the final race of the weekend, for Pirelli GT4 America in the Louisiana bayou, at NOLA Motorsports Park in "The Crescent City". Of course, yesterday's event, because of being drenched with rain right in the middle of it, a torrential rainstorm that occurred, was split into two parts. No such worries for today's motor race as on this Sunday, we have Chamber of Commerce weather. Treacherous conditions led to a stop and start affair in yesterday's race. Thankfully, that isn't the case today. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish, in the booth, Amanda Busick in the pit lane. The cars are on their formation laps. Let's reset and we're getting set to go again. Score the points today. That is the plan. It is warm and humid and we could see pop up showers or another storm today.
2.75 miles the distance around the circuit. It is flat, but there's good grip on the surface. Tire degradation is no longer a worry. Stevan McAleer on the pole for today's race sharing with Eric Filgueiras. Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson won the race yesterday. Random Vandals and GMG were caught out in accidents yesterday. Bryan Putt and Kenton Koch had to fix their BSport Racing Aston Martin after the accident yesterday. Again, at Rooster Hall Racing, Johann Schwarz will race Marco Solo today in the heat and humidity as Todd Brown had a family emergency. OK. We're ready to race. Green flag! Scotland's Stevan McAleer leads the field down and we have the green flag!
To the first turn for the first time of asking and it's a Porsche Cayman drag race! Into the sweepers they go. Jason Hart and Nolasport in the hometown entry is going for it and here comes the Saleen of Eric Curran really motoring. Smoke out of one of the BMW M4 GT4's. The Saleen is not yet homologated for GT4. Steve Saleen shares the car with Eric Curran, the man who designed and built it. Curran taking a peak at McAleer. McAleer has a bit of daylight between he and Curran. Good, clean start for race two with no dramas., Good battle here between the two Aston Martin's. Andy Lee vs. Bryan Putt I believe.
Three wide back in the pack and Aaron Povoledo goes the long way 'round the outside. That's close. Hometown driver Ross Chouest from New Orleans made a great start yesterday. So, Eric Curran leads Stevan McAleer. This is through the technical part of the course from turns eight to 12. Michai Stephens passing Jason Hart. Porsche Cayman vs. Mercedes AMG GT4. Elliott Skeer is pressing Stevan McAleer. Some bump drafting, look, down the front straight. Jason Hart has many miles here but the track has been ground down and resurfaced in some places. Nolasport are based right here at the track. Stevan McAleer uncorks fastest lap. Hard to tell the time. Action early in this motor race.
It was frustrating yesterday because of the early end of the motor race as Kenton Koch wants to go for it in the BSport Aston Martin taking the spot away from Austen Smith in the Silver class. Aaron Povoledo and Ross Chouest have been through the ringer but have been fast. Passing both Devin Jones and John Capestro-Dubets, a couple of the BMW drivers in their M4 GT4's. Povoledo working on Capestro-Dubets for a pass for position. Wow. B-Sport, and Bryan Putt, he acknowledged his shemozzle from yesterday. Before his stint, he says that the team has to go after it and not do anything rash.
They have to work their way up through the field and Kenton koch is pushing hard right now as we speak. Of the cars that did not finish yesterday from accident damage, all of them are in the motor race today. Tim Horrell makes an unscheduled stop and we have one of the Bimmerworld BMW M4's off the road. That could be the championship leading #36 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4 of Charlie Postins and James Clay. Eric Curran leads the motor race in the Saleen S1 Evo. They are looking to homologate that car for the class in the future. In Silver, it is Stevan McAleer leading in class and McAleer wants to pass Curran.
Michai Stephens is fourth on the road and second in Silver. He wants by Stephens who has dropped Jason Hart to be sure. Oh wow. Eric Curran has fallen off the pace. Now, maybe, he is just trying to let the lead group go and not get in their way. Someone locks up into turn three. Hard to tell. Ten minutes on the board. Fastest lap so far for Kenton Koch. He has moved up another place in the overall and off the road goes Sean Gibbons in one of the other Nolasport Porsche's the Am entry sharing with Sam Owen.
Elliott Skeer is chasing down Stevan McAleer. Koch's fastest lap is 1:44.470. Koch to the inside of Ian James. James gave him the racing room which is smart early doors. We might have a yellow for that stranded BMW. We do indeed go Full Course Yellow. Stevan McAleer and Elliott Skeer finished 1-2 yesterday. Sean Gibbons also needs rescuing and it won't be rejoining the motor race under it's own steam. The heat haze shows us how hot it is. It is less humid than yesterday. Decent conditions this far south. We've dodged rain all weekend and everyone is talking about how challenging the track is. In Am, the leader is Juan Martinez in the #83 RS1 Porsche Cayman GT4. Good to see Terry Borcheller back in sports car racing.
Nelson Calle is Juan Martinez's co-driver, the Colombian. RS1 is a top notch team. They are a leading light in campaigning Porsche's out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Stevan McAleer is building the momentum for his career. That is for sure. He is from Scotland but has moved to the United States to find racing opportunities. Truly game over for Sam Owen and Sean Gibbons. They will be back. A driver goes from being a student to being a teCHER. nOW, WE HAVE A CAR WITH A DOOR OPEN. Aaron Povoledo may just be trying to cool the car down on the inside while driving. Game over for yesterday's Am class winners, Charlie Postins and James Clay.
Bimmerworld will be back at VIR in the next event. Keep the season in perspective. Eric Curran has pitted the Saleen but we do not know why. The pit window will open soon. The mandatory pit window is at the halfway mark in the race. Driver change only and adjusting tire pressures. Eric Curran is now back on track in the Saleen. It is a pretty race car and looks solid. Curran is a two-time prototype champion and has competed in World Challenge a number of times over the years. He has an exotic car sales business. Curran used to drive in IMSA with my friends from Action Express Racing. So, we are looking for a restart here in GT4 America at NOLA. Green flag. The cars are turned loose once again.
McAleer leading and Elliott Skeer is going to try and go for the lead into turn one. No dice. Stephens pn the defensive against Jason Hart and here comes Austen Smith passing Ian James. Kenton Koch, deep on the brakes a swell, look. Michai Stephens is being hounded by Hart. Hart has Kenton Koch right on his six. Oh man. This is hot racing but respectful. Koch at BSport is in the fight. Aaron Povoledo chasing Ian James, so a battle of the Aston Martin's. James has the pace to pass Austen Smith and here comes Kenton Koch getting to the right rear corner of Michai Stephens.
He is pushing hard indeed. Where are your overtaking spots? Stephens second in Silver while Koch second in the Pro-Am class. McAleer leading Skeer. These cars are so evenly matched on their Balance of Performance. There are no real outliers as the SRO keeps it together. Povoledo setting up a move, out of the final turn which is similar to Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. So, Kenton Koch will now go after Elliott Skeer. He has come from eighth to third and the pit window has opened up. The Silver rated drivers could do the undercut but the tire pressure adjustments won't do much.
No fresh tires allowed in GT4 America. Ian James falling into the clutches of Aaron Povoledo and Michai Stephens continues chasing Aaron Povoledo. The Aston has the speed. Damon Sursyzshn has taken over from Greg Liefooghe. Matt Plumb also in the lane in the #016 Toyota Supra I believe. Koch could be slowing Stephens up in the twisting corners on the back end of the circuit. Nolasport at home are fifth overall and third in the Porsche camp. RS1 and Premier Racing are ahead of Nolasport. So, Conquest Racing into the lane and Gavin Sanders will take over that car from Michai Stephens as we see Johann Schwarz with a blown motor. Smoke spewing out of that BMW.
Gavin Sanders will take over the Conquest Mercedes, car #34. From pit in to pit out, the delta is 84 seconds. Halfway home. 30 minutes down. 30 minutes to go. Johan Schwartz, the Danish driver, seems like he is OK. Stevan McAleer hits the lane and we'll see who else. Race Control are fine with where Johann Schwarz's car is. Sanders got into the car at Conquest. Now, everyone else is in. Eric Filgueiras will have his hands full as he completes his stop. Not as good a stop as Conquest had. The Heart of Racing Aston Martin will be penalized for being under the target time for the joker.
Gavin Sanders is being held up by Bryan Putt and so RS1 will extend their lead. Jason Hart and Aaron Povoledo are the overall leaders right now followed by John "Smooge" Geesbreght. John Capestro-Dubets gave the BMW M4 GT4 to Tom Capizzi. Elias Sabo is still on track. But we are seeing more pit stops. The Bryan Putt and Gray Newell battle is on, but Newell will cop a penalty as we said earlier on. Adam Adelson still leads Eric Filgueiras for first and second overall. Scott Noble is now into the Nolasport #47 Porsche as Filgueiras passes Adelson for the lead. Adelson will be told to let him go. Pit window now closed. Bryan Putt, meantime, has spun off the road.
So he will have to recover. Was there contact between he and Gray Newell? Newell is spun as well and he gets going again. But, he has a drive through penalty for the short pit stop, and Putt spun in front of Newell and one of the other Aston Martin's. Where did the damage to Newell's car come from? Is there fluid or debris on the road? We cannot tell. That is only speculation. Jason Alexandridis is third in Am in the #66 The Racer's Group Porsche Cayman. Here's it all again, and in a different turn, Newell got tagged into turn four. Putt's spin was a whole different incident. Ross Chouest tagged Gray Newell. A lot has gone on in the last ten minutes. Eric Filgueiras leads Adam Adelson.
Adelson leads Pro-Am followed by Gavin Sanders in third spot. The Silver and Pro-Am leaders are ahead of their nearest competitors by nine seconds. Scott Noble has indeed taken over the #47 Nolasport car. Nolasport have a building where they have their shop right here at NOLA Motorsports Park. They are so glad to have their customers at their home race. They are having a great race and they want to do well on their home turf. They seemingly might just be able to grab a boatload of points out of this. Hart is glad that the race was restarted yesterday with all the rain.
Matt Travis, who used to drive the #47 moved on to a different GT4 series. Bryan Putt stays on track and keeps running. Jason Bell, too, in the #2 GMG Aston Martin, he is moving forward alongside co-driver Andrew Davis. Alain Stad leads Am in the #19 Nolasport Porsche Cayman as well. Stad sharing with Thomas Merrill. We have the Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota Supra going well. Hattori and team have run in NASCAR with Toyota. Matt Plumb and Seth Lucas, the two drivers. Ryan Dexter goes inside of Jason Bell.
Silver on Pro-Am. Aston Martin Vantage vs. Toyota Supra GT4. Dexter gives him the space and we have the battle here, turning into a spin for Bryan Putt and Elias Sabo! Bryan Putt's radiator is busted! Dang it! They were really hoping for more. In reply, Sabon spins and Putt was off the road. Sabo had nowhere to go. Flying Lizard and BSport. So, Elias Sabo and Andy Lee are out and so are Bryan Putt and Kenton Koch. We have 16 minutes left on the board. We may see a yellow before the end of this one.
Another spinner, the #51 BMW M4 GT4 for Austen Smith and Zach Anderson. Smith took over from Anderson. Elias Sabo is not happy with Bryan Putt. Stay cool, boys. Let's not get into it. Both drivers surely frustrated here. Adam Adelson and Premier Racing are really having a good event here today at NOLA. Gavin Sanders second in class has lost time to Eric Filgueiras. Mega size moment there, look, for Seth Lucas. Lots of racing still to come with five rounds left, two races each. So we still have ten races left to run in 2022.
James Walker Jr. holds third in Pro-Am in the #82 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4. More Toyota Supra's are being added to global GT4 championships. They have less straightaway speed but seem to be right on the money here at NOLA. Seth Lucas is fairly new in sports car racing, having run for the Ave team in Trans Am at Mid-Ohio in 2021, but is now in SRO America. Oh dear. Gavin Sanders is off the road with grass in the grille. Maybe there is a mechanical issue on that car. Jeepers creepers. Kevin Conway has moved the #68 Smooge Racing Toyota Supra up a place sharing with John "Smooge" Geesbreght.
The Racer's Group Porsche is in the lane, Jason Alexandridis at the wheel of it. Elias Sabo is out, but he put up money to help The Racer's Group get back into the championship. Sabo hthought it was his fault. Good grief. Jason Alexandridis has a door flying open on #66 so has something to keep together in the remainder of the race. Gavin Sanders to the lane and it could be a terimnal issue. Oh. It was a flat tire. Aye yaye yaye. The camaraderie in the SRO paddock is incredible. Random Vandals Racing are out. Tough luck for Al Carter and Paul Sparta in the #98 BMW M4 GT4.
Jason Bell around the outside working on Seth Lucas and he makes the move for fifth in Pro-Am. Bell is moving in on Tom Capizzi as well, look. Just over five minutes remaining. Kevin Conway is third overall and second in Am. So much action as the positions chop and change before the race ends. Bell and Lucas are still battling like crazy. TRD and Steve Hallam have this customer racing program. Hallam was a McLaren Formula 1 engineer for Ayrton Senna and Michael Andretti in the late '80s and early '90s. Ryan Dexter and Dexter Racing, out of Nebraska. They ran the Ginetta G55 for many years, ran with Aston Martin, and now with the Toyota Supra GT4.
The Supra has some damage on the left front corner. Dominic Starkweather started the car, SCCA club racing champion. All the cars are GT4 but the Am class leader is right in the middle of the Pro-Am section. Alain Stad needs to slice and dice past this battle as we watch the Zelus Motorsports Porsche. Two minutes on the board. Scott Noble with a measured drive. In replay, Warren Dexter makes his move on Scott Noble for fourth overall. Wow. James Walker Jr. has amde good his escape. He boogied out of that battle we are seeing on track. James Walker Jr. is racing with Devin Jones after several years racing with Bill Auberlen.
The fight is on in Am for the lead. Zelus vs. Nolasport. It is the final lap for the leaders. Alain Stad blocks Matt Guiver. An out of class car will chop them. oh dear. Settle down. Eric Filgueiras wins the motor race with Stevan McAleer and RS1. Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer sweep as well. Break out the broom! Matt Guiver passes Seth Lucas. Porsche vs. Aston for the Am class win. It's a drag race. Alain Stad and Nolasport win on home soil! Holy mackerel!
Overall/Pro: #18 Filgueiras/McAleer RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Pro-Am: #120 Adelson/Skeer Premier Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Am: #19 Stad/Thomas NOLASport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Nolasport win on home soil. All classes swept by Porsche Cayman's here in New Orleans. Gorgeous flora and fauna and the local critters like gators and birds all over the place. The food is great. The hospitality is fabulous and so is the track. The weather a tad steamy but we'll have more racing to look forward to this afternoon. Alain Stad says the race was like a horror movie, like "Nightmare on Elm Street". We look forward to the next race at Virginia International Raceway on Father's Day weekend. Can't wait for that. So long from NOLA, everybody.
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