It is time for race two of the weekend for Pirelli GT4 America. Another hourlong slugfest for the lower horsepower but no less exciting production sports car class in SRO America is coming up. It's live, and it's next! We are in the home stretch of the season with five races to go. RS1 and Bimmerworld have had lots of success and five Pro-Am teams are in the fight for the title. Race one yesterday, what did we learn? Ian James and Jason Hart... Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer ended up winning Pro-Am and in Am, Anthony Geraci and Jaden Lander. Jason Hart and Scott Noble have lost their championship lead. He has lost spots in the championship. Thank you, Calvin Fish, for clarifying things.
The Heart of Racing Aston Martin was involved in a massive GT America accident. Gray Newell should be fine, but they will not answer the bell for this race. It is time for a start. Green flag! Eric Filgueiras sets the pace and we're off with Aaron Telitz pushing the limit already and here comes Kenton Koch in the B-Sport Aston maetin as well! Yikes! Kenton Koch is now second and Aaron Telitz third. Terry Borcheller up to fourth sharing another Supra with Nick Shanny. Andy Lee in the Flying Lizard Aston Martin barging his way past Elliott Skeer in the Porsche Cayman for Premier Motorsports as Telitz runs wide! Yikes! Through Hurry Downs for the first time, and Telitz, the sports car ace for Toyota and Lexus, he is really pushing hard.
Down again through The Carousel, Kenton Koch wants to stay ahead of Terry Borcheller. There's a spin somehwere! Who has spun off the road? A car was totally sideways through The Kink! It could have been the Dexter Racing Supra as Cameron Lawrence is driving and moves ahead of Andy Lee. Cameron Lawrence, a very underrated driver who has run GT's and Trans Am. This is Lone Star Racing who have run in SRO America before. Eric Filgueiras and Aaron Telitz, scrapping for position at the top of the shop. Filgueiras knows Telitz is there. Holy smokes!
Mercedes #35 for Conquest Racing, sounds like it is on seven cylinders. Paulo Carasci and Costello Toledo, a Brazilian duo. Paolo Carasci has won the title in Formula 3 Japan and did that way back in 1991. He also drove for Ralph Firman in Formula Ford in a Duckham's sponsored open wheel racer. In the meantime, Terry Borcheller has been at it for a good while and is giving the Am class Toyota Supra a very good run. Borcheller doing everything he must do before Nick Shanny takes the wheel of the car halfway through the race.
Now then, Filgueiras is still be reeled in by Telitz. A couple cars off the road and back on. Tim Horrell is one of them. Horrell is off and so is another one of the Toyota Supra's. Think big picture. Telitz trying to keep Filgueiras honest and Kenton Koch is moving in fast. Filgueiras will hand the #18 Porsche Cayman to Stevan McAleer halfway home. No tire changes in GT4 America and so the Pirelli P Zero tires will be doing a full hour in this race. Aaron Telitz, he is a local, from Rice Lake, Wisconsin. 2:18.646, Telitz has uncorked fastest lap of the race thus far.
Telitz is used to racing GT3 cars and the GT4 cars are not as aerodynamically dependent. Everyone else is in the 2:19 bracket while the top two are uncorking 2:18 laps and now, Filgueiras and Telitz are pulling ahead of Kenton Koch. Koch in the Aston and Borcheller in the Supra, being followed by another battle. Elliott Skeer vs. Andy Lee, and Cameron Lawrence. Porsche Cayman, Aston Martin Vantage, and Mercedes AMG. Cameron Lawrence, the 2014 Trans Am TA2 champion. All these cars have different performance levels.
Todd Coleman, Aaron Telitz's co-drivers knows the nerves are there and Telitz is a machne. Coleman knows what is expected of him, and Aaron Telitz is his driver coach. Telitz has a head of steam coming at Filgueiras. In the slipstream down the front straightaway into turn one. Filgueiras goes wide and now, Telitz takes the race lead. Filguerias could be dropping like a rock. Has he got a slowly deflating tire. Yes. Left front tire and a broken suspension! Oh man! Something wrong and a Full Course Yellow. Deary me! Is there suspension damage on the Porsche? Todd Coleman when he takes over the #69 Toyota Supra, he will have a compressed margin. Now, the Am class leader is up to third and that is Terry Borcheller. Three different classes in the top three. Silver, Pro-Am, and Am. Terry Borcheller in the lead in Am, he did not want to see this Full Course Yellow.
John Geesbreght in the sister Supra has moved to the lead in Silver. Geesbreght, sharing with Kevin Conway, former NASCAR driver. With Eric Filgueiras' shunt, he had a wheel broken or so it seemed. By the time he reached turn eight he was in dire straits. The Porsche Cayman, beached in the gravel. Here's it all again, in slow motuon as Filgueiras runs wide but maybe the suspension was already weakened. Did a sway bar collapse or something? Hard to tell. Filgueiras and McAleer led by 65 points coming into this race.
Gavin Sanders and Michai Stephens, they are rubbing their hands gleefully and they must maximize and push to score the most points. Moisey Uretsky and Justin Piscitell in the #55 Accelerating Performance Aston Martin. They are up to 20th, 12th in class. Justin Piscitell and Moisey Uretsky. Moisey Uretsky drove this same motorcar in GT America. He has been doing Porsche single make racing and Mazda MX-5 Cup too. Justin Piscitell was once known as "super sub" standing in for other drivers. Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson are now Pro-Am points leaders. They have a three point lead and are very consistent this season thus far.
Scott Noble, limbering up for his stint as the co-drivers will get into the car in anywhere from four to ten minutes. Pit lane should open a lap or so from now. Todd Coleman and Kevin Conway, getting suited and booted, ready for their stints. A bit of smoke in one of the Nustang's. That is Jaden Conwright in the Rotek Racing Ford Mustang GT4. Conwright is really getting into sports car racing now after doing single seater racing earlier plus in Europe in Italian F4 for Vincenzo Sospiri. Conwright won IMSA's Diverse Driver Scholarship and has been racing GT3's and Conwright is sharing the Ford Mustang GT4 with Edgar Lau. We are setting up for a restart.
Green flag. It is time to race once more. Kenton Koch second behind Telitz and they are followed by Am leader Terry Borcheller. These are qualifying runs before the pit stop window opes as Ryan Dexter is monstered by Zach Anderson and now, Cameron Lawrence defends from John Geesbreght and now, Aaron Povoledo is moving in on this scrum as well, look. Aaron Telitz now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. John Capestro Dubets, JCD, he is coming in a hurry as well, scrapping with both Elliott Skeer in the Porsche and Andy Lee in the Aston Martin. JCD in the BMW M4 GT4. The pit window is now open. The Silver and Am cars might pit early as Piscitell is in the lane and will turn the Aston Martin over to Moisey Uretsky.
They are hoping for a safety car or a Full Course Yellow. Todd Brown in the lane to hand the BMW M4 GT4 to Johann Schwartz. Another car we might see is the Porsche Cayman of Dr. Jim Rappaport and Todd Heatherington for The Racer's Group. There is a one second joker but you can use it just once per weekend as Terry Borcheller is leading Elliott Skeer and Andy Lee who will hand the Aston Martin to Elias Sabo. Todd Brown handed over quickly to Johann Schwarz. Moisey Uretsky and Jim Rappaport both have slow pit stops. Oh dear. Not good. The pit window time has been shifted by one minute.
James Clay now in the lane to hand over to Charlie Postins as well as Anthony Geraci and Jaden Lander. Aaron Telitz is motoring away and has set the Crowdstrike fastest lap as well. He is doing all he can to set Todd Coleman up. It is hammer time for the professional drivers. Book it. Uncork the bottle and just go for it. Now, we are also seeing Jason Hart being chased by Andy Lee and Jason Hart. Cameron Lawrence to the lane. John Geesbreght in the pit lane too. Kevin Conway takes over. John Capestro-Dubets gives over to Tom Capizzi,a dnt ehre will still be others.
Alex Filsinger is another driver who will be headed to the pits soon. A good, clean exchange at Smooge Racing. Edgar Lau now in the Mustang. Rob Walker takes over from Alex Filsinger. Aaron Telitz now in the lane. Todd Coleman set to take over the leading car. Everyone else is now in the lane. No tire changes in this division. Todd Coleman now into the car. Nick Shanny taking over the #20 Toyota from Terry Borcheller. Telitz has the lead and he gave up a few seconds as Bryan Putt will close in in the B Sport Aston Martin.
Bryan Putt ran the GT America race earlier in the morning. Todd Coleman is really enjoying this GT4 action while also racing in Ferrari Challenge. Pit window now closed. Terry Borcheller had an amazing stint. Borcheller ran go karts here at Road America way back in the 1980s. Terry Borcheller, 1998 World Challenge T1 champion in a Saleen Mustang run by actor Tim Allen. Now then, Todd Coleman right ahead of Bryan Putt and Coleman runs wide! Track limits warning for sure. He is under pressure as Putt applies the blowtorch! They swept Sonoma but they need a lot more. Putt can't make it work into turn five.
Putt almost runs into Coleman! Coming up fast, Elias Sabo and Adam Adelson! Adelson taking over the Porsche Cayman from Elliott Skeer. Bryan Putt has momentum to go side by side with Todd Coleman and takes the lead in Canada Corner. Coleman has to reset and hit his marks. Under 20 minutes to go, so 2/3rds of the race done. Elias Sabo has pulled a gap on Adam Adelson. Sabo, on the ragged edge with an evil handling Aston Martin! There is a drive through penalty for Ross Chouest for a pit stop violation. Sabo takes the spot away from Coleman through turn five.
Incident under review for the Rotek Mustang making contact with the Tom Capizzi and John Capestro-Dubets BMW M4 GT4. Also, Kevin Conway leads Silver, but Gavin Sanders reeling him in, and fast. Sanders needs a win as Filgueiras and McAleer are out. Coleman falling into the clutches of Adelson, too, look. Nick Shanny leads Alain Stad in the Am class. Stad, James Walker, and Charlie Postins all will be playing catch up. Adam Adelson moves to the podium places past Todd Coleman. Ross Chouest has served the drive through penalty which drops them down the order.
Bryan Putt is now into a rhythm and putting a bit of daylight between himself and Elias Sabo, both in Aston Martin Vantage's. An off and on for the Lone Star Racing Mercedes in the hands of Zane Hodgin. This is the tight stuff through The Carousel. Alain Stad wants to make a move as well. He wants by Jason Bell. Sabo closing in hand over fist on Bryan Putt. We are at the wquarter pole with 14 minutes to go and these Pirelli P Zero's will be screaming for mercy! It's the Wisconsin cheese grater. Sorry for that terrible pun!
BSport vs. Flying Lizard vs. Premier Motorsports. Premier Motorsports, the remnants of the old White Lightning endurance racing team from 20+ years ago and more. Adam Adelson might have a shot if the two leaders begin wrestling each other as Kevin Conway has a gap over Gavin Sanders of two seconds. Kevin Conway and John Geesbreght might be in the pound seats. Putt loses momentum and here comes Elias Sabo! Sabo tot he inside and goes deep. He's wide into the runoff area and now Adam Adelson is going to make a pass. Oh dear! Bryan Putt is grinning like a cheshire cat inside his helmet.
Sabo is on the steep end of the learning curve as Adelson wants it. Sabo leaves him a bit of space and they almost touch! Deary me! This is bananas! Time of is of the essence with only 11 minutes on the board. Shea Adam says BSport and Flying Lizard, are side by side in the lane and whichever one is in the lead, you hear the cheers from each team. It is now Aston Martin vs. Porsche as Conway has caught both Adelson and Sabo. This is a Silver class car and now we have a Full Course Yellow for a massive crash into the styrofoam signage. Oh man. What happeened? The Lone Star Racing Mercedes of Hodgin has centerpunched the concrete barrier! Ouch!
Road America a great place to race but it is a sleeping giant and will bite you, hard. Top speeds all at 155 miles an hour for Postins, Schwarz, Walker, Martinez, and Clay. Four BMW M4 GT4's and one Porsche Cayman GT4. The GT4 boys are only about ten miles an hour slower than their big brothers in GT3. Downhill braking zones and fast straightaways really put strain on the equipment. You do need downforce through the Carousel and you can't really trim the car out unless you are on fresh tires but when the tires go away, you need the traction. Cameron Lawrence, give a call to him in the Lone Star Racing Mercedes AMG GT4.
He has been running really well in a traditional GT car because the Trans Am cars are tube frame cars and are a lot like the older generation NASCAR stock cars. Sadly, we are not going to see any more racing in this one with about five minutes and change to go as we shall end the race under yellow. Checkered flag and red flag, race over. The driver who crashed should be just fine but there is no margin for error. So, Bryan Putt and Kenton Koch win it. Fastest lap for Aaron Telitz at 2:18.311.
Overall/Pro-Am: #15 Putt/Koch BSport Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4
Silver: #68 Conway/Geesbreght TGR Smooge Racing Toyota Supra GT4
Am: #53 Walker/Filsinger Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4
So, that is a wrap for GT4 America from Road America. Only two events now remain in the 2022 season. Four races. The penultimate event will be on the legendary concrete runways of Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida, coming up in a month. GT3, the big boys and the big toys, coming up soon. Stay tuned.
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