The SRO3 and GT4 cars and stars of SRO GT America make their way to the picturesque landscape and legendary layout of Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, to do battle on the recently repaved legendary road course. Again, the last time we saw these cars and their drivers was for the doubleheader on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, supporting the IndyCars. Yours truly will get around to talking about that pair of races. Look for a report from Nashville, early next week. For now, I must concentrate and pull away from all the wonderful food here at Road America even though it is getting close to lunchtime. Yum. Bratwurst, corn on the cob, cheese curds, ice cream, all the delicious food a race fan could want, but don't go overboard.
This is "America's National Park of Speed", as GT America cars go back to the roots of SRO racing here in the states, with the first of two GT America sprint races with Ryan Myrehn, Calvin Fish, and D.J. Clark calling the action from the booth and the pit lane. Memo Gidley starts on the pole. Memo Gidley and TKO Motorsports are ready to go. We have eight Mercedes', some Porsche's, Audi's, a Corvette C7 GT3, as well as the CDR Valkyrie Team with the Nissan GT-R GT3. "Godzilla" is here. The sister car is Brian Locke in the Acura NSX GT3 Evo. Some more cool cars. Johnny O'Connell qualifies seventh in the #3 SKI Autosport Audi R8.
James Sofronas and Todd Treffert did not turn times in qualifying. Sofronas crashed in testing and hurt his back. In GT4, we have a top four of Elias Sabo, Gray Newell, Tony Gaples, and Robb Holland. The engines have fired. A single formation lap around Road America. Memo Gidley has won five races so far. 40 minutes, single driver, sprint racing. No pit stops. Memo Gidley and Anthony Bartone at the top of the shop. George Kurtz is third, and is on pole for GT World Challenge America coming up this afternoon. Anthony Bartone did not race at Nashville either and went to test here at Road America instead. A wise decision.
Here comes the field up the hill for the start of the race. The safety car pulls off to the lane and now, we are looking for a green flag and we have it. Away we go! Memo Gidley gets a great jump and now, Adam Adelson is trying to make a move and here comes Brian Locke in the Acura. Gaples leads GT4 ahead of Garay Newell. Actually, it is Elias Sabo, the lead car. Running wide, Brian Locke, into turn five and Jason Daskalos moves to fourth place. George Kurtz passes Anthony Bartone while Memo Gidley leads and Kurtz is in deed and Jason Daskalos needs no second invitation to second place.
Brian Locke out in the slick stuf. Now then, Adam Adelson wants a bite of the cherry and Memo Gidley is rocketing away. Bartone passes by Kurtz. Brian Locke is looking for a co-driver to run in Fanatec GT World Challenge America. Memo Gidley has pulled the pin even on cold tires. He leads by four second after the opening lap. Damage to the rear glass of the Acura over the engine. Adam Adelson is now campaigning the new 992 GT3 Porsche. Meanwhile, Robb Holland is hounding Elias Sabo and Jason Bell now runs third over Gray Newell and Ross Chouest.
Robb Holland is charging to the front. On debut, Scott Blind is also having a great race in the #045 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Kurtz has a big head of steam on Bartone and makes the pass. Mercedes vs. Mercedes. No grip on the inside. Your speed is compromised. In GT4, the fight is on as Gray Newell is applying the blowtorch to Robb Holland. Tony Gaples on the rebound, trying not to make contact with Ross Chouest with Scott Blind waiting in the wings.
Through turn five and over the curbs. Blind in the bright yellow Aston thought he had a head of steam. He is running with Archangel Motorsports and team boss Mike Johnson. The start is under investigation by the stewards. I did not see anything wrong on that start. Maybe Daskalos tried passing Adelson too early. Memo Gidley sets the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the race at 2:06 dead, 2:06.012 with a lead that has ballooned to 5.8 seconds. Through The Carousel he goes, in the TKO Motorsports Mercedes. He suffered horrendous injuries nearly a decade ago at the 2014 Rolex 24 and also having a big crash here at Road America in a Champ Car for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Jason Daskalos is defending from George Kurtz and from Anthony Bartone who both want to spoil his party. It will be the battle for second place we will be watching. Oh no. Brian Locke in trouble in the Acura because of the carbon fiber rear window coming loose. Jason Daskalos will be pinged with a drive through penalty for improper start procedure. Elias Sabo and Jason Bell scrapping and Sabo runs wide at turn two. Bell lifts out of it and is under massive pressure from Robb Holland. Well, well, well. Tony Gaples in the Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R passes Gray Newell in the Aston Martin. This is a massive fight.
I think there was a brush between Newell and Gaples. Sabo gaps Bell through The Carousel. GT3 cars are so much faster than the GT4 cars are. Kurtz uncorks fastest first sector but has to make up the ground on Gidley who is bish, bash, boshing it right now but still with 27 minutes on the board. A 2:05.8 for the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap for the CrowdStrike car of George Kurtz. 2:05.816. If there is a safety car scramble, Gidley will not have it all his own way. Adam Adelson now driving the new 992 generation Porsche 911 GT3R. It does not have the straight line speed. Adelson I think is still using the Generation II 991 Porsche in GT World Challenge America.
Mirco Schultis in the #70 Callaway Corvette C7 ahead of Kyle Washington in another Porsche. We lost Reeves Callaway a while ago and he will be missed but his legacy lives on. The top six in GT4 are all racing together. Sabo, Bell, Gaples, Holland, Newell, and Chouest. Tony Gaples in the Camaro might have something in the locker for the Aston Martin juggernaut. The Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R is in it's last year of eligibility and long in the tooth. But they are still at it, working and tuning on the car at their home track. Elias Sabo and Jason Bell running 1-2. The importance is to stay online. It is very similar to racingin the rain.
Jason Daskalos pulling off into the paddock area as team boss Nick Short is trying to find out what the trouble is. You have to be in the top ten to gain points. Look to tomorrow and the grid position for tomorrow's race as we approach the halfway mark and the Aston Martin juggernaut works through The Carousel. At CRP Racing they know something broke on the car but are not sure what. Game over for Jason Daskalos. He had gotten the points lead back last time at Nashville. We are at halfway with lapped traffic all over the shop. Gidley knifes by Scott Blind who goes high wide and handsome, and the spins. That is not Scott Blind. Excuse me. That is Todd Parriott in the #13 GMG Racing Aston Martin.
Great to see the mix of GT3 and GT4 and the dynamic between the two classes since it was introduced in 2021. Blind has been racing in the IGT championship as of late. He is friends with the Schumacher family, Michael and Mick, and Ralf and David. Bell passes Gaples and now George Kurtz has cut the lead in half, and he is carving his way through the GT4 cars trying his best to catch Memo Gidley. Kurtz passes by Bell. Elias Sabo is defending but knows he has to let Kurtz by in a GT3 car, an SRO3 entry. Adam Adelson catving his way through the GG4 field, fourth in SRO3 in his first race in a 992 Porsche.
Johnny O'Connell in the nearly vintage Audi R8 is going for it. It does not have the downforce of the newer GT3 cars and he drove a Ferrari 458 Italia for the Hussey family and SKI Autosport. O'Connell wants to go back to Le Mans now that he is a Bronze rated driver and Tim Savage has spun into the gravel in the Aston Martin Vantage GT. He gets wide trying to make room for Andy Wilzoch and he's buried in the gravel trap. We could see a Full Course Yellow and draw George Kurtz closer to Memo Gidley. The safety car has been deployed erasing Gidley's five second lead.
Anthony Bartone, Adam Adelson, and Johnny O'Connell are catching up. Flying Lizard will be pushing with both Elias Sabo and Jason Bell. Bell has won just one race at his home track in St. Petersburg, Florida. Memo Gidley punches it on the restart with less than ten minutes to go and now, George Kurtz pressurizing Memo Gidley and Adam Adelson scrapping with Anthony Bartone. Gidley protecting from Kurtz. Big run by Kurtz. A head of steam. Kurtz late on the brakes and Gidley goes to second spot while Kurtz goes to the lead. Let the ABS kick in and maintain the apex and the preffered line and here comes Adam Adelson in the Porsche 911 GT3R, the 992 model.
Don't sleep on Anthony Bartone. He and Adelson have come out of GT4 and both taken to GT3 racing like ducks to water. Robb Holland gets snagged by the Nissan GT-R of Amir Halim which cleaned out Robb Holland and the Nissan GT-R, "Godzilla" is dead in the water for the time being and the safety car is scrambled, and this could be it because the safety car lap will be very slow. George Kurtz and Elias Sabo might have a get out of jail free card here. Jason Bell has to be thinking, what on earth can I do to pull away from Ross Chouest? This is driving me mad! Nicholas Shanny has had a great race weekend in the Toyota Supra GT4 as well.
Kurtz's move into turn five was fabulous. Threshold braking par excellence. The safety car picks up the field and if this is a quick cleanup we could get a lap or so of racing done before this race is done and dusted. It is going to need hustle from the safety car. Does the safety car have a predicted lap time? Hard to say. I wonder though because that would help. We will have Fanatec GT World Challenge America coming up in less than an hour and a half, for an hour and a half duration race of course. Johnny O'Connell runs fifth overall and the older generation GT3 cars can still be competitive.
The cleanup continues and the Nissan GT-R remains stationary at Canada Corner. So we are going to see the checkered flag this time by. George Kurtz clawed and scraped to recover and went at Memo Gidley full force and pulled it off. He will have a confidence boost before we get to the Fanatec GT World Challenge America race. Memo Gidley, too, has had a promising race this afternoon here in GT America. Elias Sabo and Andy Lee have had some great races in Pirelli GT4 America this year already in spite of not racing in Nashville and having trouble at Virginia International Raceway. I think we will see the checkered flag this time by.
Indeed we will as they trundle up the hill and George Kurtz wins the race, race one of the weekend at Road America for GT America and Elias Sabo wins GT4 for a Flying Lizard 1-2.
Overall/SRO3: #04 George Kurtz Crowdstrike by Riley Mercedes AMG GT3
GT4: #8 Elias Sabo Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4
Cue the house dance music for the results and Robb Holland had a bad race today after having four wins on the bounce. This race ends behind the safety car and looking ahead to race two, Kurtz could easily repeat and in GT4, maybe have a Captain Cook at Tony Gaples who will start from pole tomorrow in class. So, we've seen a sizzler for GT America. Coming up soon, the big boys and the big toys with the full fat, full metal GT3 cars in GT World Challenge America, here at Road America, coming very soon.
Stay with us here at Road America. So long for now, ladies and gentlemen.
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