Good evening, everyone, and welcome to a first of its kind race for SRO Pirelli GT4 America and SRO Motorsports Group North America. We are delighted to bring to you, the Lonestar Enduro at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. We have arrived in the Texas state capital for round five of the season. Elevation change, bumps, tricky turns, and the first of its kind, three-hour format. As always, we have Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish, our good pals, in the broadcast booth, with Amanda Busick covering all of the pit lane action, and there will be plenty of that this evening with this endurance race format for Pirelli GT4 America. If you watch the video broadcast that we will post later on, you are going to see an incredible track map and a live lap of the circuit with Parker Thompson and Calvin Fish, a former open wheel and endurance sports car racing driver, himself, who had a career from the early '80s to the mid '90s before moving to broadcasting in sports car racing.
So, you will want to really take a good look at the track description and what this place looks like. So much influence from other great circuits went into the layout here at Circuit of the Americas. It is an incredible and incredibly challenging lap. This is, again, a first of its kind race. Everyone is excited to give the format a try. Now, what we have at stake is double points on the board, with a two-driver tandem, and a maximum stint length of 50 minutes. Some drivers are going to strategize through equal stints of 45 minutes each. That is the most logical way to slice the pie for this one. 45, 90, 135, 180. That's four 45-minute stints which means double stints for each driver on each team. Pretty simple math. There's not too much strategy involved here. I mean, I think I just laid it bare right there for you.
Everyone will be looking to take advantage of some area of their time and how they slice the pie to get to victory lane when the sun sets this evening. It is an all-Nissan front row with the two NISMO Z GT4's carrying some extra weight which could play into the hands of other brands as the engines roar to life. On the pole, the #9 Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4 being driven by Tony Gaples and Michael Cooper. The atmosphere down here is electric, but it is apprehensive, too. The wrinkle is the pit stops which no GT4 teams have experience with changing tires and adding fuel to the cars.
Some teams in GT4 have brought crew members from GT World Challenge America and the GT3 teams in for this race to help them get used to doing full on, hot pit stops during this race which they are not used to because usually it is only a driver change when we talk about the one hour, two driver GT4 America format for every other race we go to. Stay cool, ladies and gentlemen. You need to execute on the pit stops. There are double points on offer. No extra race this weekend so the winners will be able to celebrate and everyone else either might get to sleep in or come to see the other races at the track. The cars are on their warmup laps right now.
Let's have a Captain Cook at the starting grid for the race today.
1. #9 Gaples/Cooper Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4
2. #5 Hot/Baptista Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4
3. #999 Hanley/Thompson Hanley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
4. #13 Parriott/Dyer Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
5. #89 Aureimma/Leist RENNTech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4
6. #28 Filgueiras/Capestro-Dubets RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
7. #7 Swearingin/Van Berlo ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
8. #24 Newell/De Angelis Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
9. #51 Garrett/Anderson AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
10. #22 Harrison/Powell TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4
11. #26 Greenemier/Grisham Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
12. #97 Boehm/Koch Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
13. #34 Cowden/Chalkias JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4
14. #53 Lindstrom/Million AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
15. #23 Stephens/Neudorf TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4
16. #188 Holt/Stripling Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
17. #68 Geesbreght/Gonzalez Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
18. #43 Vogel/Bell P1 Group Mercedes-AMG GT4
19. #55 Robusto/Conway Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
20. #36 Postins/Clay BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82
21. #099 Holland/Lander Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
22. #82 Walker Jr./McQuarrie BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82
23. #72 Goulart/Geraci Krugspeed Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
24. #98 Sparta/Wilson Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
25. #07 LaMarra/Eversley Precision Racing L.A. Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
26. #20 Shanny/Borcheller Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82
27. #16 Sharinn/Sharinn Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
28. #52 Peterman/Carpentier NOLASport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
29. #17 Owen/Gibbons OGH Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
There you have it. A field of 29 GT4 cars set to battle in this first ever endurance race. The Austin skyline in the background, we are ready for the longest bespoke GT4 race under SRO sanction in history. The teams that do have endurance experience should be fine. We have three hours of racing coming up with a Nissan front row lockout. The field is lined up perfectly. Green flag, and away we go! The GT4 enduro is underway here at Circuit of the Americas!
They fan out three and four wide up the hill as Tony Gaples snatches the lead away from Damir Hot right from the start. Brake lockup further back in the field as they've climbed the hill into turn one for the first time of asking. Stay clean as all the lines merge at the apex. Delaying the green flag to the last possible moment seems to be working as we have a clean start. Oh yes, squeaky clean. They begin the serpentine into the esses for the first time. Eric Filgueiras on the move early doors. Filgueiras the championship leader, grabbing the Silver class lead away from the #999 Toyota Supra of Daniel Hanley.
The Pro-Am and Am leaders both in the Nissan Z cars with Tony Gaples ahead of Damir Hot. Hot's car was qualified by his co-driver Rodrigo Baptista, the Brazilian. Settle in and keep it clean. Great to see Rodrigo Baptista back in the SRO America paddock this weekend. He was a regular star in GT3 competition in SRO several years ago both in America and in Europe. Oh, my heavens! It is a Texas land rush down the backstretch for the first time! The backstretch here at COTA is 2/3rds of a mile long. We have side by side action already and this is something we have seen a lot of here at COTA in the typical one hour GT4 sprints over the years.
It is so wide, and drivers can fire down the inside of you even on a taditional line. Rats. John Geesbreght in the Smooge Racing Toyota Supra has damage on the left rear corner, or the left side of that automobile. Just under the door, the rocker panel has worked itself loose. It is not just crumpled. It is hanging on by a thread. I believe he will need to come to the pit lane and get that taped down. The stewards will not want that to be a local yellow for debris. Geesbreght and Tyler Gonzalez have had a good start to the season. Don't look now, but the sister Smooge Racing Supra is right in the picture. That is the car started by Isabella Robusto sharing with Kevin Conway, the #55 car.
Oh man! We have a drag race down the front straightaway between Porsche and Nissan! Eric Filgueiras is about to be snookered by the veteran Tony Gaples going into turn one! Filgueiras was ahead by a nose at the line, but believe you me, Gaples is bringing some more power with that Nissan Z car. Gaples has new confidence in this car after a victory at Sebring a couple weekends ago. He was tepid about the car at first but is now beginning to like it, beginning to unlock its performance potential. They took a 15-kilogram Balance of Performance hit after qualifying. Gaples has the speed in Pro-Am. Filgueiras leads the Silver class. The white Toyota Supra of Dan Hanley has now moved past Damir Hot into third place. Kevin Boehm has started the #92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 sharing with Kenton Koch and they had no idea they could start any of their duo of drivers they wanted to.
What Kevin Boehm's plan is, it is just to keep his nose clean early doors. This team has scored three podium places in the season so far coming into our endurance race here in Texas this evening. Wow. A good battle shaping up between Nissan and Porsche as Eric Filgueiras is pressuring Tony Gaples. Swinging wide into the triple apex right hander, Filgueiras is filling the space in the Porsche. Hanley and Boehm are back there, third and fourth, watching for an opportunity to give Tony Gaples and Eric Filgueiras both a run for their money. The Toyota Supra's have been fast all year in 2024 thus far. Now, we have a real battle on our hands as Filgueiras is to the outside of Gaples and Kevin Boehm, he is going to be pressing to get by Daniel Hanley as well.
Gaples leads, but up the hill to turn one, Filgueiras has other ideas! He is going for the top spot! Deep under braking, Gaples is not rolling over to have his tummy scratched. He says, "not now, sunbeam" and slams the door in Filgueiras' face! This is black dogged determination, at the top of the shop. You see what I did there? Filgueiras is making a step back down to GT4 competition. He is the reigning Fanatec GT World Challenge America champion when he took the title for RS1 in a Porsche 911 GT3R last year, co-driving with the Scotsman Stevan McAleer. He's also a GT4 champion. Daniel Hanley and Kevin Boehm have their own side by side scrap and this is going to get spicy! Now, Hanley moves in and almost has a clatter with Boehm! Yikes!
We have a long race here this evening and we can see that Colin Garrett in another of the BMW M4 GT4's, he wants a bite of the cherry, but he needs to be more circumspect early doors. Typically, when we race for an hour in GT4 you are in go mode the whole time. But have a different mindset with this three hour endurance event and just take your time and don't do anything silly. Boehm wants redemption after spinning in one of the sprint races here last year. Colin Garrett is making it three wide and taking no prisoners! Oof! Daniel Hanley had no choice but to run off the road slightly to avoid being run over by these other two blokes.
Filgueiras is still giving Gaples all he can handle but cannot make the pass on the Nissan driver yet. Filgueiras to the inside of Gaples, and he is given some room as they come up the hill on the front straightaway to mark another lap into the book. There's some miscommunication between these two at the front and now, Filgueiras will take over the lead and it took him three laps tp get the job done. Boehm sweeps around Hanley and now, the Toyota driver is very much the meat in a BMW sandwich. Colin Garrett now wants to try his luck at making a move on Hanley. We also see Jake Cowden, the Canadian racer, closing in aboard the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4, the car he shares with Demi Chalkias.
Sixth overall and fifth in class for Cowden after qualifying 13th. We are seeing chopping and changing with different drivers. Early doors, Filgueiras has set the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the race thus far. 2:18.208 for Filgueiras flashes on the screen and now, he is eking out a gap over Tony Gaples who has shown great discipline from the start of the motor race. Gaples is a good driver with a strong personality and his confidence is boosted after a class win at Sebring last time we talked to you about GT4. John Capestro-Dubets was drafted in at the last minute to work as Filgueiras' co-driver for the 2024 Pirelli GT4 America season in SRO America.
Boehm slices inside Gaples and might take the spot away. He does so. Gaples counters right bakc and is not giving Boehm anything. Boehm is a super savvy driver. He is an engineer in addition to being a driver. He is in his second season in GT4 but has had touring car success, too, winning titles in TCA and TC class touring cars here in our paddock in SRO America. Plus, he is a multiple time champion at the SCCA Runoffs. Damir Hot, our outside polesitter is in a major spot of bother as he gets brushed by Robb Holland in the Rotek Racing Porsche Cayman! That was close! Holland is the leader in the Am class currently with only ten or 11 minutes of racing now complete. He shares the Porsche Cayman #99 with Jaden Lander.
We have had drivers shuffling their ratings between last year and this year. Austin and Roland Krainz were promoted but they are not here in competition for the enduro this weekend. At The Heart of Racing, they were promoted to Pro-Am with both cars. Robb Holland has gained 11 places. Boehm up ten spots, Cowden has moved up seven places, and six places each have been gained by the Toyota Supra's for Mike LaMarra and for Isabella Robusto. Whoops! One of the AutoTechnic BMW's runs wide and might be off the pace. Dear me. We shall follow up on this situation in a moment. Side by side action too between Smooge Racing Toyota and BimmerWorld BMW. That's John Geesbreght vs. Charlie Postins.
Colin Garret went deep into the turn trying to make an inside move on Daniel Hanley. In the GT4 class it becomes hard to decipher who is who and where they are in their classes even though the cars are different. We have seen this same situation thus far in races we have covered for you in SRO GT4 European Series as well. There are some more of those, as they have been racing at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Misano, Italy, on the Adriatic coast, and we will have those races for you in due time, I hope. Boehm is closing fast on Eric Filgueiras for the lead, resetting the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:16.975. This is to the CrowdStrike sponsored BMW M4 GT4.
Random Vandals Racing has big plans later in the season and they will enter a GT3 spec BMW M4 GT3 in the Indianapolis 8 Hours later this fall, and among the drivers will be Connor Daly who has qualified well for the Indianapolis 500 which is coming up this Sunday. Connor De Philippi, BMW factory driver, will join the team for the Indianapolis 8 Hours and of course, we have seen Connor De Philippi for BMW in IMSA competition with their factory M Hybrid V8 GTP prototype. Kenton Koch will be the third driver in that trio. Connor Daly is good pals with Random Vandals Racing chef d'equipe Paul Sparta. On Saturday when this race we are talking about now, took place, he was keeping tabs on Connor's progress in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
Right now he is really focused on his own race of course. Sparta is now 18th in the overall and top five in the Am division. Meanwhile, Jake Cowden is closing fast on Daniel Hanley. John Farrow is the team manager. He has taken the team in house and is no longer assisted by Conquest Racing with Eric Bachelart. They moved over to a different sports car racing championship I believe. Meanwhile, the position shuffling is beginning to settle down. Just look at the clock. The earliest you could stop is with 2 hours, 34 minutes, and 30 seconds on the clock, but that will regimen your pit stops and you could start hitting the lane in the next ten minutes. We'll see.
Filgueiras has the lead, Boehm has tracked him down, and Gaples is now third in the Nissan and is still running well. He has the lead in the Pro-Am class and the next Pro-Am class entry is in seventh. That is the #7 Curt Swearingin driven ACI Motorsports Porsche Cayman. At Random Vandals, their two cars are focused on pit stops and identical strategies. The full 50-minute stint means refueling could make the pit delta longer than it is according to the regulations. Last evening they were running their fuel drop numbers. A 50-minute stint fuel load could get you out of the 90 second pit delta. It is more crucial about how fast the fuel goes into the tank.
Back in the pack there is a fantastic scrap for position brewing. Nissan Z vs. Toyota Supra. Michai Stephens vs. Isabella Robusto, with the two Heart of Racing Aston Martin's not far behind. Part of this was TechSport's strategy as there is debris that has come off someplace which hopefully does not contribute to damage of one of these cars. Let's take a good look at the battle in the Am division.
1. #099 Lander/Holland Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
2. #36 Clay/Postins BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82
3. #55 Conway/Robusto Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4
James Clay and Charlie Postins going for three straight titles. Charlie Postins is disappointed that some of the Am class pairings have now disappeared. Isabella Robusto's background in the Toyota Racing Development stable. She has been racing in their NASCAR program in the ARCA championship. She was set to run a full campaign in Pirelli GT4 America last year in 2023 but was injured in a late model stock car race and had to recover. Toyota are bullish about Robusto's stock car program because road racing is becoming more and more about road racing with the Generation 7 NASCAR Cup car being set up somewhat like a sports car.
The top three are Silver class cars as Colin Garrett is losing some time to the lead battle between Filgueiras and Boehm. Tony Gaples is the Pro-Am leader. Boehm is looking really racy behind the wheel of the BMW M4 GT4. Of all the GT4 cars, the BMW M4 GT4, the new model, it does very well in the heat with the air conditioning system, and it does not lose engine power either. The Porsche struggles with engine timing and performance in the heat. Boehm tries his best to press Filgueiras and he does. They have room, side by side and Boehm goes off into the dust but stays on the road. Filgueiras covers and these two have Colin Garrett coming in a hurry with the new CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:16.873!
No worries. Boehm takes the lead with just over 20 minutes of racing in the book. Colin Garrett is also a NASCAR driver, a former track champion at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. Colin Garrett is now purple (fastest of all) in both sector one and two. As we get deeper into the race this evening the temperatures will cool off but not by very much, truthfully. Colin Garrett attempted last year's NASCAR truck series race at COTA in 2023 and made it. Conversely, he tried making the NASCAR Xfinity field at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, but mechanical troubles with the car on his qualifying run, put pay to that attempt. Garrett loves road racing in touring cars and GT4's even though his background is in short track stock car racing.
Daniel Hanley and Jake Cowden have a good battle for fifth and sixth place too. Down the one-kilometer backstretch between turns 11 and 12, Garrett is being patient. We are closing in on the possibility of first pit stops. Colin Garrett is flinging the BMW around and Eric Filgueiras is keeping up the pace. No official pit window, but there is a de facto one based on the 50-minute stint lengths. Three 50-minute stints, and three 90 second pit stops. Will anyone choose to dive for the pit lane? That is the question. Use all the curbs you want, but be careful because there are the turtles on the other end of the curbs.
GT4 cars don't have the same low hanging diffuser on the back end that the GT3 cars do. So, these cars can clatter over the curbs with minimal damage. The pit window might just be for Pro-Am teams at this point in the race. If we see a yellow flag, the strategies will change and there will be a slight fudge factor. Boehm, Filgueiras, Garrett, the top three with almost half an hour of racing completed. The Pro-Am teams are looking to the second stint for their Am drivers to take over. If we see a Full Course Yellow, teams will consider coming to the lane, with 36 or 37 minutes on the board. Colin Garrett going on the defensive and Eric Filgueiras must mind his P's and Q's as the stewards warned him for track limits, actually, for moving in response to Garrett.
Filgueiras is having a real ice cream headache trying to stay ahead of these BMW's. Charlie Postins has caught Robb Holland in tenth overall and behind the Nissan Z car of Michai Stephens. Garrett moves past Filgueiras, and he knew he was vulnerable, Filgueiras that is. Holland and Postins now have Hannah Greenmeier for company. So, three different cars in this little scrap. Porsche Cayman vs. BMW M4 vs. Aston Martin Vantage. The Heart of Racing car has been promoted to Pro-Am and the downside is that the accrued points go out the window. They were racing with a derogated FIA driver rating. Derogations anticipate performance level changes when you ask for them. You cannot move into another class if you beat someone else on the road. It's not an automatic situation.
Tony Gaples leading the Pro-Am class. Holland and Postins continue scrapping for the Am class lead. Hannah Greenmeier has done a very good job, racing with teammate Gray Newell and she has passed him. Greenmeier is far less experienced than her teammate, Hannah Grisham. She was invited to do preseason testing in 2022 in the W Series before that championship was disbanded. She ran in the Mazda MX-5 Cup shootout and in U.S. Formula 4. Techsport with their Nissan Z NISMO GT4 is in the pit lane but I don't believe this is scheduled service.
Is this a scheduled pit stop, or a problem? Colin Garrett resets the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the race, again. Boehm and Garrett are the only drivers into the 2:17 range. Garrett tries to pass Boehm but realizes that discretion is the better part of valor. Boehm guarding the inside on Garrett. Boehm nudges Garrett but Garrett takes the lead of the motor race. No rattling Colin Garrett's cage here. Both Random Vandals and AutoTechnic have put together very evenly matched BMW's or prepared them pretty equally I ought to say. Eric Filgueiras runs in the third spot. Pit stop time now for the #52 Nolasport Porsche Cayman. This is the car making the first scheduled stop of this race with David Peterman and Lee Carpentier.
Unlike the GT3 cars, there are no single center locking wheels on the GT4 entries. All cars use a five lug nut per wheel system, very much like the lower level NASCAR stock cars use. The trouble with the five lug nuts is that if a car wheelspins out of the lane, the lug nuts are fired at you like bullets, so be very, very careful. Keep your head on a swivel in the pit lane. Now we have a trio of cars battling back in the back for position led by Troy Lindstrom in the #53 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 he shares with Matt Million. Nick Shanny looks like he is dropping down the order as Elivan Goulart in the #72 Krugspeed Toyota Supra is moving up/
Drama and a spot of bother for the other #22 TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4 as Colin Harrison did not have his helmet strapped on yet when co-driver Eric Powell brought the car in. Jonathan Neudorf is ready to go but his co-driver Michai Stephens is having trouble with two separate issues on the car. The engine is overheating, and the steering is grabbing and locking up. He cannot turn the car. This is a safety issue, clearly. Colin Harrison is not happy in the least. This extreme heat is not what these cars were tested in. On track, Jake Cowden has now caught Daniel Hanley and a moment ago we saw the #89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the pit lane, Michael Auriemma sharing with Matheus Leist, the Brazilian former IndyCar racer.
Cowden swings inside the Toyota Supra of Hanley and takes the spot away. That was like taking candy from a baby. Tony Gaples leading Pro-Am is sixth, and Gaples now leads Swearingin and Hot. Let's take a look at the Pro-Am class running order.
1. #9 Gaples/Cooper Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4
2. #7 Swearingin/Van Berlo ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
3. #5 Hot/Baptista Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4
4. #26 Grisham/Greenmeier Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
5. #24 Newell/De Angelis Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
6. #82 Walker Jr./McQuarrie BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82
7. #13 Parriott/Dyer Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
8. #07 LaMarra/Eversley Precision Racing LA Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
9. #53 Lindsrrom/Million AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
10. #43 Vogel/Bell P1 Group Mercedes-AMG GT4
11. #22 Harrison/Powell TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4
12. #89 Auriemma/Leist RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4
RENNtech in the pit lane and they have trouble on the right front corner. They cannot mount the Pirelli P Zero tire and wheel because one of the drive pins has been sheared off of the stub axle assembly. There are two of the five pins missing. This is a tough break. Maybe they are preparing to get the car back to the transporter and it could be game over. Colin Harrison is having the exact same issues as his teammate at TechSport Nissan with the steering locking up and the engine overheating. So, this race is becoming what SRO America has intended it to be, a true endurance test.
Tony Gaples leads Pro-Am also in a Nissan and Damir Hot is also out there in third place. So, the Nissan teams have to be on their toes here. Sometimes with power steering there is something called cavitation where the steering locks momentarily. My technical assumption is the same as our mate Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth, and that is, these GT4 cars (at least the Nissans), are using hydraulicly actuated power steering and not electronic actuated systems. Just 40 minutes into the race and the 50-minute stint length is looming. Everyone, by regulation, will need to pit in about ten minutes to do a driver change.
Cars that have stopped are playing the available strategy. Nick Shanny and co-driver Terry Borcheller are beginning to recover in the #20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82. Todd Parriott also had a good opening stint aboard the #13 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin and has turned that car over to his co-driver Tom Dyer. In this race, unlike several endurance format races, the SRO have stipulated that double stinting in this shorter endurance race, running two back-to-back, consecutive stints, is forbidden per the rules. So, every pit stop, you will see a driver change, for everyone.
Eric Powell is very disappointed. It looks like, with barely 40 minutes of the race gone, one of the TechSport Nissan Z cars, for Powell and Colin Harrison, is headed for the house. Game over. A shorter stint, and a later pit stop after it, will give you the freshest set of Pirelli P Zero tires possible to get to the finish later this evening. It is pretty obvious there will be no nighttime driving and we are going to finish this motor race at around sunset. Your driver teams are not so compromised. Garrett and Boehm run 1-2 and of course Colin Garrett will hand off to Zac Anderson later on and the same goes for Boehm handing his BMW to Kenton Koch.
Kenton Koch will be racing the Random Vandals BMW and right now, Boehm is hanging tough with Colin Garrett. Boehm's intensity is much more aggressive than it was when he was in touring cars. Colin Garrett, too, is used to that, coming from his stock car racing background. They are not afraid to get their elbows out and trade a little paint. Garrett runs wide on turn one exit and he is vulnerable. Boehm is closing in little by little. John Capestro-Dubets is now suited and booted and ready to get into the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman for his stint. Filgueiras has dropped six and a half seconds behind the leading duo.
I don't know if it is traffic related, but Filgueiras has lost ground after keeping well in touch with Tony Gaples when this race started a wee while ago. Are we going to run this race caution free? That's highly unlikely. Although, there is so much runoff room here at COTA that it is possible we could stay clean and green the whole way. You will just have to stay tuned with us to find out. I hope you haven't got too many plans in the next couple of hours because this race I think might only get better as it develops and continues. Let me see. We have been over the Pro-Am order, and we'll see what other graphics of class running order comes up.
Currently, we are paying attention to a mid-pack battle between two Toyota Supra's. John Geesbreght in the #68 Smooge Racing Toyota Supra is being harried by Troy Lindstrom in the aforementioned #53 car, the AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82. Geesbreght is chasing a fellow Toyota Supra conrender, the #07 automobile in the hands of Mike LaMarra. He is sharing the car at Precision L.A. Racing with Ryan Eversley. Matt Million is an impressive driver, Lindstrom's teammate, who made his debut in the opening races of the 2024 season at Sonoma Raceway in California, last month. The pit lane is getting busy.
Ah yes. Filgueiras is in the box now turning the Porsche Cayman over to JCD, John Capestro-Dubets. Heart of Racing will be in as well. Roman De Angelis is set to take over the #24 entry from Gray Newell on this first driver change, this first relay. Heart of Racing team boss Ian James went over to Tyler McQuarrie at BimmerWorld to let them know, "hey guys, please keep the pit space behind you, clear for us to make our stop on this lap." Mike LaMarra off the pace entering the pit lane and the AutoTechnic BMW has to scoot by him on short notice. That was a close shave!
Wow! Lindstrom had a king size head of steam there, trying to get to the lane when LaMarra was just trundling in at pit lane limiter speed. Find out the threshold of what you can do on pit entry without risking having a clatter with the pit wall. RS1 have completed their pit stop and now the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin is in as well, look. #53 BMW in the box too. 90 seconds is the maximum allotted time on pit lane. You are allowed to be up to one second underneath that, but however much you are underneath the target delta time is multiplied by ten.
If you miss the mark there will be penalties assessed in the form of time penalties to the conclusion of your next pit stop, or, added to your overall race time when we see the checkered flag and bring it in, later this evening. Any amount of time under the minimum allocated target time will result not just in a drive through penalty but in a stop and hold in the penalty box. The rulemakers took the pit lane length into consideration. If you more than a second underneath, you are in trouble. Boehm continues pushing and must be in this lap to not run afoul of the 50-minute stint length to hand over to Kenton Koch.
Damir Hot owes a pit stop to hand over to Rodrigo Baptista. Robb Holland and Charlie Postins, who are scrapping for the Am class lead, as well as Isabella Robusto, owe pit stops, too. So, that bit of housekeeping is out of the way, and now, let's see where the true battles are on track. With almost 40 minutes completed, it appears this race is settling down into a rhythm. Zac Anderson has taken over from Colin Garrett at the wheel of the #51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4. With the enduro format, tire saving for your co-driver is not necessary here. There are sets of Pirelli tires for every stint.
Kevin Boehm in the lane now. With the time left on the board, running at 2:16 range lap times, he needs to be into the pit box, so he does not run afoul of the 50-minute stint length. So, the Random Vandals Racing pit crew will go to work. One of the major discussion points going in, the pit stops can ruin a good race. A bad pit stop will ruin your race and these Pirelli GT4 America teams are not used to live pit stops because in a normal hourlong race, twice per weekend, the only pit stops being made are for driver changes. Random Vandals have raced in WRL and in GT4 in IMSA in their Michelin Pilot Challenge series, so they will be well prepared for it.
Unlike being a single class here in SRO competition, Michelin Pilot Challenge in IMSA blends GT4 and TCR cars, and of course, two different brands and types of tires for each series. Pirelli is the official tire in SRO, the Italian tires. Michelin, the French tire brand, is the official IMSA tire. Not many teams are at the 1:30 mark, most of them are 1:35-1:36, leaving five seconds on the table. Random Vandals are doing a clean stop. Now, here is a twist, and that is Zac Anderson coming back into the pit lane. I wonder. What is this all about? Maybe something was loose as Anderson was weaving the car. Kenton Koch is now at the controls of the #92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4. He should inherit the lead of the motor race.
But, we ask this question. What on earth is going on with car #51? Their pit stop worked out fine but maybe they didn't get a wheel tightened up. The left front is looking like it is down. They are working on the left side of the car still on the air jacks, in major scramble mode. They are idle in the lane while the rest of the field is cycling through. Remember, this Lone Star Enduro has double points on offer. It is early doors, but this problem has major championship implications. Kenton Koch is the new leader with John Capestro-Dubets chasing in second, four and a half seconds in-arrears.
So, RS1 benefits from AutoTechnic's misfortune, but they have lapped traffic to carve through as well. #51 still in the lane and there could be a flat or tire or loose wheel on the car. They are in scramble mode. The rest of the field is cycling through, passing them, and they are losing places hand over fist in this double points race. Still early doors, but every point counts. James Clay and Charlie Postins racing for BimmerWorld have dominated the GT4 America Am class over the last few years, but in 2024, they have not had the same level of success as in the recent past.
Kenton Koch should be leading with John Capestro-Dubets chasing him down. They benefit from the misfortune for Auto Technic Racing, but are in traffic, negotiating the #16 Skip Barber Racing School Aston Martin being shared by Marc and Tyler Sharinn. They are a lap down to the overall leader. #51 now out of the pit lane. An update, and Colin Garrett tells us what is going on. Brake fluid was leaking, but no real brake issues. In panic, they released the car while it was still on a block. The drivers after their stints in this heat, are absolutely exhausted.
Did they hit a brake line connection while putting the wheel back on? Did the repair stick? Matt Million is now chasing, for the 14th position, racing with Roman De Angelis. Roman De Angelis is a super quick driver. Meanwhile, position change in Am class, as James Clay passes the Rotek Racing Porsche Cayman currently driven by Jaden Lander, the #99 car. So, here is the running order in the Am class, the top ten, before I forget.
1. #36 Clay/Postins BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82
2. #099 Holland/Lander Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
3. #55 Conway/Robusto Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
4. #20 Shanny/Borcheller Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82
5. #98 Sparta/Wilson Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
6. #188 Holt/Stripling Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
7. #72 Geraci/Goulart KRUGSPEED Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
8. #52 Peterman/Carpentier NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
9. #16 Sharinn/Sharinn Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
10. #17 Gibbons/Owen OGH Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
We see another good battle between Roman De Angelis just ahead of Matt Million. De Angelis ensconced with Heart of Racing with team boss Ian James. James and De Angelis drove together for WRT at the Rolex 24 years ago. Roman De Angelis has recently been named to an LMP2 drive at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a few weeks. He will join Matthias Kaiser and Ollie Caldwell at Algarve Pro Racing for that event. Rotek Racing were leading the Am class with Jaden Lander. Now, James Clay is in the class lead as Kevin Conway is now third in the #55 Smooge Racing Toyota Supra that was started by Isabella Robusto.
In the Pro-Am class it is Kay van Berlo now leading ahead of Rodrigo Baptista. So, it is the ACI Motorsports Porsche Cayman ahead of the Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4. What on earth happened to the #9 Blackdog Speedshop Nissan Z car? They had something go awry on a pit stop. Tony Gaples and Michael Cooper led the race early doors but have now flown Plummet Airways to who knows where. They are shown three laps down and they had steam coming out of the overflow according to their PR staff. It sounds like, obviously, if there's good old fashioned steam pouring out of the overflow, the car is overheating.
That is the same issue plaguing the fellow Nissan team at Techsport. So, like I said, this is truly an endurance race as mechanical woes are beginning to take their toll and we are very close to having one hour of racing done and dusted here at Circuit of the Americas. That's a shame for Tony Gaples and Michael Cooper. Cooper will be frustrated if he cannot drive. He had a commitment in Posche Carrera Cup North America for the Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix when we saw SRO racing at Sebring, so, Max Root was brought in as the second driver that weekend to partner with Tony Gaples. They scored Nissans first GT4 victory.
Game over too for Michael Auriemma and Mattheus Leist. They have retired the #89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes with a cracked radiator. To clarify, stream, not steam. It was not overheating from the Blackdog Nissan. I think Tyler McQuarrie may have just set the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the race. I have not seen the graphic blink onto the screen yet, watching this race, as always, from the iPad. Zac Anderson may have stolen it away. McQuarrie though, is flying aboard the #82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 that is tenth in the overall. James Walker Jr. had a steady start and his daughter Shelby is graduating high school soon. A big thank you to the family for understanding dad's racing passion.
Just imagine the dinner conversation in the Walker household with husband and dad James begging, "it is a double points weekend of racing, so I have to be there!" I am sure the conversation was far more recent. Blackdog Speedshop stripped the wheel nut, stripped the threads on the wheel nut, so that is likely one of the reasons they are out of the race in addition, I believe, to an overheating issue, as they are packing up the toolboxes and headed back to regroup before the next racing weekend for GT4 America. That is heartbreaking. Game over. They had brought in DXDT to help with the pit stops. DXDT of course grabbed the first global victory for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the first race of the weekend for Fanatec GT World Challenge America before this race and went on to do the double on Sunday.
Alec Udell and Tommy Milner scored both victories. Just the one race this weekend for Pirelli GT4 America. One hour down, two to go. So, we're 1/3rd of the way home and would be through one of the two races on the weekend if this were a normally scheduled weekend of racing for GT4 America, we'd have finished the Saturday contest already. Kenton Koch doing a solid job leading the motor race ahead of John Capestro-Dubets and the rest. His advantage is nearly eight seconds running 2:16 flat. Consistent 2:16 lap times. Tough break for JMF Motorsports as Demi Chalkias must pit for a penalty for being half a second under the minimum pit stop time. There are also pit lane infractions for the #98 Am class Random Vandals BMW M4 GT4 of Kris Wilson and the #55 Toyota Supra as well.
Side by side down the backstretch, as James Clay is being pursued by Hannah Grisham. She and Hannah Greenmeier had a terrible pit stop recently where; while changing tires, the car was dropped down accidentally off the air jacks. That is not good and usually doesn't happen. Heart of Racing does a lot in GT3 racing worldwide so it is a surprise that a mistake would be made. Ian James actually employs a lot of folks on his team who worked with top sports car racing outfits over the years such as Panoz Motorsports and Alex Job Racing. Demi Chalkias meanwhile, has spun while running in the top five overall and there is right front damage on the Mercedes. No. There's a slight tweak, a dislodging of the dive plane.
They are pinged with penalties that are twofold. You cannot refuel the car with the engine running and the tires were over the wall in the pit stall, too soon. Oh dear! Now, Chalkias nearly runs right into the Am class leading BimmerWorld BMW! That is James Clay! The two of them locked horns! Yikes! Clay will drop down the order. Great car control by James Clay. This promotes Jaden Lander to the class lead, but I don't think so because timing and scoring has not cycled through yet. That was a heart in the throat moment. All arms and elbows for James Clay. That was very, very close. Clay settling back into a rhythm and timing and scoring is now cleared up.
Tyler McQuarrie in the sister car is right behind. There's a long way to go to try and secure the points for the title fight. Tyler McQuarrie absolutely charging alongside James Walker Jr. up to third in class after starting out back. James Clay is not making it easy for Tyler McQuarrie. The team boss lets his teammate through. McQuarrie and Walker Jr. won at Sonoma in race one and were runner-up in race two and half a disastrous event at Sebring last time out, as Demi Chalkias has been warned by the stewards for contact in turn four, incident responsibility. James Clay's save has meant this car has a lesser penalty. Give your fellow racers more room through the esses.
Kenton Koch leads over John Capestro-Dubets and now in third is Parker Thompson at the wheel of the #999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota Supra. Thompson has that connection with Toyota/Lexus and has been a mentor to Daniel Hanley. A great driving duo. Thompson closing in little by little on John Capestro-Dubets. Kenton Koch has a comfortable lead out front by over 11 seconds. The top three Pro-Am class contenders are fourth, fifth, and sixth overall with Kay van Berlo, Rodrigo Baptista, and Tyler McQuarrie. Baptista started his career in GT4. He has settled down, ran with K-PAX and Flying Lizard in one of the old Bentley Continental GT3's years ago. He was teamed at Bentley at the time, years ago, with the rapid Belgian driver Maxime Soulet.
He raced in Pro-Am in 2020 with TR3 Racing. We are watching another battle with one of the lapped cars from Nolasport, and now it is Kay van Berlo, Pro-Am leader, carving through traffic in the #7 ACI Motorsports Porsche Cayman. Back up front, the fight for second continues between John Capestro-Dubets and Parker Thompson. The Porsche Cayman's have been quick all weekend especially in cooler weather, but with the heat, they are proving vulnerable in terms of reliability. The temperatures ramped up after some storms came through in Austin before this race. RS1 were warned for moving over in reaction insofar as track limits and so on.
Thompson closing in ever so slightly in this scrap for second in the Silver class and of course Daniel Hanley started the #999 Toyota Supra. He is only in his second year as a racing driver. JCD savvy with positioning the car on the road. Parker Thompson makes his move through turn 19 and so, JCD and RS1 are going to be playing the long game. In about 15 minutes we will see the halfway mark in the motor race. It is coming up soon. James Walker Jr. managed to move up from P11 to P3 in Pro-Am. The team feels good about their chances. His 18-year-old daughter, Shelby, graduated high school the same day this race happened.
Can they follow through? McQuarrie is flying, third in the Pro-Am class just behind Rodrigo Baptista and Kay van Berlo. A couple cars came in early in the de facto pit window. By and large, some of these cars went pretty late into the opening stint before hitting the pit lane. McQuarrie third in Pro-Am and James Clay leading in Am. Even with slow pit stops, BimmerWorld will still be in good shape. Kenton Koch expanding his lead over Parker Thompson, and we'll have a close eye on the gaps. Whoops! Tom Dyer spins out in the final turn, after almost making contact with Kris Wilson. That is the #98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 and the #13 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
I don't think there was any contact. Hard to tell. It is rare to see Tom Dyer make an error. He is now back on his merry way. Dyer in 16th place right now. He came up through open wheel cars and is now a co-driver in GT4 cars and is rock solid and has great pace. He is a great mentor for Todd Parriott as well. Nissan's overheating, again? You don't say. Rodrigo Baptista and Damir Hot, (how ironic), have pulled into the pit lane with power steering problems and Baptista and Hot have retired. Game over after starting on the frotn row. Wilson, late under braking, makes a pass on the Toyota Supra with Kevin Conway at the wheel of it. Kris Wilson picks up another place. Two veteran drivers and two great personalties, for P3 in the Am class.
Kris Wilson has been road racing and sports car racing for years. Kevin Conway was better known for a stock car racing career including being NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year 10-15 years ago. He is linked up with Tony Ave and company at Smooge Racing. Conway is a driver and a team manager and managing the career of his co-driver John Geesbreght. Paul Sparta raced with Al Carter last year, but Kris Wilson is his co-driver in 2024. In 2010, that is when Kevin Conway was the NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, and his only competition was Terry Cook who ran a handful of races only. Kevin Conway's dad Sam was the team manager for Darrell Waltrip when Darrell Waltrip owned his own team from 1991-1998.
Sadly, Conway's father passed away in 2007. May he Rest in Peace. Kevin Conway was an instructor with the Richard Petty Driving Experience as well. Ten minutes until we reach the halfway mark. Ooh. That was a tight, ugly moment there, between the JMF Mercedes and the Skip Barber Racing School Aston Martin! Oof! Not necessary either. There may be more to that story. We watch Jaden Lander now, racing for Rotek Racing in their Porsche Cayman, second in the Am class. If you trace it's heritage, the team has lots of experience at the Nurburgring, Rotek Racing.
Robb Holland got on the horn to Karl Thomson for this weekend for some assistance, the man behind Compass Racing and Compass 360 Racing in recent years, and of course Robb Holland has done a lot of running over at the Nurburgring in the endurance championship they have at the fabled circuit, the NLS. Karl Thomson has a lot of experience in endurance racing and has come onboard for the weekend to help out to keep the pit stops clean and get the pit crew well trained for this three-hour race. He and Jill Beck were owners of Compass 360 Racing.
So, Kevin Conway is reeling in the BMW M4 GT4 of Chris Walsh sharing with Nick Shanny. This is confusing, not just to me, but to other fans, because Terry Borcheller is usually his co-driver for these GT4 races but Chris Walsh who has been taking the TCX class of TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School, by storm in SRO America, lately, is in the car. I am quite confused because even on the starting grid I labeled the lineup as Shanny/Borcheller, and now we hear it is Shanny/Walsh. Maybe Terry was not available for the day.
Chris Walsh won his fifth straight race in TCX today, Saturday. Pit stop time at AutoTechnic and this is the right time to begin the next pit stop sequence as we close in on halfway. Tom Dyer recovering from his earlier spin. We have had a really clean race today running with no interruptions and it has been a really clean season in Pirelli GT4 America, in contrast to previous years. We have seen superb racing and last year there were so many incidents that ruined people's days. The stewards and the series have been able to tell the drivers not to be so aggressive. This is a three-stop race and the second stops are now occurring for the next 15-20 minutes.
Conway chasing Walsh for position in the Am class and at the same time, Denny Stripling is also up the road a wee bit. Kevin Conway in the Smooge Racing Toyota Supra chasing Chris Walsh in the Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW and Denny Stripling aboard the Fast Track Racing BMW. Kenton Koch continues to lead putting a lap on the Krugspeed Supra. Anthony Geraci is currently driving the Krugspeed Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO after Elivan Goulart started it. A long way between Kenton Koch and Parker Thompson. Thompson is now second and is very consistent running in the 2:16 bracket.
The race has finally settled down as we get towards halfway. Kevin Boehm, the leader, he had the pace advantage on Dan Hanley, but things swing back another direction. So, Koch and Thompson are the finishing drivers. We are going to see each of their co-drivers in the cars for one more stint before the end of the event as, if you recall, I said before we started the race this afternoon, that things would be split up into quarters. Trouble again, look, for the #53 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4. That is now Troy Lindstrom back at the controls. I wonder if something went wrong at the pit stop and he is in limp home mode. Another car with trouble! One of the Toyota Supra's has lost a wheel! Three wheels on me wagon for Kevin Conway! Dear, oh dear!
I don't think he pitted, but as the camera pans backwards you can see the wherel is off in the paved runoff and has departed company with the car. That car is stopped and we could see a Full Course Yellow right in the middle of the pit sequence. If you are close to the 50 minute maximum stint time, you can extend until the pit lane is reopened because it will be closed up. That said, Kevin Boehm has put his helmet on and is ready to go for a driver change. Race Control did say in the drivers' briefing that driver can pit if they choose.
Now, the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman is in the pit lane for regular service as John Capestro-Dubets is out and Eric Filgueiras getting back in. Kevin Conway loses the wheel, and it comes right off the hub, off the stub axle. Very strange stuff. Very strange. So, we could be poised to be under Full Course Yellow for the first time in this motor race. Kenton Koch could come in and many teams see this opportunity as manna from heaven to be able to pit and get their strategies worked out. Rotek Racing are in the lane with Jaden Lander. What will Random Vandals do? They dive for the pit lane as well.
This all works out splitting the distance to the end with two 45-minute stints because in just over a minute we will truly be at the halfway mark in the race. We have a Full Course Yellow. The pits will be closed and then Parker Thompson stayed on the track so he will not pit. He will be picked up by the safety car. It hurts him because he is trundling 'round behind the safety car while everyone else is diving for the lane. Troy Lindstrom has pulled off the road as well. Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow right at the halfway mark.
Parker Thompson will hand over to Daniel Hanley but will lose track position in the process as Kevin Boehm now goes back on track with new boots on the car, fresh, sticker Pirelli P Zeros. Kay van Berlo is shown to have passed through the pit lane. I wonder if they came into a closed pit and he just traversed through. For the #97, the team directed Kevin Boehm to leave, and the car would not restart. This is incredibly stressful. Kevin Boehm does look as fresh as a daisy though. Will the engine fire up after refueling without going through a heat soak?
For Parker Thompson, he must be close to being maxed out with his stint. He is leading the queue and then will come to the lane and hand off to Daniel Hanley who will lose track position hand over fist. Rolling the dice has now put them behind the eight ball. ACI Motorsports and old #7 with Kay van Berlo are now shown in second spot. They passed through the lane, and he must get out of the car and hand back over to Curt Swearingin for the next stint. Remember that the classes will be held in a certain way on the point by, the wave around. They'll sort the field out and reset it to find the first class leader.
Once we shuffle the deck here, I think Kevin Boehm will end up the leader of the motor race overall. Just under an hour and a half of racing left on the board. Parker Thompson and Kay van Berlo both will need to pit soon. Everyone else barring Tyler McQuarrie has already pitted I believe. The team was formed a few weeks before the beginning of the 2023 season in GT4 America and they had pace all the time. They didn't quite have the consistent results that they wanted last year. We are still working on the wave by and how that works. The safety car has the overall leader. If anyone is trapped between the safety car and the class leader, they can be pointed around.
Some championships do that, where they will point the class leaders around the safety car. In SRO America, I don't know how that is taken care of as we have Silver, Pro-Am, and Am, the three classes, with all cars running in this race to GT4 specs of course. Race Director Brian Till says the word "may" is probably his favorite in the rulebook. There is no reason to give up here. Track position will get to be a factor. Some teams have had to borrow or purchase equipent that they don't use. We will see a class wave by, but this is awkward. Everyone has gotten notified of the wave by and pit lane will open next time around.
If you have your class leader behind you, and you are somewhere in the pack of cars lined up behind the safety car, you get waved by the safety car to go back around, sprint back around and join your class leader on the same lap. The overall leader, in this case, Parker Thompson, stays where he is because he is leading overall in the motor race and in his class. This helps a lot. It can turn a race upside down if you get trapped. It eats up a lot of the clock and it is a long lap. Pit lane will open next time by. When we go back to green it ought to be Kevin Boehm who will indeed become the overall leader again.
I think this is how it will sort out. From Boehm on back, other drivers still owe us pit stops including Chalkias, Eversley, let's see... Filgueiras is back in for his second stint. Anyone else? The pits will open this time by. You have to wait for the wave by to be completed before pit stops can take place so the cars that got the wave by can come in and do their pit stop without shuffling the field any further. The #16 Aston Martin, the Skip Barber car needs to clear pit lane. McQuarrie, Thompson, and van Berlo have all been snookered here but there is plenty of time left on the board. Yet, the field is big. Daniel Hanley will be navigating through lapped traffic including Kay van Berlo and James Walker Jr.
We know that James Walker Jr. promised his daughter a win since she has graduated from high school. But that is easier said than done at this moment in time. Track position will be crucial for these leaders, and they are taking the stops and going to the back of the queue, in Silver and Pro-Am. Parker Thompson is in for the refueling, the tire change, and the driver change. So many cars pitting under Full Course Yellow. Be disciplined with executing the pit stop. Curt Swearingin is now in the car, taking over for Kay van Berlo.
A clean pit stop, at ACI Motorsports. Watch for a red light at the end of the pit lane. Swearingin has to give position to the two Supra's of Dan Hanley and John Geesbreght. Soon, we will be able to turn the field loose. Skip Barber Racing School are in now with either Marc or Tyler Sharin getting into the car. Kevin Boehm is now third in line. When the overall leaders pitted, some cars trapped a lap down, stayed out and now they are a lap down to the overall leader but trapped behind the safety car. There may or may not be a final wave by. The lapped cars could restart at the front, possibly.
Boehm and Filgueiras first and second followed by Shanny and Holt. Nick Shanny leads Judson Holt. Gray Newell is now fifth. John Capestro-Dubets radioed in after the Supra lost a wheel and then he handed off to Eric Filgueiras. They don't have the outright pace but are going to do all they can to keep in the fight. If the heat drops that will help the Porsche. The sun is beginning to go down and thus the temperatures are dropping. In fourth place, excuse me, third place, it is Chris Walsh and Nick Shanny in third spot ahead of Justin Holt, SCCA Spec Racer Ford veteran. He is the sixth car in line, fourth overall, the bright yellow BMW. Judson Holt is sharing with fellow veteran Spec Racer Ford driver Denny Stripling.
Robb Holland and Charlie Postins currently run fourth and fifth. There's still lots to play for with just over an hour of racing to go. Kevin Boehm has the field in tow. During the yellow, the cockpit temperatures are over 110 degrees. It's hot! OK. They come to the VP acceleration zone, with the top five being Kevin Boehm, Eric Filgueiras, Nick Shanny, Judson Holt, and Gray Newell. Green flag and we are back to racing. Filgueiras deep on the brakes, and Boehm cannot get by. Michael Cooper in the #9 Blackdog Speedshop Nissan. Shanny has a ton of cars bottled up behind him.
The Am drivers are now on board. We are closing in on the final third of this race. Dan Hanley on a recovery drive, looking to the inside of Judson Holt. He got up on the curb on two wheels for a moment. Be disciplined, show patience, don't take any high risks. Good battle for Am class honors with Charlie Postins and Robb Holland going for it. That was a long safety car scramble. Nick Shanny leads Am and is third overall and Paul Sparta fighting Judson Holt while Charlie Postins dives inside of Robb Holland and takes the spot away!
Gray Newell with a battle on his hands with Paul Sparta and Judson Holt. Different classes running together with Newell leading Pro-Am. Kevin Boehm is chasing after Eric Filgueiras who is looking for clean air on the front of the Porsche, so the heat doesn't sap the performance. Dan Hanley makes his move on Robb Holland who gives him a wide berth. They are running roughly the same time difference from before the yellow. Gray Newell wants out of the hornet's nest in Am as the two-time and defending class champion is really giving the newcomer Judson Holt a tough run for his money. Paul Sparta is on the move. He is the championship leader, sharing with Kris Wilson.
At the front, it is Kevin Boehm chasing down Eric Filgueiras. For how much longer? Boehm is coming in a big hurry. The Am class leader, well, Nick Shanny has company with Paul Sparta. I think we have a pack of four Am class BMW's all in one battle here. No difference in the cars save for driver ratings in the championship as well as makes and models. In Am right now the battle is between Shanny, Sparta, Postins, and Holt. This is a great battle as Nick Shanny and Paul Sparta are improving as drivers. Major trouble, again, for Jake Cowden in the #34 JMF Mercedes.
Tire on right side for Cowden and Gray Newell is also in a spot of bother with either an errant or cut down tire. I think both these chaps have cut down tires as James Walker Jr. has driven to the Am class lead now. He called his shot that he'd win this race on the same day his daughter is graduating high school. Let's see if that happens. There's a loose tire carcass at the side of the track. #24, this is Roman De Angelis and Gray Newell in big, big trouble. It's been a fraught race all afternoon and evening for The Heart of Racing and both of their cars.
When Hannah Greenmeier and Hannah Grisham were going through their most recent pit stop exchange, the #25 team had an air jack failure. Nothing the team can do. That's a pit equipment failure. There's an Am class battle brewing now between Elivan Goulart and Robb Holland. The Am class lead might be hanging in the balance. In Am, looking up the order, it is Holland and Goulart scrapping and then that earlier BMW battle is still going on with Postins trying to catch both Sparta and Shanny and I wonder but I think Judson Holt remains in touch with the others.
Nick Shanny, Paul Sparta, and Charlie Postins are 1-2-3 in class and have been the biggest positional movers. Here are the positions gained.
Nick Shanny: 23
Paul Sparta: 20
Charlie Postins: 14
Mike LaMarra: 13
James Walker Jr.: 13
BMW vs, BMW for the Am class lead. Nick Shanny vs. Paul Sparta. Paul Sparta bounding up and over the curb allows Nick Shanny to retain the class lead. Here come the champs. Postins and Clay are coming, and fast. Kevin Boehm is reeling in Eric Filgueiras hand over fist. Boehm has been quick through the whole race. This scrap, right before our eyes for Am honors, third, fourth, and fifth on the road, first second and third in the Am division.
1. #20 Shanny/Walsh Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82
2. #98 Sparta/Wilson Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
3. #36 Postins/Clay BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82
Postins to the inside of Paul Sparta and now, Postins might want an extra bite of the cherry, but he knows if he does, he is going to get the pit. Spit it out, and just eat the cherry. Discretion is the better part of valor here, look. Oof. Tell that the fourth-place car, the #188 of Judson Holt, in the Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 who gets stymied and nearly tangles with a Porsche Cayman. Poor old Judson Holt might very well have damage now. Back to the lead and Kevin Boehm once again is all over Eric Filgueiras like a cheap suit.
Dan Hanley in the Toyota Supra #999 is up to seventh overall and has to slice and dice his way through the Am division battle. Poor old Hanley has been fighting for his life in traffic and now is 16 seconds or more in-arrears of the leaders. Filgueiras holding the lead, forcing Boehm to make difficult decisions about car placement. Kevin Boehm is right on top of the wheel and wants the lead of this motor race, doing anything and everything he has to, to get it. Using up all the curb, all the exits of all the corners. Postins has passed by Sparta and is turning it on in pursuit of Nick Shanny.
Shanny is holding his own against Postins. It is just incredible. Postins to the inside, Shanny doesn't want to give it to him. Dan Hanley is sitting back there watching all this unfold through his windscreen. Sparta eager to make a move 'round the outside. Don't look now, but James Walker Jr. has stepped into the room here. Hanley moves past Shanny as we see a couple of Porsche's behind, scrapping as well. It looks like Swearingin and Owen. Sparta rolling speed inside Shanny, and carries the speed to make a pass for second.
Walker Jr. passes Shanny, not for class position. 2/3rds of this race in the bag. 59 minutes to go. Under an hour. It is getting spicy here, chaps. This is good stuff! Walker Jr. passes and Shanny comes back saying, "not now, sunbeam." Hanley and Postins glued together in turn 20 and that was ugly! Hanley had to brake and eat the curb up to not biff Charlie Postins out of the way! Gently, boys. There's no reason for you to bin it with less than an hour on the board. Walker Jr. passes Shanny and it sticks this time. The earliest a final pit stop can be made is when the clock reaches 51 and a half minutes.
Dan Hanley's Toyota, squirming, and thought of a late lunge but backed out of it. He needs to move in on the two leaders, to Filgueiras and Boehm before handing the car back to Parker Thompson for the finish. We have had other cars that were trapped that have recovered as Hanley has passed Charlie Postins which is what he needed to do. He needed to dispense of Postins and get the hammer down. Hanley is still vulnerable to Postins who in turn is the villain of the peace as well, for Sparta.
Postins tries the counterattack but nothing doing, and he slots in between Hanley and Sparta. The recurring nightmare here is that big, bad green BMW, Paul Sparta, giving Postins the biggest ice cream headache you can imagine. James Walker Jr. next up. Remember, now, he made a promise as a dad he was going to win this race for his daughter who is walking through the graduation process now, as we speak. Congratulations to the family. Mike LaMarra, ninth overall and second in class, he and Ryan Eversley have put together a quiet and solid day of racing with the #07 Precision Racing L.A. Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO that could very well bear fruit in the near future with only 55 minutes left on the board.
Tyler McQuarrie will finish the race for BimmerWorld, and with him, along with Ryan Eversley in the Toyota and the ACI Porsche with Kay van Berlo back behind the wheel of it, well, well, well... that will give us much to chat about before the checkers fall over Circuit of the Americas this evening. So many cool cars, aspirational brands involved in this series, based on cars you can buy in the showroom. Sports car racing is experiencing a renaissance like no other type of racing in the world right now with so many manufacturers showcasing their product on the race track. It is the old adage, win on Sunday and sell on Monday.
GT4 is the sweet spot for customer racing because the budget is so much lower for one of these cars compared to a GT3 monster that we see in Fanatec GT World Challenge either here in America or in Europe, Asia, or Australia. Zach Anderson, in the meantime, while I've been flapping my gums, has uncorked another CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:15.185. If you are paying for your ride you share your expense with a co-driver. The cars are fun to drive, not sophisticated to run, and are not aero dependent like a GT3 car. Lots of places globally where you can run the GT4 cars. North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Good to see that yellow BMW M4 GT4 for Fast Track Racing and to have them back in the paddock with the car being driven of course by Judson Holt and Denny Stripling. We've called their number a handful of times today. Holt and Stripling know each other well from SCCA club racing and Denny Stripling is a legend in those circles. He is a Spec Racer Ford legend and is the driver coach for Judson Holt as well. Stripling has been in top spots in the SCCA Runoffs in several classes but mostly in SRF. Walker and Sparta battling but not for position.
In the meantime, for the first time in a while we are seeing Eric Filgueiras whistling off into the distance. John Capestro-Dubets said that the Porsche would come to life if the temperatures cooled off and I think that is true. If you get to the preset thresholds on these production cars, the safety systems on the motors will activate and kick in to keep from cooking the motor and causing it to go bang. Daniel Hanley now lies 23 seconds behind the battle for the lead between Flgueiras and Boehm. That is going to be a tall drink of water for Parker Thompson. Insofar as strategy, every one of the leaders is in the same boat.
Three Supra's have found each other, and we are closing on 50 minutes to go, maximum stint length. I think drivers will pit and do their final driver changes to just cover themselves and give themselves an insurance policy in the final waning moments of this motor race. Maximize the stint length with a 90 second pit lane delta. Right now, you can hit the lane, sit there for 90 seconds and maybe hoping for a yellow, so you tick both boxes. It might be more likely with a Pro-Am lineup. Get the fast driver back behind the wheel and with the Silver duos, do you want to protect yourself against a yellow? Yes, you do. Filgueiras pits and again, this is purely an insurance policy.
Time will be of the essence if a yellow waves. The transit time in the lane does not affect the stint length. What will Random Vandals do? That is the next question on our notepad here. Boehm has clear road. It is hammer time. Boehm is in the lane and so are Fast Track Racing and Carrus Callas Raceteam. BimmerWorld both in the lane from their respective class leads. Cover yourself against the potential of a Full Course Yellow. Driver change complete at RS1 as John Capestro-Dubets replaces Eric Filgueiras and now, Kenton Koch is waiting to take the Random Vandals BMW to the finish after Kevin Boehm's stint.
Bang on the money for Random Vandals, but they need to execute the pit stop. In comes Kevin Boehm from the lead of the motor race with 48 minutes remaining. The sister Am car of Paul Sparta and Kris Wilson should do a similar strategy play. This is the overcut, staying out one extra lap, fresh tires unlike a normal GT4 race we see all the time. The driver change is going on, Kenton Koch taking the final stint, the last 47 minutes. The execution of the overcut, this stop has to be perfect to compete with John Capestro-Dubets. Both BimmerWorld cars were slow, they were three seconds over the minimum pit stop time! Three for the Am and six for the Pro-Am.
Boehm is released and will the overcut pay off? Here comes Capestro-Dubets up the hill! Advantage Random Vandals over RS1. JCD will have the hammer down on hot tires. This will be a ragged opening lap, the pit stop right where they want it as John Capestro-Dubets is on the attack! He needs to set Koch up for this pass. Into the braking zone, Koch goeing defensive. JCD gets stymied right at the apex but does pull alongside down the backstretch between turns 11 and 12. On this lap, to my surprise, the Porsche can actually use the horsepower down the backstretch. They've been getting their tails handed to them on straight line speed all day.
Side by side into braking zone! Capestro-Dubets is doing everything to chop Koch's nose off! Koch runs wide over the curbs! No argy bargy, but now JCD has the preferred line. Koch comes back at him maintaining the race lead, but it is so close! Kenton Koch finding the rhythm. Many teams owe pit stops. This is the effective battle for the lead of this motor race as drivers like LaMarra, Hanley, Holland, and Swearingin still owe us pit stops. A long day at the office for Kevin Boehm. You can see how drained he is after his driving stint. Side by side, you couldn't fit an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper between those two!
We see the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes on screen. That car has a warning from the stewards, and they are actually issuing him a drive through penalty for incident responsibility. He just served it in fact. He spun the #17 Porsche Cayman. The OGH Motorsports Cayman of Sean Gibbons and Sam Owen has been through the wringer today. Owen is at the wheel of it. They haven't been getting the rub of the green lately. Mike LaMarra and Ryan Eversley have cycled through to the lead of this motor race in the #07 Precision Racing L.A. Toyota Supra.
Now that everything has come out in the wash, Kenton Koch has cycled back to the top of the shop and is leading the motor race. John Capestro-Dubets is second, some two seconds behind. Koch has held off JCD, and these two boys run 1-2 in the championship right now. Double points will mean a 14-point margin between first and second when we are done racing today. James Clay and Charlie Postins lead Am and right now, in Pro-Am, James Walker Jr. is holding to the promise he made to his daughter who is a high school graduate today, that he would win. Well, we'll know if that promise is fulfilled in another 40 minutes. James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie leading in Pro-Am.
His daughter Shelby will walk the graduation stage in 11 minutes. They have a hefty lead in Pro-Am and now, Ryan Eversley is ninth overall with slightly fresher Pirelli tires. Eversley will be chasing down Kay van Berlo. Parker Thompson is now back behind the wheel of the #999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota Supra. Kris Wilson will be pushing hard to chase after James Clay. Random Vandals lead overall and in Silver as well as being second in the Am class. What does Kris Wilson have left in the locker to chase down James Clay? Double wins could also be on the cards for BimmerWorld because they have James Clay leading Am and Tyler McQuarrie leading in Pro-Am.
Car #82 was down as far as 26th earlier but are up to fifth overall and leading in class as Kris Wilson sets fastest race lap for the #98 BMW M4 GT4. Still 38 minutes to go. McQuarrie right behind James Clay, the team boss, in the sister car. The sun is setting. The race will be done before the sun fully sets and temperatures are cooling off here in Austin, tonight. The handling dynamics will change on all these cars as Clay leads McQuarrie. The gap is 1.2 seconds for the Am class lead. Chris Walsh running well for Carrus Callas Racteam and Ryan Eversley is still second in Pro-Am.
McQuarrie has caught Clay. Team cars not in the same class but with their own priorities. Clay needs to let McQuarrie go. That was not well orchestrated as Kris Wilson is closing in a big hurry with 35 and a half minutes to go. The two teammates playing nice with each other has slowed them down. Double points here at COTA of course. Car #28, John Capestro-Dubets, has a five second penalty at the next pit stop, well, that will be at the end of the race now, for a pit lane procedure violation. Parker Thompson, 27 seconds behind, he gains five seconds for a total of 22 based on the subtraction.
There are about 15 laps to go. It will be a tall order to catch JCD. All of this assumes that there isn't another Full Course Yellow, because if the yellow waves, suddenly, the field is compressed, and the gap will get worse. We have had just one Full Course Yellow so far. Kris Wilson in the meantime has caught Jams Clay and needs no second invitation to make his move! Wilson up the inside of Clay! He grabs the class lead with 32 minutes remaining. James Clay and Charlie Postins, this year, have not had the season they've wanted winning constantly in the Am class as in previous years. Meanwhile, Zac Anderson resets the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap one more time at 2:14.917.
They had a braking issue earlier on in the race and I don't remember if they gained a lap back or not. They are again on the lead lap. Hmmm. Zac Anderson flinging that BMW around the curves. A question of what might have been teaming up with Colin Garrett of course. The other AutoTechnic BMW has had trouble today as well. Random Vandals Racing has executed, and Kevin Boehm and Kenton Koch knew they needed to execute, and manage traffic and they have done just that. No pit lane mistakes either. BMW lead all three classes. Horses for courses it seems. The heat is what hurt the Porsche's today.
Running a BMW puts you at the front. No, it doesn't. The Toyota Supra's and Porsche Cayman's were certainly stout today, too. Ryan Eversley, another Toyota Supra showing it's hand. Eversley is digging deep to stay ahead of Kay van Berlo. Evidently, in Kevin Boehm's second stint, they were managing a tire pressure issue on the car. They could be on the verge of a double win in the Silver and Am classes. Michael Cooper says it is the worst he's ever seen specifically in turn one and in The Carousel. The five second hold was for having rhe fuel hose connected when they dropped the car off the air jacks.
Ryan Eversley passes Denny Stripling for eighth place. It will take some getting used to referring to Ryan Eversley as a Toyota driver. Eversley drove for years with Honda and Acura. He is employed by Mario Biundo, the TC America driver and team owner for Precision Racing L.A./L.A. Honda World. Kay van Berlo is a bit behind Eversley and now, Denny Stripling appears to be probing to make a move on the Toyota driver. van Berlo is going to keep digging trying to catch up to Eversley and should also move around Denny Stripling in the process.
In fourth spot, Tyler McQuarrie continues leading in the Pro-Am class in the #82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 sharing of course with James Walker Jr. Eversley and Stripling pass Roman De Angelis who has been delayed and is way down in 18th spot in the overall. De Angelis and Gray Newell are fourth in Pro-Am though, so the class result is better. Eversley still has Stripling right on his six and wanting a bite of the cherry. Stripling has been an impressive driver here for Fast Track Racing at their home track here in Texas. Kay van Berlo is chasing Ryan Eversley and shrinking the gap ever so steadily. He is coming in a big hurry. This is a home race for Denny Stripling who has also raced in NLS at the Nurburgring, and finished second in Spec Racer Ford at the SCCA Runoffs. Denny Stripling is from McKinney, Texas.
If you show up to watch the SCCA Runoffs with all the different classes they have, and all the different venues those races take place at every year, you will see 40-50 Spec Racer Ford's out there and that is the division Denny Stripling has excelled in over the recent past. He is teamed up this weekend with Judson Holt. The race cars look so cool in the glow of twilight. 23 minutes to go with Kenton Koch leading the motor race almost 15 seconds to the good over John Capestro-Dubets in the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman followed eight seconds behind, by Parker Thompson in the #999 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO.
Thompson needs to overcome a 17 second gap with the post-race penalty for car #28. Kris Wilson leads Am by four seconds over James Clay while Chris Walsh and Nick Shanny could finish third in class and seventh overall. Walsh has the magic sauce this year. Magic sauce? Please tell me that is chocolate sauce or frosting or something sweet. He has five wins on the bounce in the TC America division currently, going into their second and final race of the weekend here at COTA, tomorrow morning. He is an active-duty member of the United States Air Force. He was a college athlete playing football at Valparaiso University in Indiana. He was involved in the national bobsled team too and grew up a fan of Ralf Schumacher and got involved in racing in eSports and sim racing.
Kay van Berlo has a major head of steam, as he and Eversley are both uncorking and trading back and forth, fastest laps. Eversley is going faster and faster but wonders how on earth he can shake that green and white Porsche with van Berlo at the wheel of it, bearing down on him. van Berlo is the shark while poor old Ryan Eversley is playing the role of the minnow here. Just over 21 minutes to go before we finish the race. Denny Stripling is focused on passing Eversley, so that in turn, he can move in and chase after Chris Walsh. At the back of this queue is Zac Anderson who is faster than anyone in the 2:15 range while his competition is running 2:16 and above.
Anderson is pouring it on and, blimey! He is the most consistent driver out here as we get closer and closer to the end of the motor race. It could be in vain because Parker Thompson in third is the next car in his class. Kay van Berlo the Dutchman, based in Miami, Florida, is a talented up and coming driver in the Porsche Pyramid. He is a winner and a likable young man. Many commentators from many championships who observe sports car racing or who were former drivers themselves have been praising Kay van Berlo. His future is secure but, in the present, he is chasing Ryan Eversley down and wants to get involved in this great scrap for honors in Pro-Am.
Denny Stripling is laser focused on catching Chris Walsh and trust me, he doesn't want to get hot and bothered by what Kay van Berlo is doing even though van Berlo, as we said, he is just pouring on the steam. van Berlo setting up a pass, forcing Denny Stripling to give in. Oh boy! That's a pass that's done and dusted so advantage van Berlo, look. The next thing van Berlo hopes for is that Eversley is going to be sucked into a battle with Chris Walsh which will allow him to reel in those two and tick another couple cars off his shopping list. In racing, remember, the only reason other cars are put on the road is for you as a driver, to pass them.
Zac Anderson might want to disrupt their little party here, but if he does so, if he shows up as an uninvited guest, he has very little to gain and will not even be allowed to grab a piece of cake. Running fourth, he will have more to lose. This is a double points reward when we finish the race here in less than 18 minutes. Eversley is stuck behind Chris Walsh. Walsh is the cork in the bottle. Kay van Berlo has not just been knocking on the door, he has knocked it down and broken his way into the party. What's the line in that Billy Joel song? Friday night I crashed your party and Saturday I said I'm sorry. Nope. I am not sorry. Now, I will really get inside your mind, you little pipsqueak!
This is for second and third in the Pro-Am class. Eversley tosses it down the inside on Eversley. van Berlo makes his move on Walsh and there is a battle afoot into turn 12 in the braking zone. van Berlo is the king of the late brakers here, look, throwing the Porsche to the inside of the Toyota and taking the spot away. van Berlo and Walsh are battling each other and now, a track limits final warning has been issued to Kay van Berlo. The next one is a three second post-race penalty. He needs to eke out a gap on Eversley. All the penalties will be after the race. Zac Anderson goes to the inside of Denny Stripling and is the meat in the sandwich between he and Walsh.
Walsh will soon have Zac Anderson right on his back door and I wonder how that little tussle will go down. 15 minutes to go. Anderson decides discretion is the better part of valor. Walsh is going through a wonderful learning experience battling it out with top level GT4 drivers and in a multiple driver endurance race because in the touring car ranks the races are short and you are driving Marco Solo. This is a real education for Walsh learning from the moves made by his rivals such as van Berlo, Eversley, and Anderson. van Berlo and Eversley have been at this endurance sports car racing game for a good while now.
Holy smokes! Anderson is a man on a mission, believe you me. He is carving his way through the field like a hot knife through butter. Eversley says, forget it, mate. Go do your thing. Behind them is the battle for third in the Am class. Walsh vs. Stripling. The Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW sponsored by Car Guru's and the bright yellow identical BMW M4 GT4 for Fast Track Racing are the cars we are focusing on in your picture on the GTWorld livestream. Denny Stripling is new to racing in GT4 but he has a racing resume in club racing extending back 30 years, to 1994, if not before. The car is sponsored by Lupe Tortilla, the family business, a restaurant, for Judson Holt, here in Texas, and in Austin.
A plate of Mexican food, tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and either a margarita or a cold cerveza sounds good right about now. We have had a long, long day at the races on this Saturday in SRO America. Under a quarter of an hour to go in the first ever Pirelli GT4 America endurance race. We have had a great, clean race, with just a handful of incidents mostly for mechanical problems. The racing has been very clean unlike previous years in GT4. Drivers are so much more respectful, less cut and thrust, less desperate, settled down. We have not seen what we did in previous years where in GT4 a 1, 2, 3, usually turned into a crash, bang, wallop.
Walsh is reeling in Stripling. Walsh is the fish who has taken the bait. Leave him run, give him slack on the end of your line, and then reel him up. Stripling takes the third spot away. Lupe Tortilla, our friend and drag racing expert Amanda Busick that Lupe Tortilla is also a sponsor of six-time Pro Stock drag racing champion Erica Enders. She is the winningest female driver in all of motor racing anywhere. We need Denny Stripling and Judson Holt to do a fast delivery of the tortillas with the race car! Boy, oh boy. It has been a great day of racing today.
The drivers and teams in Pirelli GT4 have been talking to the SRO America organizers about an enduro for the series and now it has been given to them. I wonder, depending on the schedules in future years, if this is a tradition that will continue. If so, I am all for it and I will be here to watch and tell the stories about it. We'll have to wait and see what happens. Fingers crossed for 2025. Into the final 11 minutes. Samantha Tan, from GT World Challenge America, was honored on Friday night. We have had Demi Chalkias and Isabella Robusto as well. The race car is a machine, and it does not know the difference in the gender of the driver who is operating it.
Roman De Angelis has been off the pace for a wee while and still runs fifth in the Pro-Am class. Matt Bell is doing a decent job in his race car in spite of some troubles. For Roman De Angelis and Gray Newell, they will be back. Kenton Koch holds a commanding lead over the rest of the field and is out in front by 21 and a half seconds over John Capestro-Dubets in second and Parker Thompson still running in third spot. BMW has been super strong, and it will be their first victory of the 2024 season. Everyone knew this race would be very important, with double points on offer.
Kenton Koch is a class winner at the 24 Hours of Daytona and has raced a lot in endurance racing. He was drafted in a few years ago to run the Indianapolis 8 Hours a few years ago. Kevin Boehm has done long distance club races such as the 25 Hours of Thunder Hill. The Random Vandals pit crew has been right on the money. Seven minutes to go. James Walker Jr. and his family will be able to celebrate with his daughter's high school graduation and a victory. James Walker Jr. will make good on his prediction. Charlie Postins and BMW engineer Colin Harmer looking on. James Walker Jr. standing on the pit box making a pose like he is captain of a ship.
Random Vandals could have a double win and both cars in the overall top five. He wants to go to big places, and in the middle of this season they will have a GT3 program. Kenton Koch and Connor Daly will be racing the final three races of the year, Road America, Barber Motorsports Park, and Indianapolis for the 8-hour race at the end of the year. The American teams will race against some of the best GT3 teams worldwide. Two laps to go with a lead of 25 seconds for Kenton Koch over John Capestro-Dubets. Kay van Berlo has passed James Clay for an overall spot and this gives both Denny Stripling and Chris Walsh clear road to finish their battle.
They will be chasing after James Clay for second place in the Am class. Denny Stripling is on the charge. Toby Grahovec, a former driver, is the team boss. This is the same team that in years gone by ran under the Classic BMW banner. Denny Stripling just set that car's fastest lap of the motor race and that is a 2.3 second gain on James Clay, and he is 3.2 seconds down. Clay needs to punch it to gain on Denny Stripling before the race ends here in mere minutes. Stripling is feeling it, in the cool conditions. White flag. One lap to go for Kenton Koch.
John Capestro-Dubets has not even taken the white flag yet. Now he does so, 27 seconds behind. Tyler McQuarrie in Pro-Am, leading, has no pressure either. His closest pursuer is seventh and that is the #7 Porsche Cayman of Kay van Berlo. In the Am class with one lap left, the race is well and truly afoot between James Clay and Denny Stripling! This will be the last lap battle we were hoping for, ladies and gentlemen. By the time they get into the braking zone for turn 11, it will be a wild one. Clay and Stripling are second and third in the Am category. 2.2 seconds faster, Denny Stripling wants second spot. He has no points to worry about, but James Clay and Charlie Postins surely are.
Meanwhile, Kenton Koch has utterly dominated since the restart and now, Random Vandals Racing wins the Lone Star Enduro! Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm win it! Kris Wilson and Paul Sparta will win the Am class. Two class leaders nose to tail, the Pro-Am class leaders, Tyler McQuarrie and James Walker Jr. and Kris Wilson, the leader in the Am class in the second Random Vandals car. BimmerWorld and Random Vandals win in class! BMW's dominate COTA. Denny Stripling has passed James Clay, and, oh my heavens! James Clay, on the last lap, will not make it around because he has gone into the Armco barrier, nose first!
This will really put a spanner in their championship hopes! There was contact, a hip check through the triple apex turn, between Denny Stripling and James Clay. Kay van Berlo secures second in Pro Am. Clay almost saves it; he couldn't hang on and has finally crossed the line. I don't think the stewards will like that move by Stripling. BimmerWorld, snookered again! Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm take the victory. Cue the dance music for the results.
The incident has been adjudicated.
Here are the class winners in a dominant day for BMW and the M4 GT4.
Overall/Silver: #97 Boehm/Koch Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
Pro-Am: #82 McQuarrie/Walker Jr. BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82
Am: #98 Wilson/Sparta Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
There is a time equivalent drive through penalty handed to Fast Track Racing and Denny Stripling for the contact with James Clay which will put Rotek Racing and the Porsche Cayman on the podium with Robb Holland and Jaden Lander. Stripling and Holt will fly Plummet Airways down the order. All four Nissan Z cars succumbed to various issues in their first endurance race for a new car as the cars head for pit lane, and victory lane as well. The Random Vandals team will party all night with no extra races t worry about here at COTA.
What a wonderful night. The sun sets over Austin, Texas, as the celebrations begin. It was an action packed three hours and we had a wonderful, wonderful time bringing it to you. This GT4 enduro has been something truly special. Next up, a doubleheader weekend of one-hour conventional races for GT4 America at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, in the middle of July. So, with that, we will see you next time as we have wrapped up the Lone Star Enduro. Thank you so much for your company. The Texas state flag waves above the circuit.
The drivers spray the champagne. VIR will be an amazing track to race at with no runoff area save for grass. It is a fabulous circuit and will be a joy to see the one-hour races, in a doubleheader, after we bring you the 24 Hours of Spa at the end of June. The champagne sprays! Random Vandals had great pit strategy and Kenton Koch's battle with John Capestro-Dubets was a good one. The BMW's were too strong for the Porsche boys. The heat of the day took the edge off the Porsche Cayman but they could not answer Random Vandals and the BMW's riddle. Great respect shown by the winners to their rivals. They spray the champagne. That's it from the Lone Star Enduro. Thanks so much for your company. We'll see you at Virginia International Raceway. So long, everybody. Take care.
