It is time for the last race of the weekend, the second and final Pirelli GT4 America race at Sebring International Raceway on this Sunday afternoon. After a rousing curtain opener, we have the second leg of the Sebring doubleheader here over the bumps of Sebring as we have almost 30 cars on hand in the fourth race of the 2024 season. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish call the action topside and Amanda Busick reporting from pit lane for the final race of the weekend. After their thrilling win yesterday, TechSport Racing and the #23 Nissan Z NISMO GT4 lost the victory to the RS1 Porsche Cayman #28 of Eric Filgueiras and JCD, John Capestro-Dubets. The two of them start right next to each other. Michai Stephens will start the #23 Nissan. This was not a lineup we expected to see even before the beginning of the season.
Max Root is on the pole position in the #9 Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4 co-driven and owned by Tony Gaples. Gaples has known Max Root for four years and Root was able to drive today in place of Michael Cooper who was contesting other races this weekend. Tony Gaples qualified well, and they are learning the new Nissan platform. The second TechSport Nissan will be the #22 car of Eric Powell and Colin Harrison. There is a great mix on cars in GT4, derived from the roadgoing versions but modified heavily with aerodynamic and traction control and ABS tweaks but nothing like a GT3 car which is far more aero dependent. We have a great variety of cars from different manufacturers. Charlie Postins and James Clay start from the tail end of the field due to a technical infraction just as they did yesterday.
There are seven racing weekends in this championship and of course, with two races apiece. Max Root, Parker Thompson, Michai Stephens, Eric Filgueiras, Roman De Angelis, Austin Krainz, some great drivers. Austin Krainz sharing with his father Roland Krainz. Kenton Koch, Tyler Gonzalez, former IndyCar driver Mattheus Leist, and Kay van Berlo, round out the top ten. Some major drivers who finished race one yesterday. We are set to turn the GT4 cars loose for an hour of racing. Anytime you come to Sebring, the bumps are big deal, the track itself, there are fabulous turns and the layout is great. There is also the fabulous history and the charisma of the place.
The safety car accelerates away and so the field is under the control of Max Root aboard the #9 Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4. Parker Thompson is at his elbow. Michai Stephens and Eric Filgueiras fill out row two. Roman De Angelis and Austin Krainz the pole sitting driver in the Am class, on row three. Green flag! Away we go! Root and Thompson in a drag race to turn one. Max Root leads and the fight is on for the rest of the field. Michai Stephens is already dueling with Eric Filgueiras. Oh dear! Michai Stephens is off the road in turn four! Yikes! He saves that car but loses a ton of track position flying Plummet Airways to the tail end of the field! Right now in the lead it is Max Root in the Nissan over Parker Thompson in the Toyota.
They are followed by Eric Filgueiras in the Porsche Cayman and then Roman De Angelis in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin. Zac Anderson is getting racy and so is Kenton Koch moving ahead of Austin Krainz and then comes the #51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Zac Anderson. Anderson sharing with Colin Garrett. Also, look out for the #68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO of Tyler Gonzalez sharing with John Geesbreght. Eric Powell makes a bold move through Bishop Bend, door to door with the Toyota Supra as Kris Wilson muscles his way past Kay van Berlo sharing with Curt Swearingin who won their class yesterday.
A sideways moment, too, look, for car #13. That is the Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 shared by Todd Parriott and Tom Dyer. Tyler Gonzalez has dropped back and so, Root leads Thompson. Eric Powell chasing Tyler Gonzalez. Nissan Z vs. Toyota Supra. The top six is Max Root in the Nissan, the Toyota of Parker Thompson, Eric Filgueiras in the Porsche, Roman De Angelis in the Aston Martin, Kenton Koch in the BMW, and Austin Krainz in another Porsche Cayman. Root leading overall and in Pro-Am. Thompson leads Silver. Austin Krainz is the Am class leader. Kris Wilson is the next Am ranked car but he is down in 14th place.
Wilson aboard the #98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 we mentioned earlier. Krainz looking to the inside of Kenton Koch into turn 13, Tower Corner. Matt Million, third in the Am class had a great run yesterday. Million in another Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 with a new co-driver in a late deal. He shares that automobile with Troy Lindstrom. Jake Cowden in 17th place in the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 sharing with Demi Chalkias. Cowden is passed by former driver for the Mercedes team, Michai Stephens.
Incident involving Michai Stephens and Roman De Angelis, will be reviewed after the race. Stephens and Jonathan Neudorf won the race on the road in another Nissan yesterday but right now it is the other Nissan. Nissan over Toyota, a good run for the Japanese manufacturers thus far in GT4. Nick Longhi has spun in the hairpin aboard the #80 Orlando Motorsports Services McLaren Artura GT4 he shares with Kaia Teo. Right front damage to the McLaren. We watch in this replay and there was a slight nidge that sends Stephens off the road. Again, incident to be reviewed post-race. Any position we see Roman De Angelis and co-driver Gray Newell running in during this race is very much provisional.
The Flying Lizard Nissan Z NISMO GT4, #5, high temperatures for Stefan Rzadzinski and Damir Hot. These GT4 cars are based on production cars so there are redundancies built into the motors to make sure they don't overheat and fail. They are failsafe redundancies. Watch to make sure the temperatures don't go off the clock. Eric Powell is now applying the pressure to Tyler Gonzalez. Austin Krainz is still the Am class leader as a penalty is handed down to the #36 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4 of James Clay, sharing with Charlie Postins. Clayu roughed up Nick Longhi and sent him into a spin.
Clay will suffer a drive through penalty. Sonoma and Sebring have been some bad races for Clay and Postins whereas they have had so much success these last couple of years. Now, a battle between Kenton Koch and Zac Anderson. These teams and cars found each other in a friendly rivalry last year and again this year. Their co-drivers had some good battles yesterday, Colin Garrett and Kevin Boehm. This is all for a provisional podium spot as Anderson is chasing after Boehm for third place in the Silver division. Kenton Koch also raced Aston Martin's with Bryan Putt and Zac Anderson as an Am raced for Nolasport in a Porsche Cayman.
Max Root leads the motor race by 1.6 seconds. Tyler Gonzalez and Eric Powell, Tom Dyer and Dan Dyszelski are all in their own battles. Michai Stephens has moved up to 14th overall. Kay van Berlo is in front of him. van Berlo won yesterday. Eric Powell slides to the inside of Tyler Gonzalez, the reigning Toyota GR Cup champion. The power ofthe Nissan can put Powell in a position to gof or it but with commitment, Gonzalez hangs on and throws it through turn four. Can Powell solve his riddle? Tyler McQuarrie trying to bounce back as well after contact. McQuarrie in the #82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 sharing with James Walker Jr.
Tom Dyer is now the cork in the bottle and Dan Dyszelski and Michai Stephens are in a battle of their own but not for class position. Matt Million has a new co-driver today. This is their transporter driver Ryan Keeley who is also in the car driving with Matt Million, his best pal. Check out those sunglasses! Wow. Ryan is stylin' man. Eric Powell makes the move on Austin Krainz, and he will whistle off into the distance before Tyler McQuarrie can get back on his level. Max Root is still leading, and Eric Powell is another Nissan driver finding success. Max Root is three seconds ahead of Parker Thompson who is leading the Silver class.
Max Root sets the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap so far at 2:12 flat, 2:12.080. Root is on rails, and he can build a cushion for Tony Gaples if the race remains green. Blackdog Speedshop are super experienced and were a GM team for many years racing both Camaro's and Corvette's. They also have run McLaren's and are now in the Nissan. Max Root now resets fastest lap again. His gap has built up to 3.6 seconds over Parker Thompson. Zac Anderson is up six places and so is Hannah Grisham. Tyler McQuarrie has gained five places from where he started and gaining four spots apiece, Eric Powell and Terry Borcheller.
Austin Krainz has been caught by Tyler McQuarrie, but McQuarrie cannot get by while Kris Wilson is way down in 15th place and is the next car in the Am division. Kenton Koch, for an overall position, outside of class, moves past Roman De Angelis. Anderson runs really wide! Yikes! Koch up and over the curbs. Anderson tries the inside and passes De Angelis, now motoring after Kenton Koch. Eric Powell is absolutely flying in the other Nissan Z NISMO GT4. TechSport would love to bounce back from their loss of a victory. It took away a win that would have been the first in North America for the new GT4 spec Nissan Z for the TechSport factory team and for the customer teams.
The pit window will open in a handful of minutes. Max Root will stay out deeper into the race and other Pro drivers maximize the duration. But for Am drivers who need to change over to their Pro graded drivers, there will be strategy to play. Michai Stephens has now worked his way back into the top ten. He has dispatched of Tyler Gonzalez. The speed and potential is there for Michai Stephens alongside Jonathan Neudorf and this new Nissan Z NISMO GT4 program. Stephens ran for years in the Conquest Motorsports/JMF Mercedes-AMG GT4. But the Nissan is entirely different.
He does not feel comfortable with the car just yet, but he has begun to push hard and so has his teammate, his co-driver Jonathan Neudorf. Tom Dyer and Dan Dyszelski are both closing in. Dyer part of the Flying Lizard team. His co-driver Todd Parriott will take over in the second stint and we have seen Parriott in GT America in an identical Aston Martin and in both of those races he was scrapping hard, but clean, with Nick Shanny in a Toyota Supra. Tom Dyer has been racing for several decades now. Dan Dyszelski had a debut podium, and he is trying to go with Dyer around Tyler Gonzalez. Dan Dyszelski might be pitting. They blink first as we are in the window and think they are going to hand off to co-driver, Danish expat Johan Schwartz.
Krugspeed in the lane for the driver change in the #72 Toyota Supra GT4 EVO. Anthony Geraci will take over from Lance Bergstein. Johan Schwartz is a drifting world record holder and a former champion in touring cars, in TC America. Max Root is running deep into the stint, and he has eight minutes to go, but he is putting on a clinic, leading Parker Thompson by 6.4 seconds! Nissan has a lot of folks from their factory in Yokohama, Japan, coming to see this program. So, John Geesbreght takes over from Tyler Gonzalez at Smooge Racing and at Rotek Racing there is also a driver change as team boss Robb Holland takes over from Jaden Lander.
Hannah Grisham hands over to Hannah Greenemier in the #26 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. There is also a car off the road, someplace. I wonder which one it is. That is off of turn 16 before the Ulmann straightaway I believe. Oh dear. That is Jake Cowden, stopped on course, in a dangerous area. Trouble for the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 he shares with Demi Chalkias. He could tuck it into the safe haven, but he does not have enough power and he may be needing to do a Control, Alt, Delete with the car. A Full Course Yellow in the pit window can work for you or against you.
We'll see who responds. Max Root and Parker Thompson stay on track. Parker Thompson has indeed pitted, and he will hand over to Daniel Hanley, covering off a Full Course Yellow in the middle of the pit window. Nick Shanny takes over the Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 from Terry Borcheller. At Random Vandals Racing Kenton Koch hands off to Kevin Boehm. You must be on pit lane for 84 seconds and tire changes are not allowed but tire pressure adjustments are. RS1 have also pitted their Porsche Cayman and John Capestro-Dubets has taken over from Eric Filgueiras. Dan Hanley is now in the Hanley Motorsports Toyota Supra.
Max Root still on track as we have passed the halfway mark, and he pits from the race lead. This is the overcut. No pit lane traffic. Plenty of time. Don't trap the seatbelts. Tony Gaples takes over the car. The lone adjustment allowed is to bleed tire pressure away. Make sure to practice driver changes with your helmet and HANS Device on to see where the belts are. 13 seconds over the time requirement, Colin Harrison to Eric Powell. Also, for BimmerWorld in the car Tyler McQuarrie started before handing off to James Walker Jr., moderately under the minimum time window, just a penalty of a couple tenths of a second.
Tony Gaples takes over the Nissan in the lead of the motor race with 27 minutes to go. We have a Safety Car scramble. Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow. Gray Newell is the next car in Gaples' same class. The Heart of Racing Aston Martin for Newell has the sword of Damocles hanging over them for contact earlier in the race. John Capestro-Dubets will now be right on the tail of Daniel Hanley as RS1 are going for two wins in a row. Gray Newell is sixth overall and second in the Pro-Am class. Jonathan Neudorf who has taken over from Michai Stephens, is now eighth in the overall. So, he could be a spoiler before this race is done and dusted.
Carrus Callas Racteam having issues with the right front wheel on the Nick Shanny and Terry Borcheller BMW. We should see a quick cleanup. Max Root had passed after the safety car deployed. Terry Borcheller in discussion with Nick Shanny and the discussion revolves around the possibility of broken suspension on the car. A tough break for that duo. Michai Stephens was sure he made a mistake but charged right back through the field. Keep pushing. That is what you must do. He takes responsibility for the earlier incident. 22 minutes to go. He had a moment and that caught out Roman De Angelis as well. The stewards want to pull the video cards out of the cars and check the replays. Safety Car lights off. New drivers in the cars and we have reracked the field for the final third of the race, a mad dash for cash on Sunday.
Tony Gaples leads the motor race over Daniel Hanley, John Capestro-Dubets, Kevin Boehm, and Colin Garrett. Gray Newell and James Walker Jr. are the Pro-Am frontrunners. Let's go back to green! Gaples punches it and he makes the break as John Capestro-Dubets in the Poesche Cayman is balked by the Toyota of Daniel Hanley and he slides inside and there is possible damage on the car. Now he has the Pro-Am leader Tony Gaples ahead. Daniel Hanley in the meantime has Kevin Boehm all over him like a cheap suit! Don't sleep on Colin Garrett either. A car is off and back on through the hairpin.
Jonathan Neudorf, yesterday's polesitter, the TechSport Nissan chasing Colin Garrett for the final podium spto in the Silver vlcass and he is off and back on through Tower corner! Gaples slides onto the Ulmann straightaway, and he has John Capestro-Dubets crawling all over the back of him, plus Boehm, Garrett, and Neudorf, look, are in a scrap of their own. Garret goes through and Boehm is on the counterattack. Boehm washes out and almost loses it. Gaples to the inside and John Capestro-Dubets goes to the lead looking for back-to-back wins for RS1.
Keep in mind that they did the double in Fanatec GT World Challenge America earlier this afternoon. Neudorf is making inroads on the BMW's. Nissan vs. BMW through Big Bend and down to the hairpin. Gaples' pace is two seconds faster than that of Gray Newell and James Walker Jr. who are chasing him down. He has a hornet's nest behind him. John Capestro-Dubets is the overall leader. Gray Newell and James Walker Jr. are also still fighting for position. 17 minutes left on the board. Colin Garrett looked to be a NASCAR driver but has found road racing and sports car racing. Garret side by side with Hanley and takes the spot away. Dan Hanley is feeling the heat from Joanthan Neudorf!
Tony Gaples' pace is incredible, and he has a second in hand over Hanley and Garrett. The next car in his class I believe is either Newell or Walker Jr. I'm not sure. Neudorf is the least experienced of these trheee drivers who don't have GT4 experience. Through Cunningham Corner they turn and now, Hanley has the advantage. Neudorf tries the cushion. Boehm trying to follow him past and Hanley is hemorrhaging spots. This reshuffles the Silver class order as John Capestro-Dubets has taken off and left the building. Tony Gaples leads Pro-Am. Colin Garrett second in Pro-Am. Neudorf has pace. Plenty of time on the board. 14 more minutes.
Garrett slides inside Tony Gaples. A sizable gap for Tony Gaples to slot into. Neudorf stymied into the hairpin. Stephens and Neudorf are on the cusp of a great finish and Gaples is showcasing his abilities as well as the car. He just needs to make sure he does not get involved with a fight he doesn't need to be a part of. Where did James Walker Jr. go? He is down in 11th place. Gaples leads the Pro-Am class. Gaples has almost a lifetime more experience than a lot of the young whippersnappers around him at this moment. Neudorf ran away like a scalded cat yesterday of course. He has run Spec Miata and Mazda MX5 Cup for Hickson Motorsports. He is racing MX-5 Cup for BSI Racing as well.
Neudorf is not close enough to Tony Gaples. I wonder about the communication between Tony Gaples and his crew chief Ray Sorenson. I wonder if Tony Gaples has given him the Kimi Raikkonen response, "leave me alone. I know what I'm doing." Tony Gaples does have sharp elbows and knows all the tricks in the book. There is no cooperation between these two Nissan teams. Maybe if there is a championship on the line there will be more communication. Gaples continues pulling a gap on Gray Newell in the #24 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin. After his win yesterday, Curt Swearingin has a podium place, or the potential for one, with ten minutes left in the race, sharing with Kay van Berlo.
Paul Sparta has passed Roland Krainz for the Am class lead. He was set up by Kris Wilson's opening stint. Kevin Boehm is fourth in the Silver class also for Random Vandals Racing. Random Vandals Racing will be fielding a car in Fanatec GT World Challenge America later this year, a BMW M4 GT3 with a great driver lineup that is slated to include IndyCar driver Conor Daly. Neudorf passes Gaples and now Kevin Boehm will line up to have a crack at it. Neudorf sliding all over the shop. Gaples should ideally let Boehm go and then perhaps let the chips fall into place.
Tony Gaples does not like being passed but he must be having a blast behind the wheel. Neudorf runs wide into Cunningham Corner. Hannah Greenmeier and Hannah Grisham are running third in the Am class moving from 24th on the grid to 13th. Paul Sparta remains the leader in the Am class as Kevin Boehm is making his move on Tony Gaples but Gaples is just going to consolidate his class lead. Gray Newell is out of contention. Tony Gaples won't hear a word I am trying to say. I know that. Racing drivers do know what they are doing. Kimi Raikkonen was right.
Seven minutes to go. Gaples has been racy in spite of out of class cars being all around his ears. Dan Hanley in sixth overall as Gray Newell finds himself second in class in Pro-Am but this car is under investigation post-race for contact with the Stephens/Neudorf Nissan. But the stewards will be looking at data and video for sure in post-race tech inspection. Incident responsibility, a five second post-race time penalty to the #635 RySpec Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 currently in the hands of Johan Schwartz.
Schwartz is in the midst of a podium battle. Roland Krainz has passed for the lead in the Am class I believe. Schwartz wants to clear Swearingin and scoot away. But time is of the essence with less than five minutes on the board. RS1 serenely out front. They won a pair of Fanatec GT World Challenge America races. They ended up winning in Pirelli GT4 America after the TechSport Nissan team copped a penalty. Could they bookend the weekend and do a double sweep? If so, they need two brooms! Four wins in as many races this weekend, alone. The depth of the field is amazing. Eric Filgueiras was part of RS1's championship winning effort in Fanatec GT World Challenge America a year ago alongside Stevan McAleer.
Tony Gaples needs to bring it home. Keep it clean. Don't overdrive the car but don't slow down too much. Colin Garrett and company have moved up ten places but with Jonathan Neudorf giving chase. It has been a true yoyo, the battle between these two. Barely two and a half minutes on the board before this race is written into the book. Canadian racer Jonathan Neudorf, he and Michai Stephens are a top Silver class driver duo. The Nissan program has grown leaps and bounds in just a year compared to last year's effort. Neudorf is closing on Colin Garrett, but he will have just one lap to try and seal the deal. John Capestro-Dubets takes the white flag. One lap remaining looking to go back-to-back at Sebring International Raceway.
Neudorf is closing on Garrett, hand over fist. Neudorf tries pishing it. Garrett forces the issue and Neudorf goes off the road and back on. Garrett slams the door in Neudorf's face, bolts it and locks it. Neudorf will not be denied. Garrett guarding the inside coming up to Cunningham Corner, turn ten. This is for second and third in the Silver class and the Nissan has king size horsepower here. No dice and he can't get to Garrett's flank. The clock has run out. Garrett being proactive into the braking zone.
He is running his normal line but gets crosseed up. Neudorf has a head of steam. Through the esses. Garrett covers off the inside. A couple turns left. How is the corner exit onto the Ulmann straight? John Capestro-Dubets serenely out front. Capestro-Dubets and Filgueiras looking to do the double. Garrett defends as Neudorf wants to create his own lane to the inside of the track! Back outside and late under braking into Sunsert Bend. One corner to go and I think Colin Garrett has triumphed over Neudorf and the Nissan team. John Capestro-Dubets and RS1 sweep! Garrett finishes second by 2/10ths of a second. Neudorf third, Boehm fourth, Gaples fifth and will win the Pro-Am class alongside Max Root!
A top ten overall and an Am class victory goes to Random Vandals Racing with Paul Sparta and Kris Wilson! Their championship bid gets stronger and stronger with each passing week.
Overall/Silver: #28 Filgueiras/Capestro-Dubets RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Pro-Am: #9 Gaples/Root Blackdog Speedshop Nissan Z NISMO GT4
Am: #98 Sparta/Wilson Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4
Gray Newell second in Pro-Am and Curt Swearingin in third. Cue the dance music for the provisional results and we will have a handful of incidents under review. Three seconds is the margin of victory between Capestro-Dubets and Filgueiras and Garrett and Anderson. Fifth overall to Blackdog Speedshop for their Pro-Am win, with Tony Gaples and Max Root. Hannah Grisham and Haanah Greenmeier back on the podium in the Am class. I don't know what happened to Smooge Racing for Tyler Gonzalez and John Geesbreght. They had a terrible race today.
Two weeks from now we will have the next couple races at Circuit of the Americas. A different race format is something we will also have. Now, it will not be two 60-minute races. Instead, there will be 3-hour endurance race for the Pirelli GT4 America cars. That will be fun to watch! SRO are looking for feedback on the new format idea. Filgueiras and Capestro-Dubets are very, very happy! John Capestro-Dubets is adjusting to the Porsche Cayman. He is extremely happy to be driving with Eric Filgueiras.
Anyone can possibly win and things will get even more exciting as the season goes on. This is a brand new program for Eric Filgueiras and RS1 and things are looking up as the deal came together the week of the Sonoma doubleheader. Celebrate, boys. Nissan have the first ever win for them in GT4 and Tony Gaples is very proud. Max Root is incredibly happy to be a part of the victory too. Paul Sparta is on the top step in the Am class alongside Kris Wilson. They are putting their GT3 program together at Random Vandals, too.
So, that wraps up all the action from Sebring International Raceway and it will be very exciting to bring you the three-hour endurance event for the GT4 cars coming up at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in two weeks. Can't wait for that one! That's a wrap from Sebring. We'll see you at Circuit of the Americas. Bye bye.
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