Pirelli GT4 America returns to action, here at America's National Park of Speed, Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. On this late Saturday afternoon, get ready to enjoy an hour of intense motor racing. Before we hit the accelerator and get this race underway, just the same as it was in the GT World Challenge America event we just witnessed, there are some quick housekeeping notes to take care of. First, the Hanley Motorsports Toyota Supra that we have become accustomed to seeing on the grid for Daniel Hanley and Parker Thompson, dropped off the entry list and is not here, the car painted in the tribute colors to Dan Gurney's factory Toyota team from the IMSA days in the '80s and '90s, that Supra is not at Road America and may not return for the remainder of the season at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, or at Indianapolis Motor Speedway either.
We will keep you posted. Hence, Parker Thompson, the Canadian, has been drafted in, to team up with Tyler Gonzalez in the similar Supra, the #68 car, entered by Smooge Racing in place of team boss and regular driver John Geesbreght. Demi Chalkias is back teaming up with Jake Cowden in the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4. Father and son Joseph and Lucas Catania, who have seen success on the SRO America TC America touring car circuit in the past, are back for another go in GT4 America in their #33 Rigid Speed BMW M4 GT4 G82. Both TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4's have also undergone lineup changes for this weekend.
Car #22 has Elivan Goulart of Canada, teaming up with Colin Harrison, and replacing Eric Powell. Meanwhile, the #23 car sees Jonathan Neudorf, the Canadian, teamed up along with Danish GT4 veteran Johan Schwartz. Previously, Neudorf co-drove the car with Michai Stephens. OK. It is time for the first race of the weekend to round out Saturday's bill of racing here at Road America. This is indeed the first event of the weekend with Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth and D.J. Clark reporting from the pit lane, under overcast skies with high humidity. Will we see rain in this one hour race? There is supposed to be no rain, but let's wait and find out what happens. A bumper crop of GT4 cars across the Silver, Pro-Am, and Am classes.
Road America is a special place. It is a high-speed circuit. We have 27 GT4 cars lined up to start this race. Late breaking news from the pit lane, will be Heart of Racing who ran incredibly well with Gray Newell in GT America earlier this morning. A dry track and we are set to race. John Capestro-Dubets and Tyler Gonzalez, Porsche Cayman and Toyota Supra on the front row. Green flag! Away we go! John Capestro-Dubets inches ahead just barely. Who has the edge? Gonzalez sends it and makes the pas and there's a big wreck towards the tail of the field! Tony Gaples and Paul Sparta have spun and crashed! There was a third car off the road too. One of the Auto Technic BMW's is in big, big trouble.
Excuse me, that is James Walker Jr. in the #82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 he shares with Tyler McQuarrie. There could be suspension damage on the car. He used to be an automotive engineer who evaluated crash damage. Unfortunate for BimmerWorld and a tough day too for Random Vandals Racing who had a fraught and short race in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America race in their debut in that class earlier with the GT3 cars. The net result is we are behind the safety car having not completed a green flag lap. We have had a month off from racing. We've seen a phenomenal run for green flag racing in GT4 at 87% and now, we see a yellow, early doors. The fields are so incredibly deep.
Who else was involved? That was Matt Bell in the #43 P1 Groupe Mercedes-AMG GT4 sharing the car with Alex Vogel. A great start from Tyler Gonzalez. John Capestro-Dubets was passed for third place. Roman De Angelis leads Pro-Am in the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin. The Am class Porsche Cayman for Rotek Racing of Robb Holland leads the Am division. James Clay and Charlie Postins broke through with a victory at VIR last time. But other than that, Clay and Postins have had a fraught year compared to some of their championship efforts of the past handful of years. Corey Lewis is new to the Smooge Racing Team Toyota effort sharing with Tyler Gonzalez of course.
Matt Bell got turned, Tony Gaples had no place to go and neither did Paul Sparta who copped a king size whack. Three cars into one turn just didn't work. It could also be game over for James Walker Jr. Cleanup continues. Corey Lewis is now in the Smooge Racing Toyota Supra. John Geesbreght, a recent graduate from Grand Canyon University, has stepped away from motor racing focusing on his burgeoning business career. So, Corey Lewis and Tyler Gonzalez, who have been rivals, they are finally teammates. Corey Lewis needs to learn to drive a GT4 car with much less downforce than what he is used to. Lewis is a 24 Hours of Daytona winner, a two-time 12 Hours of Sebring winner, and he knows the Andretti family extremely well. Lewis is from their neck of the woods, Nazareth, Pennsylvania. They had the Nazareth oval there years ago but it no longer exists.
The Matt Bell driven Mercedes took a sizable hit and is now on the rollback. 12 minutes on the board and we have not seen much green flag racing. at 23 minutes you can elect to do the driver change, and there is a 91 second pit lane delta. Johann Schwartz is joining Jonathan Neudorf at TechSport Nissan and Michai Stephens is no longer in the car. Colin Harrison in the sister car is co-driving with Elivan Goulart replacing Eric Powell who was a development driver on the Nissan Z NISMO GT4. Both Michai Stephens and Eric Powell are talented drivers. Good to see Elivan Goulart back, and his son, Ethan, has been racing in Toyota GR Cup. Elivan Goulart has raced in World Challenge for many years, sporadically.
Colin Harrison and Elivan Goulart know each other and so there was a connection, and so does the team at TechSport Racing. So, 45 minutes to go and we are back to racing! A good jump by Tyler Gonzlkaez as John Capestro-Dubets is flying past Colin Garrett. JCD tries the long way around Garrett. Gonzalez makes good his escape and here comes Romain De Angelis, Hannah Grisham, and Kevin Boehm! Oh my! De Angelis to the inside. There is a dynamic between the classes even though all these cars are GT4 specification. Garrett drops places and Kevin Boehm in the sister Random Vandals entry is a class car. Garrett gives him room in The Carousel. Hannah Grisham, she is poking her nose in, aboard the #26 Heart of Racing Aston Martin in the Silver class.
Curt Swearingin in the ACI Porsche Cayman, car #7, who won in the rain in GT4 in GT America. Demi Chalkias from Canada, she is hanging tough with the Dane, Johann Schwartz. Things are beginning to settle down it appears. Chalkias tags Schwartz! Yikes! That was a close shave, and Schwartz has damage and is losing bodywork and maybe Chalkias' car is damaged, too. Garrett and De Angelis and here comes Kevin Boehm. Colin Garrett is a stock car racer, and a former South Boston Speedway short track stock car champion.
Side by side through Billy Mitchell corner and Kevin Boehm almost goes off the road! There was a late deluge yesterday which saturated the grass. Kevin Boehm is an engineer and development driver in his day job. In the Am class, Jaden Lander and Robb Holland have the lead. I take that back. That is James Clay in the #36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 and the Nissan Z in Flying Lizard's team, Damir Hot and Andy Lee. Stefan Rzadzinski and Rodrigo Baptista have also co-driven with Damir Hot. Tyler Gonzalez leads the motor race by 1.3 seconds coming off winning the title in 2023 in Toyota GR Cup.
Tyler Gonzalez has been showcasing his talents against drivers like Romain De Angelis and John Capestro-Dubets. Colin Garrett sets fastest lap at 2:17.267. Aston Martin will have three cars, two in FIA World Endurance and one in IMSA, with the naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 motor with no hybrid boost. JMF Motorsports looking at the damage to Demi Chalkias' car. Colin Garrett has now caught Roman De Angelis. The pit window is now open. Johann Schwartz is second in Pro-Am ahead of Techsport Nissan teammate Colin Harrison. The Nissan Z team has had to do a precautionary engine change as well. Even with damage, Johann Schwartz is still running well.
One of the fenders is bent outward but this should not affect handling as Tyler Gonzalez, John Capestro-Dubets, and others, are in pit lane for the driver change. No tire changes or fuel in Pirelli GT4 America. Corey Lewis jumps aboard. The team can adjust tire pressures. Soon, we will be at the halfway point. Someone missed their pit box for some reason, the #33 BMW M4 GT4 of Lucas Catania and Joseph Cantania. Kenton Koch aboard the #97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4. Random Vandals made their debut in Fanatec GT World Challenge America but had that incident at the very start of the event.
Tyler Gonzalez took the lead early on and stuck right with the Porsche Cayman running the outside line. It was a good stint for him and Corey Lewis is going to do a great job as well. The pit stop from Smooge Racing is under review because the car moved out of the pit box. It was a very dangerous situation it appeared. These cars are production-based, so they have an auto shutoff when they stop. Other race cars don't. Eric Filgueiras and Zac Anderson have a massive battle, and this has championship implications. Roman De Angelis pits from the Pro-Am lead to hand over to Gray Newell.
Filgueiras sensing pressure looming from Zac Anderson. Zac Anderson has driven incredibly this season. Kenton Koch to the inside on Zac Anderson, and these two have had argy bargy many times this year! That was crazy! He was trying to shut the door while still alongside! Gray Newell is going to squeeze his way through, and Anderson is forced off the road! No sharing a beer at Siebkens tonight I'm afraid. A warning has been issued for driving standards for the two cars in question. That was feisty and maybe too feisty. Claw points back from the RS1 Porsche, but haste makes waste. Kenton Koch has caught Corey Lewis. Gray Newell leads the Pro-Am class. Right now, Lewis, Filgueiras, Boem, and the rest, are at the top in Silver.
Roman De Angelis says the team went with different strategy as Aston Martin has struggled with straight line speed compared to the other brands. They were behind Walker Jr. and McQuarrie who have had trouble and now, Kay van Berlo has taken the Pro-Am class lead in the Porsche Cayman started by Curt Swearingin. Now, Kenton Koch is right on top of Eric Filgueiras and looking to chase down Corey Lewis. Filgueiras covers Koch, the reigning champion from Fanatec GT World Challenge America racing with Stevan McAleer. McAleer and Filgueiras dominated Fanatec GT World Challenge America last year.
Zac Anderson has begun to regroup. He has taken time out and Kay van Berlo resets fastest lap at 2:16.902. Kenton Koch and Eric Filgueiras still chasing. Koch looks to the inside and can't stick the pass and now Zac Anderson is moving in for a shot. Lewis is going to be vulnerable in the lead of this motor race. Lewis, Filgueiras, Koch, and Anderson. The leader will have a five second post-race time penalty! Oh my! Koch tries again through turn 14 and now Eric Filgueiras gets loose coming back to power. So, it is side by side stuff between Filgueiras and Koch!
Zac Anderson has a run past Filgueiras! Easy peasy. Like taking candy from a baby. Can he move in on Kenton Koch? Corey Lewis has the penalty, the Sword of Damocles, hanging over him. Both of these drivers have been warned for track limits by the stewards in the final third of this race. New leader in the Am class, and guess who? It is Charlie Postins teamed with James Clay, the two-time defending Am class champions as the #099 Rotek Racing Porsche gets loose! That's Robb Holland and Jaden Lander. Austin and Roland Krainz were in the Am class before Austin had his Silver grading restored going up to Pro-Am, the Austrian father and son team. Jaden Lander, trying to regroup. Kenton Koch is moving in on Corey Lewis who will have to pay the penalty after the race.
New fastest lap for Kenton Koch at 2:16.7. Kay van Berlo leading the Pro-Am class and Curt Swearingin could get two wins today in GT America GT4 where he won this morning and could win Pirelli GT4 America with Kay van Berlo. We'll have to see what happens. 15 minutes to go. Kenton Koch will need to motor if he is going to go for the victory this evening. We know the post-race penalty will impact Corey Lewis and now, Postins and Clay will have a time penalty. All Jaden Lander needs to do is stay within three seconds. Postins has to step on it and open a gap over Jaden Lander.
Anderson closing in on both Lewis and Koch. Koch does the crossover and he needs to pass Lewis so he can whistle off into the distance. I think Lewis got a good head of steam off turn three. He needs to keep going and then gap his rivals y five seconds if he can do so. Kenton Koch leading the motor race now. Thia group is dropping Eric Filgueiras. Kay van Berlo leads Pro-Am. Filgueiras is now behind the leader. Jaden Lander, he would have enough, with the penalty, to move into the Am class leader ad now, Tom Dyer and Matt Million are both going to get by Charlie Postins, in the Aston Martin and the BMW.
Charlie Postins needs to drive into a gap if Tom Dyer can disappear up the road. Elivan Goulart at the tail end of this train. He is at the tail end of this group. The sister TechSport Nissan with damage, started by Johann Schwartz now has Jonathan Neudorf at the wheel of it. Momentarily, we could have Jonathan Neudorf with the damaged rear bumper, fighting with Hannah Grisham. Gray Newell in the sister car is next up and Andy Lee is also in this fight in the Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4. Andy Lee, Mattheus Leist, and Ryan Eversley have all gained nine places from where they started.
Ryan Eversley sharing with Alexandra Hainer in one of the Toyota Supra's. The Aston Martin's I think are struggling with straightaway speed. Heart of Racing are doing the same thing as Regulator Racing in Fanatec GT with swapping the driver change order around. Andy Lee has had a lot of experience in GT4 and GTS in the past. Andy Lee is a plug and play kind of a driver, between GT3, GT4, and Lamborghini Super Trofeo as well. He is also a driver coach. Four and a half minutes to go. Schwartz has been penalized for passing beyond track limits and it was way out in no man's land, beyond the white line.
Gray Newell is back provisionally on the podium over the Nissan, the Neudorf/Schwartz car. Koch has a huge lead and just has to manage this, 3.4 seconds ahead of Zac Anderson. White flag. This will be the final lap of the race. What is the gap in Am between Postins and Lander? Lander is coming in a hurry. Lander flashes the lights to try passing Elivan Goulart. At the top of the shop, Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm will win race one of Pirelli GT4 America at Road America! Random Vandals Racing salvaging a great result in this race after a fraught GT3 race in GTWC America. Kay van Berlo and Curt Swearingin score their second win on the day in the Pro-Am class. Now, in the Am class, Jaden Lander must stay within three seconds of Charlie Postins.
Checkers are out. Who will win? The gap is close enough for Jaden Lander and Robb Holland, and Rotek Racing to win!
Overall/Silver: #97 Koch/Boehm Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
Pro-Am: #7 Swearingin/van Berlo ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS
Clubsport
Am: #99 Lander/Holland Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Cue the dance music for the results. A couple deluges of rain earlier in the day but now it is a gorgeous evening. Time to celebrate at Siebkens with some food and a beer before we get ready to roll for more racing tomorrow. Finishing drivers of #97 and #51 must report to race director after the podium. So, Kenton Koch and Zac Anderson will need to explain themselves I suppose. If anything transpires, we'll let you know tomorrow. For now, Random Vandals Racing can celebrate in victory lane. So, day one of racing at Road America for SRO America has come to a close. See you tomorrow, for day two! It'll be a hoot! Good night from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
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