The 2022 Pirelli GT4 America series concludes this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with two 60-minute races on Saturday, 8 October and Sunday, 9 October.
31 cars are on the provisional entry list for the upcoming GT4 America finale, published earlier this week. This year, GT4 cars at Indy will not be a part of the Indianapolis 8 Hour Race as they were in 2020 and 2021, but they will have the stage to themselves on Sunday for the final day of SRO Motorsports America competition.
The #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport RS of Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer has been the dominant force in 2022, with nine overall and Silver Cup victories in 12 races this season. Filgueiras and McAleer can clinch the Silver Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships as early as Race 1 on Saturday.
By the book they’d need to finish eighth in class or better to wrap up the titles in race one, but with only five registered Silver Cup entries, all Filgueiras and McAleer need to do to clinch the championship is to merely finish Race 1.
The only other squad with a mathematical chance at the Silver crown is the #34 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Michai Stephens and Gavin Sanders.
Stephens and Conquest Racing swept both GT4 America races at Indy last year, which is what they’d need to have any shot at the title – but they would also require a double-DNF from Filgueiras and McAleer, who’ve only failed to finish one race this season.
The #68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 (Kevin Conway/John Geesbreght) will aim for their first class win since Race 2 at Road America, while the #51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT3 (Austen Smith/Zac Anderson) and the #33 Forbush Performance GR Supra (Matt Forbush/Caleb Bacon) will be trying for their first wins of the season.
While the Silver championships are all but secure, there is a four-way fight for the Pro-Am title that will be decided this weekend.
NOLASPORT, the reigning Pro-Am champions, enter the weekend with their flagship #47 Porsche Cayman of Scott Noble and Jason Hart leading the standings by ten points, after winning their class in Race 2 at Sebring two weeks ago.
Hart led NOLASPORT to a weekend sweep at Indy last year, capping off a dominant season for the New Orleans-based outfit in 2021. This year, however, the fight is much closer.
The #120 Premier Racing Cayman RS (Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer) is still second in the championship despite a brutal DNF in Race 1 at Sebring. Adelson has the opportunity to win two championships this weekend, as the Las Vegas native is also involved in a five-way fight for the GT America GT4 class title.
33 points behind the leading duo of Noble and Hart, the #8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 (Elias Sabo/Andy Lee) have the opportunity to come from behind and take Flying Lizard’s second set of championships in three years. Sabo and Lee have seven podiums this season including a string of second-place finishes in class, but no class wins in 2022.
And 41 points back, the #52 AutoTechnic M4 GT4 (Tom Capizzi/John Capestro-Dubets) is also mathematically eligible, though they face the longest odds. Capizzi and JCD have two wins this season.
Also within the Pro-Am ranks, there are a few changes. Damages sustained from Hurricane Ian have forced BSport Racing to withdraw from this event. However, the Heart of Racing Team are back, with Gray Newell and Ian James back aboard their #24 Vantage GT4.
Toby Grahovec, the team manager of Fast Track Racing, has also been called back into driving duties alongside paraplegic racer Tim Horrell in the#10 M4 GT4. Grahovec drove alongside McAleer last season in Pro-Am, earning two class wins.
James Clay and Charlie Postins have already sealed the Am Cup Championships at Sebring, and at Indy their #36 BimmerWorld M4 GT4 should be strong, particularly as BimmerWorld took GT4 honours at the Indy 8 Hour in the two years where GT4 and GT3 cars raced together.
The Am Cup field will be supplemented by the return of the #60 Dexter Racing Ginetta G56 GT4 (Matt Rivard/Ben Anderson), which won its class in Race 2 at Sonoma Raceway, but has been out of action since suffering an accident early in the weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park. STR38 Motorsports are also fielding the #38 M4 GT4 for veteran rally racer Ramana Lagemann, and Robert Mau.
GT4A PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST >>
Images © SRO Motorsports Group America
