Jesse Webb and Michai Stephens won Race 1 in Pirelli GT4 America’s visit to Road America this weekend, claiming a pole-to-win victory in the #34 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4, while in Race 2, the #51 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 took its fourth overall win of the season – notable by who wasn’t at the wheel for them this weekend.
Silver class championship co-leader John Capestro-Dubets suffered a heavy crash in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America races at Road America two weeks ago and suffered a back injury which ruled him out of this weekend’s GT4 America races. His co-driver, Zac Anderson, would drive on his own to the Race 2 win to pad Auto Technic’s lead in the standings.
After Conquest Racing scored its first GT World Challenge America win of the year earlier in the afternoon, Webb was determined to get a good start on the way to making it two-for-two. He held the lead over Kevin Boehm in the #92 Random Vandals Racing BMW, and Harry Gottsacker in the #88 STR38 Motorsports BMW.
Behind them, on lap two, Pro-Am title contender Ross Chouest tangled with the new #80 Crucial Motorsports McLaren Artura GT4 of Nick Longhi down at Canada Corner, and Francis Selldorff’s #19 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport broke down at the side of the road to bring out the first Safety Car of the race. All three cars including the #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, retired.
The lead changed hands briefly during the ten-minute compulsory pit window: Webb, Boehm, and Anderson all came in for their stops while Gottsacker stayed out another lap, before handing the #88 BMW off to Chandler Hull. Hull would emerge with the race lead, just as a second Safety Car was deployed when the #68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 of John Geesbreght and the #83 NOLASPORT Porsche of Juan Pablo Martinez went off at The Kink.
With 18 minutes left, a determined Stephens swept around the outside of Hull through turn one to grab the lead of the race. Behind them, Roman de Angelis took the Pro-Am class lead in the #24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin, cutting past both Colin Garrett and Jason Hart. Moments later, the #47 NOLASPORT Porsche and #44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW collided at turn nine.
Then, the race effectively ended when contact between Rianna O’Meara-Hunt and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli sent O’Meara-Hunt’s #26 Heart of Racing Aston Martin into the concrete barrier exiting the Carousel (turn 11). Race 1 finished behind the Safety Car, and Stephens’ decisive overtake around Hull gave Conquest Racing the double victory on Saturday.
It was the first overall win of the year for Webb and Stephens, and their first Silver class win since a weekend sweep at Sonoma to start the season.
Boehm and Kenton Koch finished second for Random Vandals Racing, while Anderson was third. Hull and Geesbreght finished fourth on the road, but dropped to 22nd overall (sixth in class) after a post-race time penalty was given for speeding in the pit lane.
De Angelis and Gray Newell finished fourth overall and recorded their second Pro-Am class win of the year. It was a bittersweet ending for Heart of Racing Team: O’Meara-Hunt was unhurt after her crash, but the #26 Aston Martin she shared with Hannah Grisham had to withdraw from Race 2 due to the damage sustained.
On the other hand, Newell was able to avenge his own terrifying crash at the same circuit from last year. Completing the rest of the Pro-Am podium were the #7 ACI Motorsports Porsche (Curt Swearingin/Kay van Berlo), and the #82 BimmerWorld BMW (James Walker Jnr/Tyler McQuarrie) in fifth and sixth place overall.
The #8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin (Elias Sabo/Andy Lee) finished seventh, followed by the Silver class #119 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin (Rory van der Steur/Jamie Day).
James Clay and Charlie Postins took their fourth straight Am class win with a ninth place finish in the #36 BimmerWorld BMW, with the #98 Random Vandals Racing BMW (Paul Sparta/Al Carter) and #72 KRUGSPEED Toyota (Anthony Geraci/Jaden Lander) in 11th and 12th to complete the Am podium.
Qualifying for Race 2 had been abandoned when the #22 TechSport Racing Nissan Z GT4 of Eric Powell crashed at turn eight and brought out a red flag. Powell and Colin Harrison would miss Race 1 but returned for Race 2.
Meanwhile, the #999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota of Daniel Hanley and Parker Thompson, was given the pole position for Race 2 based on Friday practice times. Thompson made the most of that prime position early on, holding the lead on the initial start. Debris from the #80 Crucial McLaren brought out an early Safety Car in the opening minutes.
Once action resumed, Thompson held his advantage and gradually began to build a margin. As Kay van Berlo and Kenton Koch battled for second place overall, Thompson had a ten-second lead by the time he was ready to bring the #999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota into the pits and change drivers. With 28 minutes left, Thompson made it into the pits, just as Eric Zitza in the #09 Zotz Racing Porsche spun off at the Carousel.
This brought out a second Safety Car. Van Berlo and Swearingin got caught out, and the #7 ACI Porsche dropped to 20th overall as a result. Meanwhile, Hanley stopped at pit exit momentarily with a mechanical issue and dropped from the lead down to fifth place, handing the lead to Boehm in the #92 Random Vandals BMW.
The final restart, with 13 minutes left, saw Anderson cross up Boehm through turn one, then pull to the inside and take the lead through turns two and three. James Walker Jnr also took the Pro-Am class lead from Elias Sabo, in third overall.
With his co-driver Dubets watching from home, Anderson drove on to take his fourth overall and Silver class win of the year, holding off Boehm and Koch by 1.429 seconds.
BimmerWorld’s Walker Jnr and McQuarrie finished third overall and picked up their third Pro-Am class win in the last four races. The #88 STR38 BMW of Gottsacker and Hull finished fourth, followed by the #999 Hanley Toyota in fifth.
The Am class victory was settled with three minutes to go, as Charlie Postins dove up the inside of Rob Walker to take the lead, and a double victory for the #36 BimmerWorld BMW of Postins and Clay that finished sixth overall in Race 2, with Walker and Satakal Khalsa seventh in the #253 Auto Technic BMW. BMW ended up with a clean sweep of all three classes in Race 2, just as they did in both races at VIR two months ago.
The #34 Conquest/JMF Mercedes of Webb and Stephens charged from 30th on the grid to finish eighth overall, ahead of the #47 NOLASPORT Porsche of Matt Travis and Jason Hart, and the #8 Flying Lizard Aston Martin of Sabo and Lee.
With five races left this season, Zac Anderson now leads Webb and Stephens by 27 points in the Silver class championship, with Boehm and Koch occupying third, 52 points out of the lead.
Walker Jnr and McQuarrie gained significant ground in the Pro-Am standings, as they broke out to a 20-point lead over NOLASPORT’s Travis and Hart, while Sabo and Lee moved up to third in the standings. And in the Am class, Clay and Postins now have a commanding 76-point lead over STR38 Motorsports’ Robert Mau and Chris Allen.
Next up for GT4 America is a rare triple-header at Sebring International Raceway on 23-24 September: This includes a make-up race that was originally scheduled for NOLA Motorsports Park, but postponed and rescheduled due to inclement weather.
Images © Brian Cleary/SRO Motorsports Group America
