Random Vandals Win GT4 Lonestar Enduro

Kevin Boehm, Kenton Koch, and Random Vandals Racing won Saturday’s inaugural running of the GT4 America 3-Hour Lonestar Enduro at Circuit of the Americas – on a day where BMW customer teams won all three classes, and Random Vandals themselves won two out of the three.

Earlier that day, however, Nissan took the headlines in a single 15-minute qualifying session to set the grid for GT4 America’s first endurance race. Michael Cooper, back after missing Sebring due to prior commitments in Porsche Carrera Cup North America, won the pole in the #9 Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4. He won it by six-tenths of a second over the #5 Flying Lizard Motorsports Z, driven by the returning Rodrigo Baptista – who’d taken over from Stefan Rzadzinski heading into the weekend.

After qualifying, the Nissan Zs were given a 15-kilogram BoP weight increase.

It didn’t stop Blackdog’s Tony Gaples from grabbing the lead into turn one of the three-hour race, followed by Flying Lizard’s Damir Hot. But behind them, Eric Filgueiras in the #28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 went on a tear in the opening lap, gaining four positions on the opening lap and drawing alongside Gaples – while Boehm in the #97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 gained six places to go from 12th to sixth overall!

Gaples made a spirited effort to hold the lead but Filgueiras drove past him into Big Red (turn one) to take the overall lead in less than ten minutes. Boehm continued his climb through the field and put pressure on Filgueiras, taking the lead at the 22-minute mark. Colin Garrett in the #51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW joined the fight, got past Filgueiras, then attacked Boehm for the lead and made his move for the lead after 34 minutes of racing.

The challenge of the Nissans began to crumple after just one hour of racing. Three out of the four Zs – both TechSport Racing cars and the Flying Lizard #5 – suffered power steering issues and had to retire. The #9 Blackdog Nissan of Gaples and Cooper finished 20th overall (seventh in Pro-Am) after losing 30 minutes in the garage with a cross-threaded wheel nut.

Before the end of the first hour, teams made their first live pit stops of the race for fuel, driver changes – and tyre changes, a first for GT4 America. Garrett came in after 19 laps, while Boehm stayed out two more laps before making his pit stop. Kenton Koch re-emerged as the race leader in the #97 BMW, five ahead of John Capestro-Dubets in the #28 Porsche. But Zac Anderson quickly had to bring the #51 BMW back to the pits for a brake fluid leak, dropping him to 20th overall.

Soon, Parker Thompson was the man on the move after taking over the #999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4. He charged from third past ‘JCD’ into second place, and then began hacking away into Koch’s overall lead, bringing it down to under ten seconds.

Then with an hour and 33 minutes left, the #55 Smooge Racing Toyota (Kevin Conway/Isabella Robusto) lost its left-rear wheel exiting turn 18, and pulled off the track. Race Control allowed some cars to enter the pits before deploying the Safety Car with 1h31m left – Capestro-Dubets and Koch made it in before the Safety Car came out, but Thompson did not. He would have to bring the #999 Toyota in when pit lane opened under the Safety Car, dropping co-driver Daniel Hanley down to ninth overall.

Boehm retook the race lead ahead of Figueiras, but when the race restarted with 70 minutes left, Filgueiras made a big lunge at Big Red to retake the lead. The two leaders battled tail-to-nose for several laps before Filgueiras brought the #28 Porsche in for its last stop with 50 minutes to go, leaving the final stint to Capestro-Dubets.

A lap later, Boehm brought the #97 BMW in, and turned the controls back over to Koch. Koch emerged from the pits ahead of Capestro-Dubets, though ‘JCD’ was able to draw alongside at turn 12 with the benefit of Koch being on cold tyres. However, Koch kept Capestro-Dubets from getting completely past him and eventually held his advantage.

Koch cruised away in the final 45 minutes of the race – and after three hours, the Silver class #97 Random Vandals BMW of Boehm and Koch won the Lonestar Enduro, completing 74 laps.

Filgueiras and Capestro-Dubets finished second overall, despite taking a five-second time penalty after the race for having too many mechanics handle tyres on their final pit stop. The #999 Toyota of Hanley and Thompson finished third in class and overall.

Fourth overall and Pro-Am class honours went to the #82 BimmerWorld Racing BMW of James Walker Jnr and Tyler McQuarrie – their second class win of the year. Walker Jnr grabbed the class lead with just over an hour left after getting past the #7 ACI Motorsports Porsche (Curt Swearingin/Kay van Berlo) – just as the class-leading #24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (Gray Newell/Roman de Angelis) was hit by the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 (Jake Cowden/Demi Chalkias).

McQuarrie took over after the last round of pit stops, on the way to a comfortable Pro-Am class win.

And rounding out the overall top five was the Am class-winning #98 Random Vandals BMW of Paul Sparta and Kris Wilson – making it a double-victory for Random Vandals Racing!

Wilson ran down class leader James Clay in the #36 BimmerWorld BMW during his final stint, and with 32 minutes left, Wilson muscled his way through at turn 15 to grab the Am lead, never to be challenged thereafter. It’s the second Am class win in a row for Sparta and Wilson who’ve extended their championship lead.

The #51 AutoTechnic BMW of Anderson and Garrett recovered from their early brake issue to finish sixth overall, followed by the #7 ACI Porsche of Swearingin and Van Berlo that was second in Pro-Am, and the #20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW (Nicholas Shanny/Chris Walsh) that finished second in Am.

Rounding out their respective class podiums – and the overall top ten – were the #07 Precision Racing LA Toyota (Mike Lamarra/Ryan Eversley) from Pro-Am, and the #099 Rotek Racing Porsche (Robb Holland/Jaden Lander) in Am. A final-lap collision knocked the #36 BimmerWorld BMW (Charlie Postins/James Clay) to 12th overall, after Clay was spun out by the #188 Fast Track Racing BMW of Denny Stripling. Stripling was given a post-race time penalty that took him and Judson Holt out of the overall top ten and Am class podium.

With double points on offer during this three-hour race, Boehm and Koch’s victory gives them a provisional five-point lead in the GT4 America Silver standings over Filgueiras & Capestro-Dubets. In Pro-Am, Swearingin & Van Berlo continue to lead the standings, now 15 points ahead of Walker & McQuarrie.