Pirelli GT4 America saved its very best drama for last in 2024, and yielded a new overall winner – for the first time this season, the #89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Michael Auriemma and Matheus Leist scored the win despite a post-race time penalty.
In a scene resembling the finish to the Indianapolis 8 Hour Race last night, the #89 Mercedes was given a one-second time penalty for a short pit stop even after it had taken the lead with less than five minutes left in the race.
But after driving from fifth to the lead in his closing stint, Leist – a past winner of the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a two-year veteran of the IndyCar Series – summoned some of his old Speedway magic to pull away from Roman de Angelis’ #24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT4 and secure the victory by just over two seconds.
De Angelis and Gray Newell finished second in the new-gen #24 Aston Martin, in what will almost certainly be their last GT4 outing together – as both drivers appear destined to move up the sports car racing ladder with Heart of Racing.
The final laps also produced a dramatic fight for the Silver class victory, set up by the misfortunes for two cars that led for much of the way.
Just before the halfway point of the race, the top cars in the Silver class pitted once the Safety Car was withdrawn following a crash between Curt Swearingin and Lee Carpentier’s Porsches.
Kevin Boehm was driving the #97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 and in position to potentially snatch the Silver championship alongside Kenton Koch, running ahead of the #28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 of John Capestro-Dubets and Eric Filgueiras.
Boehm was quite literally in the middle of a fight between Pro-Am Porsches – the #099 Rotek Racing Porsche of Myles Rowe was eager to get by the #18 RS1 Porsche of Austin Krainz for position. Rowe sent it up the inside at turn seven with Boehm in the middle, and as Boehm tried to give way, he collided with Krainz and went off through the grass himself.
Just minutes later, the right front suspension of the #97 BMW gave way, and the winners of the GT4 Lone Star Enduro at COTA were forced to retire.
Then, the #68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 that won Race 1 on Saturday, spun off at turn 12 with a left rear suspension issue that took polesitters Corey Lewis and Tyler Gonzalez out of the running.
It left Colin Garrett in the #51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW and Michai Stephens in the #34 JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 to fight for the victory. They dropped behind Leist and De Angelis but continued their fight for the class win all the way to the finish, where a fierce dive from Garrett at the end of Hulman Boulevard allowed him to slip past Stephens on the final lap.
Garrett and Zac Anderson finished their second with a third-place overall finish, ahead of Stephens and Jesse Webb, who returned to GT4 America with JMF after spending most of the season together in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge instead.
Coming home in fifth place overall and third in Silver was the #28 RS1 Porsche of Capestro-Dubets and Filgueiras, who clinched the championship.
It was a partnership that came together just days before the first race at Sonoma, but a gratifying achievement for both. Filgueiras and RS1 won their third consecutive title together across GT4 America (2022, 2024) and GT World Challenge America (2023).
Yet, as Filgueiras explains: “This was by far the hardest. There’s so much talent stacked in this series, especially in the Silver class this year. I’m extremely grateful to have this opportunity with CBW, and such a great team with RS1. I’m really grateful for the opportunities.”
For ‘JCD’, he got the chance to win the championship that eluded him last year: A back injury sustained in a Lamborghini Super Trofeo crash at Road America ruled him out of two races last year, denying him the chance to share the Silver title with Zac Anderson.
“I have a million words I want to say, but they’re not all coming out,” Dubets said afterwards.
“All I’ve ever wanted was to be admired among the other champions in this paddock and respected by my peers. Coming to the racetrack is my happy place. To be among these people means the world to me, and to now officially be a champion—I can’t even express how much it means to me. A childhood dream came true today.”
The #77 VPX Motorsports Porsche (Cayden Goodridge/Danny Dyszelski) finished sixth, ahead of the #07 Precision Racing LA Toyota (Terry Borcheller/Ryan Eversley), and the #098 Rotek Racing Porsche of Rowe and Isaac Sherman in eighth.
The #5 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4 (Damir Hot/Rodrigo Baptista) and #82 BimmerWorld BMW (James Walker Jnr/Tyler McQuarrie) completed the overall top ten, but that was not the end of the drama by a long shot.
Two teams still had the chance to win the Am championship and for the first half of the race, the #099 Rotek Racing Porsche of Robb Holland and Jaden Lander had the advantage over the #98 Random Vandals Racing BMW of Kris Wilson and super-sub Michael Kanisczak.
But the complexion of the race changed after the mid-race pit stops. James Clay and Charlie Postins’ #36 BimmerWorld BMW was still leading Am, but Kanisczak had jumped ahead of Holland into second in class.
With 15 minutes to go, Kanisczak took first in class away from Clay, and the NASA BMW one-make champion appeared to have won the title for Random Vandals and Wilson.
Even after Clay tagged Kanisczak from behind and spun him out at turn one, Kanisczak remained out in front and Holland couldn’t get close to overtaking the two cars in front of him.
Yet on the last lap, the green and white #98 BMW of Kaniscak slowed coming out of turn ten. Clay took the Am class lead and Holland followed him through into second.
That was enough for Holland to finally win his first professional racing championship as a driver, 18 years since his debut in 2006 driving a Dodge SRT-4 in the Speed World Challenge paddock, the culmination of his barnstorming career.
It was also the first title for Lander, who joined Rotek Racing this season.
Kanisczak and Wilson limped to the line in third, a gutwrenching end to the season for Random Vandals Racing whose two other cars retired from the race.
Images © Fred Hardy III / SRO Motorsports America
