BOWMANVILLE, Ont., Canada – The Fast Track Racing/Classic BMW team comes to this weekend’s SRO Pirelli GT4 America doubleheader road racing event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park looking to repeat the stellar performance three weeks ago at VIR which saw an overall GT4 SprintX Pro-Am victory and three other podium finishes for the quick BMW M4 GT4 sports cars.
The combination of Justin Raphael and Stevan McAleer recorded an overall GT4 SprintX win in the first round at VIR last month in the No. 29 Raphael & Associates/Classic BMW BMW M4 GT4 with an impressive triumph over a sensational GT4 and led in the second GT4 SprintX 60-minute contest before a late-race infraction dropped the pair back in the final results. They still placed third in the GT4 East SprintX finish.
“We had a super strong event at VIR, so we look to build on that at Mosport (CTMP),” said McAleer, the veteran race from Cold Spring, N.Y. “We currently have a one-point lead in the Sprint X Championship, but some tough competition is right behind us. So, we have a similar plan to VIR this weekend. We want to qualify well, run clean races and get as many points as possible.”
The VIR victory for the duo was exciting for Raphael in scoring his first GT4 win, and the New Jersey racer seeks a repeat in the Friday and Saturday 60-minute features at the fast 2.459-mile, 10-turn road circuit.
“At VIR, I got the car onto the grass and slid into the tire barrier on Friday,” said Raphael. “The team was unbelievable getting the car back together. In the Saturday win, I had exciting stint in the beginning, and I knew when I turned the car over to Stevan that we are in good hands. It was a good situation for us. I was so happy to take the win at VIR. Now, I feel we could be fast again at CTMP.”
Joining the Raphael/McAleer pairing for Fast Track Racing in the fellow Classic BMW BMW M4 GT4 will be combination of Chris Ohmacht and Toby Grahovec in the No. 92 VETS Indexes/Classic BMW BMW M4 GT4 sports car. The Ohmacht/Grahovec duo recorded two GT4 SprintX class podium finishes at VIR with a second and third.
“I’m very excited to be returning to CTMP this weekend,” said Ohmacht. “We had great pace and results at VIR, so hopefully we can maintain the momentum into this weekend. CTMP is one of my personal favorite tracks and the BMW should be strong there. Toby and I are anxious to get the No. 92 BMW M4 on the track on Friday.”
Grahovec, the 2016 Touring Car series champion and team manager for Fast Track Racing, believes the team is confident heading in the CTMP Pirelli GT4 America competition.
“We had a good weekend at VIR for the Fast Track Racing/Classic BMW team,” said Grahovec. “We came close to winning two overall events. Now, the CTMP track should be good for the BMW M4 GT4 car. We have been improving the car with each event this year and Chris and I are feeling more comfortable on the high-speed courses like VIR and CTMP. We hope to continue the performance of the team’s M4 GT4 machines this weekend with more podiums and hopefully some wins.”
Qualifying for the Pirelli GT4 America SprintX classes at CTMP takes place Friday (May 17) at 2:30 p.m. EDT with the first of two 60-minute, two-driver races beginning at 5:30 p.m. EDT. Saturday’s (May 18) 60-minute GT4 SprintX event will get underway at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
About Fast Track Racing/CLASSIC BMW:
Fast Track Racing is located at the Classic BMW headquarters in Plano, Tex., north of Dallas. Fast Track Racing has capturednumerous race events over the past decade and was recently awarded the BMW Sports Trophy award as the Top BMW Racing Team worldwide in 2018. It marked the first time an American racing organization has captured the prestigious award. In addition, the Fast Track Racing also won the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Team championship led by Karl Wittmer, Matt Travis and Jayson Clunie in BMW M235iR cars. Toby Grahovec and Chris Ohmacht won two GTS Am SprintX division races in 2018 and finished third in the SprintX final points in the new BMW M4 GT4 sports car. Classic BMW heads up the BMW customer racing program in North America, with customer-built cars and has already captured a 2016 Touring Car driver’s title with Grahovec and the BMW M235iR car. The BMW M235iR racing sedan also won the Touring Car manufacturer’s championship in 2017 and 2018. Fast Track Racing will campaign BMW M240iR and BMW M4 GT4 machines in 2019.