- Westin Workman and Tyler Gonzalez Return to Silver Victory
- Kenton Koch and Sam Craven Triumph in Pro-Am
- Garcia Brothers Secure Am Class Comeback Win
- Race 1 Provisional Results
Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park was filled with battles up and down the field as the Pirelli GT4 America competitors fought hard for the opening wins of the weekend in the UAB Medicine GT World Alabama benefiting Teal Wings of Hope event.
The 60-minute contest featured no shortage of wheel-to-wheel drama, but in the end, it was RAFA Racing Team who stood above the rest in the Silver class, with Random Vandals Racing and ACI Motorsports taking top honors in the Pro-Am and Am categories.
Silver Class
Westin Workman made the most of his pole position at the start, immediately building a gap at the front in the No. 68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO2. Behind him, Trenton Estep moved into second overall and in the Silver class aboard the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.
A full-course yellow 11 minutes into the race brought the field back together, with racing resuming with 40 minutes remaining. This provided an opportunity for Spencer Pumpelly to charge forward in the No. 028 RS1 Porsche to take third following the restart.
The pit window then opened and much of the field headed to pit lane for its mandatory driver changes. As teams returned on track, RAFA Racing Team retained the lead, with Tyler Gonzalez taking over from Workman. ACI Motorsports remained second with Yves Baltas behind the wheel, while Luca Mars took over the RS1 Porsche in third.
Auto Technic Racing’s Kevin Boehm then mounted a charge in the second half of the race with his No. 51 BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO, moving past numerous cars to take second, while Mars continued to hold third under pressure from the cars behind.
Gonzalez remained calm and composed the whole way through his stint, never looking back until the checkered flag waved. The result marked RAFA Racing Team's first Silver class victory since they claimed double wins at the season opener at Sonoma Raceway.
Francis Seldorff and Kevin Boehm brought the No. 51 Auto Technic Racing BMW home second, while championship leaders Spencer Pumpelly and Luca Mars completed the Silver podium for RS1.
“ What a way to keep this championship alive,” exclaimed Tyler Gonzalez. “I know it's a long shot, but we're fighting to the end.I can't thank the RAFA Racing Team enough. They gave us a great car. We did all the hard work last year tuning this thing, and we've been pretty happy with it since the first test session. Westin drove a great stint as well and made my life a lot easier.”
“It feels good to be back on the top step,” added Westin Workman. “Tyler ran a great stint. His out lap was insane. I've learned so much from this guy over this year. Thank you to him for a great stint, and thank you to RAFA Racing Team for a great car. We loaded this thing off the trailer, and it was mad fast, so hopefully we can do the same thing again tomorrow.”
Pro-Am Class
Michael Tosi led the Pro-Am class early in the No. 77 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4, running third overall with two Silver class cars separating him from Sam Craven in the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO.
The race was neutralized with 49 minutes remaining after Allen Patten's No. 39 Dome Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 spun into the gravel following contact from the No. 11 Ford, which was subsequently handed a drive-through penalty.
Tosi stayed out when the rest of the field came to pit lane as the window opened, allowing McCumbee McAleer Racing to retain the class lead when Nolan Allaer took over. Kenton Koch, however, wasted little time applying pressure in the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW before completing the pass for the lead with 27 minutes remaining.
Koch then pulled clear at the front of the Pro-Am field, while Michael Cooper launched a second-half charge in the No. 33 Blackdog Racing McLaren Artura GT4. Cooper moved into third with just over 15 minutes remaining before quickly catching and passing Allaer for second moments later.
Koch and Craven ultimately secured the Pro-Am victory and extended their championship points lead, with Cooper and Tony Gaples taking second for Blackdog Racing. Meanwhile, in the final minutes, Matheus Leist muscled his way onto the final step of the podium, bringing the No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche home third alongside teammate Matt Travis.
“ It was good to bring home a win with Sam again,” said Kenton Koch. “It was a good, fun time today and hopefully we can keep this streak going till the end of the year.”
“I made a bit of a mistake at Road America that cost us a race,” Sam Craven reflected. “The crew built us another great car and we are very, very happy to be back here on the podium. We're gonna get them as often as we can.”
.jpg)
Am Class
Michael Garcia lost the Am class lead at the start in the No. 21 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with Laura Hayes taking command in the No. 37 Dome Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 and moving as high as ninth overall.
Garcia dropped to third in class as Frankie Muniz moved into second in the No. 30 TechSport Racing Ford Mustang GT4. Muniz then challenged Hayes for the lead as the halfway point approached, but contact between the two cars left Muniz with damage and forced him to return to pit lane and retire.
Kris Wilson subsequently moved into the Am class lead aboard the No. 413 Colorado Motorsport with Flying Lizard BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO, with Hayes running second. The pair stayed on track deep into the pit window before making their driver changes with 25 minutes remaining.
The strategy ultimately dropped both cars down the order, allowing Alex Garcia to inherit the Am class lead for ACI Motorsports again with 20 minutes remaining. Garcia built a gap over the remainder of the class, while Lucas Catania moved into second in the No. 17 Rigid Speed Company BMW and Zach Lumsden took third following a spirited battle, bringing the Colorado Motorsport entry back into contention.
Garcia held on to secure the Am class victory for ACI Motorsports, marking a strong comeback performance after the tough break at Road America the round prior. They were joined on the podium by Rigid Speed Company’s Lucas and Joseph Catania in second, and Colorado Motorsport with Flying Lizard’s Kris Wilson and Zach Lumsden in third place.
“ I think the championship fight is still on just because we still believe in it,” expressed Alex Garcia. “Honestly, the team believes in us and know we have the ability to get it done. They give us a great car, a great baseline, and I know I can count on my brother and vice versa with him. We just left it all on the table, we hit our marks. We have a great spotter, a great coach, and we're ready to bring it on.”
“The team is always ready for the next one,” echoed Michael Garcia. “They don't really care about what happened in the past. They just want to move forward, so I think we carry that mindset pretty well.”
Let’s Get Racing
The Pirelli GT4 America field will return to the track for Race 2 on Saturday afternoon, September 26th at 1:35 PM CT.
If you can’t make it to Barber Motorsports Park, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on SRO RaceControl, YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTBHM.