James Looks to Take GT4 Sprint America Championship Stranglehold at Road America

James Looks to Take GT4 Sprint America Championship Stranglehold at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, WI – Pirelli GT4 Sprint America championship points leader Ian James will look to strike a decisive blow against his main challengers Michael Cooper and Spencer Pumpelly as the series heads to Road America, Wisconsin's National Park of Speed, for Rounds 12 and 13, September 20-22. Presented by Window World, a 19-car field will compete in the penultimate race weekend of the 2019 season at the challenging 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course.

Can Pumpelly and Cooper Strike Back at Road America?

Just two weeks ago, pro division championship hopefuls Cooper and Pumpelly entered the Watkins Glen weekend trailing the championship points leader James by only three and eight points respectively. By Sunday evening, both competitors limped out of Watkins Glen having fallen behind James by 22 and 19 points respectively. While James, in the #50 Team Panoz Racing Panoz Avezzano GT4 won Round 10 in upstate New York, his main challengers had relatively disappointing weekends with neither driver finishing in the top 3 in either race. Pumpelly will drive the #66 TRG - The Racers Group Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR while Cooper hopes to have better results at his team's home track behind the wheel of the #10 Blackdog Speed Shop McLaren 570S GT4. Blackdog Speed Shop in Lincolnshire, Illinois sits only 100 miles south of Road America. While Cooper chases James for the driver’s championship, his efforts have helped McLaren maintain a six-point lead over Panoz in the GT4 manufacturer’s championship standings.

Gar Robinson in the #74 Robinson Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4 had a good Watkins Glen finishing third in both races and comes into the weekend with 119 points, fourth in the championship standings. Jared Andretti continued his impressive 2019 season at Watkins Glen. Having been promoted from the Am division earlier in the season, he won his first pro division race of 2019 at Watkins Glen. He'll drive the #18 Andretti Autosport McLaren 570S GT4. Also running in the pro division is Shane Lewis in the #72 Robinson Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4 and Stevan McAleer in the #26 Classic BMW BMW M4 GT4.

Staveley Looks to Lockup Am Division Championship

In the Am Division, Drew Staveley continued his impressive season with a win and a second at Watkins Glen and comes into the weekend leading the class championship with 177 points, 63 points ahead of second place Alan Brynjolfsson. Staveley will drive the #12 Ian Lacy Racing Ford Mustang GT4, while Brynjolfsson will drive the #7 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR.
Blackdog Speed Shop team principle Tony Gaples will look to use his home track knowledge behind the wheel of his #11 Blackdog Speed Shop McLaren 570S GT4. Another local favorite Wisconsin native Jeff Courtney will look to continue his hot streak coming out of Watkins Glen, he won Round 11 and finished second in Round 10. He will drive the #99 JCR Motorsports Maserati Grand Turismo MC GT4.

Precision Driving Tech's Marko Radisic will run the #22 BMW M4 GT4 in hopes of bettering his fifth place standings. Kelly-Moss/Photon Motorsports out of nearby Madison, Wisconsin brings their #44 Audi R8 LMS GT4 for driver Greg Palmer.

KPR's Mark Klenin sits sixth in the championship standings and will pilot the #62 McLaren 570S GT4, while Sean Quinlan sits eighth and will drive the #19 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4. 

Series veterans GMG Racing bring their #2 Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR for Jason Bell – he sits ninth in the standings.

Completing the 19-car Sprint field for Road America are Frank Gannett in the #24 Ian Lacy Racing Ford Mustang GT4, Michael McCann Jr. in the #82 McCann Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4, Kevan Millstein in the #83 K2R Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR, Thomas Collingwood in the #169 BGB Motorsports Group Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR, and Michael Dinan, in the #210 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR.

GT4 America Sprint drivers get their first official track time starting with practice #1 on Friday, September 20 at 10:10 am Central. Qualifying begins Saturday, September 21 at 9:20 am local time, with the first Sprint race set for a green flag start later that day at 1pm local time.

All Sprint races will be streamed live on gt4-america.com and via audio simulcast on SiriusXM satellite radio Ch. 385 (980 on the web stream). CBS Sports Network coverage for Sprint races at Road America airs October 6 at 3pm EST. Check your local listings for additional broadcast time and channel information.

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Pirelli GT4 America Sprint ENTRY LIST - PDF LINK

Event Timetable – PDF LINK

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