ALTON, VA – Anxious to get back on the track after a four-month layoff due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, Rearden Racing will have a strong stable of GT4 sports cars in action this weekend in the SRO Pirelli GT4 America Tripleheader set for July 10-12 at the popular VIRginia International Raceway.
The Utah-based sports car organization brings four GT4 machines to battle on the high-speed 3.27-mile, 14-turn VIR road course in a busy three-race weekend in the GT4 Sprint and SprintX classes with five drivers vying for the top of the podium in the main events set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
In the GT4 Sprint division, Paul Terry of Fillmore, Utah, made a sensational Pirelli GT4 America racing debut at COTA last March in the SRO America season opener for Rearden Racing with a win and a runner-up finish in two 50-minute Sprint Am races at the wheel of the No. 59 Paul Terry Trucking/Rearden Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 sports car. He also won a pole position during the COTA weekend. Now, Terry seeks another GT4 Sprint Am victory at VIR.
Joining Terry in the Rearden Racing GT4 Sprint lineup at VIR will be 2018 GT4 SprintX West Am champion Jeff Burton of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the No. 91 Burton Lumber/Rearden Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 after recording fourth in both GT4 Sprint Am events at COTA in March.
Burton has had success at VIR in the past including impressive double race victories last year in the GT4 SprintX Am category with Vesko Kozarov.
“It was a great weekend at COTA for Paul and the Rearden Racing team to see him back on the top of the podium,” said Lara Tallman, Rearden Racing team owner. “He had success with our team in the Touring Car class for several years. We felt he would be very competitive at COTA. It was a super way for us to begin the 2020 Pirelli GT4 America series. I believe we’ll see Paul in the winner’s circle again this season and hopefully this weekend at VIR. Jeff has a new Aston Martin Vantage as well for the GT4 Sprint competition. He has been running well with the new car.
“Overall, we, at Rearden Racing, are very happy to be back at the track this week after the long layoff. With some of the make-up events, the VIR schedule is extremely busy. We’ll have four cars competing each day. It’s not an easy weekend for our Rearden Racing crew. But we hope to be in the front of the fields in each race.”
In the GT4 SprintX Pro/Am class, Burton and Kozarov, the 2018 TC America series champion, team up again in the No. 91 Burton Lumber/Rearden Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in effort to repeat the performance of last year when the duo collected the GT4 SprintX West Am series. The pair won races this year at seven different Pirelli GT4 America road courses including VIR, Circuit of the Americas (COTA). WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway, Portland International Raceway, Watkins Glen International and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
In addition to winning the Pirelli GT4 America SprintX West Am title, Rearden Racing also captured the Purple Monkey Garage Business Mechanics Award in 2019.
“VIR is so challenging, high speed but extremely rewarding if driven aggressively,” said Burton. “We have had success there with two wins last year and that helped us in winning the GT4 SprintX West Am title. If I drive those technical corners at VIR properly and with the right setup, it will be rewarding. I’m looking forward to a busy three-race weekend.”
In addition to the Burton/Kozarov pairing for Rearden Racing in GT4 SprintX action, the duo of John Allen and Kris Wilson in the No. 16 Rearden Racing Mercedes-AM GT4 in the three GT4 SprintX Am 60-minute, two-driver events scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Qualifying for GT4 SprintX is set for Friday at 11:20 a.m. EDT. The three GT4 SprintX features are scheduled for Friday at 4:30 p.m. EDT, Saturday at 3:45 p.m. EDT and Sunday at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The make-up Pirelli GT4 Sprint round on Friday gets underway at 1:05 p.m. EDT with the regular doubleheader GT4 events set for Saturday at 9:25 a.m. EDT and Sunday at 3:45 p.m. EDT.
All three GT4 Sprint and SprintX races can be seen live viewed at YouTube.com/GTWorld as well as at gt4-america.com.