Foley, Dinan Dominant in Home Win for Flying Lizard Motorsports at Sonoma Raceway

Foley, Dinan Dominant in Home Win for Flying Lizard Motorsports at Sonoma Raceway

SONOMA, CA - The Flying Lizard Motorsports duo of Michael Dinan and Robby Foley scored a dominant, flag-to-flag Pirelli GT4 America Pro/Am SprintX win at Sonoma Raceway Sunday morning. NOLASPORT's Matt Travis and Jason Hart finished second, while Bsport Racing's Bryan Putt and Kenton Koch finished third.

CCR Team TFB's Tim Barber and Cole Ciraulo won in the Silver division, while NOLASPORT's Sean Gibbons and Zac Anderson won the Am division race.

The 60-minute contest was held under sunny, 71-degree Fahrenheit weather conditions at the 2.5 mile, 12-turn natural terrain circuit in Northern California.

From pole, Foley, in the #21 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, launched successfully into the lead over Koch, in the #15 Bsport Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Am category driver Kris Wilson in the Rearden Racing #16 Mercedes AMG GT4 slotted into third overall and first in class, while GMG Racing's Andrew Davis piloting the #2 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 slotted into fourth overall and third in Pro/Am. 

While Foley built a 1.4-second lead over Koch by lap 9, behind them Wilson had moved around Bell into third overall and first in Am, while Hart in the #47 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 held onto fifth overall and fourth in Pro/Am. Dexter Racing's Cody Ware in the #63 Ginetta G55 GT4 slotted into 12th overall and first in the Silver division.

At the 25-minute mark of the race the pit window opened and of the leaders Ware was the first into the pits to changeover to teammate Ryan Dexter. Foley, Koch, Wilson, Davis, and Hart all entered near the end of the window for driver changeovers. Pro/Am driver Jen Heylen in the #37 RS1 Porsche Cayman CS MR RS1 was the last into the pits to changeover to teammate Charlie Belluardo.

At the end of the window, Dinan and the #21 machine remained in the lead, ahead of Putt now in the #15 machine, and Belluardo. Allen, now behind the wheel of the #16 machine slotted into fifth overall and first in Am. 

By lap 19, Dinan grew his lead by seven seconds over Putt, and Belluardo. Allen fell to 6th overall still first in Am, while Dexter slotted into 12th overall and first in Silver.

On lap 21, Gibbons, in the #7 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4s moved around Allen and into the lead of the Am class, while Travis now in the #47 machine closed on Belluardo and executed a pass for position on lap 22. On a charge, Travis then moved into third around Andrew Bell who had taken over for Davis (#2 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4) through turn 7.

With Dinan pulling away from the field and up to a 19-second lead in the late stages of the race, the action behind him was heated as Travis closed on Putt, while Barber, in the #25 BMW M4 GT4, engaged Dexter for the lead in Silver. On lap 28, Barber took over the Silver division lead getting around Dexter through turns 4 and 5. Then on the white flag lap Travis passed for second while a heated door-to-door battle continued between Barber and Dexter with the driver of the #25 machine deftly defending challenges from the driver of the #63 machine. At the checkered, Dinan won by over 21 seconds, Travis crossed ahead of Putt by 1.7 seconds. Barber crossed ahead of Dexter by .920 seconds, while Gibbons won in Am. ST Racing's Harry Gottsacker teamed with Nick Wittmer finished third in the Silver division in their #28 BMW M4 GT4s. Allen and Wilson finished second in Am, while the TRG LaSalle Solutions #17 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 driven by Derek DeBoer and James Rappaport finished third in class.

"Robby did an incredible job in his stint, he opened a big gap for me," said Dinan. "It was all about putting in consistent laps, not making any mistakes and staying calm in my head. Super happy to get a win here, it's Flying Lizards home track."

"Traffic didn't help me yesterday, traffic helped me today to catch up to the Ginetta," said Barber. "Sometimes luck just goes your way."

"It's my first visit here and to come away with the win is great," said Gibbons. "The Porsche that NOLASPORT gave us was so good. 

Results are provisional until posted final. SprintX competitors now look ahead to August 28-30 and the next rounds of the SprintX championship at Road America.

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PROVISIONAL RESULTS - PDF Link