Pirelli GT4 America Field Tops 40 for VIRginia International Raceway

Pirelli GT4 America Field Tops 40 for VIRginia International Raceway
  • RS1 seeking to extend four-race win streak in Silver
  • NOLASPORT holds slim four point lead over Premier Racing in Pro-Am
  • Local VIR favorites BimmerWorld tied with NOLASPORT in Am 
  • Entry List | Timetable | Event Tickets 

Alton, Virginia - The Pirelli GT4 America series continues its 2022 season at VIRginia International Raceway. The Alton, Virginia track is one of the most popular stops on the SRO calendar, and features 3.27 miles of thrilling elevation change, fast straightaways, and tricky corners. GT4 America will see 41 two-driver entries spread across Silver, Pro-Am, and Am take to the tarmac.

One team making their triumphant return to the series at VIR is New York-based KRUGSPEED, who will be fielding the #72 Toyota GR Supra GT4 (Anthony Geraci/Jaden Lander). They’ll face some stiff competition after two race weekends in the books so far this year, including a brand-new addition to SRO: Team ACP - Tangerine Associates, who will run the #152 BMW M4 GT4 (Alex Amine/Ryan Hall).

Teams Look to Follow Up on NOLA and Sonoma Success

RS1 has been on a roll in Silver class since Sonoma, and will look to continue to add more hardware to its trophy case in Virginia. The #18 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Eric Filgueiras/Stevan McAleer) has been on a heck of a run. Though, the NOLA Race 2 second and third place finishers, as well as 2021 VIR winners Smooge Racing with the #68 Toyota GR Supra (Kevin Conway/John Geesbreght) will be hard to shake. Then, with the #112 Dexter Racing Toyota GR Supra (Ryan Dexter/Dominic Starkweather) thrown in, the whole field will definitely be kept honest.

In Pro-Am, the #120 Premier Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer) will look to maintain their weekend podium sweep momentum from New Orleans, but not without a fight from VIR 2021 winners and NOLA Race 2 runner-up NOLASPORT with their #47 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (Scott Noble/Jason Hart), and the hard-charging #82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 (James Walker Jr./Devin Jones). The BMW started 12th in Race 2 at NOLA and finished third - not bad for a new track on the SRO calendar, and it’ll be exciting to see how they contend in the hills of Virginia. 

The Pro-Am class welcomes the #49 Saleen S1 being driven by Steve Saleen and Eric Curran.  The car had previously competed in the Invitational class and is now freshly homologated for the GT4 class.

One team that will be looking to make up for a series of unfortunate results at NOLA is BSport Racing. After sweeping both races at Sonoma in the Pro-Am class, their #15 Aston Martin Vantage AMR (Kenton Koch/Bryan Putt) finished neither Race 1 nor Race 2 in the Big Easy. However, after securing a win at VIR in 2021, they’re well-equipped to return to the top of the podium.

Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Elias Sabo and Andy Lee earned a hard-fought third place in Race 1 at Sonoma driving the #8 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. They’re almost certainly be gunning for a return to the top after finishing mid-pack in Race 1, and dropping out of Race 2 at NOLA.

There’s no shortage of excitement in Am, as the #19 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Alain Stad and Seth Thomas will look to continue their victory momentum. NOLASPORT are also the 2021 VIR victors and have shown immense performance all season long. Still, NOLASPORT will have to be on the lookout for the #888 Zelus Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR (Matt Guiver/Sean Whelan) who barely ever left their rear-view mirror in Race 2 at NOLA, and neither did third place finishers The Racers Group with their #66 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (Jason Alexandridis/Derek DeBoer). 

Three Races Within GT4

Three categories race within the Pirelli GT4 America series. Silver, Pro-Am, and Am. They are differentiated by the drivers and their FIA Driver categories and pairings. Drivers are rated as Bronze - A racer in the early stages of their career, Silver - An accomplished club racer, Gold - a professional racer, and Platinum - The highest level of a professional racer, typically a factory driver. The pairings for the GT4 driver categories are as follows.

Here’s how the points shake out so far among the top 5 of each class this season.

Silver

This class consists of two Silver-level drivers. The current points leaders and NOLA sweepers are RS1 with the #18 (Eric Filgueiras/Stevan McAleer) Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport with 100 points, followed by the Auto Technic Racing with the #51 BMW M4 GT4 driven by Austen Smith and Zack Anderson) with 60 points. Up next, the #34 (Gavin Sanders/Michai Stephens) Mercedes-AMG GT4 has earned Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports 56 points, who are currently sitting third in season championship points, and Dexter Racing’s in fourth with their #112 Toyota GR Supra GT4 driven by Dominic Starkweather and Ryan Dexter. Finally, the #68 (Kevin Conway/John Geesbreght) Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 sits in fifth with 42 points.

Pro-Am

This class consists of one Bronze-level and one Silver-level driver. At the top in championship points are NOLASPORT with their #47 (Scott Noble/Jason Hart) Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport possessing 63 points, followed by the #120 Premier Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport driven by Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer with 60 points. The #15 (Kenton Koch/Bryan Putt) BSport Racing Aston Martin AMG Vantage GT4 claims third with 50 points, and Auto Technic Racing’s holding strong in fourth with 38 points fielding the #51 (Zac Anderson/Austin Smith) and #52 (John Capestro-Dubets/Tom Capizzi) BMW M4 GT4s. GMG Racing rounds out the top five with their #2 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 piloted by Jason Bell and Andrew Davis, holding 26 points.

Am

This class consists of two Bronze-level drivers. So far, season points are looking good for BMW and Porsche. At the top with 69 points is BimmerWorld with their #36 BMW M4 GT4 (James Clay/Charlie Postins). Sitting second also with 68 points, though not as high on the podium, is NOLASPORT, who will run their #7 (Sean Gibbons/Sam Owen) and #19 (Alain Stad/TBA) Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with third going to The Racers Group matching with their Porsche entries, the #17 (Jammes Rappaport/Todd Hetherington) and #66 (Derek DeBoer/Jason Alexandridis) cars. Occupying fourth in season points is the #83 (Nelson Calle/Juan Martinez) RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Holding strong in fifth place, Dexter Racing, will be there with their #60 (Matt Rivard/Ben Anderson) Ginetta G56 GT4, who had a brilliant win in Race 2 at Sonoma back in April.

Be a Part of the Action

Tickets are available online for race day tickets, VIP experience, car corrals, premium parking, and more. Kids 12 and under are admitted for Free!

Can’t make it to the track? Tune in for all of the Pirelli GT4 America action on Saturday and Sunday, June 18th and 19th on the GTWorld YouTube Channel, as well as on GT4 America’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.