Pirelli GT4 America Takes it to the Streets of Long Beach
21 entries make up the third round of the national Sprint Championship presented by AWS
Sprint competitors will once again take to the streets as the series moves from St. Petersburg, Florida, to the Pacific shoreline for the Pirelli GT4 America Streets of Long Beach Presented by Amazon Web Services on April 12th to 14th.
The 1.97-mile temporary street circuit features 11 turns along the Long Beach shoreline and will be the stage for several race series including the headlining IndyCar series. Sprint GT4 drivers will once again tackle a challenging street course as a field of twenty-one Pro and Am drivers representing sixteen teams and nine manufacturers take the course for a single round of competition on Sunday.
Pros from Six Teams Battle for PGT4A Sprint Trophy
Blackdog Speed Shop's Michael Cooper, driving the #10 McLaren 570S GT4, is no stranger to the circuit, having driven GT3 machinery on the course in World Challenge and looks to advance his 7th place points standing with a finish on the top step of the podium.
Ian James, driving the #50 Team Panoz Racing Panoz Avezzano GT4, seeks to extend his first place Driver points standing heading into the single-race weekend as well as further extending Team Panoz Racing's first-lead in Sprint competition.
Spencer Pumpelly also returns with previous experience on the course, having competed in GT4 machinery at last year's invitational, and hopes to use that experience to his benefit as he negotiates the course behind the wheel of the #66 TRG The Racers Group Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR.
Southern California racer Nicolai Elghanayan will challenge the more-seasoned pros in the #71 MarcoPolo Motorsports KTM X-Bow to rebound from a tough season opener to capture crucial championship points for himself and KTM.
The only pro teammates, Shane Lewis and Gar Robinson driving for Robinson Racing, will field the #72 and #74 Chevrolet Camaro GT4 machines respectively and bring their own previous experience and history with the circuit to bat as they contend this weekend's race.
CRP Racing will field its GT4 entry in the Pro category with Australian Matt Brabham driving the #20 Porsche Cayman CS MR GT4.
GT4 Ams Invade the Pacific Shoreline
GMG Racing's Jason Bell, driving the #2 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS MR, will look to acclimate himself to the new machinery as he contests another challenging street course in Sprint Am competition. GMG Racing teammate CJ Moses, driving the #04 Audi R8 LMS GT4, will look to further the team's presence in the Sprint standings.
Alan Brynjolfsson, driving the #7 Park PLace Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR, will come off a class win and strong performance at the previous St. Petersburg rounds and contest for a spot on the podium.
Blackdog Speed Shop Am representation will be handled by Tony Gaples in the #11 McLaren 570S GT4, as the team continues to find its way around new McLaren machinery.
Drew Staveley will make his 2019 Sprint premiere for Ian Lacy Racing, driving the #12 Ford Mustang GT4 with teammate Frank Gannett piloting the #24 Ford Mustang GT4.
GMG Racing principal James Sofronas, who has won in the past at Long Beach in GT3 machinery, will aim for a similar performance in the #14 Audi R8 LMS GT4 on race weekend.
Andretti Autosport namesake Jarrett Andretti will drive the #18 McLaren 570S GT4 and look to climb the driver points ladder from his 10th place berth going into the weekend.
Michael Dinan will continue his Sprint campaign in the #21 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS MR.
Eighth-seed driver Marco Radisic will look to add his #22 Precision Driving Tech BMW M4 GT4 to the list of winners at the storied street circuit.
Switching gears from a SprintX stint at Laguna Seca, ST Racing driver Samantha Tan will take the wheel from green to checkered in her first Sprint appearance for the year in the #38 BMW M4 GT4.
Team Panoz driver Matt Keegan makes his Sprint season debut behind the wheel of the #51 Panoz Avezzano and represents the team's amateur effort for the weekend.
Mark Klenin will once again take the wheel of the #62 KPR McLaren 570S GT4 in his Sprint campaign effort.
Finally, no stranger to the streets of Long Beach, Bob Michaelian will drive the #54 Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1 after a first-in-class performance at last year's Long Beach GT4 Invitational.
Celebrations for the weekend begin Wednesday, April 10th with the annual Roar on the Shore, followed by the Thursday Thunder celebration on the 11th.
Official practice sessions get underway Friday April 12th at 3:30 pm PDT and Saturday, April 13th at 10:00 am PDT, with the Qualifying session on Saturday at 10:45 am PDT. Sunday's 50-minute Round 3 competition goes green-flag at 10:00am PDT.
Check www.GT4-America.com for live timing and scoring, livestream, and television broadcast schedules.
_____
Entry List - https://bit.ly/2OQukfC
Event Timetable - https://bit.ly/2D2wC6B
___
Social Media
Event Hashtag: #GTLBGP
Twitter : @sroamerica #gt4america
Facebook : GT4America
Instagram : @sroamerica #gt4america