RS1, Auto Technic, and BimmerWorld Sit Atop the Podium in Race 1 at VIR

RS1, Auto Technic, and BimmerWorld Sit Atop the Podium in Race 1 at VIR
  • RS1 continues their sweep in Silver, now five for five
  • Pro-Am sees Auto Technic Racing on top
  • BimmerWorld wins their second race of the year in Am
  • Provisional Results

Alton, Virginia - The Pirelli GT4 America championship kicked off the first of two races at VIRginia International Raceway this weekend. The 36-car field was off to a rough start with a first lap incident in Turn 3 that led to a lengthy caution, followed by a red flag to repair barrier damage.

As the race restarted under yellow around the 30-minute mark, teams’ strategies were challenging just a few laps before the pit lane window opened. Many racers higher up in contention pitted right away, while others stayed out trying to capitalize on their track position. After briefly going green, another local yellow caused by a disabled car turned into a full-course yellow moments later and only complicated things further.

With limited green flag laps, another incident led to the race finishing under a full-course caution. Hopefully, tomorrow’s Race 2 will trade today’s yellow and red flags for uninterrupted green flag action.

Silver

The #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport driven by Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer continued their sweep with a fifth-straight win. “It’s been pretty fantastic,” McAleer said of RS1’s solid record so far in 2022. “I definitely want to thank Tom at Community Beer Works for the support he’s put in. That’s five wins! We didn’t get the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap, but RS1 gave us a great car and we managed to maintain the gap on the restart. We’re excited for tomorrow, we’ll see if we can do this again.”

Finishing right behind the #18 was the #2 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 (Gavin Sanders/Michai Stephens) who finished third in Race 2 at NOLA, followed by the #32 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 (Chris Wilson/Cole Ciraulo) in third.

Pro-Am

The #52 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (Tom Capizzi/John Capestro-Dubets) secured the Pro-Am win after qualifying at the top of the class, a task that was by no means easy. “Oh man, the reward, I can’t even explain in words how this feels right now,” Capestro-Dubets said. “We had a lot of great drivers coming for it, and we just had to stay up front. Honestly, with the heat through practice, we didn’t think we’d be up here today. When the weather played back into our hand and the car started working again, smiles were on our face, and we took it to the front and did everything we could to stay.”

The CrowdStrike Fastest Lap went to and Andy Lee in the #8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 with a 1:54.727

After having trouble finding pace earlier this year, the #124 ARG/Rotek Racing Ford Mustang GT4 (Edgar Lau/Mike Skeen) jumped ahead several spots from their 11th place starting position on Lap 1, which after fighting strong all-race-long ended up with an excellent second-place finish for their first ever series podium. Third went to NOLA Race 1 and 2 winners Premier Racing with their #120 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer).

KRUGSPEED’s return to SRO with their #72 Toyota GR Supra GT4 (Anthony Geraci/Jayden Lander) didn’t see a major shift in position, having finished eighth. However, next month at Watkins Glen International might bode well for the New York State natives. This race marked the introduction of the #49 Team Saleen S1 (Steve Saleen/Eric Curran) into the Pro-Am field, having previously competed in the Invitational class. 

Am

The #36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 (Clay/Postins) claimed its second win of the year after qualifying P1 at their home track. “Really, I think this is about this being a home race,” Clay said when asked what made their win so special. “BimmerWorld is located about two-and-a-half hours away, we have the whole BimmerWorld family here, a bunch of our coworkers, and to me it’s about winning the home race and it’s been fantastic to do so today.”

The #19 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (Alain Stad/Seth Thomas) earned a second place finish after winning Race 2 at NOLA, while the #83 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (Nelson Calle/Juan Martinez) finished in third. The #83 car saw a massive improvement over its fifth place finish in Race 2 at NOLA, despite this race’s challenging strategies and lengthy yellow flags.

Race 2 starts at 10:55 AM Eastern on Sunday.

Be a Part of the Action

The weekend schedule, timing, and scoring is available at GT4-America.com.

Tickets are available online for race day tickets, VIP experience, car corrals, premium parking, and more.

Can’t make it to the track? Tune in for all of the Pirelli GT4 America on the GTWorld YouTube Channel, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.