RS1 Wins Race 1, First Pro-Am Victory for Heart of Racing and BimmerWorld Sit Atop the Am Podium

RS1 Wins Race 1, First Pro-Am Victory for Heart of Racing and BimmerWorld Sit Atop the Am Podium
  • RS1 Porsche Dominates the Silver Class from start to finish for sixth win of the season
  • The Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin claims their first Pro-Am victory
  • BimmerWorld BMW victorious for fifth time this year in AM
  • Provisional Results

Watkins Glen, New York -  The Pirelli GT4 America concluded Saturday’s on-track activities with Race 1 at Watkins Glen International. The air was extremely hot, but the action on track was even hotter, with intense, nail-biting racing taking place throughout the field.  

Stevan McAleer not only claimed the overall and Silver class win with teammate Eric Filgueiras, he also claimed the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap award by laying down an impressive 1:55.868.

Silver

The #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport built up a slim lead over its main rivals at the start of the race. During the mandatory 76-second driver change pit stop, Stevan McAleer took over from Eric Filgueiras and looked to extend their lead. However, a full course yellow caused RS1 to lose that 8-second lead. In the end, the RS1 drivers were able to control their competitors, winning by 2.682 seconds over the #34 Conquest Racing/MF Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT4 driven by Canadian Gavin Sanders and American Michai Stephens.

“We were very careful with the tires being 95 degrees here,” claimed Stevan McAleer in a post-race interview. “Eric did a massive job again, he got away from the pack, and we had a really good pit stop that helped us add more time on the other cars. RS1 gave us a great Porsche. I knew on the restart that I probably would've had to fight a couple of cars going into the bus stop but once we were through there, I was pretty confident we could get away and we did.”

Eric Filgueiras echoed his teammate's thoughts, “It was not an easy win, and in fact, the weekend started off pretty problematic. We had a red flag in practice one, wet weather conditions in practice two, and we had a transmission failure. The team worked all night to replace the transmission and get us up and running. Starting the race, my objective was to get away and to give Steven a car that he could fight with and race with so that's what was important to me. We are really happy.”

In the early stages of the race, the #34 machine had to defend against a Pro-Am class car before settling into second place and maintaining its overall and class position.

The #68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 (Kevin Conway/John Geesbrecht) finished third, 3.644 seconds behind the winners. The #112 Dexter Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 (Dominic Starkweather /Ryan Dexter) followed in fourth, while the #51 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (Zac Anderson/Austen Smith) completed the top five. 

Pro-Am

The Pro-Am class stole the show for a good portion of this hour-long race. Tom Capizzi in the #52 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 that he shares with John Capestro-Dubets led in the early stages of the race, building up a gap of almost seven seconds after the first 15 minutes.

However, the end of the race saw many twists and turns. In an intense battle for the lead, John Capestro-Dubets and Billy Johnson (#124 ARG/Rotex Racing Ford Mustang GT4) made contact, forcing both drivers to pit.

The #24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (Ian James/Gray Newell) managed to hold off the threat of the #120 Premier Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport (Elliott Skeer/Adam Adelson), which gained no less than ten positions from the start of the race.

The top three crossed the finish line separated by just 0.8 seconds, with third place going to the #8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (Elias Sabo/Andy Lee). 

“My race was made by Gray’s great start. He put me in a good position to bring this one home,” said Ian James down on pit road. “They were catching me at the end there and I knew where it was quicker to defend them while also trying to look after the tires. In the last couple laps I got some breathing space, but what a great feeling to come here and win at Watkins Glen.”

“I was lucky enough to have this track be my first win last year, that was so special,” added his teammate Gray Newell. “Coming back and being able to do it again, it's just amazing, it is a real validation of the hard work we've been doing. I just tried to keep it tight and clean during the race and pass it off to this guy, there's nobody I trust more than him to get it done.” 

Am

BimmerWorld came out victorious in the Am class, again! The #36 BMW M4 GT4 driven by James Clay and Charlie Postins won by an impressive 7 second gap. Postins dominated the early part of the race, even competing with some Silver class drivers at the front of the field. James Clay completed the team's work by crossing the finish line as the winner ahead of the #72 KRUGSPEED Toyota GR Supra GT4 (Anthony Geraci/Jaden Lander). They narrowly edged out the #53 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (Rob Walker/Alex Filsinger) who secured the final podium position. 

“I think we certainly did well in a BMW today,” said James Clay while actively searching for his teammate who appeared to be MIA from the podium area. “I think this course suits the BMW more than other tracks we've been too. The BimmerWorld guys gave us a great car and Charlie did an awesome opening stint. He's not here so I have to give a ‘hip hip cheerio’ from my buddy!” 

Race 2 starts at 11:10 AM ET on Sunday July 24.  

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, July 23rd and 24th, on the GTWorld YouTube Channel, as well as on GT4 America’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.