- Anderson and Dubets Continue Their Winning Ways in Silver
- Conway and Geesbreght Masterful in PRO-AM Class
- Allen and Mau Grab Maiden Win in AM Class
- Results
Last, but certainly not least, the Pirelli GT4 America field made their way to the grid for their first race of the weekend, which also concluded the Saturday action at Circuit Of The Americas. The race can be described as an utter whirlwind from start to finish, with daring overtakes taking places across all corners of the 20-turn track.
Circuit of the Americas took no prisoners, with the hour-long race putting all 32 teams to the ultimate test as they fought for their shot at glory in Race One.
Silver Class
As the green flag waved and the grid went on its way, the winning No. 51 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Zac Anderson pulled off the overtake on pole sitter Tyler Maxson in the No. 74 Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO to move up into the lead.
Strategy and traffic had Anderson hand off the BMW to co-driver JC Dubets with just under half an hour left to go, who was then able to return to the track in the lead which he would keep through the checkered flag. Dubets accumulated a 10 second lead over Chandler Hull in the No. 88 BMW with 10 minutes on the clock, but the battle was ramping for the second spot on the podium.
Michai Stephens and Hull battled wheel to wheel, with the two going to-and-fro throughout multiple corners before Stephens was able to make the overtake stick and move his No. 34 Conquest Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 into second. The action allowed Tyler Gonzalez and Kenton Koch to catch up and play some games of their own. Stephens brought home second, and Hull in the No. 88 STR38 Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 stepping onto the final step on the podium.
PRO-AM Class
The No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO of Kevin Conway and John Geesbreght took home the win after surviving a wild Race One. Geesbregth sat in third ready to take home a podium position when the No. 44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M4 GT4 and No. 47 NolaSport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport came in contact. The incident didn’t end anyone’s race but it slowed the two potential winners down enough for the No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO to come home victorious in Race One.
The No. 44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Collin Garrett and Johan Schwartz took home a second-place finish after settling into place following the aforementioned contact. The No. 47 NolaSport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport finished the day third. The collision between the two could have made the situation dire for either team, but both were able to keep their cars facing forward and pursued onwards to the finish line.
AM Class
Charlie Postins drove a very clean race on board the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4, with the No. 253 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Satakal Khalsa gradually moving up the grid and inching closer and closer. The two opted to run longer stints, which made things incredibly interesting once the co-drivers took over for the second half of the race.
The AM Class served up one of the most nail-biting battles of the race, with James Clay, Rob Walker, and Chris Allen running three-wide through corners and down the main straightaway, each switching between offensive and defensive approaches as they tackled the ebbs and flows. A slight bobble from the No. 253 BMW allowed Allen to move up into second place, and from there he only had his sights set on the win.
Allen crossed the finish line to pick up the win for the STR38 Motorsports crew, marking his and Robert Mau’s first win in the series. James Clay and Charlie Postins finished in second, with Rob Walker and Satakal Khalsa coming in third. Let’s Get Racing
Race 2 in the GT4 America Championship will take place Sunday morning at 10:50am CT.
If you can’t make it to COTA, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports). Of course, follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTCOTA.