The sweltering Virginia heat added to the intensity of Saturday morning’s Pirelli GT4 America qualifying session, as the drivers set off in search of every opportunity to find extra speed over their competitors.
The two back-to-back fifteen-minute sessions around the unforgiving track gave drivers little to no room for error, but the field rose to the occasion as Qualifying One and Two ran uninterrupted.
Silver Class
For the first qualifying session, Zac Anderson made a quick move to the top of the leaderboard in his No. 51 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4, but he has some stiff competition as Kevin Boehm was in hot pursuit in the No. 92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4. As more teams began to put their best foot forward, it was anyone’s guess as to who would emerge on top.
As the final minutes ticked away, it was Parker Thompson who powered above the rest to clinch pole position in the No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO. Anderson will be lining up second on the grid with Auto Technic Racing for Race One later this afternoon, followed by the No. 88 STR38 Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 of Harry Gottsacker. The final spots in the Top 5 were claimed by Boehm in fourth, with Jesse Webb taking fifth in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.
It was a stellar qualifying session for Hanley Motorsports, as Race Two will also see the team’s No. 999 car making a return to pole position. Meanwhile, the remaining sports in the Top 5 were a toss up, with Kenton Koch and Random Vandals Racing moving up into second position on the grid, followed by JCD Dubets starting from third in No. 51 Auto Technic Racing car, with Michai Stephens sitting right behind in fourth, accompanied by the No. 19 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Francis Selldorff and Andrew Davis in fifth.
PRO-AM Class
The No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 of James Walker Jr. was consistently lingering in the pointier end of the leaderboard in the practice sessions, and the same held true in qualifying as they secured pole position for Race One. They were accompanied by Johan Schwartz in second place in the No. 44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M4 GT4, with the No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Matt Travis making a return into the Top 3.
It was a diversified mix of manufacturers as the No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 secured fourth place with Gray Newell, and Kevin Conway took the final spot in the Top 5 in his No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO.
It is Tyler McQuarrie who will be leading the pack for Race Two, securing back-to-back pole positions for the team in the No. 82 car, as well as setting the fourth-quickest qualifying time overall in the Driver Two session. Jason Hart promoted his No. 47 NOLASPORT machine to second on the grid for Race Two, with John Geesbreght giving Smooge Racing a big boost up into third.
Aaron Povoledo will be lining up in fourth in the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, withRoman DeAngelis scooping up another Top 5 start for Heart of Racing Team.
AM Class
Charlie Postins only had eyes for the top spot on the leaderboard as he laid down the fastest time class in his No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW G82 M4 GT4 ahead of Race One, in addition to setting the seventh-fastest time overall. BMW proved to be the manufacturer to beat in the AM class, with the No. 253 Auto Technic Racing BMW G82 M4 GT4 of Satakal Khalsa and the No. 438 STR38 Motorsports BMW G82 M4 GT4 of Robert Mau securing second and third. They were also accompanied by Paul Sparta in fourth in the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW G82 M4 GT4.
Rianna O'Meara-Hunt was in hot pursuit and brought her No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 across the line to secure fifth on the grid.
The No. 36 BimmerWorld beast returned to the top spot in Qualifying Two as well, this time with James Clay behind the wheel of the mighty machine. Juan Pablo Martinez solidified a second place start for the No. 83 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, followed by Chris Allen in the No. 438 STR38 Motorsports BMW G82 M4 GT4 and Jon Branam in the No. 77 TR3 Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. The final spot in the Top 5 belongs to Brady Behrman and Coby Shield in the No. 428 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
LET’S GO
The series will be back on track for Race One at 5:00 p.m ET, followed by Race Two on Sunday at 10:55 a.m ET. Fans can follow progression with Griiip Live, live timing. The studio makes it easy to follow class battles, lap times, and pit strategy for the five SRO America series. Stream the races live on the YouTube page, GT World or join the conversation on Twitch with Daniel Gilligan.