When you’re competitive in multiple series, a lot of opportunity rides on your ability to be hunted while keeping your eyes on the prize. Ross Chouest is currently the man for the job in GT4 racing.
Chouest competes in both the GT America powered by AWS series and Pirelli GT4 series in his Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 with Choest Povoledo Racing. At the halfway point in the season, he finds himself in the points lead of the GT4 Class in GT America and fighting from third in the Driver Points Standings alongside his teammate Aaron Povoledo in GT4 America.
Running in two series gives Chouest double the track time each weekend; of course, that comes with double the work as well. At each event he runs four races with two races taking place each Saturday and Sunday. Occasionally, he’s preparing for back-to-back events.
“Anytime any driver can get more track time it is certainly helpful,” said Chouest. “I feel it is really useful to have so much track time going from car to car on the same weekend. Two seasons ago we tried doing both series with only one car and that presented some challenges but now that we have two cars, the only drawback is that it requires more crew.”
While having two Aston Martin Vantages AMR GT4 cars has its benefits in easing the maneuvering between series, Chouest pointed out one major factor in making it work. It is up to the crew and drivers to setup the cars as close as possible to Chouest's benefit. Giving the cars the same setup allows for there to be fewer surprises and for feedback to be consistent. Communication between crew members and communication from the drivers to the crew is key to ensuring the cars are identical.
So far, so good. Chouest has four wins in total along with seven podium appearances across the two series. This included an emotional win in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana and NOLA Motorsports Park- the track his family owns. On his home turf, he welcomed family and friends to watch him race and brought along a very new race fan, daughter Vivian who was born at the start of the race season.
“It was an amazing feeling, and it meant the world to me, although my wife said Vivian slept through most of the races,” Chouest said. “I would like to think she was my good luck charm. It was also great having my parents and friends there. I think it is important for all of us drivers to remember when we were younger, and we could only imagine racing on this level and fast forward to now, and not only doing that but being able to do it successfully at my home track is incredible.”
Chouest will ease himself back into racing after a summer hiatus. The GT America series takes on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee for the Music City Grand Prix. With only one series to focus on his workload is cut in half but a street course will keep you on your toes.
“Street courses are always tricky,” Chouest said. “Even though I had some success in St. Pete there were several close calls. After one of the practice sessions, my passenger side mirror was folded in from grazing the concrete. In the race, the same thing happened so there is danger around every corner in a street race, but that is what makes it challenging for everyone. I enjoy the street races, but I am glad we only have two on the calendar.”
The Music City Grand Prix weekend takes place Aug. 4-6. The series is joined by the Toyota GR Cup North America and NTT INDYCAR series. Tickets are on sale and will be available on-site. For those watching from home, you can watch the live stream by subscribing to the GT World YouTube page. The collective SRO Motorsports America rejoins at Road America Aug. 18-20.