Forty-four Entries Featured Across GT4 Sprint,SprintX at VIR

Forty-four Entries Featured Across GT4 Sprint,SprintX at VIR

Alton, VA. – For the first time this season, both Pirelli GT4 America Sprint and SprintX championships will be in action at the scenic Virginia International Raceway presented by Henry Repeating Arms.

44 cars across Sprint and SprintX competition are scheduled to wage war on the 17-turn, 3.27-mile VIR country course.

The series will feature 10 manufacturers with the Sprint series showcasing a single-driver, 50-min double-header and the SprintX series highlighting a pair of two-driver, 60-min races with pit stops.

Back from the Streets

After kicking off the season on back-to-back street circuits, the Sprint championship has been an all-out war. Spencer Pumpelly and The Racers Group picked up their first win of the year at Long Beach and looking to continue the momentum into VIR.

Ian James will be the only Panoz in the field for Team Panoz Racing, working to keep his streak of podiums alive for the third straight race weekend.

Blackdog Speed Shop is coming to grips on their new McLaren 570s GT4 machines with Michael Cooper driving to a podium finish. As they continue to learn, look for Cooper and Am-entry Tony Gaples to be strong contenders.

Don’t count out fellow McLaren driver Jarrett Andretti driving for Andretti Autosport as well. Mark Klenin will also represent the brand in his KPR entry.

Porsche will be well represented with GMG Racing’s Jason Bell continuing in his newly acquired 718 Cayman GT4 CS MR. He’ll be joined on the grid by Alan Brynjolfsson (Park Place Motorsports), Michael Dinan (Flying Lizard Motorsports), and Thomas Collingwood (BGB Motorsports) for Porsche.

The Robinson Racing duo of Gar Robinson and Shane Lewis bring their thunderous Chevy Camaro GT4s to VIR looking to get back on the podium.

Ford is represented by Ian Lacy Racing with Drew Staveley and Frank Gannett behind the wheel.

Showing great pace without the race results, Marco Polo Motorsports Nicolai Elghanyan looks to bounce back to have a strong finish this weekend.

Greg Palmer and Kelly-Moss/Proton Motorsports will fly the Audi Sport flag driving the Audi R8 LMS GT4 along with Rearden Racing’s Jeff Burton.

Five BMW M4 GT4 machines will compete in the Am category with a two-car effort from Stephen Cameron Racing for Henry Schmidt and Sean Quinlan. Precision Driving Tech’s Marco Radisic will do double-duty racing in both Sprint and SprintX series at VIR. Dimitri Novikov (Rearden Racing) and Chris Ohmacht (Classic BMW) complete the grid.

Double Duty, Double Effort

With the GT4 competition offering a wealth of classes to challenge, many Sprint competitors will be pulling multiple driving stints this weekend, partnered up for SprintX competition. Other dedicated SprintX-only pairs will focus 200% of their efforts on the single co-driven competition.

The Audi presence at the track is undeniable with past champion James Sofronas pairing with CJ Moses in the #04 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 working their way to the forefront of the competitive SprintX field, and veteran Andy Pilgrim and Adam Poland in the #33 Doghouse Performance entry.

Kelly-Moss/Photon Motorsports drivers Eric and Greg Palmer return in their #44 Audi to contest SprintX East Am class while #91 Rearden Racing duo Jeff Burton and Vesko Kozarov take their Laguna Seca podium-winning efforts to the Eastern side of the country to close up the Audi effort.

In the #3 Epic Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, James Clay and Randy Mueller look to continue their climb up the SprintX standings with a team-best Top 10 finish at COTA under their belts. The #16 Auto Technic Racing BMW of John Allen and Kris Wilson also enters the fray of competition looking to improve.

Laguna Seca winners Sean Quinlan and Gregory Liefooghe will search for a repeat performance in their #19 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW, while Precision Driving Tech’s Marko Radisic and Karl Wittmer (#22) fight to improve on their Top-10 finish at St. Petersburg.

Classic BMW’s two entries – the #29 driven by Justin Raphael and Stevan McAleer, and the #92 piloted by Chris Ohmacht and Classic leader Toby Grahovec – round out the BMW-led efforts for the weekend.

Single entries from Ford – the #55 Kohr Motorsports Mustang GT4 with Rich Golinello and Nate Stacy – and Ginetta – Krugspeed’s #27 G55 with Anthony Geraci and Elivan Goulart behind the wheel – hope to illuminate the paths to victory for those manufacturers.

Also flying the solo manufacturer flags in SprintX competition this weekend are McLaren’s entry in the #36 Andretti Autosport 570S GT4 driven by Jarett Andretti and Karl Thomson; Mercedes-AMG performers Matthew Fassnacht and Christian Szymczak in the #34 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 and Panoz in the #51 team effort driven by Ams Preston Calvert and Matt Keegan.

Rounding up the SprintX field is the three-pronged effort from Porsche. With TRG The Racing Group’s Sprint effort taking the top prize at the last round at Long Beach, teammates Sean Gibbons and Derek DeBoer hope to drive the #17 Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR to the same result this weekend. NOLASPORT’s effort doubles its chances as it contests with two cars in the field; the #46 Cayman of Mike Vess and John Capestro-Dubets in the Am category and the #47 Cayman driven by Matt Travis and Jason Hart in the ProAm category.

GT4 classes get their first official track time starting with Sprint practice on Friday at 9:25 a.m. EDT. Qualifying begins Saturday at 8:55 a.m. EDT, with GT4 races starting at 1:05 p.m. EDT later that afternoon.

All Sprint and SprintX rce will be streamed live on gt4-america.com and audio simulcast on SiriusXM satellite radio Ch. 383 (983 on the app). CBS Sports Network coverage for SprintX races at VIR premieres May 11th at 6:00 p.m. EDT with Sprint coverage immediately following at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Check your local listings for additional broadcast time and channel information.

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ENTRY LIST - PDF Link

TIMETABLE - PDF Link