The Nissan Z NISMO GT4 teams competing in the Pirelli GT4 America series have a new challenge for the third race weekend of the season. While the traditional GT4 weekend is a pair of one-hour races, the Circuit of the Americas will have a single three-hour race on Saturday. This will add a new level of race and pit strategy for the teams.
Two weeks ago Sebring, Florida was a breakthrough weekend for the Nissan Z NISMO GT program, with the four Nissan teams scoring pole positions, fast laps and the first class win for the car. The Blackdog Speed Shop earned their place in Nissan history with the first win.
“That first win was great, but now we need to continue the momentum and this three-hour race will be a great opportunity for us to shine at the amazing Circuit of the Americas,” said Mike Carcamo, program director, Sports Cars, NISMO Cars and Motorsports, Nissan Motor Corporation.
For 2024, the two-car TechSport Racing Team has been joined by single car entries from the Blackdog Speed Shop and Flying Lizard Motorsports, giving Nissan three teams with championship pedigrees.
Under the TechSport Racing tent, Colin Harrison will team up with Eric Powell in the #22 while Michai Stephens partners with Jonathan Neudorf in the #23.
The Blackdog Speed Shop will field the #9 Z for Tony Gaples, with Michael Cooper returning to the team.
The #5 Flying Lizard Motorsports Z will be wheeled by Canadian Damir Hot with Brazilian Rodrigo Baptista joining the team for the first time.
Nissan will kick off the Texas weekend with an informal NISMO Z tech talk for the local Society of Automotive Engineers section, local Z owners clubs and special guests at City Limits Nissan on Thursday, May 16th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
The Pirelli GT4 America weekend schedule will be as follows:
Friday, May 17th
8:00 am – 8:30 am GT4 Bronze Test Session
12:05 pm – 12:55 pm GT4 Practice Session #1
5:10 pm – 6:00 pm GT4 Practice Session #2
Saturday, May 18th
10:20 am – 10:35 am GT4 Qualifying
11:45 am – 12:30 pm GT4 Drivers Autograph Session
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Nissan Drivers to visit Nissan Owners Corral
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Nissan Drivers to visit Nissan Activation Zone
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm GT4 Race
There will also be a Nissan only car corral at the track on Saturday.
COTA race tickets start at under $20, with kids 12 and under admitted free with a paid adult.
Upcoming races
The 2024 Pirelli GT4 America championship consists of seven double-header weekends at some of the most challenging racetracks in North America. After Austin, Texas the series goes on to:
Virginia International Raceway (Alton, VA) – July 19-21
Road America (Elkhart Lake, WI) – August 16-18
Barber Motorsports Park (Birmingham, AL) – September 6-8
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Speedway, IN) – October 4-6
The Pirelli GT4 America championship is for privateer teams racing with homologated race cars. There are no factory teams.
All Pirelli GT4 America races are broadcast live and archived on the SRO Motorsports GTWorld YouTube channel.