Smooge Racing, ACI Motorsports, and Random Vandals Racing Light Up COTA in Practice 2

Smooge Racing, ACI Motorsports, and Random Vandals Racing Light Up COTA in Practice 2
  • Smooge Racing Speeds into First Overall 
  • ACI Motorsports Rapid in Pro-Am
  • Random Vandals Racing On Top in Am Class
  • Unofficial Results

Friday’s on-track action at Circuit of The Americas came to a close following Practice 2 in Pirelli GT4 America. The 50-minute session provided teams and drivers with one final opportunity to experiment with their machinery before tackling Qualifying on Saturday morning, which will set the grid for the Lone Star Enduro race. 

Smooge Racing’s Tyler Gonzalez posted the fastest lap in the Silver class with a time of 2:14.330, while ACI Motorsports’ Kay van Berlo topped the Pro-Am class charts with a time of 2:14.358. Paul Sparta was the leader of the Am class field, posting a time of 2:16.680 for the Random Vandals Racing team. 

Silver Class

Tyler Gonzalez laid his claim over the top spot on the board early in the session as he clocked in the fastest time of the session on his opening lap on board his No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO, with a time of 2:14.330.

There was a toss up for positions in the Silver class, with drivers exchanging positions up and down the leaderboard. It was ultimately John Capestro-Dubets in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport who claimed the second-fastest time in class, just ahead of Zac Anderson in the No. 51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82 in third. 

Daniel Hanley made another Top 5 appearance, slotting his No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO into fourth position, with Michai Stephens completing the session in fifth for the No. 23 TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4. 

Pro-Am Class

ACI Motorsports had another strong performance, this time moving up to the top spot in the Pro-Am class as Kay van Berlo set a rapid time of 2:14.358, which earned him the fastest time in class and second-quickest time overall. The No. 9 Blackdog Speed Shop Nissan Z NISMO GT4 of Michael Cooper, trailing by a mere 0.199 seconds. 

Rodrigo Baptista and Matheus Leist remained close throughout the session, with Baptista pulling slightly ahead to claim third in the No. 5 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4 over the No. 89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 in fourth. Meanwhile, Tom Dyer rounded off the Top 5 in both practice sessions in the No. 13 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. 

Am Class

The Am class field remained incredibly close throughout the entirety of the session, with the Top 5 all collectively separated by less than a second of each other. Paul Sparta led the charge in the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82, securing the fastest time in class with a lap time of 2:16.680. 

Robb Holland finished the session in second place in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with Elivan Goulart following suit in the No. 72 KRUGSPEED Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO. The Top 5 was further completed by Chris Walsh in the No. 20 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 G82, ahead of Judson Holt in the No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82. 

Let’s Get Racing

The Pirelli GT4 America field will return to the track for Qualifying on Saturday morning, May 18th at 10:20 AM CT. 

If you can’t make it to Austin, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free livestreams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTCOTA.