All the luck went against from Blackdog Racing at Road America during the Pirelli GT4 America weekend, spoiling the team’s homecoming weekend.
Michael Cooper and Tony Gaples finished fifth in Pro-Am at the end of Sunday’s final 60-minute race of the weekend as a mid-race full-course yellow period ruined any hopes of a race win or podium finish in the team’s No. 9 Nissan Z NISMO GT4.
Cooper began the race second in class following Saturday’s final qualifying session and led Sunday at the halfway mark. Unfortunately for the Blackdog team, the Nissan didn’t make into the pitlane before a safety car period due to debris on-track bunched up the field and forced Cooper to pit under yellow and after much of the field had completed the race’s mandatory pit stop under green.
Gaples, who was caught up in an opening-lap crash at Turn One in Saturday’s opening GT4 America race, rejoined ninth in Pro-Am but drove through the field following a pair of restarts in the final 18 minutes. He gained four spots in class to deliver a top-five finish in class, a strong finish that continues to show the potential of the Cooper-Gaples pairing in their first year with the Nissan.
Blackdog Racing’s next event in Pirelli GT4 America competition is September 6-8 at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala.
MICHAEL COOPER, NO. 9 BLACKDOG RACING NISSAN Z NISMO GT4: “Unfortunately not a lot went our way this weekend. Coming in, I felt like we had a good opportunity to contend for wins in both races. But the rain didn’t allow us to get in many laps during testing and practice. The car felt pretty good in qualifying and it showed in our starting positions. I feel bad for Tony and the team seeing our first race end at Turn One on Lap One. Things were looking better in the second race until the yellows and strategy went against us. These things happen, so we’ll go to Barber and see if things can turn around for us.”
TONY GAPLES, NO. 9 BLACKDOG RACING NISSAN Z NISMO GT4: “It wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for at our home track and in front of a lot of fans and supporters. We lost a lot of track time with the weather Thursday and Friday, but we were hopeful for Saturday after qualifying. I felt like I did everything right at the start. It was a racing incident but that didn’t do anything to make our day better. It was nice to get a little bit of racing in Sunday and I was able to make some moves and advance a few spots under green. Overall a pretty frustrating weekend but we’ll try to make up for it at Barber.”