Smooge Racing Swoops into Overall Pole Position

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Smooge Racing Swoops into Overall Pole Position

It was an action-packed Saturday morning as the full Pirelli GT4 America field set sail for their two consecutive fifteen minute qualifying sessions, setting the grid for this weekend’s Race 1 and 2.

Smooge Racing set themselves apart by securing the overall pole position for Race 1 combined with the Silver class pole in Race 2. In Pro-Am, the Heart of Racing Team went fastest in the Pro-Am class for Race 1, while RENNtech Motorsports further improved to take first overall for Race 2. Finally, Rotek Racing secured back-to-back pole positions in their respective Am class. 

Silver Class

Corey Lewis and Eric Filgueiras were going back and forth in their No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO and No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport machines, snatching first place away from each other as they clocked in more laps. However, Lewis went on to put in a time of 1:28.847, solidifying his claim over the ROWE Pole Position Award for Race 1. 

Filgueiras claimed second in the Silver class and third overall, putting him on the second row of the starting grid for this afternoon’s race alongside newcomer Alex Ellis in the No. 77 VPX Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, who qualified third in class and fourth overall. 

Tyler Gonzalez provided Smooge Racing with another pole position, finishing first in the Silver class and second overall in Qualifying 2. It was a battle of the BMW machines for the remaining places in the top 3, as Kenton Koch in the No. 97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82 just managed to squeeze ahead of Zac Anderson in the No. 51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82. 

Pro-Am Class

Roman De Angelis put on an impressive performance in the Pro-Am class, finishing just a mere 0.002 seconds away from the overall pole position in his No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO. Nevertheless, he secured a front row start for the team in Race 1. 

A little further behind, Matt Bell and Matt Travis were challenging each other for second place in Pro-Am. In the end, Bell, equipped with his No. 43 P1 Groupe Mercedes-AMG GT4, had a slight edge over last year’s class champion in the No. 47 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. 

Meanwhile, in Qualifying 2, it was Matheus Leist who stood tall above the rest in his No. 89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4, rising to the top of the overall charts on his fifth flying lap. The gaps were extremely small, as Tyler McQuarrie qualified 0.051 seconds behind, earning him second in class and third overall in his No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82. 

A little further down the line, Kay van Berlo will be lining up sixth overall on the starting grid in his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, setting the third-quickest time in the Pro-Am category. 

Am Class

Robb Holland led the charge in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, and went on to clinch the Am class pole. Michael Kanisczak tried to close in on board the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82 during his first qualifying session with the team, but claimed second place. Charlie Postins stayed within range as well in the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82, and will start Race 1 from third in class. 

Jaden Lander made it two-for-two in the second qualifying session, claiming both pole positions for Rotek Racing. Meanwhile, Lee Carpentier moved the No. 52 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport into second place in class for Race 2, while James Clay gave BimmerWorld another top 3 appearance, just 0.007 away from Carpentier’s best time. 

Let’s Get Racing

The Pirelli GT4 America field will return to the track for Race 1 on Saturday, September 7th at 5:00 PM CT. 

If you can’t make it to Barber Motorsports Park, 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 #GTBHM.