Pirelli GT4 America Prepares for Championship Showdown at Indianapolis

Pirelli GT4 America Prepares for Championship Showdown at Indianapolis

It all comes down to this – the final twelfth and thirteenth rounds of the Pirelli GT4 America championship will unfold at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway from October 4th to 6th. With the final points on the line, championships will be both won and lost as 31 cars battle it out for their last opportunity to clinch the class titles.

The field will be utilizing the 2.43-mile, 14-turn road course layout for the two remaining 60-minute sprint races. Competitors will not only be challenging for victories, but also for an opportunity to kiss the most famous bricks in the world at one of the most prestigious circuits in motorsports.
 
Fans won’t want to miss out on the opportunity to explore various open paddock activities, such as autograph sessions, local vendors, a Car Corral, and most notably the pre-race grid walk for Saturday’s main event, the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS, where the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and Intercontinental GT Challenge will converge for IMS’ longest GT-only endurance race.

Silver Class

The prior rounds at Barber Motorsports Park had major championship implications for the Silver class, as Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm capitalized on opportunities in the No. 97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4, earning a win and a second-place finish. Meanwhile, championship leaders John Capestro-Dubets and Eric Filgueiras experienced setbacks in their No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. The points gap has thus been reduced to a mere five points heading into the final rounds, with no room for error on either side.

Zac Anderson and Colin Garrett occupy third place in the standings, and picked up a win of their own in Alabama on board the No. 51 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4. Smooge Racing are sitting in fourth with the No. 68 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO following Tyler Gonzalez and Corey Lewis’ double third-place results in the prior rounds.

JMF Motorsports are bringing back the strong pairing of Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb for the final rounds. They previously drove the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the team’s 2023 campaign, finishing as Vice Champions and picked up a win of their own at the Brickyard.
 
Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier scored their best result of the season since being promoted to the Silver class midway through the year, with a second-place finish in Race 2 with their No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. Meanwhile, the No. 77 VPX Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport made its debut in the series in Birmingham, and will return to the grid in Indianapolis with co-drivers Danny Dyszelski and Cayden Goodridge. Meanwhile, Jonathan Neudorf and Johan Schwartz are set to return to the Silver class with the No. 23 TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4.

Pro-Am Class

Pro-Am class leaders Curt Swearingin and Kay Van Berlo went through some ups and downs at Barber, with a podium finish in Race 1 with the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, but did not score points in Race 2 as the result of an early DNF. This allowed Heart of Racing Team’s Roman De Angelis and Gray Newell to close the points gap slightly to 31 points by taking home an overall win in the No. 24 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie are a further 30 points back in third with the No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4.

Damir Hot and Rodrigo Baptista also secured a podium finish in their No. 5 Nissan Z NISMO GT4, with P1 Groupe’s Matt Bell and Alex Vogel doing the same in the No. 43 Mercedes-AMG GT4. 

Comparatively, Blackdog Speed Shop and RENNtech Motorsports both had challenging weekends, but Tony Gaples and Michael Cooper were able to move ahead in the championship standings in the No. 9 Nissan Z NISMO GT4, sitting 7 points ahead of the No. 89 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Michael Auriemma and Matheus Leist.

Todd Parriott and Tom Dyer are back in the fold with the No. 13 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, while RS1’s Austin and Roland Krainz reignite their search for a podium in the No. 18 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. TechSport Racing and AutoTechnic Racing are also coming equipped with Pro-Am entries once again, with Colin Harrison and Elivan Goulart teaming up in the No. 22 Nissan Z NISMO GT4, while Tyler Stone and Matt Million join forces in the No. 53 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82.

Sam Craven and Josh Green are preparing for their second event in the No. 94 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82, and Ryan Eversley is also back in the mix with the No. 07 Precision Racing LA Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO, this time joined by Terry Borcheller as his co-driver.

After winning the GT4 class championship in the GT America powered by AWS series, Isaac Sherman is expanding his efforts, joining the Pro-Am field for the final event alongside Indy NXT rising star Myles Rowe. The duo will be co-driving the No. 098 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. 

Am Class

The title fight in the Am class has gotten significantly closer between Random Vandals Racing and Rotek Racing, with only 3 points between the two teams. Kris Wilson and Michael Kanisczak will be attempting to retain their lead in the No. 98 BMW M4 GT4, while Robb Holland and Jaden Lander are eager to move into the top spot in the No. 099 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

Carrus Callas Raceteam’s Nicholas Shanny and Chris Walsh had a strong weekend as they secured two podium finishes with the No. 20 BMW M4 GT4 G82, extending their advantage over BimmerWorld’s James Clay and Charlie Postins despite the fact that the pairing claimed the Race 1 win in the No. 36 BMW M4 GT4. However, Anthony Geraci and Lance Bergstein clinched a win of their own as well in the No. 72 KRUGSPEED Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO, now sitting just 9 points away from BimmerWorld. David Peterman and Lee Carpentier returned to the podium as well, taking the final step in Race with the No. 52 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.
 
After previously racing in Sebring, Kaia Teo and Nick Longhi are rejoining the competition, equipped with their No. 80 Orlando Motorsports Services McLaren Artura GT4. Finally, the No. No. 16 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 completes the field with new pairing Alex Garcia and Michael Garcia.

Let’s Get Racing

The Pirelli GT4 America field is set to take to the track during Practice 1 on Thursday, October 3rd. Click here for the full schedule of the GT4 America weekend.

If you can’t make it to Indianapolis, 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 #Indy8H.