BMW racers took a pair of overall wins in both TC America and GT4 America competition as SRO Motorsports Group America ran a full slate of races at Watkins Glen on September 18–19.
Tom Capizzi and John Capestro Dubets in the Pro-Am class #52 Auto Technic M4 GT4 took their first overall win in the Saturday 60-minute GT4 Americas SprintX race, getting by Stevan McAleer in the #11 Silver class Classic BMW M4 GT4 that he shared with Toby Grahovec. The #11 car was later disqualified due to a technical violation. One other BMW finished on a class podium in the Saturday race; Paul Sparta and Al Carter in the Random Vandals Racing M4 GT4 finished third in the Am class. McAleer and Grahovec rebounded to score overall and Silver class wins on Sunday, with James Walker and Bill Auberlen in the #36 BimmerWorld M4 GT4 starting last and finishing second in Pro-Am behind the class-winning Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 driven by Gray Newell and Ian James. Capizzi and Castro-Dubets returned to the Pro-Am podium with a third-place finish. Tim Barber and Cole Ciraulo in the CCR Racing/Team TFB M4 GT4 finished third in Silver, while Sparta and Carta fell to ninth in the Am class.
In GT America, the other series running the M4 GT4, Sean Quinlan in the #119 Stephen Cameron Racing M4 GT4 had a rough weekend, exiting the first of two 40-minute sprints after a collision with Mustang racer Robb Holland, and finishing fifth in class after another collision with Holland in race two.
Steve Streimer in the #30 Hard Motorsport M2 CS Racing scored his first overall and TCX class wins, moving into the lead on the last lap of the Saturday TC America Race. Points leader and perennial winner Jacob Ruud in the #81 Classic BMW M2 CS R led from the start but lost his 25-second lead because of a puncture with just over three minutes remaining in the race. He went on to finish fourth. Roy Block in the #5 M2 CS R took the lead from Ruud, running ahead of a battle between Streimer and Joseph Catania in the #38 M2 CS R. Catania pulled off course on the final lap and Block slowed, enabling Streimer to take the lead and the win.
Ruud returned to form on Sunday, taking the overall win ahead of Streimer and Lucas Catania. The best BMW finisher in the TC class on Saturday was Tom Capizzi in the #52 Auto Technic M240i Racing. On Sunday, Derek Jones in a JCW Pro Mini finished fourth in TC, and Austen Smith in the #51 M240iR finished fifth. In the TCA class, Mini racer Clay Williams was fifth both days.
Robby Foley and Michael Dinan in the #96 Turner Motorsport M6 GT3 finished second overall and second in the Pro class in the first of two 90-minute GT World Challenge America enduros. They came back to finish fourth overall and third in the Pro class in the second race. Jordan Pepper and Andrea Caldarelli in the #3 KPax Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 won both races. SRO runs next at Sebring on the first weekend of October and then closes with its season finale on October 15–17 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.—Brian Morgan
[Photos courtesy BMW Motorsport and Turner Motorsport (#96 M6 GT3).]
