The various racing series that fall under the SRO America championship will open their 2023 season this coming weekend (March 30th – April 2nd) at Sonoma Raceway in California, and the series will go on from there to visit six other tracks during the year, with the finale coming at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October. There are BMWs and MINIs racing in four of the different championships run by SRO, including the GT World Challenge America, GT4 America, TC America, and GT America series.
GT World Challenge America
In GT World Challenge America, which features GT3-spec cars, there will be two BMW M4 GT3s entered. ST Racing will enter their #38 car with drivers Samantha Tan and works driver John Edwards in the very competitive Pro-Am class, which has a total of twelve entries for Sonoma. In the Pro class, BimmerWorld Racing will enter their #94 M4 GT3 with drivers Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull, who are coming off a strong season in the series in 2022. There are only five entries in the Pro class, including cars from Acura, Porsche, and Ferrari.
GT4 America
There are a total of nine M4 GT4 cars entered in the GT4 America class this year among various classes. Four of the BMWs will compete in the Am class, including the BimmerWorld duo of James Clay and Charlie Postins, who won the championship in that class in 2022. Other BMW entries in Am include Random Vandals, Auto Technic, and STR38 Motorsports. In the Pro-Am class, there are BMW M4 GT4 entries from BimmerWorld and Rooster Hall Racing. Colin Garrett will do double-duty for Rooster Hall, driving in the TC America TCX class in their M2 CS once more, while also moving up to GT4 America with co-driver Johan Schwartz, who won a TC class championship with Rooster Hall in an M240i in 2019. Among the various classes in GT4 America, there are eight brands represented, with Porsche leading the way with fourteen 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport entries. There are also seven Aston Martin Vantage GT4 entries.
TC America
Last year, the TCX class in the TC America series consisted entirely of BMW M2 CS entries. There were nine entries by the end of last season, but that has dropped to five entries for the first 2023 round at Sonoma, with entries from AOA Racing, Fast Track Racing, Rooster Hall Racing and two from Rigid Speed Company. A favorite for the championship has to be Rooster Hall’s Colin Garrett, who finished second behind Jacob Ruud last season and took the fight all the way to the final race at Indianapolis. The BMWs will have some new competition, as there are three Honda Civic Type-R TCX entries for this season.
There will also be several MINI entries in the TC and TCA classes, all from the MINI JCW Team run by Luis Perocarpi. Clayton Williams will return in the #60 MINI JCW Pro TC after a strong season in 2022, and will be joined in the TC class by Christian Perocarpi, who drove in the TCA class in a MINI last season. The team also has three entries in the TCA class, with drivers P.J. Groenke, Landon Lewis, and Alain Lauziere.
GT America
In the single-driver GT America series that mixes GT3 and GT4-spec cars, Rob Walker will be the sole BMW entry in the #253 M4 GT4 from Auto Technic Racing. There is a total of eleven GT4 entries in GT4 America at Sonoma.
For more information on the SRO championships, visit sroamerica.com. SRO also has their own YouTube channel, which features live streaming of the races and replays. —David Haueter
[Photos courtesy BimmerWorld, ST Racing]