It was a great day in the Lone Star State on Saturday for BMW teams competing in the SRO GT4 America three-hour enduro at Circuit of the Americas. In sweltering heat, BMW teams won overall and in all three classes (Silver, Pro-Am, Am). There were five M4 GT4s in the top ten overall. BMW teams also finished one-two in both TC America races.
The single three-hour enduro was new to many teams competing in SRO GT4 America, which usually consists of two shorter sprint races. The Random Vandals Racing duo of Kevin Boehm and Kenton Koch ruled the day in their #97 M4 GT4 (shown above), putting in a commanding overall win and taking first in the Silver class, despite starting the race way down in twelfth.
Kevin Boehm started the race in the #97 and worked his way to the front and into the lead within the first 25 minutes. The #51 Auto Technic Racing M4 GT4 of Colin Garrett was right behind Boehm and eventually got past him into first before pit stops, but unfortunately the #51 suffered a brake fluid leak and fell back. Boehm and Koch put in stellar drives to take the win, which scored double points. It was their first win of the season. “We made a couple of small adjustments between qualifying and the race, and it was really good in the end,” stated Boehm. “The car was really raceable and good on tires, and I think that that was the difference for us to be able to put the car in the right place on track to gain some positions.”
James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie won the Pro-Am class in their BImmerWorld M4 GT4.
The #82 BimmerWorld Racing M4 GT4 duo of James Walker, Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie also had a great race, taking the Pro-Am class win and finishing fourth overall after starting 22nd overall. Walker Jr. made up ground during his stint and the team put in a great pit stop to put McQuarrie out at the front of the class, a position which he held until the end. “This car was so good on long race runs,” said McQuarrie. “We knew it was going to be a lot of work starting from the back, but it’s such a long race and we knew we could recover. You just have to put your head down and keep on going. The car was awesome, and James drove a great stint, this race was amazing.”
BMW teams were also successful in the Am class, with the Random Vandals Racing duo of Paul Sparta and Kris Wilson taking the win and finishing fifth overall. They were followed in the Am class by the Carrus Callas duo of Nicholas Shanny and Chris Walsh, who finished second in class and eighth overall in the #20 M4 GT4. The #36 BimmerWorld duo of Charlie Postins and James Clay were having a great race in the Am class and looked set to be on the podium before being taken out by another car with two corners to go on the last lap.
Paul Sparta and Kris Wilson won the Am class.
BMW teams were also very successful in the TC America TCX class. The results in this class have been nothing if not consistent this year, with Carrus Callus Racing driver Chris Walsh taking the win in his #104 M2 CS, followed by Rigid Speed driver Lucas Catania in second in his #17 M2 CS. In all six races this year, Walsh has won every race and Catania has been second. BMW driver Aaron Kaplan also had a strong weekend, finishing third in race one and fourth in race two. “I knew it was going to be a dog fight for the first five to ten laps of the race, and that’s exactly what it was,” explained Walsh. “Celso Neto (Acura driver) is the Minister of Defense of Brazil, and he was putting up amazing defensive moves. Overall, I just hung in there because I knew I could make a move eventually. It was a very fun battle, and Lucas Catania was right there as well.”
Chris Walsh has won six straight in TC America.
In the TCA and TC classes, MINI JCW driver Christian Perocarpi finished third in the second race after experiencing some reliability issues in race one, and MINI driver PJ Groenke won the TC class in both races.
Next up for SRO GT4 America and TC America are rounds seven and eight at VIR on the weekend of July 19th-21st. —David Haueter
[Photos courtesy SRO]
Tags: America Enduro racing SRO GT4