Paul Sparta is the team principal of the Random Vandals Racing team, which competes with BMW in both the SRO GT4 America and GT World Challenge championships as well as the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series. Paul is not only the team owner, but also a driver, and he and co-driver Kris Wilson have scored seven podiums, including three wins, in the SRO GT4 America Am class this year. Unfortunately, Sparta was injured in a wreck at Road America and was forced to sit out the rest of this season as a driver, but he’s still busy running the team and getting their new GT World Challenge program up and running.
BimmerLife: How did Random Vandals get started in racing?
Paul Sparta: We started in club racing with BMW, in the AER (American Endurance Racing) and WRL (World Racing League). We really started in WRL after we started racing in SRO GT4 America, and we’re still active in club racing. Our first serious race car was an E46 M3 and we won a lot with that car. After we had some success and decided to stick our toes in professional racing, we started with an F82 M4 GT4 in SRO GT4 America back in 2021.
Once we got into our third year of that (2023), we brought in a second car with Crowdstrike AWS sponsorship (#99 M4 GT4). Last year we ran a partial season in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, but this year we had run the full season with Kenton Koch and me. At this event (SRO at Virginia International Raceway), we tested our M4 GT3 car and had a very productive test. BMW M Motorsport has been unbelievably supportive of us.
BL: How did the relationship with BMW start?
PS: When we were club racing, we were running the E46 M3 and those were all custom-built. There was no factory-built car. As we were deciding on which factory-built car to race (all GT4-spec cars are now factory-built), we were pretty circumspect, and we looked at everybody. Just because we loved our E46, that didn’t mean we were going to stick with BMW as a default. We looked at all the manufacturers and their pluses and minuses and ended up coming back with BMW as the manufacturer we wanted to work with. They have incredible support, they listen, and from a maintenance and operating perspective the cars are really good. I think there are some other brands that are trickier and more difficult to maintain at the GT4 level, but we’ve been extremely happy (with BMW). The relationship has been great and we’re going to march forward together.
BL: How did you come up with the name Random Vandals Racing?
PS: One of our co-founders was the owner of a lighting company that built lighting for subway stations, parking lots, shopping malls, that sort of thing. One time he was asked who our sponsor was and how we got into racing and he said ‘I don’t know, some random vandal.’ Later when we started going club racing in earnest, we were thinking about what would represent a vandal in a good way and we came up with the racoon.
Paul Sparta (second from right) and Kenton Koch (next to him) on the GT4 America podium at Indianapolis in 2023.
BL: What has been the biggest challenge going from club racing to pro racing?
PS: I think the biggest challenge is the level of preparation is way higher in pro racing, both from a technical and compliance level and from the team management and racing operations side of it. Everything has to be super precise, and you have to be very organized. It’s not just when your driving sessions are – but also when you need to be at tech, when you need to be at team meetings and when things need to be submitted. Everything has to be leveled up to continue to be successful, and it gets harder and harder as you go up the ladder, but it’s rewarding. Everybody here has been great at meeting the challenges and wanting the challenge. You’ve got to want it to be successful in racing.
Random Vandals Racing is in second in the GT4 America Silver class.
BL: How have you developed as a driver over the last few years?
PS: I’m 60 and I’m still developing and getting faster. I would say among the 50–60-year-olds who were not previously pros, that I’m one of the better drivers. I’m amazed and thankful that my fitness is great, and I love driving the car. I haven’t hit the ceiling yet. I’ll hit the ceiling at some point, but for now I’ll keep going. I get as much enjoyment out of developing the team and winning in the other categories as I do out of racing. While I love to drive, I like running the team and the organization as much as I like driving.
BL: What’s your favorite track?
PS: In North America, VIR and Road America are absolutely my two favorite tracks, with Sebring being a close third.
BL: What’s next for Random Vandals Racing?
PS: I think that clearly, we’d like to be in a top GT series for a full season, and that really means IMSA, SRO or FIA WEC. All of those series are being actively considered for next year, with commercial considerations around all of that with what your partners want to do. There are some hybrids you can do with that too, with doing a little of one (series) and all of another.
Random Vandals Racing scored their first podium in SRO GT World Challenge competition with the M4 GT3 (shown above) in early September at Barber Motorsports Park, when Kenton Koch and Conor Daly drove the #99 car to a second-place finish in the Pro class. In GT4 America, Random Vandals Racing driver Kris Wilson is still leading the Am class driver points going into the finale at Indianapolis in early October, and Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm are in second place with a shot at the championship in the Silver class. —David Haueter
[Photos by David Haueter, courtesy LAT Images, courtesy SRO]