The 2025 SRO GT4 America season opened with a pair of races at Sonoma Raceway and BMW teams came away with a total of eight podium finishes including three class wins amid often challenging weather conditions at the California track.
The BMW M4 GT4 EVOs showed their speed in qualifying for race one at Sonoma, with Matt Million on the Pro-Am class pole and fifth overall in the #53 Auto Technic Racing entry and Sam Craven second in Pro-Am in the #94 Random Vandals Racing car. Kevin Boehm was fourth in the top Silver class in the #97 Random Vandals Racing entry.
Zac Anderson and Colin Garrett won overall and in the Silver class in race one.
There was carnage early in the first race at Sonoma that took out three BMWs. Paul Sparta made an aggressive passing move in the #98 Random Vandals car and went into the side of James Clay in the #36 BimmerWorld Racing car, and the resulting melee also caused Matt Million to spin in the #53 Auto Technic BMW that was leading in Pro-Am at the time. Million was then hit by another car that bashed in the front of the BMW and took it out of the race.
There were four BMW drivers on the race one Silver class podium, with Zac Anderson and Colin Garrett (center) taking the win and Kevin Boehm and Kenton Koch (on left) in second. Boehm and Koch went on to win race two.
As the race progressed with pit stops and strategy calls, the driving duo of Zac Anderson and Colin Garrett worked their way to the front of the Silver class and overall in the #52 Auto Technic M4 GT4 EVO. They went on to win the race, with Kevin Boehm and Kenton Koch finishing second in Silver in the #97 Random Vandals BMW (shown in top photo). “To come back and pick up where we left off after we won the last race at Indianapolis is amazing,” said Garrett. “We’re not supposed to be here, we do not have enough sponsorship dollars, so this is kind of a Grace of God. However, I just got word that we’re confirmed through Sebring at the moment. We’re going to keep on rolling, keep this going, this is pretty big for us. Zac put in a hell of a stint!”
BimmerWorld Racing drivers Tyler McQuarrie and James Walker, Jr. finished second in Pro-Am in race one.
BMWs also finished well in the Pro-Am and Am classes. The BimmerWorld Racing duo of Tyler McQuarrie and James Walker, Jr. finished second in the Pro-Am class in the #82 M4 GT4 EVO, behind the winning #33 McLaren Artura GT4 of Michael Cooper and Tony Gaples. In the Am class, Judson Holt and Dave Ogburn finished second in their #188 Fast Track Racing M4 GT4 EVO and were followed in third by the #17 Rigid Speed M4 GT4 of Joseph and Lucas Catania. The Am class was won by the #72 Toyota Supra GT4 EVO2 of Anthony Geraci and Kenny Schmied.
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- Judson Holt and Dave Ogburn finished second in their #188 Fast Track Racing M4 GT4 EVO in race one.
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- Father-Son duo Joseph and Lucas Catania finished third in the Am class in race one.
Race two was a wet race, having rained all morning and starting again when the race was ready to go green. Predictably, much of the second race was run under a full-course caution due to incidents. One of those incidents involved a pair of BMWs, when the #28 Fast Track Racing M4 GT4 EVO of Stuart McAleer tagged the #36 BimmerWorld BMW of Charlie Postins from behind, taking him out of the race and leading to a penalty for the #28 car.
After finishing second in the Silver class in race one, the Random Vandals team had a great race two. Kenton Koch stayed at the front of the field in second in the #97 car before handing off to Kevin Boehm, who made a fantastic pass on Gresham Wagner in a Toyota Supra and went on to win the race. “I didn’t think I was going to get many opportunities,” said Boehm. “He (Wagner) went a little wide coming out of turn six, and I made him defend, then I knew that the grip was just all over the place in turn seven. So whatever he did, I was going to do the opposite and see what happened. It just barely worked out. I had no real plan, but you just have to take advantage of everything when it comes to you.”
Paul Sparta and Michael Kanisczak finished third in the Am class in race two.
The #94 Random Vandals Racing duo of Sam Craven and Josh Green were at the front of the Pro-Am class for most of the race and went on to win in an impressive display of driving where Green was pressuring teammate Koch early in the race. “The Random Vandals family is simply awesome,” said Craven after the race. “This was a sweet redemption from yesterday. We certainly needed it. I’m very happy to have Josh as my co-driver. We made a ton of progress in the off-season.” Random Vandals was also on the podium in the Am class, with Paul Sparta and Michael Kanisczak finishing third.
Josh Green and Sam Craven won the Pro-Am class in a wet race two.
The M4 GT4 EVO looks to be very competitive in GT4 America, as it has been for the last few seasons. The next race for the series is at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on April 25th-27th.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy SRO]
