today is Mar 24, 2023
The Pirelli GT4 America Series will roar into Sonoma Raceway presented by CrowdStrike as part of the GT and Touring car race weekend April 15-17. With over 40 cars entered in the Pirelli GT4 class season opener, 23 drivers will battle for Pro-Am honors. Both drivers and teams look to claim overall points for the championship. Manufacturers represented on the track include Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ford, Ginetta, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, Toyota and Saleen.
In addition to being a world-class racing venue, Sonoma Raceway is home to several teams that field cars in Pirelli GT4 America including Flying Lizard Motorsports and The Racers Group. Each team hopes to exploit their familiarity with the track to mount their initial championship challenge.
The Racers Group will have two new 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsports on the track with 10-year veteran driver Derek DeBoer and co-driver Jason Alexandridis, along with Dr. Jim Rappaport and co-driver Todd Hetherington. At the helm of the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for Flying Lizard, is Elias Sabo with co-driver Andy Lee.
Aston Martin also features formidable lineups with GMG Racing’s Jason Bell and Andrew Davis, along with overall race winners Bryan Putt and Kenton Koch for Bsport Racing. Chouest Povoledo Racing’s Ross Chouest and Aaron Povoledo are set for a full season along with Heart of Racing’s Gray Newell and Ian James.
BimmerWorld will field two BMW M4 GT4 with James Walker Jr. and Devin Jones along with James Clay and Charlie Postins. This will be Jones’ first season with SRO after a long history of sports car racing, plus Walker’s third season in the series. They’ll be joined by AutoTechnic Racing who brings three entries to the series — one in each category — with Austen Smith and Zack Anderson sharing driving duties in the No. 51, Tom Capizzi and John Capestro-Dubets in the No. 52, and Rob Walker and Alex Filsinger in the No. 53.
Fast Track Racing announced earlier in the season that paraplegic driver Tim Horrell will team with veteran sports car champion Raphael Matos in a specially-prepared BMW M4 GT4 with hand controls for the two 60-minute two-driver events. Former SRO GT4 series champion Greg Liefooghe of San Francisco, CA will co-drive with Canadian driver Damon Surzyshyn in the No. 14 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4. Random Vandals complete the BMW line-up with Paul Spart and Al Carter behind the wheel.
For Mercedes-AMG, Conquest Racing returns with an entry for multi-race winner Michai Stephens and co-driver Gavin Sanders alongside Josh Hurley and Manny Franco. Kris Wilson will drive with Cole Ciraulo in the newly-formed Snow Brothers Racing team and Sonoma’s Cameron Racing entry will be piloted by Chris Cagnazzi and Guy Cosmo. RENNtech Motorsports complete the German manufacturer’s entries with Chris Gumprecht and GT World Challenge Champion Kyle Marcelli in one car with Custodio Toledo co-driving with Paulo Carcasci in the other.
Joining TRG in the Porsche camp are a trio of Nolasport entrants including Sean Gibbons and Sam Owen, Alain Stad and Thomas Merrill, and Scott Noble and 2022 GT4 America champion Jason Hart. RS1 will feature Eric Filgueiras and Steven McAleer alongside Juan Martinez and Nelson Calle.
Past GT4 America Champion James Sofronas and GMG Racing return in a Porsche with Kyle Washington. Premier Racing’s Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer and Absolute Racing’s Anderson Tanoto and Lars Kern round out the Porsche camp.
Toyota’s presence on the grid has tripled since last season. AM champs Smooge Racing have moved to the Silver category with John Geesbreight and Kevin Conway. They’ll be joined by Todd Coleman and open wheel standout Aaron Telitz. Hattori Motorsports makes their Pirelli GT4 America debut with Seth Lucas and Matt Plumb along with Accelerating Performance’s two entries featuring Nick Shanny and Terry Borcheller, plus Moisey Uretsky and Justin Piscitell. Dexter Racing also welcomes a new Toyota GR Supra GT4 into their stable with Dominic Starkweather and Ryan Dexter.
An all-new Ginetta G56 will take to the track with driver Ben Anderson alongside Matt Rivard following a successful debut during the 2021 season.
Privé Motorsports and Topp Racing recently announced the debut of the McLaren 570S GT4 driven by Thomas Surgent of Dallas, TX and Michael O’Brien of the United Kingdom.
Ford is represented by ARG/Rotek Racing with Edgar Lau and Billy Johnson behind the wheel of their Ford Mustang GT4.
CarBahn with Peregrine Racing will run the only Audi on the grid, driven by Mark Siegel and Tom Dyer.
Saleen round out the field and will make their series debut in the Invitational category featuring Steve Saleen and Eric Curran in the Saleen S1 GT4 concept.
