- Toyota Reigns Supreme in Silver and Am Class
- BMW Quickest in Pro-Am Class
- Qualifying 1 Provisional Results
- Qualifying 2 Provisional Results
The Pirelli GT4 America field was greeted by some bright sunshine over the hills of Sonoma Raceway. The air temperature was chilly, but the 29 teams across all three classes of competition brought the heat for the Qualifying sessions to set the grid for the two races to come.
Marco Polo Motorsports earned the fastest lap time in the Silver Class ahead of Race 1, while Auto Technic Racing went quickest in the Pro-AM Class, rounding off the overall Top 5 at the same time. Thunder Bunny Racing has shown they are a new team to watch as they once again proved their speed by rising to the top of the AM charts in Qualifying 1.
Qualifying 2 saw NOLASPORT prevail both overall and in Pro-Am, while Toyota and BMW showed their strengths in the Silver and Am classes, with RAFA Racing Team and Fast Track Racing going quickest in their respective categories.
Silver Class
Qualifying 1
It looked like Gresham Wagner had pole position in the bag in his No. 68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO2, however the driver was edged out by Mads Siljehaug in the No. 71 Marco Polo Motorsports Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra by 0.027 seconds in the final minutes of the session. Alex Ellis came in third place in his No. 77 VPX Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with one of the most impressive margins seen so far. The Canadian driver was 0.001 away from claiming second place on the grid for Race 1.
Qualifying 2
Hannah Grisham set the pace early on in the second session, commanding the No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. However, Tyler Gonzalez rose to the top of the Silver charts in the No. 68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota Supra and remained there until the end. Series veteran Kenton Koch locked in the second spot in the No. 97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4. It was a close battle for third place in class, as Jonathan Neudorf seemed poised to secure it in his No. 3 JMF Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. Danny Dyszelski in the No. 77 VPX Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport was also eyeing the position, but it ultimately went to Zac Anderson in the No. 52 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4.
Pro-Am Class
Qualifying 1
Matt Million rose to the top of the Pro-Am class early on in his No. 53 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO and remained there all the way to the checkered flag, establishing a strong gap between himself and his fellow competitors in the process. Meanwhile, there was almost nothing separating Sam Craven and Anthony McIntosh in second and third, with only 0.010 seconds between the No. 94 Random Vandals Racing BMW and No. 69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota.
Qualifying 2
Matheus Leist paved the way in the second Qualifying session, soaring into the top spot overall in his No. 23 NOLASPORT Porsche with a time of 1:40.896, setting purple sectors across the board. Parker Thompson put up a good fight in his No. 69 Toyota, moving up into second in class and third overall in the final minutes of the session to secure another strong starting position for JTR Motorsports Engineering. Josh Green did the same for Random Vandals Racing, scoring another Top 3 for the team, and will take the green flag on Sunday from fifth overall.
AM Class
Qualifying 1
It was nearly impossible to tell who would prevail and clinch pole position in the Am class. James Clay posted an early fast lap in his No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4, though Allen Patten ultimately edged him out in the No. 606 Thunder Bunny Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra at the halfway mark. It was a showdown between Anthony Geraci in the No. 72 RAFA Racing Team Toyota Supra GT4, Joseph Catania in the No. 17 Rigid Speed Company BMW M4 GT4 and Alex Garcia in the No. 07 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. Garcia managed to set the best lap between them all, rising to second place, leaving Clay in third.
Qualifying 2
David Ogburn was the top qualifier in the Am class in the second session, putting his No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO into first in the category, and finished just shy of the Top 10 overall. Kenny Schmied rose to the occasion for RAFA Racing Team, propelling the No. 72 Toyota into second place in class, while Charlie Postins secured another Top 3 result for BimmerWorld with the No. 36 BMW.
Let’s Get Racing
The Pirelli GT4 America field will return to the track for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, March 29th at 5:00 PM PT.
If you can’t make it to Sonoma Raceway, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTSonoma.