- Toyota Supra Reigns Supreme in Silver
- Bimmerworld BMWs Victorious Pro-Am and Am Classes
- Provisional Race Results
The Lone Star Enduro saw the Pirelli GT4 America compete in their sole endurance race of the season, battling it out around Circuit of The Americas for three hours. The race didn’t lack action, but all cards were on the table in the last 12 minutes of the race, and only one could win this game of Texas Hold'em.
When it was all said and done after three hours of intense GT4 racing, Silver class competitors RAFA Racing Team emerged as the overall winners after putting on a stellar performance. In the Pro-Am and Am categories, it was the BimmerWorld show as both entries made a return to victory lane.
Silver Class
Gresham Wagner wasted no time getting up to speed in his No. 68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO2, claiming the overall lead as the green flag waved overhead. Brayden Braydon Arthur followed closely behind in the No. 4 JMF Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO, and went on to snatch away the lead from Wagner following a full course caution restart a mere 13 minutes into the race.
Drama arose for JMF Motorsports at the first round of driver changes, with both the No. 3 and No. 4 entries running into trouble in pit lane, costing them both valuable positions in the running order, in addition to the former being handed a drive through penalty for servicing the car outside of the pit box.
Auto Technic Racing were able to capitalize on the chaos, with Colin Garrett taking over the lead with the No. 52 BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO. The job was far from over though, as Wagner was back on the hunt and looking to reclaim the lead. With one hour remaining, the Toyota driver tracked down Garrett and was heavily applying pressure, getting the move done a couple of laps later.
Shortly thereafter, Wagner traded out with teammate Tyler Gonzalez to complete their final pit stop, and they retained the lead as the car returned back out on track ahead of Auto Technic Racing’s Zac Anderson.
Another full course caution bunched the pack back up, and with only 12 minutes to go, Gonzalez led the field back to green, getting an excellent getaway in the process. While he pulled a gap to the rest of the competition and never looked back, argy-bargy unfolded behind, with Anderson and Mike David Ortmann going wheel to wheel and taking no prisoners. Jesse Webb inserted himself into the mix as well, initially moving up into second before being tagged by Anderson, sending him into a spin.
Anderson was handed a drive through penalty for incident responsibility, which promoted the No. 4 JMF entry of Ortmann up into second place, with Heart of Racing Team’s Hannah Grisham also profiting from the kerfuffle, claiming third place on the podium for the No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO.
“I knew we had the pace, this Toyota Supra is just absolutely amazing out there, especially as the sun was going down, it was only getting better and better,” said Tyler Gonzalez after the race. “I would've liked to keep the lead that I had, but I was confident in my car and in my crew that we had what we needed to win this race.”
“To be honest, I never thought I'd get to this point,” said Gresham Wagner on pit lane. “I'm just really thankful to Toyota, Endava, RAFA Racing, and everybody who made this program happen. Being partnered with Tyler is the best thing I could ask for. He is a great driver to have in the car and a great teacher.”
Pro-Am Class
Anthony McIntosh started from overall pole position in the No. 69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO2, and although he dropped some positions to Silver class competitors, he retained class lead during his stint. However, following a full course caution, he dove down pit lane to complete a driver change with teammate Parker Thompson as the race returned to green, dropping down the running order in the process.
Meanwhile, Thomas Merrill was charging forward in the No. 15 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO as the first hour elapsed, navigating his way through the field and picking off competitors one by one before going on to run first overall before eventually swapping out with teammate Adrian Comstock.
Penalties for pit stop violations shook up the running order, with Blackdog Racing and Random Vandals Racing both affected, as was the No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO. Despite receiving a drive-through penalty, the team used their previous winning experience to their advantage and managed to recover back up into the lead in the final hour with James Walker Jr. behind the wheel.
As the final stages neared closer, Riley Dickinson was putting in a very solid stint on board the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, running in second place, but he had Merrill breathing down his neck. In the final five minutes of the race, Merrill put the pedal to the metal and stormed past into second, and the battle allowed Parker Thompson to continue his comeback drive in the No. 69 Supra.
Thompson closed in on Dickinson in search of the final spot on the podium, but a late dive down the inside made both competitors run wide, allowing Michael Cooper to sweep past in the No. 33 Blackdog Racing McLaren Artura GT4, getting two for the price of one to secure third place.
“We knew we were in good hands,” exclaimed James Walker Jr. “We had a sizable lead built up, but the yellow compressed everything. We knew it was going to be a shootout to the finish. Tyler just did what he had to do. The crew gave us an amazing car all day, and he knew what he had to do and got it all done. So I'm indebted to him for pulling the whole thing off. I mean, it was just a fantastic drive.”
“It was awesome,” echoed Tyler McQuarrie. “You know, James does such a good job of just keeping the car clean and doing exactly what he needs to do. I appreciate everything that he brings to this program.”
Am Class
It was the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 EVO co-commanded by James Clay and Charlie Postins that prevailed and won the 3-hour long endurance race. However, it was not an easy feat as the order shuffled in the Am class throughout the entirety of the race.
Early on, as the first pit window opened up, pit stops initially shook up the running order, and the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO of Michael Kanisczak and the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO piloted by Charlie Postins were neck-and-neck as they challenged for first. However, the No. 98 eventually fell down the order due to a drive through penalty.
The No.188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO made steady progress throughout the race, running second in class and pushing for the lead with Dave Ogburn behind the wheel, with Kenny Schmied in the No. 72 RAFA Racing Team Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO2 in third place.
As the race unfolded, just like a deck of cards in a poker game, it was clear that it would be a battle between Postins, Ogburn, and Schmied. Though it was an intense finale, with out-of-class cars and traffic bringing the fight closer than ever, the BimmerWorld driver was able to hang on to first place as the checkered flag waved, with Ogburn and Schmied rounding off the Am class podium.
“I can't thank the BimmerWorld guys enough for the hard work, I am very proud of the result for both cars today,” said James Clay.
“On the restart, I was reassured by the braking that we had in this car,” explained Charlie Postins. “We are really great in a straight line, but the braking is awesome. So I really knew that as long as I got a good exit, we would be OK. We looked after the tires when we had that gap that evaporated. So everything was going well at that point, and I saved some tires for the end. And during that dog fight, we had tires, and that was awesome.That was a lot of fun.”
.jpg)
Up Next
The Pirelli GT4 America field will return for the fourth and fifth rounds of the season at Sebring International Raceway from May 15th to 18th, 2025.