GT4 America: Auto Technic Racing wins Race 1; Blackdog and RAFA Racing win in Pro-Am and Am

The opening race of the Pirelli GT4 America season was a precarious affair, as the field got their elbows out from the get-go at Sonoma Raceway. The opening half of the race took place under full course yellow following an incident on the opening lap involving multiple cars, which left debris on track that needed to be addressed.

On the restart, there was another collision involving numerous drivers, including overall pole sitters Marco Polo Motorsports, and the full course caution emerged again. Driver changes proceeded at the halfway mark under yellow flag conditions, but the action resumed shortly thereafter.

There was no shortage of overtakes in the second half of the race as competitors put in the work to gain positions through the field. In the end, it was Auto Technic Racing who clinched the first victory of the year in the Silver class, with Blackdog Racing and RAFA Racing Team following suit in the Pro-Am and Am classes.

Silver class

The No. 52 Auto Technic Racing of Colin Garrett and Zac Anderson claimed the overall and Silver Class win in what was at first smooth sailing, then a stressful few last lap. As the early incident took most of the first portion of the race to clean up, Garrett handed the reins of the BMW M4 GT4 to Anderson. When the race went back to green, he put his head down and stayed out of trouble as the order was shuffling behind him. Though Auto Technic Racing didn’t have to fence off other Silver Class contenders who were further behind, Michael Cooper in the No. 33 Blackdog Racing McLaren Artura GT4 closed in the gap, but ultimately finished second overall.

Kenton Koch, who was fresh off a podium result in GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, ended the race in second place in class, and 7th overall. He was sharing the No. 97 Random Vandals Racing with Kevin Boehm, and made tremendous progress through the field as he picked off other competitors one by one. The Silver Class podium was completed by Braydon Arthur and Mike David Ortmann, who exchanged duties on the No. 4 JMF Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.

“To come back and pick up where we left off after we won the last race at Indianapolis is amazing,” stated Colin 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!”

“Auto Technic Racing always brings a rocket ship to the track,” exclaimed Zac Anderson. “We are more of a race team rather than a qualifying team. So although we can kind of get down in the dumps on Saturday morning, on Saturday evening and Sunday morning we’re usually flying pretty high. It’s a testament to Charlie and everyone at Auto Technic that prepares these cars the way they do. Thank you to everyone who supported us on this journey. We hope to keep it going.”

Pro-Am class

Following the race restart, Michael Cooper was sitting first in class on board his new No. 33 Blackdog Racing McLaren Artura GT4, but he was pushing hard to try to fight for the overall lead. He closed the gap to Anderson ahead, and was pushing hard all the way to the line but ultimately finished just behind, but took home the class victory nonetheless alongside teammate Tony Gaples.

The rest of the podium positions were still up for grabs and drivers were fighting with all their might. Tyler McQuarrie held strong and delivered in the second half to score a P2 finish for the No. 82 BimmerWorld Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO entry with co-driver James Walker Jr.

Meanwhile, there was an incredibly close battle unfolding between the cars in third, fourth, and fifth. Riley Dickinson, Matheus Leist, and Thomas Merrill were all in the mix, but the advantage ultimately swung in Dickinson’s direction, claiming third place in his debut with the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

Although he finished just shy of the podium, Leist set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:42.443 in the No. 23 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

After the podium, Michael Cooper was made aware that he is one of the winningest active drivers in SRO America at the moment, to which he replied: “Greg Gill just informed me about that! I wasn’t aware, but I’m glad to hear it. Most of that is thanks to this guy (Tony Gaples) and Ray Sorenson and all the Blackdog crew for giving me a great car every time I go out on track. It’s nice to be back with McLaren this year. I’m really glad to be back on the top step with these guys after a tough year.”

“Racing is about being at the right place at the right time,” explained Tony Gaples regarding their pit stop strategy that worked out in their favor. “There are so many variables that go into this, and we were in the right spot at the right time, so it worked out. The team said to come into the pits, and I was the second one coming in!”

Am class

After originally qualifying third in the Am category, the No. 72 RAFA Racing Team Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO of Anthony Geraci and Kenny Schmied further gained two more positions and moved into the class lead following some troubles for Thunder Bunny Racing and BimmerWorld Racing.

They navigated through the turmoil on track and held on to first place to scoop up the victory, with the No. 188 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO of Judson Holt and Dave Ogburn also emerging through the chaos to cross the finish line in second position.

Michael Garcia was running third in class in his No. 07 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, but he was met with a heartbreaking end to his race as the car slowed to a stop on the final lap. His misfortune promoted Lucas Catania into the final podium position with the No. 17 Rigid Speed Company BMW M4 GT4 (G82).

“I had a great spotter,” said Michael Garcia “Kenny pulled it off for us, it was wonderful.”

“It’s just one race at a time,” said Kenny Schmied. “The team is fantastic. We had a good strategy. We got a little bit lucky, but kept it clean. It’s a great team, a great co-driver, great everything! I couldn’t be happier just to be back here racing.”

The Pirelli GT4 America field will return to the track for Race 2 on Sunday morning, March 30th at 11:35am 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.