41 Entries For Pirelli GT4 America Kickoff In Sonoma
The entry list for the first round of the 2022 Pirelli GT4 America series has been published. 41 cars will compete in the opening round at Sonoma Raceway, with races on 16 & 17 April. Headlining the field are 23 entries in the Pro-Am Cup, joined by 13 Am Cup entries, and four Silver Cup entries – plus a single Invitational entry.
Ten different manufacturers – Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ford, Ginetta, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, Saleen, and Toyota – will be represented in this grid.
Sonoma Raceway is home to several teams that field cars in Pirelli GT4 America, including prestigious American racing teams Flying Lizard Motorsports and The Racers Group. Each team hopes to exploit their familiarity with the track to their advantage.
The Racers Group will have two new 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsports on the track with ten-year veteran driver Derek DeBoer and co-driver Jason Alexandridis in the #66 car, along with Dr. Jim Rappaport and co-driver Todd Hetherington in the #17. 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 line-ups 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 GT4s with James Walker Jr and Devin Jones in the #82 car, and James Clay and Charlie Postins in the #36. This will be Jones’ first season with SRO, with a long history of sports car racing, and 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 #51, Tom Capizzi and John Capestro-Dubets in the #52, and Rob Walker and Alex Filsinger in the #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 sports car. Random Vandals complete the BMW line-up with Paul Spart and Al Carter behind the wheel.
Mercedes-AMG brings several strong line-ups to Sonoma to kick off the season. Conquest Racing returns with an entry for multi-race winner Michai Stephens, driving with Gavin Sanders in car #34, alongside Josh Hurley and Manny Franco in the #35. Kris Wilson will drive with Cole Ciraulo in the newly formed Snow Brothers Racing, and Sonoma’s Cameron Racing entry will be piloted by Chris Cagnazzi and Guy Cosmo. RENNtech Motorsports complete the German manufacturers entries with Chris Gumprecht and GT World Challenge Champion Kyle Marcelli in the #79, and Custodio Toledo co-driving with Paulo Carcasci in #89.
Joining TRG in the Porsche camp are a trio of Nolasport entrants including Sean Gibbons and Sam Owen (#7), Alain Stad and Thomas Merrill (#19), and Scott Noble and 2021 GT4 America champion Jason Hart (#47). RS1 will feature Eric Filgueiras and Steven McAleer alongside Juan Martinez and Nelson Calle.
Another past GT4 America Champion, James Sofronas and the GMG Racing, return with Porsche and 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 Cup champs Smooge Racing have moved to the Silver category with John Geesbreight and Kevin Conway in their #68 entry. They’ll be joined by Todd Coleman and open wheel standout Aaron Telitz in the Pro-Am #69. 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 in the #21, plus Moisey Uretsky and Justin Piscitell in the #55. Dexter Racing also welcomes a new Toyota GR Supra GT4 into their stable with Dominic Starkweather and Ryan Dexter.
Plus, 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 are represented by ARG/Rotek Racing with Edgar Lau and Billy Johnson behind the wheel of their Ford Mustang GT4.
CarBahn with Peregrine Racing will feature 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.
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