RS1, Filgueiras and McAleer Sweep Watkins Glen Weekend
Two races at Watkins Glen International, and two Pirelli GT4 America victories for the #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer. Filgueiras and McAleer came from sixth on the grid to sweep the weekend.
Dark clouds began to wash over Watkins Glen before the start of Race 2 at 11:10 AM local time. Air temperatures were around 24°C, with track temperatures of 33°C at the start of the race.
After taking Smooge Racing’s first-ever outright pole position, Aaron Telitz led the field into turn one aboard the #69 Toyota GR Supra GT4, while Kenton Koch gained two positions and moved up to second in the #15 BSport Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
Just two laps into the race, the #888 Zelus Motorsports Vantage GT4 (Sean Whalen/Matt Guiver) triggered a chain reaction crash involving the #83 RS1 Cayman RS (Nelson Calle/Juan Martinez) and the #319 Indian Summer Racing Cayman MR (Francis Selldorff/Travis Washay). The stewards’ hammer came down hard on Guiver, and the #888 Zelus Vantage GT4 was parked for the rest of the race for forcing two other competitors to retire from the race.
After the ensuing Safety Car intervention, Telitz, Koch, and Andy Lee (#8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Vantage GT4) led the field away, while the #52 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 of John Capestro-Dubets had his hands full trying to fend off McAleer for fourth place.
On lap nine, catastrophe befell the #69 Smooge Racing GR Supra, when the left rear wheel came off completely approaching the Esses. Telitz and Todd Coleman’s races were over. During this second Safety Car period, a light mist began falling at spots of the track. Any significant rain, however, stayed away – and the sun reappeared during the race.
It meant that the compulsory pit window was delayed, opening with 28 minutes left in the race. All of the leaders pitted after 16 laps, just before the ten-minute window closed. The top four runners exited the pits in the same order that they entered, now with their lower-graded drivers at the wheel.
Filgueiras was fourth, but he quickly made his way past the #52 AutoTechnic M4 GT4 of Tom Capizzi to third. Then on lap 20, he passed both the #8 Flying Lizard Vantage GT4 of Elias Sabo for second, and the #15 BSport Vantage GT4 of Bryan Putt to take the overall lead and sail off into the distance over the final ten minutes.
It was the seventh overall and Silver Cup class win for Filgueiras and McAleer in 2022, their third clean sweep after Sonoma and NOLA.
“I was very careful around the other cars because they’re racing for a different class, but I had a lot of fun with some of the guys out there,” McAleer said after the race. “There’s a lot of big names at the front of the field. I knew if I could keep the car in one piece and give it to Eric, then he should be able to sneak his way by. Two wins this weekend, it’s been a big points day for us, and we’re really happy.”
While the Silver class victory was settled, the battle for the maximum 25 points for Pro-Am Cup victory was still raging. With six laps remaining, Capizzi in the #52 BMW passed Sabo to take third position overall and second in the class, with Putt right in front of him, trying to score BSport Racing’s first win since Sonoma. Eventually, Edgar Lau entered the frame in the #124 ARG/Rotek Racing Ford Mustang GT4, and it became a four-way battle for position.
After mounting pressure, Capizzi finally broke through and overtook Putt in the esses with three laps left, and Sabo went through into the Bus Stop.
Capizzi held on and sealed Race 2 redemption for himself and Capestro-Dubets with second overall and the Pro-Am victory, by just a second and a half. It was their second class victory of the year, following their Race 1 win at VIR.
“Race 1 ended poorly for us,” remarked Capizzi. “But we just shook it all off, got out there, and we just dialed in all of our points. I’m elated; I didn’t know what to expect today. I love it!”
Lau was the hero of the final lap, overtaking a rapidly-diminishing Putt, then, out of the final corner, rumbling past Sabo over the line to take second in class and third overall by just 0.043 seconds over the line. Like the Capizzi/Capestro-Dubets victory, this was a measure of redemption for Lau and team mate Billy Johnson Jnr, after the race-ending collision that knocked both cars out of the first race.
Second and third in Silver Cup were fifth and sixth overall – the #68 Smooge Racing GR Supra (Kevin Conway/John Geesbreght), followed by the #34 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 (Gavin Sanders/Michai Stephens). Putt would finish seventh overall after yielding to the aforementioned Silver class cars.
The #120 Premier Racing Cayman RS (Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer), the #112 Dexter Racing GR Supra (Dominic Starkweather/Ryan Dexter), and the #47 NOLASPORT Cayman RS (Scott Noble/Jason Hart) rounded out the overall top ten in the race.
While RS1’s dominance at the outright front of the field has been the headliner in GT4 America, the #36 BimmerWorld M4 GT4 of Charlie Postins and James Clay has enjoyed similar domination in the Am Cup. They won the class in 12th place overall, for their fourth consecutive class win and sixth of the year in total.
“This is four wins in a row for us, and I think when you can bring the car back clean, and you’re on a roll with performance, it’s just easier to continue that way. That’s what we’ll do,” said BimmerWorld owner/driver Clay.
Behind them, the #72 KRUGSPEED GR Supra (Anthony Geraci/Jaden Lander) finished second in class, ahead of the #53 AutoTechnic M4 GT4 (Rob Walker/Alex Filsinger), just as it was in Race 1 the day before.
GT4 America returns to action at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, from 19-21 August.
Images © SRO Motorsports Group America
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