2019 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Pirelli GT4 America

2019 was the thirtieth consecutive year for the World Challenge series. In the offseason, the Grand Touring Sport category was renamed, Pirelli GT4 America. The new title did a better job of describing this category as the cars were prepared to the FIA GT4 rulebook. Due to the popularity of this class, series officials offered are two regional championships for SprintX competitors – East and West.

As a result of the announcements, there are four different event schedules:

Sprint Schedule – The calendar starts with races at St. Petersburg, Florida in March followed by Long Beach, California. Teams return to the east coast where they will compete at Virginia International Raceway and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Then they travel to California for races at Sonoma Raceway. On the Labour Day weekend, drivers will compete at Watkins Glen International. The penultimate rounds are at Road America with the season concluding at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October.
SprintX Schedule – This season starts at Circuit of the Americas and then shares weekends with the Sprint group at Virginia International Raceway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Sonoma Raceway. The division remains on the west coast for an event at Portland International Raceway. The SprintX teams then rejoin the Sprint category for the final three weekends - Watkins Glen International, Road America and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
GT4 West Schedule – This schedule kicks-off at Circuit of the Americas. Then teams travel to the west coast with race weekends at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway, Portland International and Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the finale.
GT4 East Schedule – The eastern division also debuts at Circuit of the Americas. This weekend is followed by Virginia International Raceway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Watkins Glen with the season ending at Road America.

Cars competing in the Pirelli GT4 America category are similar to those the Blancpain GT World Challenge America class but have more preparation restrictions and are governed by FIA GT4 rules. The vehicles can be powered by forced induction or normally aspirated motors. Examples of car competing in this category include: Chevrolet Camaro GT4, McLaren 570S GT4, Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR, Porsche 718 Cayman CS-MR, Audi R8 LMS GT4, Ginetta G55 GT4, BMW M4 GT4 Mercedes-AMG GT4, Panoz Avezzano GT4 and SIN R1 GT4.

Rounds five and six of the 2019 GT4 America SprintX season were contested at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Fifteen teams competed in the two sixty-minutes races around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Its late Friday afternoon and fifteen SprintX competitors head into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s high-speed corner two for round five of the 2019 season. Leading the way is the Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR driven by the second fastest qualifier, Alan Brynjolfsson. Following Brynjolfsson is the pole-sitter, Matthew Fassnacht in the Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. Next up is the Andretti Autosport McLaren and NOLASPORT Porsche.

Matt Travis and Jason Hart have dominated this season. The point’s leaders in the PRO/AM division swept Circuit of the Americas and Virginia International Raceway. Driving the NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR, they continued their winning ways in round five. The next day, Hart and Christian Szymczak had contact sending Hart into the turn ten tires. He recovered but the best the pair could manage was a third-place finish.

The opening round for the SprintX Amateur division was won by Team Panoz Racing’s, Preston Calvert and Matt Keegan. At the next race weekend, Virginia International Raceway, they were unable to finish on the podium. The pair returned to the rostrum for the first race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - finishing third. The following day the drivers of the No. 51 Panoz Avezzano GT were back on form and captured the class victory.

Friday’s GT4 America SprintX PRO/AM East podium at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the center are the winners from Krugspeed, Elivan Goulart and Anthony Geraci. This was their first class victory of the season after a couple of disappointing outings. To Goulart and Geraci’s right are the runner-ups, Stevan McAleer and Justin Raphael. Completing the rostrum and sharing their first drive together are Karl Wittmer and Frank Gannett.

Multi-time SCCA amateur National Champion, Elivan Goulart teamed up with Anthony Geraci to drive the Krugspeed Ginetta G55. The pair competed in the Eastern PRO/AM division of the GT4 America SprintX series. Their season thus far included two DNFs with their best result being a third in Virginia. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, they dominated the proceedings – winning both races and moving to fourth in the title chase.

In the first four rounds of the GT4 America SprintX season, Stephen Cameron Racing teammates, Greg Liefooghe and Sean Quinlan had three podium finishes. Two of their results were as the runner-ups but that was about to change at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In Friday’s contest, they started eighth overall in the No. 19 BMW M4 GT4 and finished second in the PRO/AM category. In round six, the pair captured their first victory of 2019.

The round five podium for the Amateur division of the GT4 America SprintX championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The center of the rostrum is occupied by the race winners from Andretti Autosport, Jarrett Andretti and Karl Thomson. To the left are the runner-up finishers, Kris Wilson and John Allen. Completing the podium are the Team Panoz Racing duo of Preston Calvert and Matt Keegan.

Andretti Autosport’s, Jarrett Andretti and Karl Thomson competed in the SprintX Amateur division sharing the No. 36 McLaren 570S GT4. The pair were disqualified in round one but came back the next and won their category. At Virginia International Raceway, they added a fourth place and DNF to their total. In round five at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the duo was back on top of the podium but, they retired the following day.

In race one at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Matthew Fassnacht was on the pole in the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG GT4 that he would share with Christian Szymczak. During the race, Fassnacht battle with Alan Brynjolfsson - contact between the two resulted in sixty-second penalty for Fassnacht. Now out of contention, the pair finished last in the East – Amateur group. They redeemed themselves on Saturday by taking the win.

James Clay and his Bimmerworld team left the World Challenge series in 2009 to focus on endurance racing. 2019 marks the return of Clay along with Randy Mueller. The two drivers are competing in the GT4 America East – Amateur class sharing the Epic Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. Their season thus far includes a victory and at the other end of the scale, a DNF. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, they scored first and second place finishes.

Round five’s, GT4 America SprintX PRO/AM podium at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. On the left are Greg Liefooghe and Sean Quinlan who finished second in a BMW M4 GT4 prepared by Stephen Cameron Racing. On the opposite side of the rostrum are Classic BMW’s, Chris Ohmacht and team manager, Toby Grahovec. In the center for the fifth time, this season are the race winners, Jason Hart and Matt Travis.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVERS	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS
1	GT4 - Pro/Am	Travis / Hart	NOLASPORT / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR	40
2	GT4 East - Pro/Am	Geraci / Goulart	KRUGSPEED / Ginetta G55	40
3	GT4 - Pro/Am	Liefooghe / Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M4 GT4	40
4	GT4 East - Am/Am	Mueller / Clay	Epic Motorsports / BMW M4 GT4	40
5	GT4 East - Pro/Am	McAleer / Raphael	Classic BMW / BMW M4 GT4	40
6	GT4 - Am/Am	Andretti / Thomson	Andretti Autosport / McLaren 570S GT4	40
7	GT4 East - Pro/Am	Gannett / Wittmer	Ian Lacy Racing / Ford Mustang GT4	40
8	GT4 - Pro/Am	Ohmacht / Grahovec	Classic BMW / BMW M4 GT4	40
9	GT4 East - Am/Am	Collingwood / Tecce	BGB Motorsports Group / Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR	40
10	GT4 East - Am/Am	DeBoer / Gibbons	TRG- The Racers Group / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR	40
11	GT4 East - Am/Am	Fassnacht / Szymczak	Murillo Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT4	40
12	GT4 - Am/Am	Allen / Wilson	Auto Technic Racing / BMW M4 GT4	39
13	GT4 East - AM/Am	Palmer / Palmer	Kelly-Moss/Photon Motorsports / Audi R8 LMS GT4	38
14	GT4 - Am/Am	Calvert / Keegan	Team Panoz Racing / Panoz Avezzano GT4	35
NC	GT4 East - Pro/Am	Brynjolfsson / Hindman	Park Place Motorsports / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR	9

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVERS	ENTRANT / CAR	LAPS
1	GT4 East - Am/Am	Fassnacht / Szymczak	Murillo Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT4	38
2	GT4 East - Pro/Am	Geraci / Goulart	KRUGSPEED / Ginetta G55	38
3	GT4 East - Pro/Am	Gannett / Wittmer	Ian Lacy Racing / Ford Mustang GT4	38
4	GT4 East - Am/Am	Mueller / Clay	Epic Motorsports / BMW M4 GT4	38
5	GT4 - Pro/Am	Liefooghe / Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing / BMW M4 GT4	38
6	GT4 East - Pro/Am	Brynjolfsson / Hindman	Park Place Motorsports / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR	38
7	GT4 East - Am/Am	DeBoer / Gibbons	TRG- The Racers Group / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR	38
8	GT4 East - Am/Am	Collingwood / Tecce	BGB Motorsports Group / Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR	38
9	GT4 - Am/Am	Calvert / Keegan	Team Panoz Racing / Panoz Avezzano GT4	38
10	GT4 - Pro/Am	Ohmacht / Grahovec	Classic BMW / BMW M4 GT4	38
11	GT4 East - Pro/Am	McAleer / Raphael	Classic BMW / BMW M4 GT4	38
12	GT4 - Am/Am	Allen / Wilson	Auto Technic Racing / BMW M4 GT4	37
13	GT4 East - AM/Am	Palmer / Palmer	Kelly-Moss/Photon Motorsports / Audi R8 LMS GT4	36
14	GT4 - Pro/Am	Travis / Hart	NOLASPORT / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR	30
NC	GT4 - Am/Am	Andretti / Thomson	Andretti Autosport / McLaren 570S GT4	16

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