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 an event at Sonoma Raceway. On the Labour Day weekend, competitors will race 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.

The opening rounds for the 2019 Pirelli GT4 America SprintX championship took place at the Circuit of the Americas’ twenty-turn 3.4-mile road course. Thirty-two teams were entered from the two regional championships (East and West) to compete in two sixty-minute races.

The start of round two for the 2019 Pirelli GT4 America SprintX championship at Circuit of the Americas. Leading the way and making a great start from the third position is Robby Foley in the Flying Lizards Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR. Slotting in behind Foley are the Porsches of Trent Hindman who qualified fourth and won the East division on Saturday and the pole-sitter and round one victor, Jason Hart.
NOLA Sport entered two very quick Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR. Sharing the driving duties for the No. 47 Porsche were Matt Travis and Jason Hart - competing in the SprintX Pro/Am category. Both drivers topped the timesheets in their respective qualifying session. Travis was the starting driver for round one and the duo won overall. The following day, they finished second overall but captured the class victory by a margin of 3.958-seconds.
The 2018 Touring Car champion, Vesko Kozarov was paired with Jeff Burton in an Audi R8 LMS GT4. The drivers were classified as Amateur and competed in the West division. Kozarov qualified the Audi for Saturday’s contest and was fifth quickest. The pair won their category and finished in fourth place. In round two, Burton crashed on lap-1 between turns nineteen and twenty. The damage to the car forced the team to retire from the race.
In 2018, Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hinman won a round at Virginia International Raceway driving a Ford Mustang GT4. This season, they returned in a Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR and were categorized as Pro/Am scoring points in the Eastern division. Brynjolfsson qualified ninth overall for the weekend’s first contest and along with Hindman, they captured their category and were second overall. In race two, they scored an outright victory.
TRG prepared two Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR for the opening rounds of the 2019 Pirelli GT4 America SprintX championship. Quicker of the two was the No. 67 Porsche shared by Kevin Woods and Chris Bellomo. Bellomo started his race season at Daytona in the Michelin Pilot event but he and his co-driver were the first retirement. In Texas, Bellomo and Woods captured a win and runner-up finish in the Am category for the Western division.
Preston Calvert returned to the series and this season, he was sharing the Panoz Avezzano GT4 with Matt Keegan. Both drivers were categorized as Amateurs. Calvert started the first event nineteenth overall but the duo finished sixth and first in their division. The following day, Keegan was gridded seventeenth. Unfortunately, an issue caused them to lose a lap to the leaders but they were still able to salvage a third in class.
ST Racing was back with two BMW M4 GT4s. Harry Gottsacker qualified first in the Western division Pro/Am category driving the No. 28 BMW. Sharing the car with Gottsacker was Jon Miller. At the checker for round one, they were eleventh overall but first in their class. Miller was gridded twenty-third on Sunday but the duo finished fourth overall and captured another Pro/Am Western division victory.
The Bodymotion Racing prepared Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR was raced by Sean Gibbons and Al Carter. These Amateur category drivers were scoring points for the Eastern division. Gibbons was tenth quickest in the qualifying session for Saturday’s contest. He and Carter finished sixteenth overall but won in their group. The following day, Carter was gridded eighth but the pair could only manage a fourth in class.
The entry list included two Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR prepared by Flying Lizard Motorsports but only one participated. Racing the No. 21 Flying Lizard Porsche was the Pro/Am combination of Michael Dinan and Robby Foley. Dinan started eighth overall and despite contact and damage on the first lap, they finished third in class. On Sunday, Foley jumped from third to first at the start but the duo was second in their category at the checker.
The 2017 TCA champion, Matt Fassnacht and 2013 Mazda MX-5 title holder, Christian Szymczak joined forces and returned to the series as Amateurs in the Eastern division. As was the case last season, they drove a Mercedes-AMG GT4 prepared by Murillo Racing. Fassnacht was gridded fourth for Saturday’s contest but the pair finished well done the running order in twenty-third. On Sunday, they captured the top spot on the class podium.
The only McLaren entered was the 570S GT4 driven by Jarrett Andretti and Karl Thomson. Andretti was quick in qualifying and started the contest on the outside of the front row. At the checkered flag, they were fourth but the McLaren was 160-lbs. underweight and the team was disqualified. On Sunday, with the issue addressed, Andretti and Thomson finished eleventh overall and first in the Amateur group.
Three divisions (National, East and West), two categories (Pro/Am and Am) and two drivers per car meant that there were six podium presentations each day. This image is the GT4 American East podium for the Amateurs. In the center of the rostrum are the winners, Matthew Fassnacht and Christian Szymczak. To the left are the runner-ups, James Clay and Randy Mueller. Completing the podium are Jeff Sexton and Ray Mason.

FINISHCLASSDRIVERENTRANT / CARLAPS
1SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmTravis / HartNOLASPORT / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR24
2GT4 East - Pro/AmBrynjolfsson / HindmanPark Place Motorsports / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR24
3GT4 East - Pro/AmRenger / ChaseRENNtech Motorsports / Mercedes-AMG GT424
4GT4 West - Am/AmBurton / KozarovRearden Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT424
5SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmBell / UdellGMG Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT424
6SprintX - GT4 Am/AmCalvert / KeeganTeam Panoz Racing / Panoz Avezzano GT424
7GT4 East - Pro/AmStacy / GolinelloKohr Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT424
8SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmDinan / FoleyFlying Lizard Motorsports / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR24
9GT4 East - Pro/AmMcAleer / RaphaelClassic BMW / BMW M4 GT424
10SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmLiefooghe / QuinlanStephen Cameron Racing / BMW M4 GT424
11GT4 West - Pro/AmGottsacker / MillerST Racing / BMW M4 GT424
12SprintX - GT4 Am/AmAllen / WilsonAuto Technic Racing / BMW M4 GT424
13GT4 East - Pro/AmRadisic / WittmerPrecision Driving Tech / BMW M4 GT424
14SprintX - GT4 Am/AmCapestro-Dubets / VessNOLASPORT / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR24
15GT4 West - Pro/AmTan / WolfeST Racing / BMW M4 GT424
16GT4 East - Am/AmCarter / GibbonsBodymotion Racing / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR24
17GT4 West - Am/AmBellomo / WoodsTRG- The Racers Group / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR24
18SprintX - GT4 Am/AmCollingwood / TecceBGB Motorsports Group / Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR24
19GT4 East - Am/AmMueller / ClayEpic Motorsports / BMW M4 GT424
20GT4 East - Am/AmSexton / MasonClassic BMW / BMW M4 GT424
21GT4 West - Am/AmGannett / StaveleyIan Lacy Racing / Ginetta G5524
22GT4 West - Pro/AmDennis / BaderUSRD / Ginetta G5524
23GT4 East - Am/AmFassnacht / SzymczakMurillo Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT424
24GT4 East - Am/AmPalmer / PalmerPhoton Motorsports / Audi R8 LMS GT424
25GT4 West - Pro/AmCattaneo / TrinklerRearden Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT423
26GT4 West - Am/AmDeBoer / RappaportTRG- The Racers Group / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR23
27GT4 East - Pro/AmBriscoe / DavisKelly-Moss Road & Race / Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR22
28GT4 East - Pro/AmPoland / PilgrimDoghouse Performance / Audi R8 LMS GT418
29GT4 East - Pro/AmOhmacht / GrahovecClassic BMW / BMW M4 GT416
30GT4 East - Pro/AmGeraci / GoulartKRUGSPEED / Ginetta G551
DQSprintX - GT4 Pro/AmAndretti / ThomsonAndretti Autosport / McLaren 570S GT40

FINISHCLASSDRIVERENTRANT / CARLAPS
1GT4 East - Pro/AmBrynjolfsson / HindmanPark Place Motorsports / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR23
2SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmTravis / HartNOLASPORT / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR23
3GT4 East - Am/AmFassnacht / SzymczakMurillo Racing / Mercedes-AMG GT423
4GT4 West - Pro/AmGottsacker / MillerST Racing / BMW M4 GT423
5SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmDinan / FoleyFlying Lizard Motorsports / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR23
6GT4 East - Pro/AmRenger / ChaseRENNtech Motorsports / Mercedes-AMG GT423
7GT4 East - Pro/AmStacy / GolinelloKohr Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT423
8GT4 West - Am/AmBellomo / WoodsTRG- The Racers Group / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR23
9GT4 East - Am/AmMueller / ClayEpic Motorsports / BMW M4 GT423
10GT4 West - Am/AmGannett / StaveleyIan Lacy Racing / Ginetta G5523
11SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmAndretti / ThomsonAndretti Autosport / McLaren 570S GT423
12GT4 East - Pro/AmMcAleer / RaphaelClassic BMW / BMW M4 GT423
13GT4 East - Pro/AmRadisic / WittmerPrecision Driving Tech / BMW M4 GT423
14GT4 East - Pro/AmPoland / PilgrimDoghouse Performance / Audi R8 LMS GT423
15GT4 East - Pro/AmGeraci / GoulartKRUGSPEED / Ginetta G5523
16GT4 East - Am/AmSexton / MasonClassic BMW / BMW M4 GT423
17SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmLiefooghe / QuinlanStephen Cameron Racing / BMW M4 GT423
18GT4 East - Am/AmCarter / GibbonsBodymotion Racing / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR23
19SprintX - GT4 Am/AmCapestro-Dubets / VessNOLASPORT / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR23
20GT4 East - Am/AmPalmer / PalmerPhoton Motorsports / Audi R8 LMS GT423
21SprintX - GT4 Am/AmCollingwood / TecceBGB Motorsports Group / Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR23
22GT4 West - Pro/AmDennis / BaderUSRD / Ginetta G5523
23GT4 West - Am/AmDeBoer / RappaportTRG- The Racers Group / Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR23
24GT4 West - Pro/AmCattaneo / TrinklerRearden Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT423
25SprintX - GT4 Am/AmCalvert / KeeganTeam Panoz Racing / Panoz Avezzano GT422
26SprintX - GT4 Am/AmAllen / WilsonAuto Technic Racing / BMW M4 GT422
27GT4 East - Pro/AmBriscoe / DavisKelly-Moss Road & Race / Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR22
28GT4 West - Pro/AmTan / WolfeST Racing / BMW M4 GT422
29SprintX - GT4 Pro/AmBell / UdellGMG Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT418
NCGT4 West - Am/AmBurton / KozarovRearden Racing / Audi R8 LMS GT41
NCGT4 East - Pro/AmOhmacht / GrahovecClassic BMW / BMW M4 GT40

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