Fifteen Aston Martins again scheduled to race this weekend as the SRO head for Road America

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

The SRO America family of series enters the home straight to their 2022 season as the GT World Challenge America, GT America and GT4 America make their way over to Road America this weekend for another double header of races at the fifth round of the series.

Having raced last time out at Watkins Glen a month ago, we again see the ‘usual suspects’ come back for some more this weekend as the GT4 series get tight at the top for their respective class of driver(s).

For the #12 Ian Lacey prepared Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 of Drew Staveley and Frank Gannett, Watkins Glen came as something of a nightmare after (still unconfirmed) issues around the cars fuel cell precluded them from taking part within any official timed session making for an early flight home.

With the car having been rebuilt top to toe over the winter and damage being excluded as a causation by those on site, its hard to understand what the issues could have been but the result was that repair nor replacement was not available to them on site.

In the amateur only GT America Series, Ross Chouest and his #50 Chouest Povoledo AMR Vantage GT4 has been one on the move over recent rounds with two P2 finishes in class last time out to reduce the gap to GT4 Drivers Championship leading Jason Bell in his #2 GMG Racing Aston.

With six races still available to the grid, both Bell, Chouest, Moisey Uretsky in his #55 API prepared AMR and Gray Newell in his #25 Heart of Racing car all remain in Championship contention but that possibility has possibly already passed that of Bryan Putt in his #15 Bsport entry, Elias Sabo in his #8 Flying Lizard prepared car and Sean Whalen in his #888 Zelus Motorsport prepared car with their points deficit to those above.

As usual, this series will run two forty-minute races with their split GT3 and GT4 entered grids.

Finally comes the ultra-busy and competitive GT4 America Series with all seven of the above Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 cars again entered with both their respective Am and Pro drivers.

After Watkins Glen, the #24 Heart of Racing car of Newell and Ian James heads the AMR way in P4 overall and some twenty-nine points back from the leading Nolasport Porsche crew with the #8 Flying Lizard car of Sabo and Andy Lee and the #15 Bsport Racing car of Putt and Kenton Koch in hot pursuit behind them.

Two P3 Pro-Am finishes for the Flying Lizard crew pushed them up the Championship table as did the Heart of Racing’s class win in race one last time out.