Nine Aston's visit CoTA for a little bit of new from SRO America
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Over in the USA, the trilogy of GT America, GT4 America and GT World Challenge America series all reconvene at the Circuit of the America’s this weekend for what will be the fourth round of the bronze only GT America Series and the third rounds of each of the other series.
With no real surprises within the race entry lists for any of these, only the presence of the #16 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 entry for drivers Marc and Tyler Sharinn upset the applecart for what will be the series’ first ever single three-hour endurance race weekend.
With that team (not drivers) having taken part within last weekend’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Laguna Seca, they will join the three full season entries of Todd Parriott/Tom Dyer aboard the #13 Flying Lizard AMR entry as well as the two Heart of Racing AMR entries of Gray Newell/Roman De Angelis and Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeir aboard their #24 and #26 entries respectively.
The previous round of this series from Sebring proved productive for both Heart of Racing crews as both secured class podium finishes at the end of each of those two races.
Then within the headlining GT World Challenge America Series, we revert back to just the #8 Flying Lizard AMR Vantage GT3 entry of Elias Sabo and Andy Lee being the solo Aston Martin representative within the sixteen strong entry list for this weekend’s dual ninety-minute races.
Last time out at Sebring, Jason Bell was listed as running within this series as well as his GT America commitments alongside AMR factory driver Henrique Chaves before the reigning GT America GT4 Champion elected to only make use of this series Free Practice sessions.
So far this season, Sabo and Lee have struggled to come to terms with their new 2024 Vantage GT3 collecting just single digit points scores at each of the four races so far.
Finally, another four Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 and GT4’s entries line the twenty strong GT America entry for this weekend’s two forty-minute races.
The two Vantage GT3’s of #2 Jason Bell and #007 Tim Savage bolster the twelve strong GT3 field whilst the two Vantage GT4 cars of Gary Newell (#25) and Todd Pariott (#31) make up a large slice of the seven strong GT4 entry.
Like Sabo, both Bell and Savage have each struggled to come to terms with their conversion to GT3 having raced GT4’s so well for so many year. Bell is presently racing the apparently ‘easier to drive’ 2024 iteration of the Vantage GT3 platform whilst Savage is racing the older 2019 model that he secured from Derek DeBoer/The Racer Group at the end of last season.
Photo credits – Teams / series / social media
Photo credits – Teams / series / social media
