GT4 America concludes at Indianapolis without any Aston Martin in a remaining championship hunt
Within the dual driver GT4 America Series, sadly none of the six Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered crews have a shot at the remaining driver titles still on offer as the leading AMR contender, the #8 Flying Lizard car of Elias Sabo and Andy Lee presently sitting third within their Pro-Am class fifty-two points behind the class leader with only fifty points available this weekend.
The #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing crew of Ross Chouest and Aaron Povoledo sit just behind in fourth albeit a further twenty-four points behind after their topsy-turvy season together this year.
The intermittent seasonal #2 Flying Lizard AMR entry of Jason Bell and Michael Cooper stand ahead of other full season AMR powered entries in P7 despite having only entered two rounds prior to this one with the #24 Heart of Racing crew of Gray Newell and Roman De Angelis next in P8 after another season within the series that started with Ian James before his World Endurance Commitments forced him to swap himself out with De Angelis after a couple of rounds.
The final full season entry has been from the all-female #26 Heart of Racing crew of Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt who, having won a season together after a global shoot-out with ten other potential young female racers, have endured something of a ‘challenging’ season. Competing within the Am class, the #26 crew have battled the inexperience of the circuits for Kiwi racer O’Meara-Hunt whilst the sheer competitive nature of the series has left them stranded at the track on several occasions through no fault of their own.
The final AMR entry this weekend will see Todd Parriott and Tom Dyer race again within their #13 Vantage GT4 but this time under the Flying Lizard banner having last competed at Road America under the assiatnce of GMG Racing. Despite their infrequent competition, the pairing still managed a P7 and P6 finish in class at the August event so are not ones to discount.
Their final race weekend begins on Thursday with two Free Practice sessions before both Qualifying runs and Race 1 on Friday with the season being rounded off with Race 2 early on Sunday morning.
Photo credits – Team / Series
Monday, October 02, 2023 |
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Mixed fortunes amongst the podium finishes for the AMR runners in GT4 America
Round five of the season and six such teams made their way north to the Wisconsin circuit having enjoyed something of an eight-week break since their last round at VIR in June.
The four full season entries from the Heart of Racing, Chouest Povoledo Racing and Flying Lizards teams were all back in attendance although there was (like the GT America Series before it) some adjustment with the remaining entries as Van Der Steur served us up another driver crew whilst the GMG Racing was a new entry.
The #24 Heart crew of Gray Newell and Roman De Angelis where certainly out to improve upon the disappointment of VIR whilst their all girl #26 crew of Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt were each getting faster and more consistent as their Am Class season progressed. The #8 Flying Lizard crew of Elias Sabo/Andy Lee and the #50 Chouest Povoledo crew of tehir namesakes Ross and Aaron were also already up to speed in Pro-Am although the Aston was clearly not the speediest platform within.
Hitting the hot and humid circuit of Road America this weekend, there were signs of progress as Grisham hit P4 overall during Q1, only marginally beaten by three silver grade crews whilst their #24 crew were also within the top five within Pro-Am.
Unfortunately for the #26 crew, a necessary chassis change before the race saw that effort go to waste and for Grisham having to start race 1 from the rear of the grid as the race finally got underway towards the end of the day.
Always chasing the faster silver crews, the #24 Heart crew led the AMR charge with the new #119 Rory Van Der Steur VDS Aston behind and the #8 car of Sabo behind him. Disaster soon become the #50 car however as rear contact with a McLaren from Chouest caused himself and the McLaren crew race ending damage that would also bring out the Safety Car after a further car hit the outside retaining walls hard and stopped on track.
Always chasing the faster silver crews, the #24 Heart crew led the AMR charge with the new #119 Rory Van Der Steur VDS Aston behind and the #8 car of Sabo behind him. Disaster soon become the #50 car however as rear contact with a McLaren from Chouest caused himself and the McLaren crew race ending damage that would also bring out the Safety Car after a further car hit the outside retaining walls hard and stopped on track.
Nearly fifteen minutes were lost to that clean up with Newell doing well to keep the silver grade car of Van Der Steur behind once the race went back to green. Further confusion came during the pit window as a Toyota also hit the wall, but the race did stay green long enough for all to complete their mandatory stop before falling back behind the Safety Car again.
With De Angelis now aboard the #24, a near miss for him came as to cars hit each other immediately behind but terminal trouble soon came the way of O’Meara-Hunt as contact of her own with the #26 car would see them retire from the race and the event as that damage was irreparable at the circuit. That pain for the team would however be lessened by the performance of the #24 as De Angelis brought the car home to take the win Pro-Am behind the Safety Car.
The #8 Flying Lizard car would take P4, the #119 VDS car of Van Der Steur and Jamie Day would take P4 in Silver with the #13 GMG Aston Martin finally coming home P7 in Pro-Am.
Sunday’s second race was a mess right from the start of issues during Q2 didn’t see enough cars make representative lap times due to a prolonged red flag situation which meant that grid position was set by their times during FP2.
That saw the #13 GMG Racing car of Tom Dyer take his first series start in an Aston Martin from the front row, the #8 car from the second row and the #119 from the sixth row. A much repaired #50 car would take the start but from the pit lane.
With the top five (mainly silver grade crews) quickly breaking away from the pack, Dyer paved the way for the chasing Astons as Lee easily countered the attacking gestures of a series debuting Day behind in P8. De Angelis also started from the rear of the grid – he wasn’t to have such a good race this time around as Povoledo passed him for position just before the pit window.
Another car off during the pit stop window this time saw the Safety Car called leaving some crews high and dry. Although the #119 car did pit within regulation, a technical issue aboard the #119 saw Van Der Steur fall away and disappear from the running order to spoil what had otherwise been a decent weekend for them.
Again, another length caution eventually saw the race get back to green with fifteen minutes remaining but by this time the #13 car of Todd Parriott had fallen away for Sabo to take the AMR powered lead in P3 with both Chouest and Newell distant P14/15.
Continuing a Road America resurgence in Aston Martin GT4 America fortune, the #8 Flying Lizard car of Sabo and Lee secured a Pro-Am P3 finish with the #13 crew coming home a very credible P6 in class and the #24 crew P9.
The series now has another four-week sabbatical before racing resumes at its penultimate round of Sebring in mid-September.
Photo credits – Team / Series
Monday, August 21, 2023 |
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Change in Championship lead as Bell persists but Chouest suffers issues in GT America
Solo driven of course with no scheduled stops for the bronze ranked gentleman drivers, the weekend would ultimately provide us with a change in the GT4 Championship leader as some consolidated their position whilst others would see their confidence and race machinery affected by the events of other races.
Having skipped the Nashville round, the #8 Flying Lizard AMR of Elias Sabo was the first to show his pace qualifying upon pole for the weekends opening race with the #25 Heart of Racing AMR of Gray Newell alongside and the championship contending car of #2 Jason Bell strategically ahead of Championship leader, Ross Chouest aboard his #50 Chouest Povoledo Racing AMR in P7.
The weekend welcomed a number of familiar faces from #TeamAMR from other series as Scott Blind brought his Ruckus Racing outfit to the SRO series with his #045 Archangel supported Aston, with Brady Behrman swapping to GT America with his #428 Van Der Steur Aston and with Todd Parriott continuing his early AMR Vantage GT4 route with his #13 GMG Racing entry.
Early moves saw Bell quickly move up to P3 as Newell dropped back whilst debutant Blind was giving Chouest cause for concern as he battled with his uncharacteristically low starting position as the Aston Martin contingent soon became 1-2-3 in class. Halfway through a spin for Parriott saw him narrowly avoid either contact or becoming stuck but Savage wouldn’t be so lucky next time around as a passing GT3 distracted him into a spin where his #009 car would end up in the gravel.
That brought of the Safety Car for recovery, going back to green with just ten minutes remaining when another errant GT3 collected the Porsche of Rob Holland from the GT4 battle right in front of Newell, forcing him to slow and allow an opportunist passed to collect a P3 finish for his efforts as the race finished behind the Safety Car.
Sabo would claim the win, with Bell in second and Chouest in third.
Sunday morning’s race would be equally hot and humid despite the early start as the grid was set from yesterday’s fastest laps. That would see Bell starting P2, Sabo P3 and Chouest P5 and that had all the makings of another great race.
With the Camaro out in front, it was the case of who was next best as that car clearly had the early legs over the V8’s of the Aston Martins for the opening half of the race.
Recovering from his first race incident, the Porsche of rob Holland was soon passed Bell for P2 before contesting and then passing the Camaro for the class lead in only a couple of laps as four Astons battled it out for P3 to P7. Just before the halfway stage however, the Camaro suddenly lost power and dropped back through the order and into eventual retirement as Holland continued to dominate at the front with no ability to respond from either Bell or Sabo.
Further down the order, Savage was having a better race as he pressed the #21 Toyota for P7 in class having then dropped the #13 GMG Racing Aston. Behrman’s transfer to the solo GT America Series would not go as smoothly as Saturday’s opener and issues forced him to park his #428 car early.
Still struggling with his #50 car since the start, Chouest would see both Blind and Newell pass him towards the end that would see him down to P6 in class which would mean that he would lose the Championship lead to Bell as the #2 Flying Lizard car finished P2 to Holland and with his team-mate Sabo in third.
Just off the podium again for Newell but Blind would again come home in P5, two terrific results from someone who had not contested at this level before with his new AMR Vantage GT4.
Two more rounds at Sebring and Indianapolis see out the 2023 season so the next round around the infamous bumps will prove to be pivotable for the two championship contesting Astons ahead of the season finale around the banked oval of infield of Indy.
Photo credits – Series / Teams
Sunday, August 20, 2023 |
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Possibly up to six Aston Martin GT4s as GT4 America also hits the track of Road America next weekend
Having seen seven AMR’s out at VIR, the return to racing after the summer break sees either five or six such cars return with the only doubt being over the vehicle being employed by the new #13 GMG Racing entry for Todd Parriott and Tom Dyer. Parriott is listed within the sister GT America Series races within a Vantage GT4 car so we can only assume that that will continue within the GT4 America Series with their car not being listed within the entry lists so far.
We do see the season regulars return with both Heart of Racing cars for both Gray Newell and Roman De Angelis within their #24 car and Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt within the Am classed #26 car.
They are joined by both the #8 Flying Lizard car of Elias Sabo and Andy as well as the #50 Chouest Povoledo Aston Martin of their namesakes, Ross Chouest and Aaron Povoledo to round up the regular faces.
Again, and as listed within our previous GT America Series report, we ‘loose’ the #428 Van Der Steur Aston Martin entry of Brady Behrman from the GT4 America Series to just that of the GT America Series as a change of racing preferences to solo driver series breaks the partnership that he enjoyed with Coby Shields.
Instead of them, we do however see the Van Der Steur again list a silver class entry for both Rory Van Der Steur and GT4 European racer Jamie Day. Teammates within the Mirage Racing ranks of the GT4 European Series now, the duo was supposed to race at the VIR round of the GT4 America Series but (we think??) that they didn’t for a reason that escapes us at the moment! If they do show up, they will be within the #119 car.
For the year so far, the series has been a difficult one for the Vantage from an overall race winning perspective but in class, the #8 Flying Lizard crew are still pushing the championship leaders hard with just three points between them but with three rounds still to go.
The #50 Chouest Povoledo crew are just a further four points behind them whilst in Am, the BMW crews seem to have things almost wrapped up there are the grid will prepare themselves for two more hour long, pit stop punctuated races over next weekend.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Saturday, August 12, 2023 |
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Eight Aston Martins line up for next round of GT America from Road America next weekend
Only the full season entries of Jason Bell (#2 Flying Lizards), Gray Newell (#25 Heart of Racing) and Ross Chouest (#50 Chouest Povoledo Racing) braved the street circuit of Nashville last weekend but despite the Porsche of Rob Holland commanding the top step of the GT4 class, both Chouest and Bell enjoyed podium success to maintain their positions within the class championship hunt as the series moves across to the traditional circuit layout of Road America.
Todays provisional entry list sees those three full season entries of course return but with some more both familiar and other non-familiar faces for this SRO sanctioned Series.
The #8 Flying Lizard car of Elias Sabo returns after something of a fraught event last time out at VIR (prior to Nashville) as well as the #428 Van Der Steur prepared car of Brady Behrman who swaps from the pro-am class of the sister GT4 America to that of the solo driving bronze driver within this series.
The #009 The Racers Group entered (and Prosport Competition) prepared AMR of Tim Savage returns for his third round of the series having entered the series late to race at both Sonoma and VIR to stand nineth within the class going into this seventh round.
Then we have the two new entries of the #045 Archangel Motorsport prepared entry of Scott Blind and his Ruckus Racing trade name – more known to us for his exploits so far within the World Racing League with his very brightly coloured AMR Vantage GT4. This time Team TLM will not be preparing his car for this series as he sticks with his service provider from his other Porsche based racing commitments.
Finally, we see the #13 GMG Racing prepared car of Todd Parriott enter the series for the first time, not his first event with his Aston Martin of course as he and Andy Lee entered the Spa round of the GT4 European Series just ahead of the Crowdstrike 24Hours of Spa race. Unfortunately there, an incident during practice caused irreparable damage to the car and we never actually saw them compete.
Hopefully, all will have better fortune next weekend as the series runs out rounds 13 and 14 of the season with two more forty-minute races.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media / GT4 European
Friday, August 11, 2023 |
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Hard earned podium success for two AMR runners in opening race of GT4 European Series
There were unfortunately casualties within the group leading up to this stage of the weekend as the additional entry from the Racing One team on behalf of American GMG Racing team and their drivers Andy Lee and Todd Pariott had suffered an unseen incident on track during Free Practice 2 that consigned that #9 entry to the back of the team awning with irreparable damage.
That left the first Qualifying session, and it would be the #24 JSB Competition AMR Vantage GT4 of Julian Briche who would steal the honours with an overall front row start in P2 and on pole position for their silver class entry. The #7 Mirage AMR of Louis Meric/Romain Carton was not far behind in P5 overall with the #74 Racing Spirit of Leman entry of Victor Weyrich and Konstantin Lachenaur beside them in P6.
Holding the lead into turn one at the start, the #24 car would just hold onto the lead on the opening laps as the huge chasing bunch squabbled and slow themselves down behind and before two cars had contact at the bus stop leaving one stranded on car and another leaving fluid across the racing surface.
Fifteen minutes were lost behind the Safety Car during that clean-up process and at the restart, the race entered only its second racing lap. With such an expansive field, battles between cars in differing classes were everywhere as the #19 Racing One AMR of Andreas Bachman was paying very close attention to the rear of Jamie Day’s #5 Mirage.
By the time the pit window opened, the #24 JSB Aston had opened up a 1.2 second lead although preferred not to pit until the very end of the process. Those who pitted early hoped to make the jump off track as the masses delayed themselves battling for position both on track and through the pit lane.
With all cars having pitted, the #48 GPA Racing car of Bailey Voisin and a deputing Tom Verdier suffered rearward contact with a McLaren that would send the Frenchman hard into the tyre wall which (together with another incident elsewhere on track) would eventually bring out the Safety Car again.
Losing his then six second lead, Florian Briche now had the remaining grid directly behind all trying to pressurise him into a mistake at the restart. With just eight minutes remaining the race went back to green and Briche was very quickly being swamped for position but battle hard he did to keep himself within the top three overall ass the race entered its final lap.
With the #24 car now in P3, a charging Ruben Del Sarte had lifted the #5 Mirage Aston up to P6 whilst a once charging Lachenaur had sadly gone the wrong way in his #74 car to find himself battling hard in P15.
Eventually crossing the line in P4 (#24) and P5 (#5), post-race time penalties would quickly take effect on the finishing order as the #24 was given a ten second penalty for track limits that would cast them down to P11 overall (P4 in class) whilst the #5 Mirage crew would eventually step up on to the silver Class podium in third as a result. The #72 GPA Racing Am crew of Florent Grizaud and Kevin Jimenez would complement that achievement with another P3 finish in class for their efforts.
Race 2 takes place later this morning.
Photo credits - Series / social media
Saturday, July 01, 2023 |
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Flying Lizards latest AMR GT4 liveries ahead of SRO America
In anticipation of the rapidly-approaching start of the 2023 SRO America race season, Flying Lizard Motorsports has revealed the liveries for the team’s three full-season Aston Martin Vantage GT4 entries.
As previously announced, 2021 GT America Powered by AWS champion Jason Bell joins the team, racing the No. 2 Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Bell recently finished second in the 2022 championship and is ready to begin another quest for the title at his home race of St. Petersburg March 3-5. The livery for Bell’s No. 2 Aston Martin Vantage GT will sport a black base with the iconic Lizard head on the hood and sides of the car, with yellow and white slanted lines accenting the look. The car will be sponsored by Fidelis Capital, providers of a private banking experience from an advisor-owned wealth management firm, providing comprehensive financial advisory services.
Elias Sabo’s pair of Aston Martin Vantage GT4 cars will trade in the neutral-colored livery for a bold orange and black look, representing the colors of primary sponsor 5.11 Tactical. The American apparel brand has been a strong supporter of SRO America, Sabo, and more recently, the Flying Lizard team, who proudly wear the brand’s apparel at every race event. The orange and black car will have the Lizard logo on the hood, and again sport the American flag on the roof, also representing Elias Sabo and Andy Lee, the two Americans who will pilot the car throughout the 2023 race season.
Bell will start the 2023 GT America Powered by AWS March 3-5 on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. The series will race in support of IndyCar’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and feature a pair of 40-minute, single-driver races. The GT America championship will continue to Sonoma Raceway at the end of the month, where the Pirelli GT4 America series will kick off it’s 2023 season. Both Bell and Sabo will compete separately in the GT America series, and Sabo will be joined by co-driver Andy Lee in GT4 America for the 60-minute pair of races.
Source material - Flying Lizards
Thursday, February 09, 2023 |
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Flying Lizards confirm a new three car AMR programme in SRO America Series for 2023
Having returned to the AMR marque with drivers Elias Sabo and Andy Lee who would compete in both the SRO GT America and GT4 America, the California based team has today confirmed that the above duo will return together for another opportunity next year as well as supporting a further AMR Vantage GT4 for 2022 GT America Vice-Champion and 2021 GT America Champion Jason Bell.
Whereas Sabo will run again within the single driver GT America Series (but not a full season apparently) and then alongside Lee within their Pro-Am classed GT4 America Series, Bell will again concentrate on just the GT America Series like he did at the tail end of this season having cited the pit stop punctuated GT4 series as too much of a distraction.
“We are really excited to have Jason Bell join us next year,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “He has always been a strong competitor and is always fighting for a win. Over the past several years he has raised his level on track with both lap times and his race craft and we look forward to working together with him in hopes of bringing him and Flying Lizard Motorsports a championship in the GT America class in 2023.”
“We are really excited to have Jason Bell join us next year,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “He has always been a strong competitor and is always fighting for a win. Over the past several years he has raised his level on track with both lap times and his race craft and we look forward to working together with him in hopes of bringing him and Flying Lizard Motorsports a championship in the GT America class in 2023.”
“Elias and Andy had such a strong season last year,” said Law. “To come from where they did early in the season to a point of consistently being a front runner fighting for wins and with a shot at a championship just gives us more incentive for the upcoming season. They have both been working hard testing this winter, we are very comfortable with the Aston Martin platform, and we feel we are in a great position to go for a GT4 America Championship in 2023.”
Good news indeed!
Photo credits – Team / Series
Monday, December 12, 2022 |
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