Last time out at VIR little under a month ago saw the Heart of Racing take monumental steps forward within their SRO3 class after positive Balance of Performance changes to their car saw the Pro-Am pairing secure a double class podium finish with a P2 in race one and a P3 at the end of the second ninety-minute race.

Those results lifted the #24 crew up to fifth within the Pro-Am Drivers Championship with a pair of races left at both Road America and Barber Motorsport Park before the final race of the season at the joint GT World Challenge America / Intercontinental GT Challenge round from Indianapolis in mid-October.

Within the GT America Series however, we will witness one of their smallest grid entries for some time as just seven GT3 based (SRO3) classed cars will compete within their two forty-minute rounds of the weekend.

Jason Bell, like at VIR last time out, has again elected to race solo under the tutelage of Michael Cooper and the Racers Edge Motorsport team as he continues in his development within his #2 AMR Vantage GT3 Evo.

Despite qualifying third in class last time out at VIR, an off for him at the old Oak Tree Bend saw his car nosedive into the tyre wall and have his internal fire extinguisher go off for his first DNF of the weekend before having to pit early during race two with similar internal car issues. Hopefully, those issues have now been long since sorted with the more open layout of the Road America circuit hopefully playing into the hands of a more powerful Aston Martin.

Having seen a variety of GT4 teams and drivers compete within the series over the previous five rounds and with two 89X Motorsport AMR Vantage GT4 cars running at VIR last time out, none have returned for this fifth round of the season and that must be worrying for the series officials.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

It’s been something of a busy few weeks for the AMR factory driver as Turner went from the previous round of this season from the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas to help out the team within their IMSA and FIA WEC diary clashes to race last weekend at the latest round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship from Laguna Seca in California to fly back across the country again for this weekend’s business in Florida.

Last time out at CoTA, race one proved itself to be the best one so far for both crews as the #24 crew got the edge with a P4 in class finish with the #2 car just behind before dropping back to P7 and P9 finishes in class respectively to round off that meeting.

With three cars fewer than last time out, there should at least be more real estate available to the runners around the circuit, and we are sure that both crews will be looking for at least one visit to the podium between them this weekend.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

Again, it would be too easy to sit back and perhaps criticise the apparent inconsistencies within the series Balance of Performance criteria between the competing chassis in class that apparently allowed amateur drivers in one or two platforms to simple drive away from the pro drivers in another, but we have learned that there are simply too many variables for that to actually happen.

This time around Jason Bell would be joining his driver coach Michael Cooper for the season aboard his #2 Racers Edge prepared AMR whilst Gray Newell would be stepping to full time GT3 racing in America alongside AMR factory driver Darren Turner and their #26 Heart of Racing entry.

Racing two, ninety minute and compulsory pit stop punctuated races, the qualifying positions were determined earlier on Saturday but with Q2 being red flagged curtailed that stopped several cars (including the #2) from posting no time at all and with the #26 car being listed with a time equivalent to determine what turned out to be their lowly race two starting positions.

For race one, both Ams started the two Aston Martins with Newell starting from P9 and Bell from P14, but Newell lost most of that early advantage going wide on the opening lap before being mugged for positions as he recovered. The two Astons would then interchange positions as their opening stint passed by but within their Pro-Am class, their lead competitors were already making an escape way up front to them.

Pitting from P13 and P14, the Racers Edge went according to plan as Cooper made for a quick exit on new rubber but for the Heart of Racing team, something went wrong with their  wheel gun air system that only allowed them to change one tyre before being forced to send to Turner back out on otherwise used rubber.

Whilst others would struggle double stinting tyres, Turner would be outwardly nonplussed about the situation losing and then gaining back places as the race unfolded. Despite everything, the #2 Racers Edge would finish race one P10 overall/P6 in Pro-Am with the HoRT finishing just behind P12 overall/P8 in class.

Race two was a different affair as they still picked up the remnants of the earlier rain but with the pro drivers starting most of the cars this time around there was at least a little more control of the situation on track with all the cars on slicks for the start.

For Turner, his second time around the Sonoma racetrack was certainly a bumpy one as nobody gave him any room with many encouraging him to move on or move out the way but pushing his car in that direction. Cooper meanwhile was having none of that as he did the encouragement as he moved up to P11 overall with Turner down to P14 before Turner eventually settled in and retook position from Cooper.

Pitting from P8 overall at the time, this time there were no errors from the Heart of Racing team, but Cooper left it to nearly the very last second before entering pit lane to allow Bell to coming out P10 overall whilst Newell was further back in P15.

Despite a brief Safety Car intervention for a Ferrari stranded in the tyre wall belt at the final hairpin corner, the natural positions of both Aston Martin Am drivers would pan out across their forty-five-minute stint with Bell eventually dropping back and getting passed by Newell to earn them P11 and P12 finishing positions in class at the end.

Next time out for the series with be from CoTA in a months’ time.

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media

Within the headlining GT World Challenge Series, we have two such examples as both the Heart of Racing and Racers Edge AMR teams step up to this series for their first full season commitment together as former GT America GT4 champion Jason Bell pairs up with long standing driver coach Michael Cooper within their familiar liveried Vantage GT3 Evo. Last season Bell was getting to grips with his new Vantage GT3 within the GT3 class of the GT America Series with the help of the Flying Lizard Motorsport team.

The second car is also another step up the SRO America racing ladder for the Heart of Racing’s Gray Newell who this time pairs up with AMR factory driver Darren Turner for the young American’s first domestic full season GT3 campaign. Not his first GT3 race by a long way after he and fellow HoRT drivers secured P2 overall in last weekends 24H Series twelve hour in Mugello, Italy.

This Friday will see the grid hitting the 2.5 mile circuit for the first time in Free Practice before individual Qualifying sessions Saturday morning before the first of two ninety minute, pit stop punctuated races later on Saturday and Sunday.

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media

Again running with the two entries from Team TGM, Van Der Steur, Archangel Motorsport and Accelerating Performance, it would be the #19 Van Der Steur car of Rory Van Der Steur who would again claim the highest Qualifying position of the five – not quite on pole like last time out at Laguna Seca but in P5 ahead of the one-hundred-minute sprint race on Saturday – that would turn into P4 after a post session penalty for another car.

Hugh and Matt Plumb were next best in P9 with Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper again pairing up aboard the #44 car to start P9, with the #88 Archangel car of Todd Coleman and Patrick Lindsey P16 and the #63 TGM car of Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler bringing up the rear of the grid – obviously not gelling with the demands of this new circuit layout.

Considering a circuit based around the grid system of any large American town or city, twenty-two GS cars thundering down into a tight 180-degree left hander didn’t bring about any waved yellows or indeed contact as all drivers showed abject discipline and control to avoid that and its ensuing and race destroying period of caution.

Van der Steur held fourth during the opening stages but a mistake from the #19 car soon dropped him back to P14 as the top 3 runners started to break away and after just twenty minutes of running, unseen contact for the #64 car had Giovanis back into pit lane with a broken tie rod and into immediate retirement as a consequence.

That left Hugh Plumb leading the AMR charge, or at least what was supposed to be but for the AMR Vantage GT4’s continued poor Balance of Performance that has seen the car loose much of its power compared to its peers for the whole season so far!

Just before the forty-minute mark and with minimum drive time already completed with the end of the race within sight of a single stint, many of the tailenders began pitting for service and driver changes. Staying out for a few more laps, the #19 Van Der Steur car soon had the so far dominating Turner BMW M4 GT4 upon its tail and going into T1 for position.

Car failure or simply driver error, what ensued next was nothing but scary as the #95 car rode up the back of the Aston Martin and then right over the top of it for both cars to come to a grinding halt within the outer tyre wall. Miraculously, both cars were still able to drive away from the scene but only as far as pit lane where both were retired.

Visibly shaken by the events, Van Der Steur was seen existing what was left of his car under his own steam to be checked over and OK’s by attending medical staff. Van Der Steur later praised the construction of his Aston Martin for protecting him so well in such an impact as that.

The resulting Safety Car neutralised the race for the next twenty minutes with the remaining cars allowed to pit for service once the immediate drama had been controlled on track. Great driving from both Uretsky and Coleman had seen them preserve their own cars in mid table positions before handing them over with little under an hour to go.

However, with what was left on the clock and the power available to them under their right foot, that again proved to be insufficient for their needs as the BMW’s and Mercedes romped away out front to leave the #44’s move into the top 10 the highlight of the event for the AMR runners. The #46 TGM car would finish P12 whilst the #88 would eventually come home P15 out of the declared seventeen strong finishers!

Next stop Watkins Glen in little over three weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

Number of Aston Martin Racing powered entries have been fluid over the two opening rounds but this weekend sees a slight increase with five AMR Vantage GT4 crews making the commitment this time around.

The two full season Team TGM cars are again scheduled to be in attendance with both Ted Giovanis/Owen Trinkler and Hugh/Matt Plumb in their #64 and #46 cars alongside the Van Der Steur entry of Rory Van Der Steur and Austin McCusker. Being no rounds of the supporting IMSA VP Sportscar Challenge either has allowed both the #44 Accelerating Performance and #88 Archangel prepared Aston Martins to also be in attendance.

Whilst Moisey Uretsky stays with his declared co-driver of Michael Cooper, the #88 car of Todd Coleman is this time partnered with Patrick Lindsey after Conrad Grunewald did at the elongated opening round at Daytona.

Despite the numbers, the 2023 season has proved itself to be a challenge for some of the AMR powered crews after the somewhat dominance of the Volt Racing crew of last season when Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman eventually lifted the GS crown.

The highest placed AMR crew are the Plumb brothers in fourth, just thirty points behind the leading BMW crew with both Uretsky and Cooper next in seventh, still only seventy points behind that leading BMW crew as well. With up to 350 points available per round – that points differences now is minimal.

Another two hour round this Saturday sees track action begin with the first Free Practice session on Friday before Qualifying and race on Saturday starting at 19:30hrs local.

Photo credits - Teams / H Pitman / C Chapman

Dry running during the opening Free Practice Session was rudely interrupted with heavy rain during the days second, to a point where many of the runners simply didn’t go out and risk their machinery for a race that was scheduled to be dry before the GS Qualifying was interrupted so badly with track incident that nobody was able to set a time, so championship position was used instead to determine the grid.

That left the #46 TGM car of H Plump starting the first of the four Aston’s in sixth with the #44 API car of Uretsky seventh and the #19 Van Der Steur car of McCusker in eight. The #64 TGM car of Giovanis would start P13.

Despite a clean start and some great racing within the opening two laps, a serious incident involving three TCR cars led to the first FCY as the extensive debris field was cleared. Losing twenty minutes to that, further contact between this time two GS cars on the green flag lap lead to a second FCY as those cars were cleared away.

The pit lane was also opened to allow the grid to take service if they saw fit with the #46 TGM car of Hugh Plump taking both fuel and tyres, the #19 car just fuel but with the other two AMR’s staying out. Trouble hit the #19 car during that stop however when it was adjusted to have passed a pit exit red light to earn itself a stop + 60 penalty!!

Another ten minutes lost but a decent restart for Uretsky saw him finally get passed the #58 McLaren for seventh as McCusker recovered to just ahead of the #64 of now Owen Trinkler with H Plumb just behind the #44 car after their longer stop.

FCY No.3 for a TCR at the hour mark allowed all the remaining GS cars to pit for their final time with Matt Plumb taking over the #46, Michael Cooper the #44 and Rory Van Der Steur the #19. Another fifteen minutes later and it was again back to hip and shoulders racing as the GS class again tried to sort out its hierarchy at the front which for the #46 car sadly meant for a wide line whilst defending their position too drop three places to P9.

Ten minutes to go and the final FCY was called for two stranded cars as well as the #58 McLaren nosed into the tyre wall at T17. Fortunately nothing serious but it did set up for a final last lap dash to the flag for conclude this second round of the series.

Not the best of races again for the Vantage GT4 as clearly others were platforms were again faster than them, but it was still a P8 finish for the #46 car, P11 for the #44, P16 for the #64 and a disappointing P20 for the #19 after a further, third stop for them before the end.

Photo credits – Teams / social media