Random Vandals’ Koch, Boehm Win COTA GT4 Enduro

Photo: Fred Hardy/SRO

Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm combined to claim victory in the first-ever Pirelli GT4 America three-hour endurance race at Circuit of The Americas.

The CrowdStrike-backed No. 97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 survived a mid-race full-course caution and challenge from the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of John Capestro-Dubets and Eric Filgueiras in the double points-paying round.

With both Nissan Z NISMO GT4s that locked out the front row falling by the wayside with power steering and lug-nut issues for Flying Lizard Motorsports and Blackdog Racing, respectively, Filgueiras and Boehm emerged as the leading contenders early in the running.

A yellow for the No. 55 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO of Kevin Conway, which stopped on track with a loose tire, came moments after the RS1 squad pitted for routine service, which kept Capestro-Dubets in with a chance of the win.

The No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota and No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport both pitted under yellow, with the ACI entry receiving a drive-through penalty for a collision in the pit lane.

Kay van Berlo rebounded to an eighth place overall finish, second in Pro-Am.

Koch crossed the line 29.467-seconds ahead of fellow Silver class competitor Capestro-Dubets, who was assessed a five-second post-race penalty for a pit lane procedure violation.

It did not affect the finishing position of the No. 28 RS1 Porsche.

Parker Thompson rebounded from the ill-timed yellow to finish third alongside Daniel Hanley in the Hanley Motorsports Toyota, ahead of the Pro-Am class-winning No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW of Tyler McQuarrie and James Walker Jr.

Random Vandals celebrated a double victory on Saturday, with its No. 98 BMW of Kris Wilson and Paul Sparta winning the Am class with a fifth place overall finish.

It meant BMW M4 GT4s claimed victories in all three classes on Saturday.

The No. 51 AutoTechnic BMW of Zac Anderson and Colin Garrett came home sixth overall after suffering a brake fluid leak during its first stop, after initially being in the early race mix.

The three-hour race ran largely without incident although took a toll on drivers, with ambient temperatures in the low-90 degree Fahrenheit range.

RESULTS: Race

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John