Pirelli Paddock Pass: Marko Radisic

Marko Radisic has made the switch from Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup competition to the GTSA level this season driving the No. 22 Precision Driving BMW M4 GT4.

This week in the Pirelli Paddock Pass, Radisic tells us about where his interest in motorsports began and discusses the decision to jump into GT4 machinery in the GTSA class this year.

Where did your interest in racing come from?

“I’m Serbian, but I grew up mainly in Spain and Portugal. I used to do a lot of karting there, so I started around motorsports primarily around go-karts early in my life.

“My dad was a professional soccer coach, but besides playing soccer I was always motorsports minded and I enjoyed driving.

“We lived not too far from the Formula 1 circuit in Madrid [Circuito de Jarama] and then I lived near the Estoril race track in Portugal as well. I used to enjoy Niki Lauda, and before that the big name was Fangio.”

What went into the decision to switch from GT Cup to GTSA?

“I enjoyed driving in GT Cup. It was a fun class, but unfortunately it never got off the ground really. Last year I did a few races.

“We started the season with the unfortunate fire at St. Pete which put us back a little bit, but when we got back into it we had a pretty succesful race winning at Road America.

“To move up to GT3, it’s still a future plan, but obviously it’s a class where it’s not cheap to run to say the least. I feel strongly that GT4 is a class where the biggest growth is and it’s the most competitive class.”

How has the transition to the BMW M4 GT4 been after driving a Ferrari last year in GT Cup?

“I’ve been a BMW guy for a long time. BMW is a natural transition since I have other BMW race cars that we race in the SCCA, endurance races, and in NASA. I’ve been around BMW for a long time.

“The M4 was exciting to be able to get with BMW again. It’s a little bit of a different car when it comes to the other cars I’ve had in regards to the setup and everything.

“We start the race with 3750 pounds with the fuel load and our minimum weight, so it’s a little portly, but it goes well.

What event are you most looking forward to this year?

“I enjoy a lot of different tracks. I used to live in the Northeast so Lime Rock is like and old home track, but it’s going to be interesting to see how that goes with 40 cars at a 1.6-mile track.

“Last year I enjoyed Road America, Circuit of The Americas is a fun track that we just went to, although the bumps have made it a little less fun to drive now because the setup is so difficult.”

What do you do outside of racing?

“I’m primarily racing but I have four kids and I also own a barn. We do hunter-jumper so we have eight or nine horses now. So we’ve involved in the equestrian world as well.

“There a lot of similarities, actually. You have a stop watch there, and like racing, it’s very similar in the sense that sometimes you have to throw away a certain corner or corner exit to make up something somewhere else.”