Bartone, Pilgrim to Run Bartone Bros With RealTime Mercedes

Anthony Bartone and Andy Pilgrim will drive a pair of Bartone Bros Racing with RealTime Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos in GT America Powered by AWS, kicking off with next month’s St. Petersburg Grand Prix.

The duo are moving into GT America full-time where they will pilot new Mercedes entries in the two, 40-minute races.

It will mark Bartone’s first full season in a sports car racing series under the tutelage of teammate Pilgrim, who is a 2005 World Challenge GT Champion.

The cars will be prepared by RealTime Racing and will run under the Bartone Bros Racing with RealTime banner.

Last year, Bartone and Pilgrim raced Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport entries in Pirelli GT4 America, GT Celebration, and International GT events, posting wins and podium finishes.

“I am looking forward to running with Andy in my first full season of professional racing,” Bartone said. “My goals are simple, go faster every race without too much worry about finishing positions to start.

“If I focus on my driving, learn from Andy, and work with the RealTime team, I feel, the results will come.

“We had the opportunity to test at Sebring a few weeks back. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 car is big step up from the Porsche Cayman GT4 we raced last year.

:The Mercedes-AMG GT3 has a lot more downforce and braking ability. I felt more comfortable in the GT3 car than I felt in the GT4. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is very confidence inspiring.”

Pilgrim, meanwhile, returns to SRO America competition where he has competed driving Cadillacs, Porsches, and Ferraris.

He has known Anthony’s father Tony, an NHRA racing legend, since the 1990s.

“I’ve known Tony since before Anthony was born,” Pilgrim said. “I’ve been working with Anthony for about 18 months. When he showed up the lad had zero experience on any track, no karts, no motorcycles, nothing. His pace and race craft progressed impressively throughout 2022.

“I’ve leveraged my nearly 40 years of racing relationships to bring all the pieces together with people like P.D. Cunningham and his RealTime team as well as engineer Jim Bell.

“I am honored that Tony enlisted me to help mentor his son. He has shown a lot of early speed in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 car and I am excited to see him continue his growth.”

The team will take part in the official SRO America test at NOLA Motorsports Park this week.