James Looks to Extend GT4 Sprint Points Lead

Photo: Gavin Baker/SRO

Pirelli GT4 America Sprint points leader Ian James will look to strike a decisive blow against his main challengers Michael Cooper and Spencer Pumpelly as the series heads to Road America this weekend for the penultimate round of the season.

A total of 21 cars are on the entry list for the pair of 50-minute single-driver races, with all focus on the championship battles.

The Team Panoz Racing driver holds a 19-point lead over the No. 66 TRG Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport of Spencer Pumpelly.

Michael Cooper is a further three points behind Pumpelly in the title race, which had been a tight three-way fight prior to James’ win in Race 1 of the weekend at Watkins Glen International.

The Englishman’s championship contenders all had tough races in Upstate New York, with Cooper failing to score points in Race 2 altogether.

“Road America is a great track,” James said. “I am not sure how well suited the Panoz will be there but for us it is all about getting as many championship points as we can.”

Gar Robinson, who scored a pair of runner-up finishes at The Glen, sits fourth in the Pro title race, ahead of Jarett Andretti, who broke through to claim his first overall GT4 Sprint win in Race 2.

Staveley in Commanding Lead of GT4 Sprint Am

Drew Staveley, meanwhile, could lock up the GT4 Sprint Am class title this weekend, with the Ian Lacy Racing driver holding a 63-point lead over Park Place Racing’s Alan Brynjolfsson.

Staveley will need to leave Road America with a 50-point lead in order to clinch the title ahead of next month’s season finale in Las Vegas.

As was the case at Watkins Glen, a number of GT4 America competitors will be pulling double duty between the Sprint and SprintX series, which also takes place at the four-mile circuit this weekend.

GT4 Sprint action kicks off on Friday, with the first of two races getting underway Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.

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