Ortmann Wins Dramatic Sunday GT4 Race at Road America

Photo: Fred Hardy/SRO

Mike David Ortmann, driving solo, claimed overall victory in the one-and-only Pirelli GT4 America race of the weekend at Road America, surviving a late-race accident from the top three cars.

Ortmann drove the No. 4 JMF Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4 EVO to the win while under the race’s third full-course caution following an accident for teammate Jesse Webb, VPX Motorsport’s Alex Ellis and the No. 39 Van der Steur Racing Aston of Luca Mars.

Ellis and Webb came together in Turn 6 while battling for the lead, which collected Mars, with less than seven minutes to go.

Ortmann, whose usual co-driver Braydon Arthur was ruled out of driving on Sunday due to force majeure, claimed his first career GT4 America victory, as well as the Canadian squad’s first win since switching to Aston Martin machinery.

It came despite a five-second penalty for Ortmann driving solo that came during the race’s mid-race pit stop.

Silver class points leaders Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm’s four-race win streak came to an end after Boehm had contact with Ellis while battling for the lead with less than 20 minutes to go.

Boehm initially benefitted from a full-course caution for their sister, Pro-Am championship-leading No. 94 BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Josh Green, who had contact with the No. 52 Auto Technic Racing BMW of Zac Anderson and stopped on track with wheel damage.

Koch, who was running second to the pole-sitting No. 68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 of Tyler Gonzalez, pitted moments before the yellow, with Gonzalez, as well as the No. 23 Nolasport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Matheus Leist and the Am class-leading RAFA Toyota of Kenny Schmied, all getting caught out.

The three cars took their pit stops under the yellow, dropping to the rear of the field upon the race’s restart with 22 minutes to go.

An additional yellow for an accident for the No. 37 Dome Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Marc Miller saw another restart with nine minutes to go before the race-ending accident.

Boehm, however, came home second overall and in class due to the late-race carnage, extending he and Koch’s points lead.

Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver Riley Dickinson, meanwhile, claimed his first career GT4 America class victory with taking top honors in Pro-Am with a third place overall finish in the No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche alongside co-driver and team owner Curt Swearingin

The No. 71 Marco Polo Motorsports Toyota was fourth overall and third in Silver, followed by the No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin of Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier.

Gresham Wagner, whose co-driver Gonzalez led overall before the ill-timed yellow, recovered to finish fifth in class in the No. 68 RAFA Toyota.

The No. 33 Blackdog Racing McLaren Artura GT4 finished second in Pro-Am, with Tyler McQuarrie and James Walker Jr. provisionally taking over the class points lead with a third place finish in their No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW.

Am class honors went to the No. 17 Rigid Speed Company BMW of Lucas and Joseph Catania, which finished 11th overall.

The class points-leading No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW of James Clay and Charlie Postins retired with a radiator issue midway through the 60-minute race, which also turned the points tables upside down in class.

The first scheduled GT4 America race of the weekend was called off due to weather on Saturday and will be run as part of a triple-header weekend next time out at Barber Motorsports Park.

RESULTS: Race 2

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