Wagner on “Challenges” of “Super Exciting” GT4 Program

Gresham Wagner described his foray into GT4 competition in this year’s Pirelli GT4 America grid as unexpectedly “challenging” although has highlighted moments where he, his co-driver Tyler Gonzalez and their RAFA Racing team have experienced “smooth sailing” in the Silver class title fight with Random Vandals Racing.

Wagner teamed up with fellow Toyota driver development program member Tyler Gonzalez in the No. 68 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 this season.

Wagner is a two-time Mazda MX-5 Cup series champion in the IMSA paddock and won the 2022 TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School TCA class drivers’ title with TechSport Racing before winning the Toyota GR Cup North America title in 2024, one year after Gonzalez conquered the series in its inaugural season.

Gonzalez made the leap into GT4 racing last year, joining Smooge Racing, which became RAFA Racing, and bookended his season with wins in the first and final race weekends of the season at Sonoma Raceway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“It’s really exciting because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a lot of years,” Wagner told Sportscar365. “I raced for six years in MX-5 Cup, and after winning the GR Cup championship, I’d done everything there was to do at that level, so it’s always an aspiration to move on, so to finally get that chance is super exciting.

“There’s definitely been challenges I didn’t expect. There’s definitely been good moments where I surprised myself or we were really on it and didn’t have many setbacks, and smooth sailing.

“It hasn’t been easy, but I would say the good thing about year one, showing up and having these challenges, is having somebody like Tyler, who went through the same thing last year, to have all that feedback and experience to smooth out some of those ups and downs.

“And then of course, RAFA Racing. They run Supras in more than just this one series, so they know this car pretty well.”

Prior to this season, Wagner and Gonzalez were rivals in single-make competition, with the pair of Toyota development drivers competing against one another on the MX-5 Cup and the GR Cup North America grids while both driving for Copeland Motorsports in 2023.

“It’s funny how it worked out,” Wagner said. “Having raced against each other year after year after year, and then finally, that’s the guy you get paired up with. Thankfully, I think we both have a lot of respect for each other.

“Coming from the same background as me. Even working with the same team with Copeland, we just have a lot of the same language and the same experiences to draw on.”

Wagner, Gonzalez Need a “Clean Rest of The Year” in Title Fight

Heading into the pair of GT4 America rounds at Road America, Wagner and Gonzalez sit second in the drivers’ standings, 32 points behind the Random Vandals duo of Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm, who have won five of the seven races this season.

However, Wagner and Gonzalez emerged victorious in the double-points paying three-hour Lone Star Enduro at the Circuit of The Americas in April.

Of the win in Texas, Wagner said, “We thought it was going to be the biggest challenge of the year, and it ended up being the easiest, smoothest sailing all year for us so far. The car was great. As drivers, I think we were both performing really well.

“It was definitely a highlight, being the team’s home race to be able to perform at that one and also say we won this special event of the year.

“I guess if you had to pick one, that would be the one you want to win, and the double points don’t hurt.”

Despite the positive momentum and a strong debut GT4 debut season to date, Wagner still expressed frustration with what he referred to as a string of “bad luck” that has hindered the team’s push for the title.

“It’s almost a little bit frustrating or disappointing with the situation that we’re in,” he said. “And I guess it’s great to be able to say that, being second at points, but looking at some of the races in the season that just were not really any of our own doing, just pure bad luck.

“The car didn’t start for the first race of the year, so we started on the back foot. Then the first race I drove was in the wet. [My] first-ever GT4 race, I jumped in and had to figure that out.

“In VIR, we had a technical issue with the car, then got a speeding penalty.

“We definitely need to have a clean rest of the year, but we have performed well enough on our good days to still be in the hunt to be able to look at it and say that if we do well, it’s still within reach.”

Nevertheless, Wagner remained optimistic about the team’s ability to finish the year on a high note and continue pushing for the championship.

“My goal was to win the championship,” he said. “The same as everything else I’ve raced in.

“Being [in] year one, you could look at it as a bit of a learning year, but when you have a team like RAFA and a co-driver like Tyler, you’re not the rookie contender. You’re coming into a veteran team, and you’ve got to perform like a veteran.

“Being in the position we are with support from the TD2 program and everything, we got all the resources that you could ever ask for to be successful, so that’s what’s expected of you.

“That’s what’s expected of ourselves. Just going to go chase after that for the rest of the year.”