Parente Looking to Extend Points Lead at Road America

Photo: Pirelli World Challenge

Following a sweep of the weekend last month at Lime Rock Park, K-PAX Racing’s Alvaro Parente took over the Pirelli World Challenge GT points lead and will be looking to extend his margin as the championship heads to Road America for Rounds 12 and 13.

A total of 97 entries across the seven PWC classes are set for the weekend, including some returning faces to the GT and GTA classes.

ENTRY LIST: Road America

Parente, a McLaren GT factory driver, holds a 64-point lead over Wright Motorsports’ Patrick Long, who is fresh off a class podium finish in last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Johnny O’Connell, another PWC driver who took part at Le Mans, and Michael Cooper sit third and fourth, respectively, in their Cadillac ATS-V.Rs, which have gone back to similar boost levels seen prior to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The GT field has been bolstered by the return of Long’s former teammate, Michael Lewis, who has joined the Calvert Dynamics team as a new third entry alongside Andrew Davis (GT) and Preston Calvert (GT Cup).

Lewis missed the rounds at CTMP and Lime Rock due to EFFORT Racing’s sudden withdrawal from the series.

Both RealTime Racing Acura TLX-GTs are back in action this weekend too, with Ryan Eversley back in the freshly repaired No. 43 car and Peter Cunningham returning to the No. 42 entry for his home race.

There’s also a new GT entry for Michael McCann, who has entered a Dodge Viper GT3-R in the top class.

Bentley Team Absolute, meanwhile, will only field a single Bentley Continental GT3 for Adderly Fong, in the wake of last month’s serious accident involving Andrew Palmer, who remains in the hospital with a head injury.

Six cars are entered in GTA, including the much-anticipated debut of a Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R for club racer Andy Wilzoch, who makes his PWC debut.

Walt Bowlin return to GTA competition in his M1 GT Racing Audi R8 LMS, along with Drew Regitz in a previous-generation Audi R8 LMS ultra for Stephen Cameron Racing.

The battle for GT Cup honors will be a heated one as championship rivals Alec Udell and Sloan Urry are deadlocked heading into the weekend, both with 1054 points.

Track action begins on Thursday, with a single practice session on tap for GT/GTA/GT Cup competitors on Friday, followed by qualifying and the pair of 50-minute races on the weekend.

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