Filgueiras on Step to Porsche GT3 R: “It’s New for All of Us”

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

Eric Filgueiras said he, co-driver Stevan McAleer and RS1 are all still coming to grips with the Porsche 911 GT3 R despite having gotten off to a strong start in their Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS debuts.

The 2022 Pirelli GT4 America Silver class champions have stepped up into GTWC America competition with a new Type-992 Porsche, which saw the pairing claim overall victory in dominant fashion in the opening round of the season at Sonoma Raceway.

Filgueiras, meanwhile, backed up his pole at Sonoma with another top qualifying run for today’s third race of the season at NOLA Motorsports Park, continuing his strong form despite being a rookie to GT3 racing.

“We came here and we tested last week,” Filgueiras told Sportscar365. “We’re still learning about the car, working with Porsche, working with our engineer.

“Stevan almost won the [IMSA] GTD championship last year, so he’s got the GT3 experience [but no Porsche GT3 experience].

“It’s new for all of us. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to tackling what areas of the car [are needed] to try to start with.

“Porsche has been transparent; they’ve been really great with us. We know they’re working through things. There’s little things we’re still finding out and Porsche is finding out. That seems to make sense with a new car.”

While Filgueiras has been making a name for himself in the GT4 ranks in both SRO America and IMSA competition in recent years, he said the step to GT3 has offered a new set of benchmarks.

“For me, it’s all new and just trying to get up to speed,” he said. “You look at the difference between Stevan and I and in a GT4 car it’s a lot closer. Whenever I see the bigger gap in this car, that always tells me that I have more to learn.

“It’s a different kind of racing in the sense of aero wash, tire deg and what happens to a car over the course of a run and how you can race other cars compared to a GT4 car.

“With how last year went, you can say there’s this expectation of performance. We’re a little bit behind from where we’re used to in a GT4 car pace-wise but I feel like we will get there.”

Due to the 29-year-old’s Silver rating, Filgueiras and McAleer are competing in the Pro class, which he feels is a bit “misrepresented” and has added additional pressure to perform.

“It’s probably a little bit mis-categorized, needing to have a Silver in the car to be in the Pro category,” Filgueiras said. “You’d think the Pro should be like [IMSA] GTD Pro, it should be any combination.

“If it were a little bit different, if the criteria of the class changed to where in IMSA, you have a Silver in the car in GTD and that’s the Am, that seems to make a little bit more sense.

“It’s [SRO America’s] definition of Pro. There’s an expectation and some pressure that comes along with that.

“For me, I would compare my ability and performance directly to Stevan because he’s in the same car, to see what he could do.

“At times, a little unfairly, I’ve tried to compare to well-known names like Bryan Sellers, Ryan Dalziel, Colin Braun… guys who are well established, just to know there’s still a goal there.”

CBW Racing Taking Reverse Approach to Typical Pro-Am Race Program

Filgueiras said RS1’s primary sponsor, CBW Racing, has taken a unique approach in prioritizing his and McAleer’s race program over owner Tom Kopczynski’s own journey through the sport.

CBW is short for Community Beer Works, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based brewery that has lended its support to the program.

“The goal has always been for [Tom] and I to race SRO GT4 Pro-Am and we’ll likely do that in the future,” Filgueiras said. “He’s been racing in Porsche Sprint Challenge and he just hasn’t been ready for that step yet.

“He won both races in the Am class at Sebring. We can’t make all the races in Sprint Challenge this year because there are a lot of conflicts.

“It’s kind of crazy: He has limited his driving for what we’re doing this year in [Michelin] Pilot Challenge and SRO GT3. It’s incredible.

“That pairing will come soon and all of this has been building to get him prepared to do something bigger himself. It’s very uncommon that the gentlemen guy is not in the car but it’s been an incredible opportunity for me and Stevan.

“In a way, CBW Racing has been giving everyone on the team an opportunity to step up. Myself, the team.. It’s exciting.”

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