Road America Friday Notebook

Photo: John Dagys

***This weekend marks a rare triple-header of GT World Challenge action around the globe. In addition to GTWC America’s return from its summer break, GTWC Europe Endurance Cup is at the Nürburgring, with GTWC Asia at Okayama as part of the SRO GT PowerTour that includes the Japan Cup. Next up for GTWC Australia is the Liqui Moly GT Festival Sydney, at Sydney Motorsports Park in Eastern Creek on Sept. 18-20.

***Tom Sargent who leads the SRO GT Academy for GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, posted the quickest time in the 90-minute GTWC America/GT America powered by AWS test session, which ran first thing in the morning. Click Here for the results.

***The session saw only a single red flag, for the No. 26 Ferraro Motorsports Ferrari 296 GT3 of Tony Ferraro, who was beached in the gravel at Canada Corner. Race control deemed contact between Ferraro’s Ferrari and the No. 242 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Thomas Merrill as incidental, with no action taken.

***Brayton Williams, meanwhile, was fastest in the 30-minute Paid Bronze Test session that preceded the opening practice session for GT America. Click Here for the results.

***Merrill received a call-up to take part in Friday’s Pirelli GT4 America race in the No. 94 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO, as Pro-Am championship leader Kenton Koch departed Road America late Thursday to be with his wife, Dani, as she took delivery of their first child, Emma Lynn Koch, at 2:02 a.m. on Friday morning.

***No word has been given if Koch will return to take part in Saturday’s second and final GT4 America race of the weekend tomorrow.

***Michael Cooper became the winningest driver in SRO America history in a heroic drive in the first Pirelli GT4 America race of the weekend, taking his Blackdog Racing McLaren Artura GT4 to its third consecutive Pro-Am win and second overall triumph in the last three races.

***Cooper and co-driver/team owner Tony Gaples overcame a pre-race 35 kg weight addition and power adjustment to the McLaren, which swept the top three positions overall in Qualifying 2. Both the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport and Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO also received weight, but in the amount of 15 kgs.

***Cooper said: “The focus was the same as always. Maybe the determination was a little bit higher than normal. A huge thanks to these Blackdog guys; think they got me out in P4 overall. I was able to make a couple of passes and get to the overall lead, which I really wanted to be in just in case there was a restart and I could keep the car cool and out front. Massive thanks to the Blackdog guys and to McLaren. A super exciting day for me to get the wins record in the series. We’re not stopping here!”

***Gaples, meanwhile, claimed his first-ever fastest qualifier in the morning when he put the car on the overall front row, qualifying first in Pro-Am alongside Race 1 overall pole-sitter Riley Dickinson. Gaples’ only other pole position came in the second GT America race of the weekend at Road America in 2023 but was determined by having the fastest Race 1 lap.

***He said: “Everything is just clicking for us and I hope we can keep it going. I love everything about Road America so this is extra special! I probably have more laps around this track than anyone here, except maybe Johnny O’Connell. I was able to take advantage of all the changes to the track since last year, especially smoothing out the lip at the apex of The Kink.”

***GTWC America Pro points leader Michai Stephens made his TC America presented by Skip Barber Racing School debut on Friday, finishing fourth in one of JMF Motorsports’ Toyota GR Corolla TCs. Race 2 is set for Saturday at 10:05 a.m. CST with live coverage on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.

***The No. 413 Colorado Motorsport with Flying Lizard BMW of Zach Lumsden will face a three-position grid penalty for Race 2 due to not respecting the checkered flag in Qualifying 2.It will drop Lumsden from sixth to ninth in the Am class for Saturday’s 60-minute contest.

***In GT America, the No. 45 Ruckus Racing Porsche of Scott Blind will receive a five-minute hold at the start of qualifying after being deemed to have made a late pass on the No. 26 Ferraro Motorsports Ferrari of Tony Ferraro and was “predominantly at fault” for a collision in second practice.

***Lamborghini ace Loris Spinelli turned laps in the No. 63 Chicago Performance and Tuning Co. Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 in Friday morning’s test, to assist in car setup to drivers Nicolai Elghanayan and Mads Siljehaug, who along with the Chris Lester-led outfit, are only in the second race with the package.

***Sportscar365 understands that Spinelli, a five-time Lamborghini Super Trofeo champion, will be the team’s third driver for October’s season-ending Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.

***Riley Technologies is likely to have ex-BMW factory driver Jesse Krohn as its third driver for the Indy race according to team principal Bill Riley. Krohn has been helping full season divers Slade Stewart and Andy Lee in private testing with the team’s BMW M4 GT3 EVO this year.

***It’s understood that Stewart recently purchased a third BMW chassis, ending talks of a potential switch to a Lamborghini Temerario GT3 that was under initial discussion, given Stewart’s past success in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America.

***McLaren Trophy America will stage a triple-header to conclude its season, and association with SRO America, at The Brickyard. The Miami Race 2 makeup round will take place on Wed. Oct. 6, followed by Rounds 9 and 10 on Thursday and Friday, a McLaren Automotive Motorsport spokesperson confirmed to Sportscar365.

***Despite initial confusion amongst some competitors, double GTWC America points will be awarded at the Indy 8 Hour, as has always been the case. The consolidation of two 90-minute races into a single three-hour feature for all other races has resulted in the same number of points being distributed for each 2026 regular-length race as there was for a single 90-minute contest last year.

***Chouest Povoledo Racing team principal Aaron Povoledo said he’s “optimistic” of a return to GT America next year with Ross Chouest and his Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, but sees the team not opting for the Evo kit, which unlike the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, is not mandatory for SRO competitors.

***Povoledo, however, indicated that he would feel compelled to invest in the upgrade if they were competing in GTWC America, stating there’s some “really smart” stuff in the package, despite its price tag that Sportscar365 previously reported was $190,000 USD. It’s undertood that among the new elements being put forth to the FIA for homologation include motorized opening doors, similar to those seen in high-end Chinese production cars.

***Povoledo told Sportscar365: “We’ve upgraded our engineering team and are getting so much more out of the car and I think there’s more to get out of the car, as it is. I think for Ross, it would be better cost effective to put the price of an Evo kit into him doing testing, in order to let him practice more. As a really good gentleman driver, I think there’s more to be gained in lap time from him.”

***Saturday’s action will include GT4 America Race 2 (1:10 p.m. CST) as well as the first races of the weekend for McLaren Trophy America (3:10 p.m. CST), GT America (4:15 p.m. CST) and Toyota GR Cup North America (5:10 p.m. CST) with coverage of all races available on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel with the broadcast team that includes Ryan Myrehn, Calvin Fish, Jonathan Grace, McLaren’s Tom Baker and Amanda Busick on pit lane.

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