• On-track action resumed Friday for the GT World Challenge America weekend at Sebring, featuring multiple testing and practice sessions for GT World Challenge America powered by AWS. The day also featured the first two official races of the weekend, TC America and GT4 America.
  • Stuart McAleer, brother of McCumbee-McAleer Racing co-owner Stevan McAleer, will compete Saturday afternoon in Race 2 of the weekend for GT4 America due to Roland Krainz’s prior commitment to his son’s graduation.
  • “We’ve been trying to do this for the longest time, and just the timing of stuff, and obviously the opportunities have never come up,” said Stevan McAleer on the opportunity to race with his brother. “It was a big enough deal that I called my mom and dad, and they actually jumped on a flight and landed two days ago. They’re in Florida right now. They’re going to be showing up later, and my brother from Scotland. So for them, my mum and dad have dreamt of this since we were kids, and we go-karted to be able to do it at Sebring, a place that we both know, and we have the whole family here. It’s such a special event for us, and the nicest thing for me is the team is as excited as I am to come and do this with Roland and all his family as well. So, I’m super, super excited.”
  • Stuart McAleer hopes the opportunity could lead to a more full-time role in the future, notably in GT4 America.
  • “I would love to get picked up and get a full ride in GT4, whether it be an AM or a Pro,” Stuart McAleer said. “Unfortunately, I’m a bronze because I have very little experience in the pro-level stuff. I’ve done some spec racing. So, long-term goal, I’d love to be picked up with a program and go do some more racing with them and then see where 2027 ends up.”
  • Dollahite Racing suffered a major incident in Friday’s opening GT World Challenge America test session. The car endured significant front-end damage as the team continued repairs ahead of Saturday’s three-hour feature race.
  • Race 1 of TC America opened the weekend’s competition slate, with Andre Castro taking the overall victory and the championship lead in the No. 77 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO. Braydon Arthur, who entered Sebring as the points leader, encountered an early-race issue that dropped the car multiple laps down.
  • Robby Foley, driver for Turner Motorsport, is currently in Week 4 of a busy stretch of racing, going from Long Beach in IMSA competition to Sebring this weekend. Alongside his GT3 commitments, the veteran driver also competed in last Saturday’s Michelin Pilot Challenge race with co-driver Vincent Barletta.
  • Foley reflected on his start to the 2026 season, saying: “Yeah, I think we started out with some disappointment at Daytona after having a really fast car. We still finished 10th inside the Top 10 in one of the competitive races. It was good, but we definitely left there wanting more. Then we racked up a top five at the Sebring 12, a podium at Long Beach, which was great, which puts us in a great position in the points now. I think GTD is so strong that you basically have to finish in the Top 7 or 8 every race to kind of stay in the picture, and we’ve been able to do that consistently. We know how to fight for the championship. We fought for it in 2024, albeit the 57 Winward car was pretty dominant that year. But it’s been great on this side of things as well in GT World Challenge America. Moving up to Pro, we had a strong Sonoma, even though the results didn’t show, and then finished second at COTA. I think our mentality is always to maximize each weekend.”
  • This year, BMW expanded upon last season’s EVO kit by introducing turbochargers and additional updated components. Foley praised the updates to the platform.
  • “It’s definitely changed the car a bunch for the positive,” Foley explained. “Tire degradation’s a bit better. The car’s a little easier to keep in the aero window. BMW’s done a lot of work to refine what was already a winning car. We learn about it every weekend. I think, interestingly, in IMSA and in SRO, we’ve had new tires in the last year, so they are actually quite a bit different than what we’ve been running before. So, that’s taken some adaptation.”
  • When discussing why he continues competing in Michelin Pilot Challenge GT4 competition, Foley emphasized the close racing throughout the field.
  • “I love the racing,” Foley said. “I think it’s one of the most competitive series because of the nature of the cars. You can race quite close.”
  • Foley also told GT REPORT that his GT World Challenge America co-driver, Justin Rothberg, is expected to return to ARCA stock-car competition later this summer.
  • Asked whether ARCA racing would interest him personally, Foley responded: “I would love to. I don’t necessarily have the time and I don’t want to jeopardize the day job, for lack of a better term. But I would love to try an oval on dirt, on asphalt, just to give it a shot. So that’d be fun.”
  • The opening GT4 America race of the weekend saw Luca Mars and Spencer Pumpelly earn the overall and Silver class victories for RS1 in the No. 028 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. In Pro-Am, Kenton Koch and Sam Craven claimed victory in the No. 94 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO, while James Walker Jr. and James Clay scored the Am class win in the No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4.
  • The first official practice of the weekend saw KellyMoss’ No. 88 Porsche lead the way in Pro-Am. The No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG led the five-car class, while AF Corse’s No. 163 Ferrari slotted in 16th overall as the lone Am class entry.
  • Saturday features four races, including Race 2 for both GT4 America and TC America, along with Race 1 of GT America. The day concludes with the three-hour GT World Challenge America feature race, following qualifying and a final practice session earlier in the afternoon.

 

Image Courtesy to GT World Challenge America/SRO