After a day of practice and qualifying on Thursday for the support series, action kicked off in earnest on Friday for GT World Road Atlanta.
TCR: Arthur is Back
After the morning test session for GT World Challenge America, the first race of the weekend saw the seventh round of the TC America season. After a nightmare weekend at Sebring, Brayden Arthur was out for redemption. The Canadian got to back to familiar territory winning Pole on Thursday in his JMF Motorsport-prepared Toyota GR Corolla. When the green flag fell on Friday, Arthur took the lead and did not look back. Arthur commanded the race while controlling the pace, with his lead getting as big as 2.5 seconds – which is a monstrous gap in touring car terms.
A little attrition towards the end as Mike Lamarra’s Acura caught fire under five minutes remaining. Lamarra brought the Precision Racing LA Integra to the pits and able to safely abort. His exit paled in comparison to Eric Kunz. With two and a half minutes remaining, the Ricca Autosport Hyundai driver went straight off at Turn 6. The No. 33 Elantra ended head-first in the tire barrier with heavy damage to the front.
Kunz’s accident would bring out the first full course yellow of the season for TC America. The white flag was displayed immediately and Arthur coasted to his fourth win of the season behind the safety car. Championship leader Andre Castro was second with his Ricca Autosport teammate Justin Gravett rounding out the podium.
Arthur also scored the fastest lap of the race, which nets him pole position for Saturday’s Race 2.
Pirelli GT4 America: Cooper Strikes Late
Spencer Pumpelly scored overall Pole Position for Race 1 for Pirelli GT4 America at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Off the start, Pumpelly led the first stint handily over the No. 68 Rafa Racing Toyota Supra of Westin Workman. Pumpelly controlled the first stint, bringing the No. 028 Porsche in for its pit stop with a three second lead. Co-driver Luca Mars picked up where Pumpelly left off. He got up to a five-second lead over Tyler Gonzalez when Sean Gibbons spun in the No. 5 OGH Motorsports McLaren at Turn 2 with twenty minutes remaining.
Gibbons did get moving, but not far. The McLaren was parked in the esses, but not safely for the track to stay green. Race control deployed the Full Course Yellow to bunch up the field. The restart came with ten and a half minutes remaining. Gonzalez took his opportunity to try and take the lead in Turn 1, but Mars held off the challenge and pulled away. Unfortunately, for Gonzalez, once Kevin Bohm passed him for second the bottom fell out. The car lost its pace in the final laps and would have to settle for eighth overall at the end.
Mad Dash
Conversely, Michael Cooper became a man on a mission. Cooper restarted seventh overall, but he did not stay there. Once up to speed, Cooper picked off the Silver class frontrunners one-by-one. By the start of the last lap, Cooper in the Pro-Am leading McLaren worked his way to second overall and was not done. By the exit of Turn 7, Cooper caught Mars and the two went side-by-side down the backstretch. Cooper held his nerve, completing the winning pass at the exit of Turn 11 and completing the short drive up and over the brow to the finish.
This is a significant win for the Blackdog Racing McLaren duo. For Cooper, it’s his 42nd victory in SRO America, one short of the all-time record held by Peter Cunningham. For his Bronze co-driver Tony Gaples, his start in Friday’s Race 1 broke the record for most starts in SRO America sanctioned competition. And the good news continues. The No. 33 McLaren will pick up right where it left off as Cooper scored the overall pole in the Pro-Am entry for Race 2.
Other Winners
The overall runner-up for Mars and Pumpelly was enough for Silver class victory for the RS1 Porsche duo. In the Am class, Alex Garcia made a comeback drive after a slow pit stop to grab victory for he and brother Michael in the ACI Motorsports BMW.
Race 2 for Pirelli GT4 America takes place Saturday afternoon at 12:25pm
GTWC America: Free Practice 1
After a pair of compelling support races, the cars of GT World Challenge America powered by AWS took to the track for Free Practice 1. Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta has shown to be a track favorable for Ferrari. Ferrari has won the GTD class at Petit Le Mans the last two years. AF Corse USA looks to keep the momentum going this weekend. The No. 12 Ferrari topped Friday evening’s session with Frederik Schandorff posting a time of 1:20.037.
Aaron Telitz put in the fastest lap among the Pro-Am competitors, putting the Archangel McLaren second overall on the timesheets. McLaren was one of three brands in the top-4 in Pro-Am. Along with the Porsches of Kellymoss was the TR3 Mercedes. Looking to show their Sebring pace was not a fluke, Daniel Morad put the No. 9 machine third in Pro-Am and fourth overall.
GT World Challenge America is back on track Saturday morning at 10:45am for Free Practice 2.
Headline Photo: GT World Challenge America cars on track at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta during the Friday morning test session Photo Courtesy: Fabian Lagunas/Lagunas Photography/SRO Motorsports Group
