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Cooper Breaks SRO America Win Record at Road America

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Photo: Fred Hardy/SRO Michael Cooper overcame a pre-race 35 kg Balance of Performance adjustment to his Blackdog Racing McLaren Artura GT4 to claim overall victory in Friday’s opening Pirelli GT4 America race of the weekend at Road America to become the winningest driver in SRO America history. Cooper passed the then Silver class-leading No. 68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 of Tyler Gonzalez with 24 minutes to go following the pit sequence and drove to a 5.983-second win. It marked Cooper and co-driver Tony Gaples’ third consecutive Pro-Am class victory and second overall win in the last three races. The four-time series champion entered the weekend tied for the lead with Peter Cunningham with 43 all-time wins . FIA Bronze-rated owner/driver Gaples scored only his second career pole, having started on the front row, although the McLarens, along with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport and Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2s were all handed post-qualifying weight ...

Robusto Quickest in Chaotic Second Road America Practice

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Photo: Toyota Will Robusto jumped to the top of the time sheets in the second and final Toyota GR Cup North America practice session prior to qualifying for this weekend’s pair of races at Road America. The RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate driver reeled off a chart-topping 2:31.259 in the session to outpace second-placed Parker Delong by 0.275 seconds. Delong is making his Pirelli GT4 America debut this weekend in Advance Motorsports’ McLaren Artura GT4. Beltre Curtis rebounded from a session-ending accident on Thursday to set the third quickest time in his Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR 86 Cup car, while Ethan Goulart and Max Schweid completed the top-five. Points leader Spike Kohlbecker was sixth on the time sheets. The session saw two red flags, the first No. 78 BSI Racing Toyota of Ethan Ayars, who had an incident in the third sector of the track. The second red, which brought the session to an early end with two minutes to go, was for the the No. 85 E...

Gilliland ‘Mooves’ to Top of Time Charts in Practice 1

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Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO John Gilliland led a Kellymoss 1-2 in the opening GT America powered by AWS practice session of the weekend at Road America. Gilliland, in the Moove-In Storage-sponsored Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, reeled off a 2:06.698 lap time to edge out teammate Michael Clark in the No. 17 Porsche by 0.251 seconds. Both cars are not expected to take part in GT America race action this weekend, and are instead utilizing these sessions as practice. Tony Davis was third quickest in in the No. 04 HP-TECH Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, with Ginetta’s Lawrence Tomlinson posting an impressive fourth best time overall in the sole GT2 car in the field. Todd Parriott completed the top-five in the third Kellymoss entry that will not race. David Lecko and Craig Lumsden were 14th and 15th, respectively, in their Cup and GT4 entries. The 30-minute session was halted with ten minutes completed when the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche of Kyle Washington stopped on track on the entry in...

Holton Tops Second Practice at Road America

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Photo: Dan Bathie/McLaren Paul Holton raised the bar in second practice for McLaren Trophy America at Road America, by ending up quickest of the weekend ahead of qualifying for Rounds 7 and 8 of the season. The Forte Racing driver laid down a best lap of 2:08.819 in the Pro class McLaren Artura Trophy EVO to edge out the No. 74 RWE Motorsport example of James Li and Sam Nesser by 0.096 seconds. The top three times were all under Michael O’Brien’s pace-setting time from Thursday, including a 2:08.984 from GMG Racing teammate Jeff Cook, who ended up third overall and quickest of the Am class entries. Patrick Liddy slotted in fourth in his Pro class championship-leading Forte entry, with O’Brien completing the top-five and once again leading the way in Pro-Am. The 60-minute session was halted with 20 minutes to go when the No. 21 TechSport Racing entry of Colin Harrison stopped on the back straight and needed to be loaded onto a flat bed. Track action resumed nine ...

O’Brien Quickest in Opening Road America Practice

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Photo: Dan Bathie/McLaren Michael O’Brien put GMG Racing on top of the time sheets in the opening McLaren Trophy America practice session of the weekend at Road America. The reigning McLaren Trophy Europe champion reeled off a best lap of 2:09.538 in his No. 7 McLaren Artura Trophy EVO he shares with Randy Highland. It was a considerable 0.768 seconds quicker than the second-placed Kevin Madsen in the No. 53 Relapsing Polychondritis Motorsports/Forte Racing entry. Pro-Am class entries occupied the two quickest times overall, with Bryson Morris ending up quickest in Pro, in his No. 98 Bryan Herta Autosport entry. Next up was Jesse Lazare in the No. 43 Motorsport In Action McLaren and Matt Bell’s Hooper Street Racing entry, which completed the overall top-five. TechSport Racing’s Colin Harrison was quickest in the Am class in Thuraday’s hour-long session. There were two red flags during the running, the first the No. 812 RAFA Racing Team entry of Keegan Mas...

Kohlbecker Tops Shortened First Practice at Road America

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Photo: Toyota Spike Kohlbecker led the way in an abbreviated opening practice for Toyota GR Cup North America competitors at Road America. The TechSport Racing driver recorded a best lap of 2:32.107 to edge out title rival Jeremy Fletcher in the No. 22 Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR86 Cup car by 0.335 seconds. Ethan Goulart was third quickest in his No. 72 BSI Racing entry, with RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate teammates Will Robusto and Max Schweid completing the top-five. Drivers only got between two and three laps of run time until the No. 5 Copeland Toyota of Beltre Curtis made contact with the Turn 8 tire barriers. The session did not restart after the accident, which came with only seven minutes completed in the 30-minute scheduled session. Practice 2 is scheduled for Friday at 2:15 p.m. CST. RESULTS: Practice 1 Source: Sports Car 365

Yardley Tops Thursday Practice; Points Leaders to Backup Car

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Photo: Fred Hardy/SRO Ryan Yardley led the way in Pirelli GT4 America practice ahead of this weekend’s pair of races at Road America, which saw drama for the Silver class points leader in the first session. The Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver reeled off a chart-topping 2:16.205 lap in his Pro-Am class No. 25 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport late in Thursday afternoon’s second session. It was 0.326 seconds quicker than Practice 1 pace-setter Austin Jurs in the No. 131 Advance Motorsports McLaren Artura GT4, who ended up second overall and quickest in the Silver class on the combined time sheets. Westin Workman was third quickest overall in the No. 68 RAFA Racing Team Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, followed by Josh Green in the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW, a time that was set in opening practice like Jurs. Yves Baltas completed the overall top-five in the No. 47 Nolasport Porsche. Michael Cooper, who is seeking to surpass Peter Cunnin...