Double Podium for Schmied & Geraci at Sonoma

The opening round of the Pirelli GT4 America took place at Sonoma over the weekend with Kenny Schmied partnering Anthony Geraci in the #72 Rafa Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 in the Am class.

Anthony started race 1 from P4 on the grid and immediately moved into P3 but a full course yellow was required to clear debris. The race resumed on lap 3 with Anthony moving into P2 but another accident required the safety car. With the cars now behind the safety car, the pit lane opened on lap 8 for the mandatory driver change, a late call meant that half the field missed the pit entry, fortunately Anthony was able to pit and change drivers. With Kenny now in the car and all the stops completed the race resumed on lap 12 with the #72 now leading the AM class. As the Pro cars started to come through the field Kenny was under pressure in the closing stages of the race, but a string of personal best laps saw him cross the line in P1 for the pairings maiden class victory.

Race two on Sunday started in very wet conditions with Kenny taking the start from P2. With heavy spray and multiple cars spinning off track, Kenny lost a few positions but prioritized preserving the car whilst trying to push forward until lap 12, when a safety car was deployed to recover the stranded vehicles. The pit lane opened on lap 13 and Kenny pitted to hand over to Anthony, a slick driver change saw the #72 emerge in P2 and at the restart on lap 17 Anthony jumped into P1 but was nudged back to P2 later in the lap. As they came onto the main straight Anthony was three wide with the Aston Martin trying to make a move up the inside but contact sent him down the escape road at high speed. A 30 second penalty was given to the #72 for short cutting the track but a string of personal best laps allowed Anthony to make up the deficit and cross the line in P1. A further penalty was given post-race dropping the pairing to P2.

The next round of the Pirelli GT4 America Championship will be at COTA on April 26 & 27