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Sebring, FL- From the rolling hills of Sonoma to the humid heat of Central Florida, rounds 3 & 4 of the Pirelli GT4 America championship at the iconic Sebring International Raceway came with promises of great competition as the series welcomed an exhilarating blend of fresh faces and seasoned competitors at one of the most challenging circuits in the world.
Nobody was arguably more excited than two-time SRO Champion and Florida native, Eric Filgueiras. “I’m very excited to be racing in Florida, it’s where I grew up, I was born and raised here. Sebring is my home track, and it’s a home race for RS1 as well. Looking forward to racing here, between the team as a whole and myself as a driver we share a lot of knowledge and experience at this track and we’re confident we can do well this weekend.”
John Capestro-Dubets and Jonathan Neudorf continuously exchanged fastest laps throughout the opening qualifying session, stealing the top spot away from each other lap after lap. With just a few minutes remaining, Capestro-Dubets went on to set a rapid time of 2:10.547 to clinch the overall pole position in Race 1 for the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.
It was a tight battle for the top spot in Qualifying 2, with Parker Thompson, Michai Stephens, and Eric Filgueiras all keeping each other company at the top of the timesheets. Thompson secured the best time of the group in the No. 999 Hanley Motorsports to clinch the Silver class pole position with a time of 2:09.885, with Stephens and Filgueiras locking out the second row of the grid for Race 2 in the No. 23 TechSport Racing and No. 28 RS1 machines.
TechSport Racing gave the Nissan Z NISMO GT4 its first victory in Pirelli GT4 America competition when Michai Stephens drove the No. 23 Nissan to a 3.673-second margin over the pole-sitting No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of Eric Filgueiras and John Capestro-Dubets as the checkered flag fell. The 60-minute contest, which featured an early race full-course caution, featured hard-fought racing up front, with the No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO of Parker Thompson and Daniel Hanley completing the overall and Silver class podium in third.
Although announced on Sunday morning, the Michai Stephens and Jonathan Neudorf-driven Nissan did not meet the minimum weight as outlined by SRO Motorsports Group’s Balance of Performance for the GT4 platform, giving the win to the RS1 duo of Filgueiras/Capestro-Dubets after their 60 minute battle for the top spot!
Parker Thompson started on the front row in the No. 999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO, with Eric Filgueiras and Michai Stephens occupying the second row in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport and the No. 23 TechSport Racing Nissan Z NISMO GT4. Stephens ran into some trouble in the opening corners, going wide and off-track, which left him tumbling down the order.
As the driver changes began to take place shortly before the halfway mark, Daniel Hanley took over from Parker Thompson and returned to the track in the class lead. A safety car emerged shortly after, bringing the field back together, and unleashing an intense multi-car fight that unfolded throughout the entire second half of the race.
After a mid race driver swap with Filgueiras pitting 3rd overall, John Capestro-Dubets took over the Silver class lead for RS1 on the race restart, and further moved himself into first place overall with 18 minutes remaining where he cruised to victory, clinching back-to-back victories for the RS1 team. Colin Garrett and Jonathan Neudorf kept each other honest for the final few laps and engaged in a drag race to the finish line. Garrett just managed to claim second place for AutoTechnic Racing, and Neudorf took home third for TechSport Racing in a well-fought comeback drive.
“I really have to thank this team for this opportunity,” said John Capestro-Dubets. “I couldn’t be happier to be driving alongside Eric Filgueiras. The racing has been great at every venue so far, and I think it's going to get more exciting as we go down the road. Eric and I are ready for the challenge. The cars behind looked like they had some pace, but we got our Porsche out front and I was enjoying the view.”
Eric Filgueiras expanded on the nature of the new driver pairing, saying “I think we've had a lot of success so far, it's a brand new program for us as teammates, but it's kind of similar to what we're used to here at RS1. It’s a fantastic organization. We're really excited to have JCD along with us, we’re looking forward to more wins.”
The Pirelli GT4 America field will return for Rounds 5 at Circuit Of The Americas from May 17th to 19th, consisting of a unique three-hour race.
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