Watkins Glen, New York - The fourth event of the Pirelli GT4 America season got underway at the picturesque Watkins Glen International, a track well-known for its challenging turns and elevation changes.
The first practice session proved to be tricky for the 68 drivers in attendance, as a Red Flag removed 20 minutes of valuable track time due to an oil spill on the track. Cars were able to rejoin the circuit with two and a half minutes remaining in the session, meaning they had time for one last flying lap. Most of the field elected to switch drivers for that last precious lap.
In the Silver category, Championship leader Stevan McAleer claimed the fastest lap time with a 1:55.371 in his #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, followed by Championship runner-up Gavin Sanders in the #34 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4.
With a double rainbow over Watkins Glen International, the Pirelli GT4 America field took to the track for their final practice session. While a storm momentarily came in to soak the pavement, delaying the session by 5 minutes, the sun decided to make a late appearance to eventually dry the track. Some drivers elected to start their session on the rain tires before eventually moving to dry Pirellis Florida native Eric Filgueiras began the session at the controls of the Community Beer Works sponsored car which would prove to be a short lived stint when a gearbox failure would ultimately sideline the car for the remainder of the session. A valiant effort by the Rennsport One team into the late hours of the night replacing the impaired gearbox with a fresh one would ensure new hope in the remaining schedule of the weekend.
The Pirelli GT4 America field took over Watkins Glen International for a pair of very hot qualifying sessions that would determine the starting grids for a weekend doubleheader. The first qualifying session set the stage for the Race 1 starting positions. The session was dominated by multiple race winner Eric Filgueiras commanding his #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. With a time of 1:55.339, he was quickest ahead of GT4 America rookie and Championship runner-up Gavin Sanders in the #34 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4. Sanders’ best lap was 0.313 slower than Filgueiras. Kevin Conway (#68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4) completed the Top 3 in this blistering hot qualifying session. Austen Smith (#51 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4) led for the first few minutes of the session and rounded off the Top 4 of the first qualifying session. Stevan McAleer took pole position for Race 2 in his #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, confirming his team's dominance after teammate Eric Filgueras finished first in Qualifying 1. For Qualifying 2 McAleer set an impressive lap time of 1:55.309 which would land him Silver class pole position for Race 2 of the weekend.
The Pirelli GT4 America concluded Saturday’s on-track activities with Race 1 at Watkins Glen International. The air was extremely hot, but the action on track was even hotter, with intense, nail-biting racing taking place throughout the field. Stevan McAleer not only claimed the overall and Silver class win with teammate Eric Filgueiras, he also claimed the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap award by laying down an impressive 1:55.868. The #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport built up a slim lead over its main rivals at the start of the race. During the mandatory 76-second driver change pit stop, Stevan McAleer took over from Eric Filgueiras and looked to extend their lead. However, a full course yellow caused RS1 to lose that 8-second lead. In the end, the RS1 drivers were able to control their competitors, winning by 2.682 seconds over the #34 Conquest Racing/MF Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT4 driven by Canadian Gavin Sanders and American Michai Stephens.

“We were very careful with the tires being 95 degrees here,” noted Stevan McAleer in a post-race interview. “Eric did a massive job again, he got away from the pack, and we had a really good pit stop that helped us add more time on the other cars. RS1 gave us a great Porsche. I knew on the restart that I probably would've had to fight a couple of cars going into the bus stop but once we were through there, I was pretty confident we could get away and we did.”
Eric Filgueiras echoed his teammate's thoughts, “It was not an easy win, and in fact, the weekend started off pretty problematically. We had a red flag in practice one, wet weather conditions in practice two, and we had a transmission failure. The team worked all night to replace the transmission and get us up and running. Starting the race, my objective was to get away and to give Stevan a car that he could fight with and race with so that's what was important to me. To have this result in Community Beer Works’ home race, we are really happy.”

A few drops of rain threatened the Pirelli GT4 America 60-minute race at Watkins Glen International. Thankfully, Mother Nature was merciful and let the competitors finish their event without a hitch.
The #18 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, which won Race 1, delivered yet another dominant performance in Sunday’s race This is the seventh victory this season for the team and its drivers, American Eric Filgueiras and Scotsman Stevan McAleer, extending their championship lead.
Although some of the Pro-Am class competitors were strong early on, the #18 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport ran a perfect race to take the overall lead with 10 minutes remaining in the 60-minute event. “It was a much better race than what we’ve had all year,” exclaimed Eric Filgueiras on Victory Lane. “Stevan did a fantastic job with his stint, as he always does. RS1 gave us a really great car. I wanted to be P1 overall but I wanted to be aware and courteous to those guys who are competing in their class too, so I didn’t want to take too many risks on our end to not mess those guys up. We’re really proud; what could be better!”

“I was very careful around the other cars because they’re racing for a different class, but I had a lot of fun with some of the guys out there,” echoed Stevan McAleer. “There’s a lot of big names at the front of the field. I knew if I could keep the car in one piece and give it to Eric, then he should be able to sneak his way by. Two wins this weekend, it’s been a big points day for us, and we’re really happy.”
With this result the team extends their points championship lead and has now won 7 of 8 races overall in the 2022 GT4 America season. Be sure to tune in for rounds 9 & 10 at Road America on August 20/21.
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