MONTEREY, Calif. – Jon Miller and Harry Gottsacker earned a moment of redemption in Friday’s second Pirelli GT4 America SprintX West event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Miller and Gottsacker rebounded from a last-in-clash finish earlier in the day to win Friday’s second race. Miller used a late-race pass to take the lead then pulled away to a more than eight second victory in the No. 28 ST Racing BMW M4 GT4.
“It was a really good rebound for myself and ST Racing, compared to the first race this morning,” Gottsacker remarked. “We made some adjustments in the car with the time that we had and they went the exact direction that we wanted them to go. Jon (Miller) drove the wheels off the (BMW) at the end of that stint. He’s an awesome source to learn from and I’m lucky to be in this situation.”
Earning the second position on the Pro-Am podium was the Stephen Cameron Racing team. Polesitting driver Greg Liefooghe handed the No. 19 BMW M4 GT4 off to the secondary driver Sean Quinlan, who maintained the lead for some time until getting passed by Miller on lap 32 of the 38-lap contest.
The Pro-Am battle for third ultimately went to the No. 5 USRD Ginetta G55 that, under control of drivers Jeff Bader and Casey Dennis, worked through the field from the back of the grid.
In the Am class, the No. 67 The Racers Group Porsche 718 Cayman CS MR finished third overall, with driver Kevin Woods behind the wheel, placing it at the top of the class podium.
“I was under a lot of pressure, but luckily I was able to hold on,” Woods said. “It was very close, especially in the Corkscrew. But Vesko is a really good driver so I trust him. We had a little tap but it was fine. Other than that, I have to thank my teammate (Chris Bellomo) for a good start, so good that he got an award for it. I think that’s really what won it for us.”
Vesko Kozarov’s last-lap challenge in the famed series of turns at Laguna Seca was not enough to bring the No. 91 Rearden Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 the class sweep for the weekend, so he and co-driver Jeff Burton took the second step on the Am podium.