ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Spencer Pumpelly was the top dog en route to a win in Pirelli GT4 America Sprint competition Saturday morning at Road America.
Pumpelly and the No. 66 TRG LaSalle Solutions Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 brought the field to the green flag under sunny skies with cool temperatures for Saturday’s second Pirelli GT4 America sprint race at Road America.
Michael Cooper and the No. 10 Blackdog Speedshop McLaren 570S GT4 wasted no time and won the drag race on the run to turn one to take over the lead, with a frustrated Pumpelly just behind.
Michael Dinan and the No. 210 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4 settled into third overall and first in the Am category, with Drew Staveley fourth overall.
For the first 17 minutes of the race, Pumpelly was able to stay within a half second of Cooper as the two played a game of cat and mouse. Dinan pulled away from his rivals in the Am division and started to inch closer to the two overall leaders.
With 31 minutes remaining, Am driver Paul Terry was able to get by Pro competitor Staveley for fourth overall and begin to hunt down Dinan for the class lead, who sat just behind Cooper and Pumpelly.
At the same time, Milwaukee’s Jeff Courtney and the No. 99 RecStuff Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 would get past Sean Quinlan’s No. 119 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 for fourth position in the Am class and seventh overall.
With 26 minutes left on the clock, as Staveley stalked the Aston Martin of Terry, Terry succumbed to the pressure and spun going into turn 14, allowing Staveley to regain the fourth overall position and also giving Tony Gaples second in Am.
As the clock ticked below the 20-minute mark, Pumpelly remained in Cooper’s shadow as the two battled for the Pro and overall lead. Dinan dropped off the leader’s pace slightly, but maintained a comfortable lead in Am over Gaples.
With 14 minutes remaining, Pumpelly got into the slipstream of Cooper going into turn five, and snuck by on the inside of the corner with an out-braking maneuver to grab the overall lead.
On the final lap, Cooper pulled up on the outside of Pumpelly going into turn five and tried to use an outside-in move going up to turn six. The two went side-by-side and traded paint through turn six, but Pumpelly remained on the inside for turn seven and kept the lead.
Cooper stayed on the back of Pumpelly’s bumper until turn 14, when Cooper got another run on the Porsche. But Pumpelly held his car to the inside wall and won the drag race to the checkered flag by just .204 seconds.
Pumpelly, celebrating the victory with donuts at turn five, also ran the fastest race lap of 2:19.114 to grab the pole for Sunday’s race.
“We had a great race. It took a lot to get by Michael and he gave me plenty of room, but we fought all the way. It was good, fair racing and I was able to take it home. Big thanks to the TRG LaSalle Solutions guys for giving me a great car today. I’m really happy and happy to do it for everyone!” said Pumpelly on the win.
Behind the overall leaders, Dinan would win Am, his seventh class win of the season, with Tony Gaples getting past Staveley for fourth overall and second in Am.
Terry would claim the final podium position in Am, sixth overall.
“My confidence is high after all the great results we’ve been able to produce this season. A huge thanks to Flying Lizard for giving me this car today and through the season!” said Dinan.