MONTEREY, Calif. – The Stephen Cameron Racing team battled back from a sixth-place start on the grid to take the checkered flag Friday’s Pirelli GT4 America SprintX West race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Drivers Sean Quinlan and Gregory Liefooghe took the No. 19 BMW M4 GT4 on a steady upward pace through the field until a late caution slowed the field for a restart, allowing Liefooghe to capture the top position in the final laps of his stint and hold off the No. 5 USRD entry.
The No. 5 USRD Ginetta G55 shared by Jeff Bader and Casey Dennis came up .3 of a second short of the victory. Dennis, running the second stint behind the wheel after swapping out with Bader, managed to climb through the ranks while chasing Liefooghe and jockeying for the checkered, but provisionally had to settle for the second spot on the podium.
The third spot on the Pro-Am podium went to the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT4 and co-drivers Samantha Tan and Jason Wolfe. The No. 38 car attacked from the back of the grid and managed to recover enough positions to finish out on the last step of the podium under Wolfe’s race-finishing drive.
The top spot on the Am podium belonged to the No. 91 Rearden Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4. Both Vekso Kozarov and Jeff Burton managed to maintain a comfortable lead for much of the race after taking the top spot close to halfway through the race and keeping it through the mandatory driver-change.
Post-pit driver Burton battled the top track contenders for first place overall until the No. 452 RHC Jorgensen/Strom by Strom Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 fell back due to a mechanical issue and initiated, leading to a caution. After the restart, Burton was unable to maintain the top spot and fell to a charging Dennis to end the race third overall, but on the top step of the Am podium.
The No. 54 Racers Edge Motorsports entry, driven by Bob Michaelian and Mark Pavan, took the second step on the Am podium.