George Kurtz and the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Team Take GT America Championship Lead with Weekend Sweep at VIRginia International Raceway; Michai Stephens and Gavin Sanders Co-Drive No. 34 Conquest Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 to Sunday Pirelli GT4 America Win
DANVILLE, Virginia – Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams combined for three overall race wins, one Pro-Am class victory and eight total podium finishes in a competitive SRO America championships weekend across three racing series at VIRginia International Raceway Saturday and Sunday. The success included a sweep by George Kurtz and the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 team of the weekend’s pair of 40-minute GT America powered by AWS sprint races. Another weekend highlight was the first Pirelli GT4 America victory of the season for co-drivers Michai Stephens and Gavin Sanders in the No. 34 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 on Sunday.
Kurtz also co-drove with Colin Braun for a Pro-Am class victory in the team’s sister No. 04 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Sunday’s final 90-minute Fanatec GT World Challenge America race. The victory was the No. 04 team’s second World Challenge win of the year and followed a Saturday triumph last month in New Orleans.
This weekend’s victories give Kurtz and the No. 04 CrowdStrike Riley team sole possession of first place in the GT America championship standings after coming into VIR tied for first.
Kurtz also extended his lead with the team and Braun in the GT World Challenge Pro-Am championship point standings after Sunday afternoon’s victory. The VIR races were the third of seven doubleheader weekends on the 2022 GT World Challenge and GT America schedule.
Stephenson, Sanders and the No. 34 Conquest/JMF team also bolstered their Pirelli GT4 America championship pursuits with Sunday’s win and a second-place finish in Saturday’s first 60-minute race. The No. 34 drivers and team have provisionally moved to second in the Pirelli GT4 championship with four of this year’s seven doubleheader race weekends still ahead this season.
Joining Kurtz, Stephenson and Sanders in repeat visits to the VIR podium this weekend was the co-driving duo of David Askew and Dirk Müller in the No. 63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. A new for 2022 driver pairing that debuted in April’s season-opening weekend at Sonoma Raceway, Askew and Müller broke through for third-place Pro-Am finishes in both the Saturday and Sunday GT World Challenge races at VIR.
The weekend’s final podium player was the No. 32 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 team with co-drivers Cole Ciraulo and Kris Wilson. Both drivers battled with Stephenson and Sanders throughout Saturday’s first Pirelli GT4 race before a third-place finish.
The Capstone team was looking for similar results in Sunday’s final Pirelli GT4 sprint, but Ciraulo was uninjured after a contact incident on lap two knocked the No. 32 out of the race.
Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in SRO America competition is the Watkins Glen International road course in upstate New York, July 22 – 24. The race weekend features a doubleheader schedule of races for Fanatec GT World Challenge America, Pirelli GT4 America and GT America that will bring each series through the halfway point of their seasons.
George Kurtz, Driver – No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I just love this track. The CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports team gave me a fantastic car. It was hooked up all weekend. We were able to run consistent laps pole-to-pole. At the end of the day, it’s a team effort and we were fortunate to get the double-win here in GT America. We did a good job of getting through the traffic and gapped our competitors. We had a nice lead Sunday before the safety car came out late, but that made it exciting and interesting in the end. With this track and the Mercedes-AMG GT3, we’ve had success in the past in GT World Challenge and saw a little bit more on Sunday. You just have to hang around, and hopefully you get a little bit lucky. We were super clean and consistent again, and it was a great team win. We’re taking it race by race. Our goal is podiums. If we can stay in contention and be consistent, we’ll hopefully still be in a good spot at the end of the season.”
Colin Braun, Driver – No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “For me, it was the work we did Friday. We worked on our long-run car and worked on tire degradation. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is super-strong there. We got to second in Sunday’s race and then held position. I knew George would do a great job when he got in, he always delivers, and it’s always a pleasure to race with him and drive for a guy like Bill Riley. I’m really proud of everyone. It was a total team effort. It was super-hot this weekend, and it’s nice to finish off strong.”
David Askew, Driver – No. 63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It’s our home track now and one I’m really comfortable with. It’s a beautiful track and a real thrill to drive. Here at VIR, it’s absolutely my best drive ever and it was back-to-back podiums, two days in a row. I’m kind of high fiving myself in that area, it’s good for me. I expect the Pros to do their thing, and my Pro is one of the best in the business. He certainly did his thing. We’ve been working super hard, and the results haven’t really showed, but we’ve had pace and we’ve had the ability to get the car on the podium, and now it’s just down to execution. We’ve got to stop doing dumb ‘Am’ driver things and the results will come. That’s what I’ve always believed, you put the work in and leave no stone unturned and the results will come. It’s been a while since we’ve been on the podium, and to do it twice this weekend is an awesome thing.”
Dirk Müller, Driver – No. 63 DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Coming here I had a very good feeling. We have been working so hard all year. From my very first day in January, I received such a warm welcome from the guys and everyone on the team. Everybody is working so hard on the two cars. We wanted to be on the podium from the get-go, had tough luck here and there – a few little gremlins – but we came back strong, and we are super happy with the whole performance over the weekend. The cars were nice to drive, and we stayed out of trouble. We had a really strong podium finish yesterday and today was awesome. David just dug in, and we knew what we had to do. Shenanigans were happening everywhere, but we took P3 from today as well with a double podium on the weekend. It’s good for the championship. I don’t even know where we are, but the season is long and here we go.”
Michai Stephens, Driver – No. 34 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4: “It feels absolutely tremendous. We have everybody at Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports as well as the Mercedes-AMG GT4 platform to thank. Between those tools, they keep the fight alive, and Gavin and I just try to return the favor week in and week out. Looking forward, we’ll continue to compound on the good and eliminate the bad, but we appreciate the competition. It all comes down to it being a team effort. The team has such enthusiasm and love for what they do. So, when you pull into the pit box and know you’re pretty much back at home, it’s like a recharge and a send-off all over.”
Gavin Sanders, Driver – No. 34 Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4: “This is by far the biggest win of my career. It just feels so incredible, and I’m grateful for everybody that helped me get here. It’s beyond cool, and to be standing on the top of the podium is something you can’t replicate anywhere else. It’s a big credit to everybody here. There’s no giving up on this team. When it looks like we may be down, we’re definitely not out. I think we proved this weekend that we’re willing to take it to them. This my first time being here at VIR. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 was killer this weekend, everything fell our way, and we were able to make the short-run speed work.”
Cole Ciraulo, Driver – No. 32 Conquest Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “After the Sonoma opener, where we didn’t finish either race, it’s really great to make some progress, especially being with a new team with Capstone Motorsports and the Mercedes-AMG GT4. It’s my first year driving the Mercedes-AMG GT4 and it’s incredible so far, I love it so much. Kris had an amazing start in Saturday’s race, starting in third place and getting up to second and holding that the whole time. We had a different pit strategy than everyone else, we stayed out the longest and waited until the last minute to pit. It didn’t pay off because we did pit and then there was a full course caution. We had a couple of safety car laps and then the restart. We ended up going four-wide into turn one, but I shot down the inside and got around all four and we made it to the podium. We didn’t have the best qualifying for Sunday, so I started toward the back. I had a good start, but it was really crowded in turn one. I kept my line and went two-wide all the way through five. It got a little tight and I just got into the dirt a little and it spun me and backed it into the tire wall. I’m ok, and the car has body damage but minimal suspension damage. We’ll get it back out for the next race.”
