AutoTechnic Racing made the right decision to pit Colin Garrett under yellow at the earliest legal opportunity to switch over to Zac Anderson Saturday (March 29). That move gave Anderson the overall lead. From there, he held on to win Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Race No. 1 at Sonoma Raceway with Garrett.
Anderson and Garrett’s margin of victory was .431 seconds over Blackdog Speed Shop’s Michael Cooper and Tony Gaples. BimmerWorld Racing’s Tyler McQuarrie and James Walker Jr. were third, then ACI Motorsports’ Riley Dickinson and Curt Swearingin. NOLAsport’s Michael Auriemma and Matheus Leist were fifth.
In the Silver class, Anderson and Garrett won by 9.223 seconds over Random Vandals Racing’s Kevin Boehm and Kenton Koch. JMF Motorsport’s Braden Arthur and Mike David Ortmann were third, then The Heart of Racing’s Hannah Greenemeier and Hannah Grisham. RAFA Racing Team’s Tyler Gonzalez and Gresham Wagner were fifth.
In the Silver class, Marco Polo Motorsports’ Mads Siljehaug started from pole in the team’s first race in the series since 2021. However, it didn’t take long for trouble to break out.
On the first lap, the caution flew due to a three-car incident in turn 4. Random Vandals Racing’s Paul Sparta hit BimmerWorld Racing’s James Clay, spinning out the No. 36 BMW. Sparta was then hit by the McLaren of OGH Motorsports’ Sam Owen and spun himself. Owen then hit Clay, littering the track with debris in the process.
Both Clay and Owen limped their way back to the pits and were not able to continue. Sparta’s BMW was not significantly damaged and did continue towards the rear of the field. He was given a drive-through penalty late in the race for causing the incident, though.
Things didn’t get much better once the race restarted. VPX Motorsport’s Alex Ellis got a run on Siljehaug on the run up the hill into turn 2. Ellis dropped a wheel into the dirt, then hit Siljehaug. Both cars spun out and stacked up the field.
Trouble on the restart, with contact between multiple cars as we return back to yellow again 💥
— GT4America (@GT4America) March 30, 2025
🟣 https://t.co/qpYmzQOnvV
🔴 https://t.co/YRbKI8CpDS #GT4America #GTSonoma pic.twitter.com/n6UMZOwDoW
There were a number of additional drivers involved in the incident, including both Pro-Am pole sitter Matt Million and Am pole sitter Allen Patten of Thunder Bunny Racing.
Ellis, Million, Patten and JMF Motorsport’s Jesse Webb were all out on the spot. Siljehaug was able to drive back to the pits, but his Toyota was hurt badly from the contact. He would continue, but ended up laps down.
When the smoke and dust cleared, Boehm ended up with the overall lead with JMF Motorsport’s Mike David Ortmann second.
The mid-race pit window opened up during the caution. Unlike in past years, the pits were opened to allow teams to make their mandatory stops. However, not everyone pitted at the same time.
When the green came back out with 27 minutes to go, AutoTechnic Racing’s Zac Anderson ended up with the overall lead. Behind him, Blackdog Speed Shop’s Michael Cooper was up to third and made quick work of Braden Arthur to take second.
In Pro-Am, Million started from the class pole in fifth overall. However, he was clipped by Webb on the restart from the first caution. That saw him spin out, where he was hit by Patten. As a result, he was out on the spot.
Random Vandals Racing’s Sam Craven inherited the Pro-Am lead after the crash, but did not choose to pit at the earliest opportunity. That cost him as he ended up outside of the top-five in class.
Cooper ended up with the class lead in his McLaren with McQuarrie giving chase. Within a lap of the restart, he was able to put Arthur between himself and McQuarrie. It wasn’t much of a cushion, but it helped.
Cooper pulled away from McQuarrie and attempted to do battle with Anderson for the overall win. He was unable to get past Anderson’s BMW, but he still took home the class victory with Gaples.
For Cooper, this is his second McLaren victory of the year. Back in January, he teamed with Moisey Uretsky to win the BMW M Endurance Challenge, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season opener.
Cooper and Gaples’ margin of victory was 4.656 seconds over McQuarrie and Walker. Dickinson and Swearingin were third, then Auriemma and Leist. Archangel Motorsports’ Adrian Comstock and Thomas Merrill were fifth in their Aston Martin.
In Am, Patten started from the pole in his Supra after a strong run. However, his contact with Million on the restart 13 minutes into the race ended his day.
RAFA Racing Team’s Kenny Schmied inherited the lead in his Toyota. He restarted in the top 10 overall with a number of cars between him and the rest of the Am class. However, he had a large enough head start over the rest of the class that he was able to hold on for the class win with Anthony Geraci in 13th.
Geraci and Schmied’s margin of victory was 3.991 seconds over Fast Track Racing’s BMW for Judson Holt and Dave Ogburn. Rigid Speed Company’s Joseph and Lucas Catania were third, then TPC Racing’s Zoe Barry and Aurora Straus. Sparta and Michael Kanisczak were fifth.
Pirelli GT4 America SprintX: Sonoma Race No. 1 Results
Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Race No. 2 from Sonoma Raceway is scheduled to go green at 2:35 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. Coverage will start at 2:30 p.m. ET on the GT World YouTube channel.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.