Double Podium at GT4 America Road Atlanta!

What a weekend in the Peach State! SRO America's highly anticipated return to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta after 15 years did not disappoint, and the team is coming home with an incredible double-podium finish.

Practice & Qualifying: Finding the Pace

Right from the opening sessions, our BMW M4 GT4 EVO showed great pace. We clocked in as the 3rd fastest in Practice 1 and followed it up as the 4th fastest in Practice 2. This was an incredibly promising sign for the team, especially since the BMWs were not the outright fastest cars on the track this weekend.

When it came time for qualifying, we faced two very different sessions. Francis nailed his run, putting the car 5th in class and a fantastic 5th overall. Kevin caught a bit of bad luck, running into heavy traffic on his fast laps and qualifying 14th overall. In sports car racing, traffic happens—it just meant we had our work cut out for ourselves in the races. 

Race 1: Early Pit Strategy and Pit Lane Drama

Just like we anticipated, traffic held us up early on. As the pit window opened, we decided to bring the car in earlier than most to find some clear track. However, the execution turned out to be a bit more dramatic than intended.

Kevin was running side-by-side with the fourth-place car through the final corners of the lap, which gave the car behind extra momentum. That competitor attempted a pass just as Kevin was heading for the pit lane, pushing the #51 wide of the entry. Fortunately, Kevin managed to dive into the pit lane safely with zero lasting damage to the car. Thanks to that quick thinking and flawless pit work from the AutoTechnic Racing crew, we fought our way to the front and secured a brilliant P2 finish. 

Race 2: Three-Wide Racing and a Charge to the Podium

Starting 14th in Race 2 meant navigating a non-stop sequence of corners during the opening laps at Road Atlanta. Kevin's initial goal was simply to get single-file and stay out of trouble. The strategy paid off early: he picked up a position when a competitor lost momentum after a failed pass attempt. From that point on, Kevin was locked in a fiercely competitive, eight-car pack, going three-wide down the back straight more times than he could count during a seriously intense stint.

The strategy paid off once more during the pit cycle, moving Francis from fifth to fourth. After managing a slick, low-grip stint while chasing the top three, a late-race yellow bunched up the field and put a podium back in play. Francis charged into third place on the restart. We expected to finish there, but luck swung our way when the second-place car received a penalty for contact with an out-of-class competitor. That bumped us up another spot, locking in our second P2 finish of the weekend!

What's Next?

Bringing home consecutive second-place finishes from such a legendary, intimidating track is a massive testament to the strength of this entire program. 

Now, we head into a brief summer break in GT4 America to tear down the car, analyze the data, and hopefully find a little time for some PTO between work, coaching, and visiting other tracks. We will be back on track for the next rounds of the Pirelli GT4 America championship at the legendary Road America from August 28–30, 2026.

Thank you to AWS, Red Line Oil, IMPACT60, (powered by the Performance Columbus Family of Dealerships), Operation Motorsport, and AutoTechnic Racing for making this double-podium weekend possible.