Over a very cold and rainy weekend SRO Motorsports Group America opened their season in Austin at COTA. It was a quick weekend trip for me to catch up with some friends and colleagues.
Most specifically, it was the debut of Jarett Andretti’s new McLaren GT4 effort. Jarett was a key brand ambassador for the WELD Racing brand through his Sprint Car team, Andretti Short Track. Over the years we’ve stayed connected and the jump to GT4 was a great excuse to catch a plane to Texas.
The shift in focus to the GT4 platform was evident in the entries. The dominate field in numbers was clearly GT4, although the GT3 field looked stronger than the past couple of seasons.
Jarett was extremely competitive, starting and finishing up front in the first race and storming through the field from a 19th place starting position to deep into the top ten before finishing 11th. A strong start among very tight competitors, especially from Porsche’s very tidy 718 CS MR.
It was great to see everyone after the winter break. It’s always an exciting time to see the new drivers, teams, and cars. The season is full of opportunity and the industry of sports car racing looks strong.