Stevan McAleer, Eric Filguerias Destroy Field In Sebring Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Race No. 2

Rennsport One’s Stevan McAleer and Eric Filguerias recovered from a last-lap fuel pump issue Saturday to completely dominate to win Pirelli GT4 America Sprint Race No. 2 at Sebring International Raceway Sunday (Sept. 25).  It is the duo’s ninth overall win of the year.

“Stevan [McAleer] gave me a fantastic car and fantastic position,” Filguerias told SRO America’s Amanda Busick.  “From there, it was all about managing [the gap], managing the pace and bringing [the car home].  That’s what we did today.”

McAleer started from the overall pole and led early over NOLAsport’s Jason Hart.  Meanwhile, an incident further back in the field resulted in BimmerWorld Racing’s James Clay spinning out at the entrance to turn 1.  Rennsport One’s Juan Martinez and AutoTechnic Racing’s Alex Filsinger were also involved.  Filsinger ended up with a flat right front tire and right front damage.  Filsinger was able to drive back to the pits, but a piece of debris came off between turns 11 and 12.  That debris stayed in the middle of the track for the whole race, but did not draw a caution.  Filsinger did not return to the race after pitting.

Conquest Racing’s Gavin Sanders, winner of Race No. 1 on Saturday, failed to set a time during his qualifying session Saturday.  As a result, he had to start from the rear of the field.  In the opening minutes of the race, Sanders was able to drive up to 19th overall from 31st.  By the mid-race pit stops, he was up to 15th.  A strong stop to put Michai Stephens into the car moved the team up into the top 10 overall and third in the Silver class.

McAleer slowly but surely opened up his advantage over Hart.  By the time the mid-race pit stops came along, McAleer had a six-second lead.  Unlike some of the Pro-Am squads, McAleer chose to pit at the halfway point to give way to Filguerias.

Once Filguerias was in the car, he continued to open up the advantage over Scott Noble in the NOLASport Porsche.  Laps that were consistently about a second quicker than Noble’s white, yellow and black Porsche tore the race wide as Filguerias took an easy victory.

The final margin ended up being 23.469 seconds over Noble and Hart.  Stephens and Sanders drove all the way up from the rear of the field to finish third overall, only a second behind Noble at the finish.  Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Elias Sabo and Andy Lee were fourth, followed by Premier Racing’s Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer.

In Silver,…