30/08/2026
Schmied and Geraci Claim Road America Podium Despite Race 2 Frustration.
Following free practice on Thursday, qualifying took place on Friday with Anthony Geraci taking the wheel for Race 1. Geraci put in a good qualifying performance to secure P6 in the Am class before handing the #72 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 over to team-mate Kenny Schmied for Race 2 qualifying. Schmied continued the strong pace, qualifying P4 in class.
Race 1 took place later on Friday, with Geraci starting from P6 in the Am class in a 32-car field. The opening laps saw close racing throughout the field, with the #72 Toyota initially dropping back to P8.
The race was neutralised on lap four when the #15 McLaren went into the wall, bringing out a full-course yellow. The pit window opened on lap six, with several cars taking the opportunity to pit under caution. Racing resumed one lap later, before the majority of the field made their mandatory pit stops at the end of lap seven, with 34 minutes remaining.
Kenny Schmied took over the #72 Toyota and, once the pit cycle was complete, found himself running P5 in class. With the different classes spread throughout the field, Schmied first had to work his way through the Pro and Pro-Am cars before being able to focus on the Am-class battle.
When the #21 BMW retired with suspension failure on lap 16, Kenny was promoted to fourth and immediately set about closing the gap to the #37 Mercedes. Two laps later he made his move, taking the position and moving the #72 into the P3.
With just nine minutes remaining, Schmied continued to push, closing rapidly on the cars ahead. A strong final stint saw him close in on P2, with the #72 Toyota crossing the chequered flag to secure another podium finish for Schmied, Geraci and Rafa Racing.
Race 2 on Saturday got underway in challenging wet conditions, with rain falling before the start and the entire 32-car field switching to wet-weather tyres. With significant standing water and huge amounts of spray, the field was given two formation laps before the green flag.
Starting from P4 in the Am class, Kenny made an excellent start, moving into P3 by the end of the opening lap. Showing impressive pace in the difficult conditions, Kenny immediately set about closing the three-second gap to the car ahead.
By the end of lap three, Schmied had caught and passed the #36 BMW to move into second in class and was beginning to close on the leader.
However, on lap four the race was neutralised when the Am-class leading car was hit by the #39 Mercedes approaching Canada Corner, sending it heavily into the barriers. The resulting damage to the tyre wall required extensive repairs, leading to a lengthy full-course yellow.
The pit window opened on lap seven while the race remained under caution, with the entire field taking the opportunity to make their mandatory stops at the end of the lap. Anthony took over the #72 Rafa Racing Toyota and emerged as the Am-class leader.
Racing finally resumed on lap 13 with just 11 minutes remaining. Geraci immediately came under pressure from the #413 BMW and #30 Mustang but defended strongly to maintain the lead.
Unfortunately, the battle ended in frustration when the BMW made a late lunge, making contact with the #72 Toyota and spinning Geraci around. The incident dropped the Toyota out of contention for the podium.
A second full-course yellow with just two laps remaining left no opportunity for Geraci to recover the lost positions, with the #72 Toyota eventually crossing the finish line in P6 in class.
Despite the disappointing finish, Schmied and Geraci once again demonstrated strong pace, with Kenny’s opening stint in the wet conditions being one of the highlights of the weekend.
Kenny Schmied
Schmied Racing
Anthony Geraci
