Team AR-G was back on the podium in massive comeback at Watkins Glen in the MetaVC Partners Ford Mustang GT4
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Napa, CA– July 26, 2022 – AR-G had a very eventful time last weekend at Watkins Glen International for round 4 of GT4 America, but even after massive setbacks, the team managed to secure a P2 finish in the second race. From practice laps getting cut short from oil spills and weather, race one holding a steady progress in P2 then getting taken out of the race from an accident, and then bouncing back for race two for a podium. “Watkins Glen proved to be another success story for team AR-G with Edgar Lau and Billy Johnson securing the second step on the podium in Sunday's SRO Pirelli GT4 America race . This was only our third outing in the SRO series with the MetaVC Partners Ford Mustang GT4, and again we proved that we have what it takes to excel at this level. In the final lap of the race Lau turned in a lap of a lifetime, making two passes to secure P2, where the second pass was a drag-race to the checkered flag with a margin of just 43 thousands of a second,” said Doug Makishima, AR-G co-owner and team principal.
Practice Laps & Qualifying
Practice sessions started out with Johnson setting a good benchmark time, followed by Lau getting in his first practice laps at this track. Then there was an oil spill which led to a red flag, cutting the session short. In the second session it started pouring rain which pushed the session back 10 minutes then Lau got to drive the whole session. They made some minor adjustments to help the car be more comfortable on track since they were facing some understeering issues. “We came into this weekend without much expectations because we know we are still lacking top speed especially on a high speed track like Watkins Glen. But as we progressed through practice we found our pace in making the Mustang fast in corners. We focused on having good tire wear and it proved to be the right thing to do in race 1. We showed some pace in qualifying and put us in the top 5 in both races,” said Edgar Lau.
Race 1
During race one, Lau started out the first half of race one in P4 and then progressed steadily up to P2. They had a very smooth driver swap and retained a position when Billy Johnson took the wheel. Johnson took the fastest lap of the race as he hunted down P1. During that hunt, when making a pass for P1, a BMW side swiped the Mustang GT4. It ended up breaking suspension components and blowing out a tire, leading them to retiring from the race. “It was very disappointing knowing that we could've won the race only to be taken out by another competitor. But it is good knowing the car has a winning race pace,” said Lau. “Edgar put us in a good position during the beginning of race one, and I turned the fastest lap of the race on the way to passing for the lead when unfortunately minor contact caused quite a bit of damage to our car, forcing us out of the race,” added Johnson.
Race 2
Race two started with Johnson on track. The race was slowed down due to multiple full course yellow flags. But when the flag was green, Johnson made sure to never miss an opportunity to pass. When driver swap time came around, the team decided to do an early driver swap. Lau hopped in the car and started the pursuit for the lead group. He had a 15 second gap but kept pushing which then caused him to close the gap closer towards the end of the race. He then focused on working his way up to the top even harder. “I tried hard to make a pass but was denied multiple times until the final lap where I capitalized on the mistakes on 2nd and 3rd place cars ending in a drag race to the finish line with 0.043s margin,” said Lau. “Race two, I held our position and turned it over to Edgar who made some great moves and passed 2 cars on the last lap to bring us home in 2nd place,” said Johnson.
Podium and Quotes
Lau and Johnson made sure to get on that podium after having such a tough weekend and succeeded. They finished in second place in the PRO-AM class and third overall.
“It's great to once again be on the podium for Ford and AR-G / Rotek Racing. One of our goals was to show the true potential of the Mustang and I am happy to say everyone saw it. So I am excited to be back in the car as soon as possible after another good weekend,” said Lau. “It was great to be back driving with Edgar and the whole ARG / Rotek Team. We were definitely the car to beat this weekend with strong runs in both races,” said Johnson.
About ARG:
Apex Racing Global (AR-G) Motorsports is a leading Northern California professional auto racing team based in Napa, Ca. In AR-G's first full United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC) race season, the team won two championships and two 2nd runner-ups in the season championship across all four classes (ST, SP, TC and GT). The team principals and drivers come from top race teams, and together have amassed decades of racing experience, both domestically and internationally. Founded in 2018, the team is currently campaigning BMW M3 & M4 GTS/GT4, Mustang FP350 & GT4, and other high performance touring cars in USTCC, Asian Le Mans and GT World Challenge America, with consistent appearances on the winner’s circle. @argmotorsports
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