July 21st 2025 – Alton, VA.
Kenny Schmied and co-driver Anthony Geraci traveled to Alton Virginia over the weekend for rounds 6 and 7 of the 2025 Pirelli GT4 America season. After a nine-week break since the last round at Sebring, the Pirelli GT4 America championship forged ahead during a weather-effected weekend at Virginia International Raceway.
Saturday’s qualifying session saw the RAFA Racing duo of Kenny Schmied and Anthony Geraci secure P4 for Race 1 and P5 for Race 2 respectively — promising grid positions for the weekend ahead. Anthony took the start in Race 1, which began under increasingly wet conditions and the field on slick tires. A full-course caution was called at the end of lap one, but escalating weather concerns — including lightning within the VIR vicinity — prompted race control to red-flag the session for safety.
Racing eventually resumed with less than 20 minutes remaining, as the field circulated behind the safety car. During this period, most teams, including the #72 RAFA Racing Toyota, completed their mandatory driver change. Kenny took over the #72 car on wet tires and rejoined in p4 as the race went green with 6 minutes and 33 seconds left on the clock.
In a tense wet-weather sprint to the finish, Schmied immediately charged into P3, confident in the wet conditions Kenny began closing the gap ahead. A drive-through penalty for the second-place #606 car, due to pit lane speeding, promoted Kenny to P2 — securing a hard-fought and well-deserved podium for the pairing.
Starting from P5 in Sunday’s Race , Kenny engaged in a race-long battle, pushing up to P4 before making the mandatory pit stop. However, a drive-through penalty for the #72 car dropped the RAFA Racing entry back to P6.
A late safety car bunched the field, giving Anthony the opportunity to mount a final charge. On the last lap, he fought his way back to P4, crossing the line just outside the podium. Following the race, post-race penalties were applied to other competitors, promoting the #72 RAFA Racing Toyota to P2 — securing their second podium of the weekend. The #72 RAFA Toyota now sits in second place in the AM class championship 12 points behind the #36 BimmerWorld entry of Postins and Clay.
“It was a tough weekend here in Virginia” said Schmied. “But we made some good strides in the championship and brought home some more hardware. With just 6 races left though, it’s time to take the gloves off and turn up the heat. We’ve got to execute to perfection from here on out if we want a shot at the championship.”
The next two rounds of the Pirelli GT4 America championship will be at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 15th to 17th.
Photos from GT4 America at Virginia International Raceway can be found below or at the photo gallery page here.
