Jaden Lander and the Krugspeed Team were at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the final race weekend of the GT4 America calendar. The weekend started with a shortened Thursday practice session due to bad weather, where Lander and the team could only get in 30 minutes of track time. The second practice session of the day was fully cancelled due to the rain, shifting the team’s focus to Friday qualifying.
The #72 Krugspeed was showing great pace in Friday morning’s qualifying session and was on course for a top-five overall finish before traffic on the last turn held Lander up, resulting in a P4 in-class starting position.
The weekend’s first race was on Friday at 5:25 pm; Lander’s teammate Anthony Geraci started the race in 6th in their class. He was able to avoid a number of crashes ahead and move up to second in the AM Class. Unfortunately, on the turnover of the car, Geraci received a penalty for speeding in the pitlane. The penalty forced Lander to take a pit drive-through, which ruined any chance for a high finish. Lander ultimately crossed the finish line in 6th place in their respective class.
Lander started the weekend’s second race on Sunday and worked his way up from 4th to 2nd in class. Bad luck struck the team again when a car in front of Lander broke down in the middle of a turn, causing Lander to hit him and spin. The positions lost from the incident, and ensuing penalty once again ruined any chances of a high placing.
Overall, it was a frustrating weekend for Lander and Krugspeed, especially after showing they had the pace to compete for podium finishes in both of the weekend’s races. Although it was not the ending to the year everyone was hoping for; it doesn’t diminish what the team has accomplished this season. Throughout the year, the Krugspeed Team, Lander, and Geraci have shown immense progress, and the future looks bright.
“Definitely a frustrating weekend for the whole team. The pace was there, but things out of our control stopped us from showing our true potential. It was a sad way to end the year, but we should not forget how much we progressed as a team this year! I’m not sure what my plans are for next year yet, but we will definitely come back stronger! Big thank you to everyone who made this year possible!”