A New Face at SRO in NOLA
NEW ORLEANS, LA (27 April 2023) - The Heart of Racing (HOR) will head to the bayou for the next rounds in Pirelli GT4 America and GT America powered by AWS. HOR will return to NOLA Motorsports Park after a podium finish for Gray Newell and Ian James last season, but a new face will drive with Newell this time around.
Newell will be joined by Roman De Angelis to pilot the No. 24 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 entry in Pirelli GT4 America in hopes of repeating a podium finish from last year’s race.
De Angelis, the 2022 IMSA GTD Champion and 2023 Rolex 24 Hour of Daytona winner, will make his first SRO America start since the 2020 season where he earned wins at Circuit of the Americas and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Newell / De Angelis duo already have previous racing experience together, as the two have teamed up most recently in the 24H Series scoring a class win at the 12H of Mugello in March.
“I’m super excited to be in SRO GT4 America,” said De Angelis. “I’ve had the opportunity to do once before with another team and not only had a lot of fun racing in the series, but had some good results. Being with Gray in the car who knows the series well will be nice to help me understand the weekend’s layouts and how the racing is.”
Rianna O’Meara-Hunt and Hannah Grisham will team up in the No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage GT4, with both looking forward to making their first SRO competition laps at NOLA Motorsports Park for rounds 3 and 4 in Pirelli GT4 America.
“I am excited to get going at NOLA,” said O’Meara-Hunt. “I feel like Hannah and I are yet to show what we truly have on track so it’s going to be a good next round! I managed to get some sim time, thanks to Matt from Track Tec in Cromwell, NZ, so I am hoping it pays dividends over and above the practice sessions we will get prior to racing.”
The duo looks to rebound after the team suffered from contact in the very first corner of the first race of the weekend at Sonoma in the season-opener. The team was able to come back and bring home a top ten finish in the second race of the weekend.
“I’m really excited for race weekend number two with the Heart of Racing,” said Grisham. “I have been to NOLA once before so I’m excited to be at a familiar track. I’m excited to also continue to learn and grow on our opening round at Sonoma. I think Rianna and I have a better idea of the series and our competitors so I think we have a great weekend ahead of us.”
Newell will also be behind the wheel of the No. 25 Aston Martin GT America powered by AWS entry. This will be the first time the GT America series has raced at NOLA Motorsports Park. Newell goes into rounds 5 and 6 sitting third in GT America championship points standings.
“NOLA presents a good challenge for us to get back on the horse and dig in,” said Newell. “I’m looking to apply some new techniques from my time at Mugello and make my place in the championship stick.”
Saturday, April 29th will include qualifying for both GT America powered by AWS and Pirelli GT4 America followed by the first GT America race at 12:55 pm CT and ends the day with the first Pirelli GT4 America race at 5:00 pm CT. Sunday will host a GT America race at 9:30 am CT followed by the Pirelli GT4 America race at 11:30 am CT. Watch live coverage on SRO Motorsports Group's YouTube channel or SRO Motorsports Group's Twitch channel, with delayed broadcasts airing on CBS Sports.
