Thompson Secures Podium Finish at Lone Star Enduro with Hanley Motorsports
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Parker Thompson delivered a solid performance at the inaugural Lone Star Enduro at Circuit of the Americas this past weekend, earning the top starting position among all silver-class entries and a third-place overall race finish. The event, Round 5 of the 2024 Pirelli GT4 America Championship, featured a challenging three-hour race format instead of the series’ traditional double-header race weekend.
Competing against 30 other GT4 entries, Thompson’s performance was evident from the outset. In Saturday’s qualifying session, he clocked the fastest time among silver-class entries and third overall. Teammate Daniel Hanley started the race, maintaining a top-five position as the field found its rhythm early in the contest.
Thompson began his first stint near the fifty-minute mark, rejoining the race in third position after an exemplary pit stop by the Hanley Motorsports crew. Showing strong pace, the native Canadian advanced to second overall before a full-course-yellow closed the pits at an inopportune time and disrupted Hanley Motorsports’ strategy. The incident allowed the race leader and much of the field to pit before the yellow. Thompson was unable to do the same and fell to ninth position after he and the remainder of the field cycled through the pits under caution.
Despite this setback, the team remained focused. Daniel Hanley pushed through the field in his final stint to regain third position overall. Thompson closed the race and navigated to the checkered flag without incident.
Parker Thompson
“Very proud of our effort here at Circuit of the Americas! There’s no doubt that we felt a win was within reach for us this weekend. I have to give a tonne of credit to our engineer, Chris Bohlman, and our crew chief, Ryan Heller. The unique regulations for this event and the demands of tire changes and refueling meant we had to make some big adjustments. We were well-prepared and handled those adjustments flawlessly. Unfortunately, our strategy took a big blow when a full-course yellow locked us out of the pit lane near the halfway point. Despite that, Daniel’s excellent mid-race drive and perfectly executed pit stops allowed us to solidly claim the final podium spot.”
Thompson will be back in action with Hanley Motorsports at VIRginia International Raceway from July 19-21. In the meantime, he continues his campaign in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Vasser Sullivan and Lexus Racing USA. The Detroit Grand Prix is next, with a 100-minute race on Saturday, June 1, when Thompson and Frankie Montecalvo will make a special appearance in GTD Pro with the No. 15 Vasser Sullivan / Lexus Racing USA RC F GT3.
