Kirk on Kompetition – I’m BAAAACK!

Tom Kirk – April 3, 2025

After driving and instructing at HPDE events since 2010, in 2018 I obtained my Historic Sportscar Racing license.  I successfully competed in the BRM Endurance Series and WeatherTech Sprint Challenge, earning class championships in both.  My 2019 racing campaign was cut short by a track incident (aka wreck) at Road Atlanta (not my fault) that totaled the highly modified 1995 Porsche 911 (993 version) that I was racing then.  Since then, I have continued driving and instructing at HPDE events with the PCA and Chin Track Days.  I have been getting faster and faster cars, now driving a Porsche GT4RS Club Sport, with its 9,000 rpm, 500 hp, GT3 engine.  I am one of the faster drivers at a DE event.  The next logical (perhaps insane) step for me was to try racing again.  So, I got my International GT racing license and signed up for the first IGT race weekend at Sebring in February.  Here we go!

It had been six years since my last race that ended poorly.  I knew that racing was a lot different than a DE track day and thought I remembered what to expect.  I was wrong.  From practice, to qualifying, to my first race, I was on a steep learning curve.    The speed and aggression of my fellow drivers took some getting used to. I caused a minor incident in my first race at Sebring and got put on probation right away.  If I screwed up again, my racing license could be suspended.  My confidence took a real blow.  Maybe I didn’t belong there.  I finished the next three races at Sebring that weekend with two second and one first in class finishes.  Maybe I could do this!

My next race weekend was at Road Atlanta in March.  I felt much more comfortable about what to expect than I did at Sebring, but also a little anxious about racing there again.  I had driven and instructed there since my wreck in 2019 but racing and DE are different, and I had never driven my current car there.  We used the Chin DE event the weekend before to get some extra seat time and dial in the car for the upcoming racing.

The race weekend went perfectly!  I qualified reasonably well but started poorly in my first sprint race.  I eventually passed my competition and finished first in class.  My best lap time in race one positioned me on grid of the next race ahead my competition.  The same thing happened in the next two sprint races – first in class finishes and fastest in class lap times.  The last race was a one-hour enduro. It was the feature race on Sunday with a fan grid walk, driver interviews and an opening ceremony.  I felt like a racing celebrity!  The race proceeded without any caution flags allowing my co-driver Ron Zitza to drive the final twenty minutes of the enduro and help secure another first in class, podium-toping finish!  Woo-hoo!

I am grateful to have the opportunity to drive with IGT and to compete with fellow Porsche drivers there.  All four of our IGT races went from green to checkered flag without any car-to-car contact.  That could not be said for any of the other racing that was happening there that weekend as part of the SVRA Speed Tour.  I also appreciate the help and support from the Zotz Racing team of Ron, Jason and Chris who keep me and my car in top racing condition.

Next stop Mid-Ohio.