One Test Day, Three Top-5s: Advance Motorsports' Rookie Season in GT4 America
3
Most teams arrive at their first Pirelli GT4 America weekend with a full off-season of testing behind them. Advance Motorsports arrived with one.
The Chicago-based, family-run outfit made its series debut in 2026 behind the wheel of a McLaren Artura GT4, stepping into one of the most competitive professional sports car series in the world with a single test weekend to prepare. Pirelli GT4 America grids regularly run 30-plus cars deep, packed with factory-backed programs and seasoned pro-am lineups. It's not a series that rewards being undercooked.
Advance Motorsports found speed anyway. The No. 131 Artura GT4 put itself on pole for the season-opening race at Sonoma Raceway, and across the team's first three race weekends, it backed that pace up with three top-five finishes a result few debut programs manage against a field that deep, that fast, and that early in a season.
Behind the effort is a team built on family, not just funding. Advance Motorsports was founded in 2020 by father-son duo Todd and Austin Jurs, with Austin doubling as full-season driver and co-owner. That structure has let the team stay lean and adaptable, rotating a mix of talented co-drivers through the second seat across the season as the program continues to take shape.
Three top-fives from one test day isn't the finished product it's the baseline. For a first-year program measuring itself against the best in North American GT4 competition, it's proof the car, the drivers, and the team are already racing at the level they set out to reach.
