Michelin Pilot Challenge – Page 2

Archangel wins dramatic MPC race at Mid-Ohio, Aston four of top five

They watched and they waited, convinced Aaron Telitz would need to stop for fuel in the closing stages of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Four Hours of Mid-Ohio on Sunday afternoon. Instead, Telitz continued at barely abated pace around Mid-Ohio Sports Car …

They watched and they waited, convinced Aaron Telitz would need to stop for fuel in the closing stages of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Four Hours of Mid-Ohio on Sunday afternoon.

Instead, Telitz continued at barely abated pace around Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, leading the Grand Sport (GS) class during Round 4 of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, in the No. 88 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, confident in the information team manager Mike Johnson was reporting from the pits.

Telitz finally slowed to save fuel in the last couple laps, allowing Matt Plumb in the No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 to slice into his 16-second lead. But Telitz and the Archangel car he shared with Todd Coleman crossed the line 4.533s to the good in a 1-2 finish for Aston Martin after 152 laps of racing around the 2.258-mile road course. The British manufacturer won for the first time this season and claimed four of the top five spots.

As one of only two four-hour endurance events on the Michelin Pilot Challenge calendar, fuel strategy played a critical role in the race. It’s generally accepted that GS entries can run roughly an hour on a tank of fuel, so the drama level rose sharply when it appeared the No. 88 Archangel Aston would try to complete the final 80 minutes without stopping.

Team TGM was the first of the leaders to commit to a strategy that would guarantee making the finish, pitting Plumb with 49 minutes remaining. That left the No. 88 Aston and the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 as the last cars attempting to achieve an extended final stint.

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“Definitely the (Nos.) 34 and the 88 are [hoping] for a caution or they have something figured out on the fuel save that the rest of us don’t,” said Paul Holton, who-co-drove the No. 46 Aston Martin with incoming GS championship points leader Plumb. “Could they make it? Maybe.”

Telitz continued at what looked like a torrid pace, lapping in the 1-minute, 27-second bracket around the 13-turn road course. He finally slacked off in the final five minutes but still had enough fuel to complete the final 54 race laps plus a victory lap on the single tank. It was the first victory in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition for Archangel Motorsports.

“What an amazing job by this Archangel team,” said Telitz. “Mike Johnson running the strategy, Todd running such a clean first stint. We knew this race was going to come down to strategy at the end, so it was all about saving fuel for us – basically the whole race. We knew what we could do; we practiced it a lot in practice, and it paid off big here. Amazing!”

Coleman said he and the team fully believed Telitz would make it to the finish. “Actually, I stopped praying for a yellow with about 20 laps to go, because I thought, ‘We’re seeing this all the way to the end.’

“You wouldn’t believe the fuel preservation target he was given, and he was still running [1m27s laps]. Unbelievable!” he added.

It was generally a clean race that featured eight GS class leaders and only three full-course cautions.

Daniel Morad and Bryce Ward finished third in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4, while Scott Blind and JP Southern got the best of a furious scrap for fourth place in the No. 45 Ruckus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

Plumb, who has competed with multiple co-drivers this year, continues to lead the GS class standings with a 130-point advantage over Robin Liddell and Frank Depew, who recovered from an early spin to finish fifth Sunday in the No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo. Morad and Ward are another 10 points back.

Brown, Dupont race to first series victory in TCR nail-biter

The Touring Car (TCR) class featured just as much fuel-saving drama as the GS race, with Preston Brown and Denis Dupont both gaining their first Michelin Pilot Challenge win in nail-biting fashion in the No. 76 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR.

Dupont stopped with the rest of the TCR leaders for a full tank of fuel during the final full-course caution with just over 80 minutes remaining. When racing resumed 10 minutes later, the No. 76 crew was running second and planning to go the distance without stopping.

“As soon as he left pit lane after that last yellow,” team engineer Aaron Phifer explained, “I said we’ll go to fuel save and see what we can do. I just gave him a crazy [fuel-saving] number to hit, and he was hitting it.”

But one by one, the other TCR contenders began stopping for late splashes of fuel. Dupont inherited the lead with 28 minutes to go when Tim Lewis pulled the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR in for a splash. That changed the thinking in the No. 76 Hyundai camp.

“Everybody behind us stopped so it gave us the cushion [to bring Dupont in for the splash of fuel],” Phifer added. “My crew was amazing all day, got us so many spots on pit lane. They did a perfect fuel splash at the end for three seconds, and I told him, ‘Drive it like you stole it for the last four laps.’ He’s the most underrated driver in this paddock and he deserves it.”

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Dupont did just that. He returned after the splash-and-go with the lead and pulled away to win by 4.197s over Lewis, William Tally and the No. 5 Alfa Romeo. The No. 17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS TCR, with drivers Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor, finished third – ending their three-race win streak to start the 2024 season.

“The whole race was super tactical,” Dupont, the 34-year-old Belgian, said. “We fuel saved a lot from the beginning because it was difficult to pass. At the end it was just a fuel-save race and I think we really sized it better than the rest and [were able to] take the lead, stay in the front and then stick to a splash. … Then you have to race at the end, but we thought we had the pace to stay at the front, so we did.”

It’s the third solid result in four races for Brown and Dupont, who finished second in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway and fourth last month at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. They moved into second in the TCR standings after four races, 170 points behind Taylor, Miller and the No. 17 Audi. Hyundai became the second TCR manufacturer to win in 2024 and closed the deficit to Audi to 40 points.

“It’s been a wonderful beginning to the season with Bryan Herta Autosport,” Brown commented. “Denis and I have been racing off and on together for three years so this is pretty awesome.”

The Michelin Pilot Challenge returns to action June 21-22 with The Esses 120 at Watkins Glen.

RESULTS

Both MPC classes set new track records in Mid-Ohio qualifying

Michael de Quesada claimed his second consecutive Motul Pole Award in the Grand Sport (GS) class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with a new track record Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. De Quesada lapped the technical road course in …

Michael de Quesada claimed his second consecutive Motul Pole Award in the Grand Sport (GS) class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with a new track record Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

De Quesada lapped the technical road course in 1m26.262s (94.233mph) in the No. 69 Motorsports In Action McLaren Artura GT4, in qualifying for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Four Hours of Mid-Ohio. That follows his pole-winning effort for last month’s event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna, a race he and co-driver Jesse Lazare went on to win. Lazare also won the pole at Sebring International Raceway in March, giving the No. 69 McLaren three straight for the season.

De Quesada expressed surprise that the Mid-Ohio pole lap was not even quicker, considering the entire 2.258-mile circuit was repaved in November.

“For some reason, the track is really slick this weekend,” he noted.

Paul Holton (No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4) was the first driver to break Nate Stacy’s 2020 GS track record by notching a 1m26.613s (93.851mph) effort at the halfway point of the 15-minute qualifying session. De Quesada lowered the benchmark to 1m26.480s with six minutes remaining.

Jared Thomas briefly took the No. 3 JTR Motorsports Engineering Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport to the top of the charts, posting a 1m26.469s lap with a little over 90 seconds to go. But barely five seconds later, de Quesada undercut that with the pole-winning lap. Thomas secured the outside front row starting spot in the No. 3 Porsche he shares with Nick Shaeffer.

De Quesada’s pole lap was less than a second better than the quickest lap in the Touring Car (TCR) class. The classes will be split for the start of Sunday’s four-hour race but could quickly intermingle.

“I noticed in practice that the TCR cars are quick around this track,” de Quesada said. “It’s definitely going to make for tough racing, in my opinion. They’re very closely matched with us on the straights and through the corners, so I think the start and working through back markers is going to be a bit complicated. It’s good to see, and hopefully we can get through tomorrow with a clean race and good racing.

“Every race weekend presents its own challenge, and we just have to conquer them,” he added. “I just hope that we take home good points every weekend to slowly chip away and end on top of the championship at the end of the year.”

Wittmer obliterates TCR track record to extend Honda pole streak

The Mid-Ohio track repave proved beneficial to drivers qualifying in the Touring Car (TCR) class, as no fewer than a dozen eclipsed the old class record. None did better than Karl Wittmer, whose 1m27.103s lap (93.323mph) in the No. 93 Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR shattered the previous standard by more than 1.7s.

It delivered Honda a fourth straight TCR pole at Mid-Ohio and gave the veteran Canadian team new to IMSA a second straight Motul Pole Award following the one earned by Bryan Ortiz in the No. 6 Civic at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Ortiz will start alongside his teammate on the front row in the 16-car TCR field on Sunday.

“Most of the paddock looks at us as IMSA rookies but these guys have been around since 1972,” Wittmer said. “They’ve been a long time running in Canada and worldwide. It’s nice to finally be here and prove that our experience has meaning.”

Wittmer jumped to the top of the leaderboard on his fourth lap, at 1m27.795s. Following a cooldown lap, he found the track ahead wide open and decided to push harder – against the crew’s wishes.

“I put the initial lap down early and then a free track showed up and, well, I’m a driver,” he said with a smile. “Even though they told me not to go, I went. Saddled up and sent it.”

Wittmer’s pole-winning lap was 0.181s better than Robert Wickens in the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR. The Hyundai, however, was found to not meet minimum ride height standards in post-qualifying technical inspection and moved to the rear of the grid. That moved Ortiz, who qualified third in the No. 6 MMG Honda he shares with LP Montour, to the second starting position.

“It is going to be a long race,” said Wittmer, whose No. 93 co-driver is Dai Yoshihara. “This new surface is extremely smooth but it’s also a little bit greasy as well. We are going to lack grip so it’s all about patience and just trying to find consistency.”

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Four Hours of Mid-Ohio streams live on Peacock in the U.S. and on IMSA.tv outside the U.S. beginning at 12:35 p.m. ET Sunday.

RESULTS

De Quesada, Lazare win GS for McLaren at Laguna

The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 evolved into a two-car battle for Grand Sport (GS) class honors in Round 3 of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. The two-hour contest at the iconic California racetrack appeared to have been decided by a …

The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 evolved into a two-car battle for Grand Sport (GS) class honors in Round 3 of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

The two-hour contest at the iconic California racetrack appeared to have been decided by a quicker pit stop for the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport driven by Stevan McAleer and Trent Hindman. But Jesse Lazare, who shared the No. 69 Motorsports in Action McLaren Artura GT4 that Michael de Quesada guided to the Motul Pole Award one day earlier, caught and passed Hindman with 28 minutes remaining and held on to win by 0.691s.

The domination by the leading duo was demonstrated by the fact that the third-place No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 was 16 seconds behind at the end of 75 laps of racing. Daniel Morad (co-driver Bryce Ward) hunted down and passed Jack Hawksworth in the No. 50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4 Evo for the final podium position, but Hawksworth and co-driver Jaden Conwright had nothing to be ashamed of in fourth place after a technical infringement in qualifying forced them to start from the back of the 25-car GS field.

De Quesada controlled the pace throughout his opening 62-minute stint, but Lazare found himself in second place to start the second half of the race. Hindman initially looked comfortable at the front in the Porsche, but the pace of the pole-winning McLaren became apparent and Hindman was powerless to hold off Lazare.

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“It was almost a perfect race,” Lazare said. “We lost a bit of time in the pits, and I lost a little bit on my out lap getting the tires up to temperature quick enough. But we kept a steady pace and were finally able to catch up to the Porsche, passed him and kept him behind us.

“Our gear ratios, in particular, really suited these corners on this track,” he added. “We had torque in all the right places, with great power down and grip. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Earlier in the day, de Quesada called the race “one of the most prestigious races on our calendar,” so he was thrilled to capture his first victory in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition.

“You never really know what’s going to happen, so I kept an open mind,” he said. “We definitely capitalized on the pole position, and it was absolutely awesome to get a win here.”

It was Lazare’s third Michelin Pilot Challenge win, and the first for him and McLaren since the 2023 season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Hindman took the second-place finish in stride and paid tribute to the RS1 pit crew that vaulted the No. 28 Porsche into the lead.

“Our guys are animals on the wheel gun,” he remarked. “I wanted to try to take advantage of that, so I pushed hard on the out lap and was able to open a bit of a gap. But there’s no doubt they had some speed in that car and it was going to be a fight. At the end of the day, I didn’t want to jeopardize a quality result.”

Miller, Taylor, No. 17 earn third straight TCR win of season

Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor kept their perfect 2024 season intact in the Touring Car (TCR) portion of the Michelin Pilot Challenge by following the same recipe of success.

As he did in the first two races this year, Miller put the No. 17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS TCR in contention at WeatherTech Raceway, then Taylor powered the car into the lead and on to victory lane.

Miller passed a pair of Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Hyundais in the final 21 minutes of the two-hour race to secure the third win in as many outings this season for the No. 17 Audi. It’s been a rewarding beginning to 2024 for the JDC-Miller team after a shot at winning the TCR championship slipped away in the 2023 finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“We’re focused on winning this championship after it got away from us in Atlanta last year,” Taylor said.

Taylor started second in TCR but a miscue behind a GS car during his stint dropped him to fifth place when he turned the No. 17 over to Miller on a pit stop. Miller trailed leader Mason Filippi in the No. 98 BHA Hyundai Elantra N TCR by eight seconds with 45 minutes remaining but chipped away the deficit quickly.

Miller shoved his way past Robert Wickens in the No. 33 BHA Hyundai through the Andretti Hairpin with 21 minutes to go. Two laps later, he followed a pair of GS cars past Filippi in the same spot to grab the lead and went on to win by 1.254 seconds.

“I don’t think we had crazy outright speed, but on old tires, which is what this track is known for, we were OK,” Miller said. “It was a couple tough passes. The GS guys helped me out a little bit, making some holes, and we took what we could.

“It feels great, feels great,” Miller added. “I had my mind on my wedding next week a little bit, but it feels good to be here. Great points for the team and just happy for everyone in the program.”

The win was the ninth for Taylor in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition and the eighth for Miller. Meanwhile, Filippi and co-driver Mark Wilkins, trying to repeat as the WeatherTech Raceway TCR winners, felt that second place was the best they could do on this day.

“I think we did the best we could today,” Wilkins said. “We can’t compete with that car with the pace right now that they can run, so for us, we were just trying to make as few mistakes as possible. We ran really a perfect day in my opinion, so second is a win for us today.”

Saturday’s race broadcast will air at 1pm ET Saturday, May 18 on CNBC. Both classes of the Michelin Pilot Challenge return to action June 6-8 at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Four Hours of Mid-Ohio.

RESULTS

Wickens hospitalized after Nurburgring crash

Reigning IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR champion Robert Wickens was involved in a crash on Saturday at the first Nürburgring Endurance Series event on Germany’s legendary Nordschleife circuit. The Canadian, who was driving a Target Competition …

Reigning IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR champion Robert Wickens was involved in a crash on Saturday at the first Nürburgring Endurance Series event on Germany’s legendary Nordschleife circuit.

The Canadian, who was driving a Target Competition Hyundai Elantra TCR, was approximately 2.5 hours into the race and running second when the sizable incident took place; the reason for the trip into and over the barriers was unknown.

According to a spokesperson from his Bryan Herta Autosport IMSA team who spoke with RACER, Wickens was airlifted to a local hospital in Koblenz out of an abundance of caution after mentioning he was experiencing slight discomfort in his chest. Due to the late timing of the incident, the decision was made to hold the former DTM and IndyCar star overnight for observation.

pic.twitter.com/KLr2DMfme1

— Bryan Herta Autosport (@BHA) April 6, 2024

Once settled in the hospital, Wickens provided an update of his own:

👍 pic.twitter.com/uGhrq9MxSQ

— Robert Wickens (@robertwickens) April 6, 2024

Breakthrough MPC win for new Aston GT4 at Sebring

It isn’t often that the story is about a team that started 26th overall and won the race. But if you had to guess who did it, you’d probably choose Rebel Rock Racing, Robin Liddell and Frank DePew. Liddell grabbed the lead late in Friday’s race and …

Liddell grabbed the lead late in Friday’s race and made a three-stop strategy work to drive from 26th overall and 23rd in the Grand Sport (GS) class to win the Alan Jay Automotive 120, the second race of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season at Sebring International Raceway.

“It was wonderful,” DePew said. “We didn’t expect this. We’ve just had the car for a little while, and we’d been working on the setup, trying to get the car where we knew what the tires would do.”

The qualifying result didn’t necessarily show what the brand-new No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo could do, but a strategic play that limited the team to just three pit stops during the two-hour race helped DePew and Liddell put themselves in position to win.

“When I was driving, the fronts were completely rooted,” DePew said. “We weren’t even sure about fuel, but we’re completely happy.”

Liddell’s fierce final stint let the No. 71 Aston Martin finish 1.817s ahead of another Aston Martin – the No. 19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 co-driven by Valentin Hasse Clot and Rory van der Steur.

Chad McCumbee and Jenson Altzman finished third in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4, 2.766s behind Liddell.

Miller and Taylor return to TCR victory lane in No. 17 Audi

The four rings is making a whole lot of sense after two wins in two races. Michael Levitt/Lumen

Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor drove the No. 17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSport Audi RS3 LMS TCR to a convincing victory in Touring Car (TCR) class action Friday at Sebring.

Miller engaged in a spirited battle with Motul Pole Award winner Harry Gottsacker in the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR in the first 40 minutes of the two-hour contest. After the various strategies played out over the course of several mid-race cautions, Taylor emerged in the lead.

“It was a smooth weekend from start to finish,” said Taylor. “That’s what we wanted, and the team gave us that. I’m just happy the car ran well. The crew put in a lot of work after Daytona, and here we are.

“It was a tough race nevertheless,” he added. “It might have looked easy, but we were saving as much fuel as possible while just giving it our all there.”

It was the second consecutive Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR win for the No. 17 duo, who also triumphed in the season opening BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway in late January.

“We feel good, but the competition is really tough, and we know those guys are coming,” Miller said. “We had the best strategy today, which won us the race. But there’s a lot of fast cars so we need to keep working.”

Taking the checkered flag in second place was the No. 80 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai shared by Morgan Burkhard and Chase Jones, but the car did not meet minimum ground clearance in post-race technical inspection and was moved to the back of the class.

Andy Lally prevailed in a late-race multi-car scrap in his first race in the No. 12 StarCom Racing Hyundai that he co-drove with Nick Tucker. With the penalty to the No. 80, they moved up to second place with the No. 89 HART Honda Civic FK7 TCR with drivers Chad Gilsinger and Steve Eich taking third.

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge resumes May 11 with a two-hour battle at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

RESULTS

Debut MPC win for Kellymoss, Hail Mary for JDC-Miller at Daytona

Kellymoss with Riley enjoyed a victorious debut in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Friday at Daytona International Speedway, and it couldn’t have been more dramatic. Riley Dickinson, who won the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro class …

Kellymoss with Riley enjoyed a victorious debut in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Friday at Daytona International Speedway, and it couldn’t have been more dramatic.

Riley Dickinson, who won the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro class championship in 2023, displayed remarkable fuel-saving skills that made a daring pit strategy orchestrated by legendary engineer Bill Riley work to perfection.

Dickinson started the last lap in second place in the No. 91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport but swept into the Grand Sport (GS) class and overall lead of the BMW M Endurance Challenge when Kenton Koch pitted the No. 92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) for a splash of fuel.

Dickinson, who teamed with Michael McCarthy and Brady Golan, had enough fuel on board to hold off a rapidly closing Daniel Morad in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 and win the season opener. The Kellymoss with Riley Porsche crossed the finish line with a 1.936-second advantage. Matt Plumb and Owen Trinkler finished third in the No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4, 6.554s in arrears.

Riley made the call for Dickinson to pit for fuel near the end of a full-course caution with an hour remaining in the four-hour contest. The No. 91 Porsche was in 10th place entering the final 15 minutes, but one by one competitors were forced to stop for fuel.

Making Dickinson’s last stint even more amazing, he revealed it was the first time that he was ever in a position where he was asked to save fuel – Porsche Carrera Cup consists of 40-minute sprint races where fuel mileage is not a concern.

“Ultimately, we should give Bill Riley a pretty big shoutout for the strategy,” said Dickinson, a 21-year-old Texas native. “He was the mastermind behind the fuel save. That was the first time that I’ve done a live fuel save during a race, so it was definitely a bit of a learn-on-the-fly kind of experience.

“This was a bit of a last-minute program,” Dickinson added. “Not even three weeks ago we decided to green light this thing. To be honest, to have this all happen the way it did is a dream come true. It’s been quite an up-and-down offseason for me, so this definitely feels quite rewarding right now.”

The debut in Michelin Pilot Challenge was an unexpected bonus for the Kellymoss organization, a longtime sports car stalwart now owned by Andy Kilcoyne and Victoria Thomas.

“We were really hoping for a top 10, best-case scenario, so we couldn’t be more excited,” Kellymoss with Riley co-owner Victoria Thomas said. “Riley’s strategy was absolutely spectacular, and the lineup of these three young guys, you can’t beat it. We’re so excited for the season.”

JDC-Miller Audi makes ‘Hail Mary’ recovery to win TCR class

Mikey Taylor won two races for JDC-Miller MotorSports on Friday. The first was to and from Orlando International Airport in the morning to pick up a critical part to be installed in the team’s No. 17 Unitronic Audi RS3 LMS TCR. Miller and co-driver Chris Taylor then proceeded to charge to the front and capture the four-hour Touring Car (TCR) class season opener.

After turning six laps in opening Michelin Pilot Challenge practice on Wednesday, the team was unable to start the car on Thursday. The No. 17 sat out Thursday’s practice and qualifying while the JDC-Miller crew scrambled to replace multiple parts on the Audi without success to get it restarted. What they didn’t have on hand to swap out was the engine control unit (ECU), but the nearest one they could find was in Mexico.

Arrangements were made for someone to fly with the part to Orlando early Friday morning and Taylor met them and the ECU at the airport and raced back to Daytona.

“We were not doing the speed limit to get back here,” Taylor said, “And we just made it just in time. Miraculously, the car started because we had no idea that the parts we had would actually fix the issue. It was a pure Hail Mary and we were super lucky today.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my career,” he added, “and I don’t want to be part of it again because it’s too stressful.”

Starting at the back of the TCR grid, Miller knew quickly he had a fast car and moved up to fourth in class less than a half-hour into the race. Taylor pushed the No. 17 into the lead for the first time just past the halfway point and wound up leading all but four of the final 53 laps around the 3.56-mile road course.

Not to say it was easy. Taylor fended off challenges from Denis Dupont in the No. 76 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR, Tom O’Gorman in the No. 15 Rockwell Autosport Development Audi RS3 LMS SEQ and Mark Wilkins in the No. 98 BHA Hyundai. The margin of victory was 20.408s over Dupont, Preston Brown and Nick Looijmans in the No. 76 Hyundai, but only because Dupont ran out of fuel coming to the finish line.

It was Taylor’s eighth Michelin Pilot Challenge win, the sixth for Miller and their second together at Daytona – the other in 2021.

It was also particularly rewarding for reasons other than the miraculous recovery. It salved the wounds of the way the 2023 season ended, when an early exit from the season finale ended a bid for the TCR championship. Team members also learned Thursday night that Jay Cottrell, a former JDC-Miller crew member, passed away and dedicated the victory to him.

“It was nice to be able to do this and have the whole team rally around trying to win it for him,” Miller said. “It feels extra special because of that.”

The Michelin Pilot Challenge returns to action March 15 with the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 at Sebring International Raceway.

RESULTS

Skip Barber Racing launches Michelin Pilot Challenge program

Skip Barber Racing is expanding its competition presence into the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series with an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for the 2024 season. Anchoring the team’s driver lineup will be a homegrown talent, veteran Skip Barber Racing …

“In March of 2023, I applied for IMSA’s Diverse Driver Development Scholarship,” Fukuda said. “After months of review and workshops with IMSA, I was told that I would be the recipient of their 2024-2025 Scholarship.

“At age 10, seeing a diecast IMSA GT1 car at the mall was what started the racing dream for me. Now at age 36, after 26 years of sleepless nights, a myriad of twists and turns, and so many peoples’ help — especially that of Anthony DeMonte, the entire DeMonte Family, and the Skip Barber Racing School — I now get to come full circle and pilot the No. 16 Skip Barber Racing School Aston Martin GT4 in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.”

Joining Fukuda for the opening round of the season will be a pair of drivers with just as strong of ties to the Skip Barber Racing School as himself: Director of Instructors Carter Fartuch and current Skip Barber Racing driver Will Lambros.

“Everyone at the Skip Barber Racing School is beyond excited and ready to take on this season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series,” Fartuch said. “With the talented and experienced team at Skip Barber Racing, we have high hopes for our inaugural season in IMSA.

“Ken and I have very lofty expectations when it comes to the product we produce for our Racing Schools and we believe carrying those same expectations to the Skip Barber Race Team will bring us success,” Fartuch added.

Completing the lineup for the four-hour endurance race will be Will Lambros who is a graduate of a multitude of Skip Barber Racing School programs.

“I’m thrilled to be racing at the Daytona International Speedway in the new Skip Barber Racing School Aston Martin Vantage GT4, especially with Carter and Ken,” Lambros said. “They have been my biggest mentors throughout my racing career with the Skip Barber Racing School. From when I was 16 in the Skip Barber Race Series, to SRO in the Honda Civic Si FE1, and now into IMSA in the Aston Martin Vantage GT4, they’ve been there for me.”

Skip Barber Racing gathered four wins and 19 podiums across a variety of SRO America series last season, including a podium in the opening round of the SRO GT4 America championship.

BHA to defend Michelin Pilot Challenge title with four-car entry

Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian returns to IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competition in 2024 with a four-car Hyundai Elantra N TCR effort. That includes 2023 series champions Harry Gottsacker and Robert Wickens returning as co-drivers to …

Gottsacker and Wickens earned seven second-place finishes in 10 races last season, a new series record. Gottsacker enters his sixth season with BHA, with which he has recorded five series victories and holds the series record for pole positions with seven.

Wickens enters his third season racing for Hyundai. The Canadian made his racing debut with hand controls driving a Hyundai in 2021, when he returned to competition after devastating injuries sustained in a 2018 IndyCar accident. It took Wickens just two years to become the first driver in North America to win a professional title driving with hand controls. He’s tallied two victories and eight podiums, although he’s still searching for his first race victory driving with Gottsacker.

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Bryson Morris joins two-time series champion Taylor Hagler in the No. 77 Elantra N TCR. Morris made his debut with the team in 2023 at the season finale at Road Atlanta, where the pair finished eighth.

“I am really excited to be joining BHA for the 2024 season,” said Morris. “I saw immense potential with the one-off race I did last year at Road Atlanta, and I think we can build off that together, and have a great season. I am looking forward to really learning this car, and I am hoping to be on the podium or even get a win this year alongside Taylor.”

Denis Dupont and Preston Brown have joined BHA, and will make their debut at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 driving the No. 76 Elantra N TCR. They welcome a third driver, Nick Looijmans at Daytona for the four-hour season opener.

Returning for their second season as teammates after a successful season in 2023 that included three wins and a total of eight podium finishes, Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi will drive the No. 98 Elantra N TCR. Wilkins is the 2019 IMPC Champion and has 11 TCR victories, having won at least once each season since joining BHA and driving for Hyundai. Filippi has amassed six wins and four pole positions since his debut with the team as a rookie in 2019, and has finished second in the championship twice (2019 and 2023).

The 2024 Michelin Pilot Challenge season begins Jan. 26 with a four-hour race at Daytona International Speedway,

NASCAR’s Wallace, Nemechek set for Pilot Challenge Supra

NASCAR Cup Series drivers Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek will make their IMSA debuts later this month in the Michelin Pilot Challenge series at Daytona International Speedway. The Toyota NASCAR representatives will share a Smooge Racing …

NASCAR Cup Series drivers Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek will make their IMSA debuts later this month in the Michelin Pilot Challenge series at Daytona International Speedway.

The Toyota NASCAR representatives will share a Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO in the four-hour contest set for Friday, January 26, the day prior to IMSA’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. The duo will share the No. 23 Supra with NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Corey Heim.

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“We are very excited to run two GR Supra GT4 EVOs at Daytona this year,” said team principal Kevin Conway, who drives the sister No. 68 GR Supra with John Geesbreght and Corey Lewis.

“Having Bubba, John Hunter and Corey in the 23 car is a major honor and testament to Smooge Racing, I’m also looking forward to racing with John Geesbreght and Corey Lewis in the PRAX Leadership GR Supra. John and I have had a lot of success together and we are looking forward to building on that at Daytona.”

IMSA, WSC extend agreement on Touring Car rules

IMSA and the WSC (World Sporting Consulting) have agreed to extend the pair’s partnership to allow for the use of WSC’s Touring Car (TCR) rules and regulations, securing the medium-term future of the TCR class in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. The agreement, which began in 2018, allows IMSA to utilize the WSC’s ruleset for touring cars as the base for its TCR class in Michelin Pilot Challenge.

“We are proud to continue our relationship with WSC as the exclusive rights holder for TCR in North America,” IMSA President John Doonan said. “TCR has proven to be popular with IMSA fans. They are amazing race cars that offer a platform for marques such as Alfa Romeo, Audi, Honda, and Hyundai to participate in IMSA via the Michelin Pilot Challenge. We’ve seen no shortage of great racing in TCR over the past six seasons and we expect even more excitement from TCR in the future.”

This agreement extends the pair’s partnership through 2026.

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“It’s great to see that our cooperation with IMSA keeps on going in full sail and will continue for at least three more years,” WSC President Marcello Lotti said. “IMSA has done a remarkable effort to promote the TCR concept in North America. The six seasons held so far have produced exciting races, resulting in the title fight going to the wire nearly every year.

“The competition has been, and still is an outstanding showcase of the potential of TCR racing cars. On top of this, in the last three years the series has crowned a woman — Taylor Hagler in 2021 and 2022 — and a paraplegic — Robert Wickens in 2023 — champions, which makes us very proud of how the TCR category has no barriers whatsoever.”