Hello, everybody, and welcome, to the penultimate race of the 2024 season in the IMSA VP Racing Fuels Sports Car Challenge. Today is the next to last event and tomorrow is the season finale, here at the twisting, climbing, diving layout that is the fabled Road Atlanta in the red clay hills of northern Georgia, just outside of the bustling metropolis of Atlanta, or Hot 'Lanta, as it is known, sometimes. Championships are on the line in both the LMP3 and GSX classes this afternoon, and tomorrow morning. VP Racing Sports Car Challenge from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, with fabulous weather. We are praying for those in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, who are riding out the storm through the recent hurricanes.
Road Atlanta is a rollercoaster of a circuit. 12 turns, 2.54 miles. Turn one is the fastest turn on the track, uphill to turn three and up again through the esses into turns six and seven. Turn seven I think is the most critical corner on the track because it leads you onto the backstretch before heavy braking into turn ten. Passing will be a great opportunity, or rather I should say, the backstretch provides great passing opportunities. We have the LMP3 cars and the GSX (GT4) cars here, ready to race. Brian Till and Jeremy Shaw are here to call the action, on this perfect afternoon. Again, our thoughts are with the people affected by the hurricanes. Performance Tech Motorsports are not here, nor is KMW TMR based in Sarasota, Florida.
We have a couple new LMP3 cars here this weekend, coming over from LMP3 racing in Europe and I think, the Michelin Le Mans Cup. Two cars are here from Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports. Both of them are Duqueine chassis. Car #30 for Valentino Catalano and car #31 for Markus Pommer. Two young German drivers. Catalano starts shotgun on the field. Miguel Villagomez is sitting on the grid, and the Ecuadorian driver is having trouble finding the fire in the hole to get his #23 Escuderia ABRO Ligier JS P320 Nissan started.
The team ran a historic race with their LMP3 car here at Road Atlanta weeks ago. He will have to start shotgun on the field as the pit crew tries assisting him with the jump battery and it is started. We'll have a full field. Also, at the back in the GSX field is the new #9 Kingpin Racing Toyota Supra GT4 EVO in the hands of local driver out of Atlanta, Tyler Hoffman. He had a strong run in Free Practice and in qualifying. The team touched the car after qualifying and in doing so he was disqualified from qualifying and put at the tail end of the field.
More troubles on the grid for the #72 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 in the hands of Frank DePew, the driver out of Richmond, Virginia. His Aston Martin came to a halt, and he pulled off the racing surface. I wonder what the trouble is for the zebra car. DePew is also entered in tomorrow's feature race here at Road Atlanta, the finale for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. OK. Patrick Wilmot is on the outside of the front row while Luca Mars who scored his fourth VP Challenge pole of 2024 and in LMP3 the front row sees championship leader Steven Aghakhani starting next to his rival, Jagger Jones. Jones is the pole man.
They come down the hill towards the start/finish line and are ready to bring the action! That start was ugly! What happened there? Jones and Aghakhani nearly coming together as the field spreads out. The championship will belong to Steven Aghakhani. Aghakhani refuses to think he has won the title, though. He is focused on racing these two races this weekend and getting through them before he acknowledges and celebrates a championship. Frank DePew joins the race and so everyting looks OK although he will be half a lap down at the tail end of the field.
700 points remain on offer. Aghakhani swept the doubleheader at the start of the year at Daytona International Speedway back in January. Race Control tells us the start is under review as Jagger Jones is in the lead ahead of Steven Aghakhani. Duqueine vs. Ligier. The Ligier comes to life earlier in the races and now with the evo packages, the advantage has gone away. These cars have been evenly matched all year. In only one race, Jones did not score maximum points. These cars are evenly matched as we see Miguel Villagomez flying down through turn 12, chasing Markus Pommer, the rookie to VP Sports Car Challenge.
Pommer and teammate Valentino Catalano in the sister car for the Gebhardt team are teammates in Prototype Cup Germany which runs LMP3 cars and is sanctioned by the Dutch Creventic organization. They are champions in 2024 in Germany and are now racing in IMSA. But they are racing against each other, as Luca Mars leads GSX. The Mustang has been the class of the GSX field, all year. The Motorsports In Action McLaren is not in the races here at Road Atlanta this weekend. Jesse Lazare and the team are not here. They planned to have Jesse Lazare and Michael de Quesada driving in Michelin Pilot Challenge too. But being based in Florida, Michael de Quesada had to be home to try and make sure of the safety of his family and property due to the hurricanes.
Luca Mars leading GSX with Patrick Wilmot in second place aboard the #88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 (G82), sponsored by The Genie Company, who make garage doors and garage door openers. There is also a great scrap afoot for fourth place with Scott Blind in the highlighter yellow colored Aston Martin, car #45, the Ruckus Racing car for the driver out of Fenton, Missouri, and he is being hotly pursued by Mark Brummond from Charlotte, North Carolina, in the #25 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82).
Miguel Villagomez has had to take a drive through penalty for improper start procedure and does so as we speak. I think the team got flustered when the car wouldn't fire up and now, he will really have to motor and is praying for a Full Course Yellow to get right back in the fight. Scott Blind still has Mark Brummond right on his six in the GSX battle for fourth spot and for the Bronze driver championship. Brummond to the inside in turn ten under braking and he does the job flying down the hill. Bronze drivers have more experience in life, it is age related. Meanwhile, Tyler Hoffman in the Toyota Supra is chasing Patrick Wilmot, still. Hoffman going for second place.
The Kingpin Racing Toyota Supra is moving up, and fast. Blind leads the Bronze drivers' championship in GSX. Brummond not a contender. Angus Rogers not here, again, because of trying to survive the hurricane and make sure he and his family and friends will be OK. Patrick Wilmot and Split Decision Motorsports have done very well this season, for this small, family run team out of Tennessee. Tyler Hoffman is a regular in Lamborghini Super Trofeo in IMSA. Both Mark Brummond and Scott Blind are now falling into the clutches of Sean Quinlan aboard the #19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4.
This is a similar car to the one driven by current GSX leader Luca Mars. Quinlan fourth in the Bronze class championship. Under the bridge, diving through turn ten, Tyler Hoffman is determined to make his move on Patrick Wilmot for second spot in GSX! Wilmot wants to have a car to put back on the trailer at the end of the weekend while Hoffman is showing he can run for a podium. The Toyota has good traction off turn ten through the chicane over the top of the hill and now down through the esses, both cars are very evenly matched.
The LMP3 cars, particularly Jones and Aghakhani are working their way through this GSX traffic with Quinlan in the Mustang and Blind in the Aston Martin right ahead. Prototypes working through the GSX field. Jagger Jones believes the first car through traffic has the advantage to take the lead and leaves his rival to carve his way through traffic. Sometimes people think the second car has the advantage and now, Tyler Hoffman is right on Patrick Wilmot's six and what we see now is the LMP3 cars moving in on the GSX cars.
Jagger Jones plays through the traffic perfectly and makes the pass cleanly through turns five and six and this stymies Aghakhani into turn seven. Easy to lose seconds at a time to traffic. Right now, we are focusing on the third-place battle in LMP3. Brian Thienes in the #77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan, has his hands full fending off the challenge from Markus Pommer. Pommer an experienced LMP3 driver, learning Road Atlanta and learning how VP Sports Car Challenge works. He is embroiled in a battle with a driver he knows nothing about. Ten years ago, Pommer won the German Formula 3 championship, although he has also done a lot of his more recent racing in Asia it sounds like.
Before being in Formula 3, he was a go karting champion and racing in Formula BMW and Auto GP Formula 2000 cars. Since 2016, he has also driven GT cars. Pommer has lots of experience ad is picking up Road Atlanta very quickly. Pommer hesitated to try to pass the GSX cars. He is not as familair with the drivers in VP Challenge and with Road Atlanta. His focus is on tomorrow for race two, for the finale, to really push, and is still giving Brian Thienes everything he can handle. Meanwhile, in GSX, Mark Brummond has made his move on Scott Blind. Sean Quinlan sticking to both of them like glue.
Scott Blind down towards turn ten, is drawing a bead on Brummond heading for the braking zone. Not comfortable enough to make the pass yet. These are the same GT4 spec cars we see in Michelin Pilot Challenge. They are preparing for the Michelin Pilot race, the finale. Meanwhile, Miguel Villagomez in the #23 LMP3 car is doing all he knows to try passing Mark Brummond's BMW M4 GT4. Try making the pass in turn four and if you don't, well, you just need to be patient. No race car driver is particularly good at being patient.
"Making a pass down through the esses here at Road Atlanta is inviting danger and trouble." I quote the words of Jeremy Shaw, and he is absolutely right. The esses is one of the more treacherous parts of the circuit here at Road Atlanta because if you go off the road, you will go off, big style. Brian Thienes continues fighting with Markus Pommer. Pommer is fast, experienced, and has the pedigree. He is learning the whole time, learning the racetrack, learning the format of the championship, and learning about his competitors and what they are apt to do. Brian Thienes is a legend because he is a great character and is a driver in his early 60s who has the enthusiasm of a teenager. He remains fast after racing in the Formula Atlantic, nee Toyota Atlantic open wheel series, 20 plus years ago.
Tyler Hoffman, in turn ten, puts a move for second on Patrick Wilmot in GSX and he makes it stick! Hoffman up to second place in GSX through a battle in the braking zone! Can Wilmot fight back on Hoffman? This is a fantastic battle! They are side by side again! Wilmot passes Hoffman back into turn seven! Hoffman left the door open a crack and Wilmot filled the slot. Wilmot moves back in front and Hoffman has to give it up. This is still a fight as we approach the halfway mark in this race. Sean Quinlan has also passed Scott Blind as the LMP3 traffic works through.
Quinlan chasing Mark Brummond. Brummond just wants to be a better racer, and he is beginning to make a mark, no pun intended. Brummond has also raced in Lamborghini Super Trofeo. This is probably the smallest GSX field we have seen in VP Challenge all year in 2024, but it has been some of the best racing! Wilmot continuing to hold on over Hoffman. Down the straightaway, some argy bargy, some bump and run between Markus Pommer and Brian Thienes! Wow! That was a close shave! Thienses undaunted, and nobody flinching in the GSX battle for second either.
Wilmot telling Hoffman in no uncertain terms, that he has to work to pass. We are exactly halfway through the race. Steven Aghakhani, second overall and in LMP3, goes through and was briefly in between the two GSX (GT4) cars. Aghakhani's race craft, maturity level etc. has really stepped up. He has managed the championship and is managing traffic. Brian Thienes has gapped Markus Pommer and Pommer is now falling into the clutches of his teammate, Valentino Catalano as well, look. Catalano did not make a qualifying attempt but he is beginning to move.
Maybe Pommer wants Catalano to play follow the leader, but honestly, Catalano is not giving an inch and is flashing the lights to his teammate! Again, they shared a car in LMP3 in Prototype Cup Germany. Both of them have closed up on Brian Thienes. Catalano has made up ground. His best lap in the race is a 1:18.4 while Pommer ran a 1:19.3. This is a three-car battle for third. Meanwhile, Jagger Jones leads the motor race over Steven Aghakhani to the tune of almost eight seconds. Valentino Catalano received a scholarship from the ADAC GT Masters series in Europe. They run a German championship for GT3 production cars, sanctioned by the ADAC, the German auto club, the equivalent of what AAA is here in the U.S.
Wow! Thienes and Pommer, three abreast splitting the difference on Tyler Hoffmann in the GSX Toyota Supra! Oh my! Pommer takes advantage and Catalano passes by Patrick Wilmot's BMW. This is superb! Markus Pommer has made good his escape. Choose your line. Catalano hesitated just a moment. Catalano almost makes contact with Thienes through turn six! Brian Thienes is going backwards, protecting the left side of the road. Thienes moves across to protect the line but can't quite do it. The pace seems to be fading away from Brian Thienes. Maybe the handling is going away on the car. The LMP3 cars are very nearly bulletproof at least withtheir powerplants, the 5.6 liter Nissan V8 engines.
Oh dear. Frank DePew has spun again in the #72 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin. I think that is his second or third spin in this race with just 16 and a half minutes to go. DePew has damage to the front suspension or the steering rack. This will bring out a Full Course Yellow which is going to set us up for a shootout in the last ten to 12 minutes. In this replay, accelerating hard out of turn seven, he spun off the slowest corner on the course and spun onto the painted curbs. Traction Control is great, but it doesn't always help a driver from spinning, and he clattered the wall and something broke. Again, a steering arm, probably.
DePew has had a difficult season, but his pace is improving. One more race to go in VP Challenge and he will be sharing and Aston Martin with Robin Liddell, the Scotsman, in the Michelin Pilot Challenge finale, tomorrow. Contact with the tire wall was on the drivers' side of the car. The safety workers went ot the right side of the car which leads me to guess that the drivers' door is broken and not operational due to the contact, and so, Frank DePew clambered out of the car under his own steam but on the passenger side.
Patrick Wilmot has his own cheering section with large cardboard cutouts of his face. No, it is not The Fatheads, from a children's cartoon entitled "Rocko's Modern Life". It is "The Pat Heads"! Hardy har har! I don't know if I want a picture of me, my face, blown up, around the racetrack. That would be just too weird. I think Patrick Wilmot led the effort to have "the Pat Heads" around the track. That's a hoot! Wilmot has had a fabulous battle all race with Tyler Hoffman. The fans are enjoying this race on a Thursday afternoon. For Jagger Jones, Stephen Aghakhani, for Patrick Wilmot and Tyler Hoffman, is the yellow a good thing?
This is going to give drivers a chance to cool off their Michelin tires, but your competition will close up. You want the competition as far away as it can be! For Stephen Aghakhani, he will be hoping that Jagger Jones has worn the goody out of his Michelin tires so that he can have a decisive advantage on the restart. The FastMD with Remstar Duqueine has been fast all race. Aghakhani will have a good opportunity. He has won the title and now wants a race win to finish off the year in the best possible way. Jagger Jones did not want to see this yellow.
Jagger Jones also set the fastest lap of the motor race at 1:17.9. He is 3/4 of a second away from his lap record set last year at Road Atlanta, in 2023. Steven Aghakhani is going to have his hands full with the two Gebhardt team drivers right behind him. I think this is indeed the same Gebhardt team that ran a Group C2 car in Europe in the old, World Sports Car Championship, the predecessor of today's FIA World Endurance Championship, back in the 1980s. The Gebhardt boys, both Pommer and Catalano are coming alive. Aghakhani is probably more worried about Markus Pommer and Valentino Catalano, than he is about Jagger Jones, at this stage.
Aghakhani has the GSX leading Ford Mustang for KohR Motorsports ahead of him, Luca Mars at the controls. Brian Thienes is not out of the fight either because he runs right behind the two Gebhardt cars. He is going to be glued to Catalano and Pommer when we go back to green. Aghakhani, the championship is his. He has that locked up in his pocket. But he wants at least one race win here at Road Atlanta. As we go back to green, he will do what he must, to get it. Pommer passes Mars. Did Catalano make it through? Down through the esses, Catalano has cleared Mars and the Gebhardt teammates will be in hot pursuit.
Are they going to fight amongst themselves, or are they going to really push? Just over five minutes of this race remaining. We are used to seeing many Ligier LMP3's at the top in VP Challenge but now, the Duqueine is coming to the fore. Jagger Jones rocketing away on restarts and leads Aghakhani by 1.1 seconds. Can Pommer and Catalano close the gap? Catalano wants a podium and wants to pass his teammate to be able to do it. Pommer is not put off by his teammate flashing the lights. Valentino Catalano is using the headlight flasher button.
Gebhardt ran the Momo sponsored Group C and GTP cars for years both in IMSA and again, in the World Sports Car Championship sanctioned by the FIA. A lot of experience on that team. Gebhardt ran their own cars in the '80s. Jagger Jones is now 1.4 seconds clear of Stephen Aghakhani with just a couple of laps remaining. What will dinner be like for the Gebhardt team tonight with the teammates racing hard? Gebhardt likes to race. Will they be in IMSA and VP Challenge next year in 2025 after winning titles in Germany? We'll see. Two more Duqueine chassis' competing and of course, Jagger Jones has the other Duqueine for FastMD Racing with Remstar.
Jones uncorks the fastest lap of the race! Last year he had a mechanical issue later in one of the two races. He ran out of fuel, in truth. White flag next time by. There will be one lap remaining. Aghakhani had a 700-point lead when Jagger Jones showed up at St. Petersburg. Since that time, he has been undefeated save for a technical infraction at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park back in July. The vast majority of the crew members at FastMD Racing is between 20 and 22 years old. They too, are young, getting the job done for Jagger Jones. Jones won in Canada that weekend. Meanwhile, Pommer and Catalano are still scrapping and this is the final lap of the race.
Catalano right on Pommer's six! Catalano looks inside, nothing doing. Jagger Jones wins another race! Eight wins in nine races in 2024! Another win for FastMD Racing with Remstar. Aghakhani not throwing it away. He wants good finishes and smart races. One straightaway to go for Luca Mars from outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He leads by seven and a half seconds over second place Patrick Wilmot. Luca Mars wins GSX in race one at Road Atlanta. Three poles, six victories, and a GSX championship! This is another Florida based team.
Oh my. A ten second post-race time penalty has been assessed to Jagger Jones, but I think he will keep the victory. In this replay, the startt was scruffy as many cars were out of line. So this changes things! Jones gets a penalty! Aghakhani wins!
Overall/LMP3: #6 Stephen Aghakhani MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GSX: #59 Luca Mars KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4
...And then, there was one. One more race to be run for IMSA VP Sports Car Challenge at Road Atlanta, tomorrow, to determine the champions. We'll see you tomorrow for that one. For now, from Road Atlanta, bye bye.
