Round two of Michelin Pilot Challenge is a two hour event,. the Alan Jay Automotive Group 120. All NASCAR drivers are racing for Multimatic Motorsports. #15 has Ben Rhodes and Myatt Snider, and #22 has Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger. The McLaren's are carrying an extra 15 kilograms of weight here at Sebring, as we are among the orange groves of central Florida. 17 character filled corners, 3.74 miles in length. Lots of overtaking opportunities on the track. Watch turns seven and 17, Sunset Bend. Owen Trinkler has the pole, sharing with Hugh Plumb in the #46 TGM Mercedes AMG GT4.
Tires will be a major deal. Britt Casey Jr. has pole in TCR. He is sharingthe #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3. They coime to Sunset Bend, and we're ready! Go! The race is underway. Own Trinkler leads into turn one, as Kuno Wittmer runs third. Evertyone isjockeying for space into Kristensen corner. Robby Foley is shuffled back. Tyler McQuarrie is second right now. Nate Stacy in the Ford Mustang GT4, he is going for it and here comes James Clay in the BMW. McQuarrie dives inside Owen Trinkler foir the lead of this motor race. Whoops. We have a major crash, look. One of only two Alfa Romeo TCR's has crashed, and so has the #73 Matt Pombo driven Alfa Romeo. #73 got turned around into the barriers. Alfa had to have parts flown in overnight, and assistance from Risi Competizione, who are the customer supporting team for Alfa USA. K&W TMR having trouble. Mike Lamarra facing the wrong way, and poor old Roy Block, has no place to go, except... crunch!, right into him.
Mike Lamarra and Matt Pombo are sharing the #73 L.A. Honda World Honda Civic TCR. Tim Lewis Jr. is sharing with Roy Block in the Alfa, the #5 KMW TMR entry. Five drivers ran in this race and in the 12 Hours of Sebring. Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley, Jeff Westphal, Stephen Simpson, and... Robby Foley is a lucky chap indeed, to be being tutored by Bill Auberlen. Foley is a young star who will keep being successful through his career. Tyler McQuarrie leads this motor race. Foley chops infront of the Audi, look, throught turn one. James Clay gives Foley a little nufge as Tyler Cook is settling into the pack in Audi #2.
Corey Fergus is trying to make late braking work into the hairpin, look. Nate Stacey and Kyle Marcelli are running reallyt well. They are going for three in a row here at Sbeirng having won this race last year asnds the Michelinb Sports Car Encore, as the Stoner Racing InvisibleGlass Aston Martin, crashing their new Aston Martin GT4 Vantages, losing traction in turn ten, and having no place to g except, bang, straight into the fence. Tyler McQuarry, Owen Trinkler, oh, James Clay is harring Robby Fol;ey, and all these blokes are going after it. Settle down, lads. Settle down. The track is getting dirty, and very slick.
Turner Motorsports finished fourth at Daytona last time out, as Tyler McdQuarrie, he is consolidating the lead, look, over Owen Trinkler, sharing with Hugh Plumb. This is Owen Trinkler's 150th start in Michelin Pilot Challenge, while James Clay is applying the blowtorch to Tyler McQuarrie. Britt Casey Jr. still leads in TCR, as Russell McDonough taps Chad Gilsinger. It's Audi vs. Honda vs. Hyuindai. NMick Galant spins and whacks the wall. Big crash on the Ulmann Straight as well as Frank Depew is in strife again. The left front tire is down after this incident as Depew is crabbing all over the road, and right into the paddock entrance, look, the FIA WEC pit lane.
In TCR, Mark Wilkins and the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster TCR is rujnning really well at this time. Shelby Blackstock and is battling Brian Henderson at the moment. Brian Henderson sharing the Atlanta Speedworks car with Todd Lamb. Ryan Eversley is the co-driver with Chad Gilsinger in the HART (Honda America Racing Team) Honda Civic TCR, with Honda employees working on the car. They were handed an incorrect drum of fuel by IMSA's fuel supplier, VP, at Daytona, but that situation was resolved. Robbie Foley, inside the top ten, scrapping with Nate Stacy in the Mustang.
#54, is into the tires.. This is Michael Johnson, spinning into Sunset Bend, and, wallop! He hits the tirews. Brent Mosing was holding up other cars, and Johnson was taken completely by surprise in the JDC-Miller Audi RS3 TCR. Tyler McQuarrie continues to lead the motor race ahead of Owen Trinkler at the moment. Problems here, for the #2 Audi, sliding off the road in turn two. That's the second spin of the day, and cars #3 and #93 were also in that scrap. No changes at the front right now in either Grand Sport or TCR. Trouble here for the #10 Kieron O'Rourke driven Audi RS3. Gavin Ermstone is also having issues in another of the Audi's.
Looking for a yellow flag, that is what some of these teams want, as they are back timning the race and looking at pit stops every 45 minutes or so. Matt Crafton is at the wheel of the #22 Multimatic Ford Mustang GT4, learning things for the road race for the Gander Outdoors NASCAR Truck Series. Myatt Snider has been running really well, too. Myatt Snider, son of NBC Sports' Marty Snider, he has wanted to nrace sports cars for a long time. He has a cracked exhaust in the Mustang right now, and will just have ton drive through it.
Meanwhile, Owen Trinkler is trying hard to catch Tyler McQuarrie. The race has settled into a rhythm and the #39 Carbahn Motorsports Audi R8 GT4 is indeed leading this motor race. Respect the bumps, here at Sebring. Tyler McQuarrie and his team have done very well today after finishing 16th at Daytona last time out, led by Steve Dinan, who is synonymous with BMW, but is now tuning and working with Audi. Jeff Westphal is going to be taking over. Henderson and Blackstock battle in TCR right now. L/A/ World Honda is from Brownsburg, Indiana, not from Los Angeles, Califonria.
Blackstock makes the pass on Henderson. All front wheel drive in TCR, with 2.0 liter turbo four cylinder engines. Audi leads Mercedes, BMW, and McLaren. Mechanical diversity is a hallmark of sports car racing of any kind. Different race tracks suit different cars. Seven brands in GS, and four in TCR, as Nate Stacy is harrying Cory Fergus at the moment in the #69 McLarenn 570S. Nate Stacy used to be a very extreme, sideways driver, but has now learned to control hisdriving. The Compass McLaren pitted and Paul Holton took over from Kuno Wittmer. Oh ndear. A bMW is off the road, while Britt Cassey Jr. is being hounded by Shelby Blackstock. Mark Wilkins in the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster is on the move.
Pit stop time for the leaders. Driver changes underway. Jeff Westphal replaces Tyler McQuarrie. Also, Hugh Plumb replaces Owen Trinkler. Tires and fuel, and down off the air jacks. Matt Crafton now out, and Grant Enfinger, is into the #22 Ford Mustang GT4. Hugh Plumb was having issues with the seat belts. These are gravity fed fuel systems for sports car racing of course. Hugh Plumb drops a wheel and keep-s going. Cold tires, be careful, but be aggressive when the tires warm up. Shelby Blackstock is monstering one of the GS cars. These cars are front wheel drive, but they feel different than a typical FWD car.
Blackstock has the legs on Britt Casey Jr. But, the Audi's are still stout, too. Anderson and Wilkins battle for third in TCR. Myatt Snyder hands the #15 Ford Mustang GT4 to Ben Rhodes, but the team is looking under the bonnet, after some exhaust trouble. Rhodes ran this car at Mosport in Canada, last year, before the truck series race for NASCAR at the same venue. Shelby Blackstock is still monstering Britt Casey Jr. through Sunset Bend! Calamity corner! No worries. Those two chaps got through the corner, fine.
The TCR cars have better fuel mileage than do the Grand Sport cars. Smaller displacement, less fuel used, less worries about running out of petrol, and more efficiency. We're halfway home in the Alan Jay Automotive Group 120. The better you are, the more you are worth, and that's true in racing, stepping out of your comfort zone, sayif you are a stock car driver going to sports car racing. Shelby Blackstock leads TCR. Mark Wilkins is second in class, and now, Blackstock is in the lane so he doesn't get stymied if there is a yellow. Tom O'Gorman takes the car over from Shelby Blackstock. The front wheel drive TCR cars have huge brakes on them.
O'Gorman has won in TCR in a different racing series. The #37 car has a gap over their rivals, the #17 car. The sister LA Racing World Honda is also serviced and sent. Jeff Westphal leads this motor race ahead of Hugh Plumb and Devin Jones. Major drama here as Lee Carpentier, has a horrid impact in Sunset Bend! Carpentier has no brakes, and... bang! He had no ability to sstop the car and it plows backwards into the tire wall. There's nothing he could do to stop the car, and he is a lucky chap indeed, to get out of the car, safe.
Poor old Lee Carpentier. He has had two large wrecks in the two opening races of the year in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Oh, dear me. We have a problem for one of the McLaren's, stopped on the road. Nevr mind, Paul Holtom just has to recycle the electronics on the car. The McLaren is carrying an additional 110 pounds of weight for Balance of Performance, so, they are nowhere near as quick as they were, when they dominated Daytona, back in January. Kyle Marcelli hyas now taken over the #60 Ford Mustang. The earlier spin we saw, had D.J. Randall as one of the driuvers involved.
Paul Holtom isback in business for now,but, now they have an electrical issue, and a stability problem. This race is going pear shaped for Holtom and Wittmer for Compass 360 Racing McLaren. Lee Carpentier had total brake failure in his wreck, according to his co-driver, Kieran O'Rourke. We remain under Full Course Yellow as this motor race continues. Just over half an hour to go in this race as Jeff Westphal leads after the Full Course Yellow. What does everyone have left in the locker? Jesse Lazare is all over Jeff Westphal for the race lead.
All over the curbs for Ben Rhodes! He's out wide, and he's got a loose Ford Mustang GT4 as Devin Jones goes around him. Hugh Plumb has a laped car to deal with and poor old Grant Enfinger is off the road as they scramble for position. Bill Auberlen had a botched pit stop and he's dropped like a stone as Scottr Hargrove makes a move. Eric Foss turned Grant Enfinger around. Auberlen had to indulge in a little autocross. Jesse Lazare is trying hard, applying the blowtorch and Rhodes is in more strife, look, in Sunset Bend! Crunch! He got shoved off the road, and there was some argy bargy between he and Dylan Murry.
Kenny Wilden and Devin Jones round up the #97 car. Ben Rhodes limps into the pit lane, and there's debris out on the outer edge of the road. Hugh Plumb is losing time hand over fist.. Hugh Plumb is being monsteed by Kenny Wilden. Out of Sunset Bend again, and you never hit the bumps excactly the same way each lap. Tom O'Gorman leads TCR ahead of both Mikey Taylor and Ryan Eversley, and poor old Plumb gets tipped into a spin in the hairpin! Hugh Plumb has diffuser damage, and that was not a good move on Kenny Wilden's part. He hit the brakes wayt too hard and biffed Plumb out of the way.
The lead scrap is between Jeff Westphal and Jesse Lazare. Third place now is the #59, the Wilden driven Mustang sharing with Rod Randall. No word from Race Control on Kenny Wilden's shunt. You hope you don't hear your engineer click the radio and say, "sorry, mate, you'll have to take a penalty", as Scott Hargrove goes off the road. Dylan Murry is running extremely well inside the top five places. Devin Jones can't get to the power around the Mustang of Kenny Wiulden. Wilden is defending through tuyrns one, two and three. O'Gorman, and Taylor lead TCR.
Scott Hargrove is now inh the pit lane. Dylan Murry meanwhile, is fighting drivers like Christian Hohenadel, Greg Liefooghe, and others. Persistence pays off and Devin Jones takes the place away from Kenny Wilden. Jones has had the pace, but Wilden has been compromised by having to partake in that scrap. These two blokes need a yellow to get back in the fight. Jeff Westphal leads, but Jesse Lazare, no doubt, he's keeping the powder dry at this moment. Jeff Westphal should be able to make it to the finish,l having taken only left side tires, while Jesse Lazare took rear tires and is good on the fuel economy meter, too.
In TCR, Tom O'Gorman leads the motor race and is looking for back to back victories, as Michael Taylor has the JDC-Miller Audi in second ahead of the HART Honda with Ryan Eversley at the wheel of it, having taken over from co-driver Chad Gilsinger. Eversley won a title in a different TCR championship, in 2018. Mason Filippi is holding off both Harry Gottsacker and Alex Popow in TCR. That Alfa Romeo Giulietta is a pretty little race car, the car that Popow is driving, and Popow almost loses it! Phew! Dear me. that was close! Popow has a lot of experience in more powerful sports cars, and that helps even at the wheel of a TCR car. Fifteen minutes to go in this motor race. Popow is a rodeo cowboy here, fighting Colin Mullen in the #52 car.
Greg Liefooghe is right in this scrap and so is Christian Hohenadel, the Mercedes factory driver./ In 12th place overall, Bill Auberlen wants by Eric Foss. It's BMW vs. Mercedes. BMW M4 GT4 vs. Mercedes AMG GT4. Bill Auberlen, after this race ended, ran his 26th 12 Hours of Sebring, as you read about when we covered it a few weeks ago. It gets really greasy and gritty out there on this track, and you get mad at your competition, giving them some argy bargy. Heavy damage on the left side of Auberlen's BMW. Audi's gap over McLaren has ballooned to three seconds with just 12 minutes on the clock before this race concludes.
Jeff Westphal in the #39 leading Carbahn Motorsports Audi, has extended his margin to 5.3 seconds while Jesse Lazare is falling into the clutches of Devin Jones. It is game on for the runner up spot. The BMW is really going forit into third in the overall. Lazare in the McLaren has much more top speed than the BMW of Devin Jones. Tom O'Gorman leads TCR by four seconds, taking over from Shelby Blackstock. Mike Taylor has run vewry well for JDC-Miller, and Ryan Eversley is third in class as we are cominhg to the finish of this race. Lazare gets nsnookered by Devin Jones, look. Lazare has to know discretion is the better part of valor at this stage, once his tires get knackered.
No action taken from Race Control for the argy bargy between Kenny Wilden and Hugh Plumb. Plumb had run defense, and the stewards will not do you favors for a racing decision. Wilden will have some words for Monsieur Plumb. The #75 McLaren was the Daytona winner, and they had a tough time today. This is round two of ten. BimmrWorld team boss, James Clay, who was also the starting driver in this car, will be pleased as punch with the drive from Devin Jones. Tom O'Gorman is on cruise control right now. Be on yo0ur game, but don't push it to the ragged edge of adhesion.
Whoops! Speaking of edge of adhesion, the #23 Audi RS3 has gone off the road. Nick Galante had a major wreck earlier, and now, he goes over the dust and driver James Vance, from Canada, takes out the WeatherTech sign. Consistency is key, and the second and third placed cars are indeed consistent. Ryan Cox and Dylan Murry, for Riley Motorsports, run fourth. This is the same team that runs Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen in the WeatherTech Championship. This race has calmed down definitely, compared to what it was earlier.
The race is now over, and 3 and 3/4 miles left to victory for Carbahn Audi. We have a battle for seventh place. Greg Liefooghe rounds up Tyler Cooke. Dylan Murry is chasing down Jesse Lazare. Traffic ahead, but it shouldn't be a concern. It's a cruise for Jeff Westphal, and he will head to victory. Down the Ulmann straight and out of Le Mans corner for the last time. Murry is catching Lazare. Jeff Westphal and Tyler McQuarrie win the Alan Jay Automotive Group 120! Book it! They've scored the trophy, here at Sebring.\
Book it. likewise, for Tom O'Gorman, and Shelby Blackstock, in TCR, winninhg two in a row!
Overall/GS: #39 McQuarrie/Westphal Audi R8 LMS GT4
TCR: #37 O'Gorman/Blackstock Honda Civic TCR
The next event on the Michelin Pilot Challenge schedule, is when they join the WeatherTech Championship, coming up in early May at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, in Lexington, Ohio, the first weekend in May.
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