It's time to enter a new racing season. Michelin Pilot Challenge starts 2021 right here, right now, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Yours truly was at this very race, a year ago. Times are now so different, though, with the virus pandemic still a part of our daily lives. Thankfully, that has not greatly impacted auto racing, and we can still see the races with limited crowds, being socially distanced, and can still watch them from home via streaming services. This is normal, and it is time to get sports car racing back underway at Daytona. Four hours of racing is up next. Round one of the 2021 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Gorgeous conditions. This is the first of ten races in 2021. Sixteen champions are here, although there are drivers who have graduated from Pilot Challenge to WeatherTech.
Five BMW M4's, two Chevrolet Camaro's, and the new Aston Martin for Volt Racing. TGM and Turner Motorsports are here. So is AWA McLaren and Kuno Wittmer and Orey Fidani are on the pole. Nine different makes in Grand Sport alone. Amazing. Chuck Cassaro and Kyle Marcelli are caboose on the Grand Sport class. In TCR, Bryan Herta Autosport are at the top. But you have three cars on their team. BHA wants to accomplish something as the Hyundai Elantra N TCR is in the field. This track is 3.56 miles with the superspeedway and the infield road course.
This is one of two four hour races. We are ready to go. Kuno Wittmer leads the field to the green alongside Andrew Davis in an Audi R8 GT4. Here we go! The race is on! Wittmer jumps into a lead and Andrew Davis is now behind. Split start for the GS and TCR cars. Wittmer leads the field. Be patient but fight. That's what is happening here right now. Robert Noaker at age 16 is on pole in TCR. Watch the #38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman with Thomas Collingwood at the controls. He will move to Porsche Carrera Cup for the rest of the year, and this could be their one and only MPC race in 2021. Andrew Davis holding his own against Spencer Pigot.
Thomas Collingwood moves around the McLaren on the outside line. Pigot gives it up early. Be patient. No mistakes. Spencer Pigot sharing with Sheena Monk. Pigot is being monstered by the #39 Audi with Nolan Siegel at the controls of the Carbahn with Peregrine Racing R8. Alex Papadopoulos passes Andrew Davis. Mike McCann Jr. is his co-driver. His father raced for years in World Challenge competition. In TCR, Robert Noaker leads Tim Lewis Jr., William Tally, and Mike Lamarra. Robert Noaker in the #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR.
In the #38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman we have Tom Collingwood sharing with John Tecce and Spencer Pumpelly. Good battle here, look, as we watch a battle between the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 and the #82 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4. Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss share the Mercedes. The BMW is shared by Nick Galante, James Clay, and Mike Skeen. In the meantime, we are currently watching the brand new GT4 spec Toyota GR Supra. We have also seen some battles between a few of the other GS automobiles, the GT4 runners.
We have clusters of cars all over the speedway as we go back to see a major battle in TCR between three of the Hyundai Veloster's. These are the older Hyundai Veloster's, three of them, battling each other, and we have to see where the new Elantra is running at the moment. The top 20 is all GS cars. Kuno Wittmer leads Alex Papadopoulos by five seconds or so. We can see that Jeff Mosing is monstering the #37 FraSun Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 being driven by Jason Fraser and Mark Sundberg. n the meantime, we refocus back to the sharp end and the scrum going on between a couole Audi's. Davis is still hounding Papdopoulos. A good battle on the high banks.
Kuno Wittmer's lead over Papadopoulos meanwhile, has ballooned to over five seconds. Oh dear! We have an accident on track and the #59 Ford Mustang GT4 has clouted the wall on the banking. That automobile isn't going anywhere fast. That's the KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 of Dean Martin, Kyle Marcelli, and Chuck Cassaro. Big damage to the bonnet on that automobile, look. So this race is under Full Course Yellow for obvious reasons. We have a look at more of the GS contenders. #4 in seventh spot is the Russell Ward and Indy Dontje driven Mercedes AMG GT4 for Winward Racing.
The cars are circulating behind the safety car at the present time. Kuno Wittmer continues in the lead of the motor race. You've missed nothing since we've gone Full Course Yellow. Pit stop time for frontrunners in GS. A myriad of teams are in the lane for service. Among them the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 for Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern and the sister car, #96 for Vincent Barletta and Robby Foley. Quick service for #95. Also in the lane looked to be the Ward/Dontje Mercedes. Almost half an hour on the board as the cars continue to circulate behind the safety car. This will be a longer yellow as the TCR cars now come to pit road and are going to be serviced. Atlanta Speedwerks with their Honda Civic TCR is in for fuel and a tire change and so is the #54 Hyundai Veloster of Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson for Michael Johnson Racing. This car is a new one for this team who ran an Audi RS3 TCR with JDC-Miller Motorsports last year in 2020.
One of the lug nuts was not tight on the #27 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster and a marshal points that out to one of the crew members. "Tighten the lug nut, please." Tyler Maxson and Tyler Gonzalez share that automobile. The Tyler and Tyler show, if you will. Mustang #59 with the accident damage is being taken away. Game over. Such a gorgeous day here at Daytona. Absolutely lovely. Kuno Wittmer has dominated the motor race so far. Wittmer and Pappadopoulos, followed by Nolan Segal and Spencer Pigot. We are green and Nolan Segal has taken the lead! Segal sharing with Tom Dyer and Tyler McQuarrie.
The Team TGM entry, the #46 Chevrolet Camaro GT4 is back on track this year. Hugh Plumb had to serve a penalty in pit lane for being on the wrong side of the starting order. Nolan Siegel and Kuno Wittmer are wrestling each other. Team tech supervisor Steve Dinan says Nolan Siegel is beginning to show promise as a driver. He is beginning to stretch a lead over Wittmer but Wittmer is going to keep pushing. Kyle Marcelli explains that Chick Cassaro said he got loose in the traction control and he oversteered, spinning the car into the wall. He's fine, with just a sore elbow, and a heartbreak from KohR Motorsports.
They will fix the car between Daytona and Sebring in a couple of months. Hopefully they will be back on a race by race basis. 2020 champion in MPC, Kyle Marcelli, out. We have a major scrum in TCR. Gavin Ernstone and William Talley are wrestling each other. Last year, Ernstone and Jon Morley won at Daytona. Ernstone wants to go back to back in TCR at Daytona. Yours truly saw that race, in person, last year. Now, Mike LaMarra has stopped with smoke in the cockpit. The engine has just gone bang. Mat Pombo, his co-driver. Those two blokes will be disgusted. With all the yellow flags, we have not had much green flag racing so far. But, we come back to green, now or so it seems. Yes. We are back underway here at Daytona.
Nolan Siegel continues to hound Kuno Wittmer. In TCR, William Tally has moved past Gavin Ernstone. They thunder through the chicane back to the banking and Kuno Wittmer is seemingly on a Friday afternoon cruise thus far. The Audi is in the middle of all these Hyundai's and Honda's at the moment. There too is the #5 KMW TMR Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR for Tim Lewis Jr. and Roy Block. Meanwhile up front the plot thickens and now we see the #7 Volt Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 hit the pit lane. Scheduled service for the Volt Racing with Archangel Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Five lug nuts on these wheels instead of a center locking wheel like the WeatherTech cars have.
TCR is still hot and heavy. Now it seems, Alfa Romeo, and Tim Lewis Jrl. have taken the lead away from William Tally and Gavin Ermstone running in third place. So, the defending champions of this motor race are climbing back up the order. We nearly have one hour of the race done and dusted. More woe, look., for the Aston Martin, crawling on the apron of the track. Meanwhile, it is a three way battle between Turner BMW, Carbhan Audi and now, the #8 McCann Racing Audi. Volt Lighting is still in the lane with tire troubles.
Back on the high banks remains the battle between the Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4 #82 and the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes as the leader is in the lane, Kuno Wittmer and Orey Fidani. Kuno Wittmer out and Orey Fidani into the car. They've run well so far. They had a brake issue last year, but are expecting to contend today. Alan Brynjolfson in the Volt Aston Martin. They were assisted to borrow a car from Notlad Racing by RS1, one of the new teams in the series. Brynjolfson tagged the wall and had a flat tire. The boys at Alfa Romeo are having a good race so far. They are running well so far, trying not to count their chickens before they hatch.
Tim Lewis at the wheel of it at the moment with a brand new 2021 Alfa racing car. Aston Martin #7 has had issues and the #98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR had to have a new engine flown in. This is Ryan Norman, last year's driver's champion, running 11th, and sharing with Parker Chase. The only parts of this car are the wheels and some of the running gear. Jeepers creepers! We still have this major scrum between Jeff Mosing in the Mercedes AMG GT4 which is much heavier than it was, vs. Nick Galante in the Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4. Nick Galante moves back by. Eric Foss, the co-driver for Jeff Mosing is a two-time champion. Pretty evenly matched between these two automobiles.
More pit action as Spencer Pigot is in the lane for the Motorsports In Action McLaren 570S GT4, handing the car to Sheena Monk. Last year, it was Corey Lewis driving in this car, but now, he is in a different place. The #38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman is in the lane, one of their last races in Michelin Pilot Challenge, John Tecce into the car, sharing with Tom Collingwood and Spencer Pumpelly. Meantime, in the race lead overall is Dillon Machavern leading Hugh Plumb. It is the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 ahead of the Team TGM #46 Chevrolet Camaro GT4. We've been paying much attention to several battles shaping up in this motor race so far.
Deary me, look, as we see more battles between Mosing and Galante. These two blokes are not finished with their chess game yet. They're side by side into turn one and on the road course here at Daytona. To the International Horseshoe and Mosing has the edge. Mercedes V8 vs. BMW straight six power. McLaren and Audi also scrap on the high banks and through the Bus Stop chicane. Pit stop time for Road Shagger Racingand the Morley/Ermstone Audi. Audi #17 is also in and out of the lane, the JDC-Miller Unitronic Audi of Chris Miller, Mikey Taylor, and William Talley. A spin, for the #71 Grand Sport Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. This is Frank Depew and Robin Liddell for Rebel Rock Racing.
A big chain of TCR runners following each other on the high banks. It's a battle between the new Hyundai Elantra and the established Honda Civic as well as the Audi's. Things are chopping and changing in TCR all the time. Where have our defending champs gone? The #61 Road Shagger Audi is way out of the picture presently. Meanwhile, in GS, we follow a scrap between Camaro #46 and Adi #8. Side by side stuff too between Tim Lewis Jr. and the #17 Audi which is laps behind. The real battle is Lewis Jr. in the Alfa Romeo vs. the #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda of Robert Noaker. Again, we cannot tell who is at the wheel of the #17. More trouble for the #88 Honda Civic TCR. We saw this car in pit lane earlier on.
This is the #88 VGMC Racing Honda Civic TCR of Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias, both drivers hailing from Puerto Rico. That Honda is stopped dead stick at the Bus Stop now. Pit stop time for the #8 Audi R8 LMS GT4, the McCann/Davis entry. One of the other Murillo Mercedes AMG GT4's in the lane as well, car #65, the sister car shared by Tim Probert, Brent Mosing, and Kenny Murillo. Also pitting are the Hyundai team in TCR and the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, the Auberlen/Machavern car. Toyota Supra also pitting, one of the new contenders in this championship. That is the #14 car for Riley Motorsports with Javier Quiros of Costa Rica, Alfredo Najri of the Dominican Republic, and Julian Santero from Argentina.
Yours truly saw his first Rolex 24 in 1996 on TV at age ten, and Javier Quiros, a quarter century ago, was driving a Prototype Technology Group BMW E36 M3 in that race. How time flies. Have not heard the name of Javier Quiros in a long time. Under yellow the order has shuffled. Jeff Mosing leads overall in the Mercedes over Owen Trinkler in the #64 TGM Camaro, Sean Quinlan in the #43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4, Mark Sundberg in the #37 FraSun BMW M4 GT4, and now, the order is shifting as it is pit stop time for more GS cars. Driver changes and service underway at Murillo Racing for #56.
Now we see the #23 Notlad Racing Aston Martin completing service and heading back on track. Notlad Racing by RS1 has Matt Dalton and Patrick Gallagher sharing the car. We saw these two race an extraordinary event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a different championship last fall, but now, they are here in IMSA at Daytona. Tim Lewis Jr. has the lead in TCR in the KMW TMR Alfa Romeo Giulietta. They will come to pit lane and hand the lead to the #51 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for Copeland Motorsports shared by A.J. Muss and Mason Filippi. #5 is in the lane for service and fuel, as well as a driver change. Roy Block could be getting into that car? Maybe. It does not appear so. It appears Tim Lewis Jr. stays behind the wheel of it.
We have run now for an hour and a half in this motor race. But you'd never be able to tell by the amount of yellow and safety car running that we've seen. Jeepers creepers! Oh how yours truly wishes he were back at the speedway this year. Blasted pandemic! Maybe 2022 will be the year. Again, another pit stop for the Volt Racing Aston Martin running 23rd in the overall. Another spot of bother for that team that has had a star crossed race to this juncture. The Aston is now back on track. More pit work as well for Audi #17. This is the RS3 LMS TCR of Miller/Taylor/Tally. Will it be a classic? It could be. Again, Frank Depew and Vinny Barletta were the two chaps who tangled to cause this yellow and then we saw that spot of bother for Iglesias and company.
Game over for #88 which overheated. We are back to green. The TGM Chevrolet Camaro has been penalized, but they now lead Turner Motorsports with Hugh and Matt Plumb sharing. Michael McCann Jr. has been in the house today as well, and so is Indy Dontje, and the bright pink Ford Mustang for PF Racing with Chad McCumbee at the controls. McCumbee sharing with James Pesek. McCumbee is a NASCAR racer as well. We see a spin for the #56 Mercedes that we've referred to. This is Eric Foss getting assisted by Orey Fidani in the McLaren.
He got tipped into a spin and the #09 Aston Martin had no place to go. BMW #96 in the lane with Robby Foley at the wheel of it. Robby Noaker has the TCR lead. Robby Foley was pinged for speeding in the pit lane. Roy Block has just spun the Alfa but is back underway and he keeps on trucking. Dillon Machavern is still chasing Matt Plumb and the #95 will be handed over to veteran Bill Auberlen very soon. Machavern was 23rd on the restart in this 41 car field. Chad McCumbee is now in third spot. The Chevrolet Camaro has been modified in Balance of Performance. TGM raced this event last year, but then stopped racing due to the coronavirus. They came back at the finale at Sebring.
Hugh Plumb is doing double duty in both TGM Camaro's. These drivers are also doing the Rolex 24. Ted Giovanis, Owen Trinkler, Matt Plumb, and Hugh Plumb. We have a whole slew of top drivers in Michelin Pilot Challenge, at the sharp end of the field. We watch onboard in the #14 Toyota Supra GT4 on the high banks. This once again is the Quiros/Najri/Santero automobile. The TCR battle is still on and in full swing as the leader plays through the traffic. It's still a battle between the Ernstone/Morley Audi and the Muss/Filippi Hyundai, one of the two Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster N TCR's. The undertray of the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes is flapping around in the breeze underneath that car.
Will the marshals want a look at it? That's the question. A slow Hyundai out of the International Horseshoe. This is the CB Motorsports #81 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for the trio of Caleb Bacon, Mark Kvamme, and Trenton Estepp. Dillon Machavern continues to lead the motor race. Machavern was working over Matt Plumb. He had no choice but to give it up. In the background, look, it is Chad McCumbee in third. We are near the halfway mark in the motor race with two hours on the board. We are getting close. Daytona is very heat sensitive and sensitive to where the oil and rubber is under the track surface. The #3 Motorsports In Action McLaren 570S GT4 has Sheena Monk at the controls and Spencer Pigot had a great first stint. He will race Michelin Pilot Challenge all year with the MIA McLaren team. He has been in IndyCar and the IMSA WeatherTech Championship as well. The #13 AWA McLaren 570S GT4 is running well. Kuno Wittmer is very proud of team mate Orey Fidani in the car right now.
This is surely an endurance race. Stay focused. Be patient. Be smart. Orey Fidani served a penalty for a collision with Eric Foss in the Murillo Racing Mercedes we've mentioned quite a bit today. Meantime, the #14 Toyota Supra GT4 is running well with Alfredo Najri at the wheel of it. 430 horsepower out of a six cylinder motor. Toyota Latin America and Bill Riley are developing the automobile. It's early doors yet for this car, but they are running well after the Roar Before the Rolex 24, last weekend. Audi #85 for AOA Racing. Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing are likely out of this motor race. Game over for those chaps.
Back to AOA, they are running an Audi RS3 LMS TCR with a DSG gearbox. Gino Manley sharing with Andrew Pinkerton, and Patrick Wilmot as the driving trio. Road Shagger Racing in pit lane and a driver change taking place along with tires and fuel. It seems Jon Morley is getting into the car. Dillon Machavern has a two second lead over Matt Plumb right now at the sharp end in GS and the overall. Robert Noaker leads TCR by 4.6 seconds over second place Rory van der Steur sharing with Dennis Dupont in the Van der Steur Racing #19 Hyundai Veloster N TCR. Pit stop time again for the Liqui Moly sponsored #17 Audi RS3 LMS TCR DSG and he's stopped dead stick in the lane. What is the spot of bother for this car?
They will have to push the car. Push it! Push it! OK! OK! I'll push it! Back up on the high banks, we watch the Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4 continuing to chase one of the Audi R8 LMS GT4's. That is the #83 Audi R8 LMS GT4 for FASTMD Racing, driven by James Vance and Alex Papadopoulos. PF Racing just pitted their #40 Mustang, the Pesek/McCumbee automobile. Trouble in TCR land for the #5 Alfa who outbrakes himself in the chicane as we continue to watch James Clay monstering James Vance. The James & James show? We've got a bunch of duos scrapping and have seen that in the race today on many occasions with less than two hours to go.
The Atlanta Speedwerks Honda's are now 1-2 in TCR. 16 year old driver Robert Noaker is leading over his team mate in the #94 car, Todd Lamb at the wheel. Roy Block in the Alfa Romeo, as we saw, he tried making a pass, but he went off the road in the clag, and locked the rear brakes. That was a very close call! Egad! He keeps going. Just under an hour and 44 minutes left. Morley knows he will be on fuel save, probably. That's the Road Shagger #61 Audi. Indy Dontje brings the #4 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 to the lane. Russell Ward and Indy Dontje. Winward also has a car in the Rolex 24 tomorrow along with Turner Motorsports and TGM.
Greg Liefooghe has moved up in the #43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4. Winward has their fingers in many pies. They want to race in both IMSA and SRO the other GT championship including the Spa 24 Hours. Meanwhile, for Turner Motorsports, Dillon Machavern continues to lead the motor race. Bill Auberlen will finish the race and Tyler McQuarrie in second is in the lane sharing with Nolan Siegel and Tom Dyer. We also see Patrick Gallagher in the #23 Notlad Racing Aston Martin. They helped out Volt Racing after the Volt team lost a motor and they are leasing another Aston Martin from the Notlad RS1 boys. These two drivers raced together in SRO last year, the other major GT championship.
Dillon Machavern in the lane for Turner Motorsports for more service. Machavern out and Bill Auberlen will finish out the race. Machavern is making his 50th MPC start. Last year the team had tire issues but this year it's been all good so far. In the last few minutes we have seen a litany of trouble as Murillo Racing took #56 to the garage. Game over for that Mercedes, and in the meantime a few TCR cars have been either in the pit lane or off the road. there IS A good battle now in TCR between the KMW TMR Alfa Romeo and the new Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Roy Block being chased by the Ryan Norman and Parker Chase driven car. Block leads Todd Lamb by over four seconds.
In Grand Sport for GT4 cars, we have a new leader as Spencer Pumpelly takes the BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport to the front in their final race before moving to Porsche GT3 Cup. He is now in pit lane and actually had a tire delaminate on the banking! Goodness gracious! A scary moment! So this promotes the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW back into the race lead. Yours truly would hope to be able to cover some more of the Michelin Pilot Challenge events that were missed last year due to being confused by the reshuffling of the schedule due to the lockdowns. So, maybe that will happen. Stay tuned. There is time between now and the next race at Sebring in March. Less than an hour and a half to go in this race.
The PF Racing Mustang is back in pi lane for service. It seems to be regularly scheduled and indeed it is. BGB Motorsports in the lane as well for more work with new tires. One of the jet dryers has been sent out on track to blow away the debris in the Bus Stop chicane on the backstretch as well. The #19 Hyundai Veloster N TCR is back into the pit lane, the Rory Van der Steur, Dennis DuPont car, for scheduled service as are the Alfa and the factory Hyundai Elantra as well. Alfa Romeo #5 has also been into the pits. A busy place, Daytona International Speedway pit lane, with less than an hour and a half remaining in the lid lifter for Michelin Pilot Challenge and the 2021 season.
A sunny and cool afternoon in Daytona Beach after the fourth Full Course Yellow. Again, Spencer Pumpelly did lose a tire, trundling back to the lane from the lead of the motor race. He had just laid down the fastest lap of the race. Pumpelly and that Porsche also had an ABS sensor problem for the brakes. They are going to play catch up before this race is done and dusted. Bill Auberlen leads over Matt Plumb and Indy Dontje. Back to green with just over an hour to go. Turner Motorsports might have help to get fuel strategy for one more stop. Ditto for TGM and the Camaro who could need a splash and dash. Tom Dyer is trying to pass Greg Liefooghe. Mike Skeen was pushing hard as well and still is.
Bill Auberlen is now at the front of the field, and Will Turner won a championship in this class, after doing so back in 2006. Bryan Henderson and Ryan Eversley continue to lead TCR. It is the other way 'round. But it is Eversley and Henderson in the Atlanta Speedworks Audi's at the head of the queue in TCR. Greg Liefooghe meanwhile, has moved up to second spot overall. He and Bill Auberlen are in a BMW brawl for the overall lead. Eversley and Henderson in the two Atlanta Speedwerks Honda's, they are being muscled by Tim Lewis Jr. in the KMW TMR Alfa Romeo #5 as well. Big wreck in TCR on the backstretch! John Morley and Tim Lewis Jr. have just been involved in a crash and so this will give Atlanta Speedwerks an opening.
In replay, we can see the Alfa was tagged by Honda and plows into the tire barrier coming through the Bus Stop! This three car accident has taken out some of the top TCR contenders. Game over for the #84 Honda and big damage as well for the Audi and the Alfa. Three of the top TCR teams are out. Heavy front end damage to the #5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta. This is the fifth Full Course Yellow of the day. Three cars fighting for a podium in TCR are now out. Dennis DuPont, the lapped Hyundai, Brian Henderson tries to fill in the gap, and Tim Lewis gets spun. Jon Morley, crunch!, right into the rear of Henderson's Honda. This is a very frustrating crash for all involved. So much goes down in the Bus Stop chicane. Three teams who had a huge problem.
No repeat for Road Shagger Racing in TCR. Game over for three of the top contenders. Good grief. Let's hope for a clean race the rest of the way with less than an hour to go. A shame as well for the young drivers, Robert Noaker and Brian Henderson. We are back to geeen flag action and deary me, one of the BMW's is off and back on. That's the #82 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4 of Nick Galante, James Clay, and Mike Skeen. Not sure who is driving. Back onboard with the Toyota Supra, Julian Santero at the wheel of it.
We have some contact in GS ranks now with 50 minutes remaining and a major battle is brewing now between the Audi and the BMW in GS. Michael Lewis leads Mason Filippi in TCR as well. But at the moment the battle for sixth is hot between Mikey Taylor and Mark Wilkins. Audi vs. Hyundai. Now at the top of the tree, we can see it is both Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4's scrapping with one another. Greg Liefooghe has dropped like a stone. Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley are running 1-2 right now. Robby Foley drove both of these cars last year and also raced in the WeatherTech Championship.
Mike Lewis and Ryan Eversley are leading TCR for Hyundai at the moment while Ryan Eversley in the sole remaining Atlanta Speedwerks Honda runs third in class. Bill Auberlen is in the lane for service and he will have Kuno Wittmer aboard the #13 AWA McLaren to deal with. It is a clear pit lane for Bill Auberlen as the team is going for four tires and fuel. Auberlen won in class in the Motul Pole Award 100 and qualified on pole in GT Daytona for the Rolex 24 tomorrow. Ryan Eversley moves past Michael Lewis and he is now back into the lead. Eversley has been bish bash boshing it all day. He's in great shape, having won the 2018 SRO TCR championship. The new Toyota Supra GT4 for Riley Motorsports have been running very well. Julian Santero is a champion in South America, winning the Chilean Formula 3 championship.
Robby Foley and Vincent Barletta in the second #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 in the lane. Robby Foley is going to stay in the car to the end, with four tires on the car. It is going to be down to the two Turner BMW's for victory it seems as we have about 42 minutes to go. Eversley and Lewis remain going hammer and tongs for the TCR title. The new Hyundai Elantra has not been a factor today. A first race for a new car, you are usually working the bugs out of it. Santero moves past the #3 Motorsports In Action McLaren 570S GT4 of Sheena Monk and Spencer Pigot.
Both cars in the lane for presumably their final pit stops of the race. Oh dear. A Mercedes is stopped on course. This is the #10 LAP Motorsports Bluff City Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 of the trio of Scott Andrews, Colin Braun, and Anton Dias Perera. More pit action going on as well. With pit stops, some of the order has changed at the top of the shop in Grand Sport. Oh no! One of the Audi TCR cars has plowed into the fence and damaged the whole front end! This is the #15 Rockwell Autosport Development Audi RS3 LMS TCR DSG. Alex Rockwell sharing with Nelson Canache and Mike Moore. The driver is out of the car and OK. He slid into the greass and clouted the wall with the right hand side of the car! Ouch!
Not sure who was driving, but that is one of those sore in the morning kind of deals. Andrew Davis now leads the motor race ahead of Jason Fraser and James Vance. Hugh Plumb and Kuno Wittmer come next to complete the top five. Greg Liefooghe, Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley, Julian Santero, and Matt Plumb complete the top ten. So, it is Audi, BMW, Audi, Chevrolet, McLaren, BMW, BMW, BMW, Toyota, and Chevrolet. A mix of R8 LMS GT4's, M4 GT4's, a Camaro, a McLaren 570S GT4, a Toyota Supra GT4 and a Chevrolet Camaro GT4. A good variety. Mechanical diversity is what we see in sports car racing even with classes becoming much more standardized through the years.
Audi #8, the Davis/McCann car has just made a pit stop along with several others. Right now, Hugh Plumb in the #64 TGM Camaro GT4.R is being show in the race lead. Nelson Canache was at the controls of the Rockwell Development Audi. Canache is a very experienced driver. There had to be a tech issue. A failure of something. A stuck throttle, maybe? Dear me! Meanwhile, Hugh Plumb leads this motor race after starting the race with a penalty with 20 minutes left on the board. Kuno Wittmer and McLaren will be all over him. He has to watch the fuel gauge as well. Tom Dyer in the #93 Audi is a lap or so down. Dyer will push though. He wants to get back on the lead lap.
Julian Santero is running very well, going for the top five. He has a trio of snarling BMW's as Bill Auberlen moves 'round Greg Liefooghe. Kuno Wittmer and the McLaren has the top end speed and he will chase down Hugh Plumb. Wittmer wants a clean sheet of paper here. Wittmer up high and Plumb down low. Wittmer moves past. He won the GT Le Mans title in the WeatherTech Championship a few years back. Liefooghe and Mike Skeen are scrapping as well and Santero is dirt tracking the Toyota Supra as well! This is big stuff as Kuno Wittmer can move ahead. Watch for Bill Auberlen in the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 as well.
Hugh Plumb has been swamped by cars that have all the fuel in the tank before the end. Plumb could be running on fumes if he isn't careful. 16 minutes to go. Ryan Eversley is holding off Michael Lewis in TCR. Eversley in the Atlanta Speedwerks Honda vs. Lewis in the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster N TCR. The Veloster has won the championship the last few years. The Veloster is still strong as the Elantra is being developed. Mark Wilkins is seventh in TCR in seventh in the highest placed Elantra. It's early doors yet in the 2021 season. Greg Liefooghe has been passed by Bill Auberlen who is moving in on Mike Skeen. Kuno Wittmer is saying to the BMW drivers, "so long, boys. I'm out of here." Now, we have another Full Course Yellow as the #19 Dennis DuPont driven Van der Steur Hyundai.
Bill Auberlen, in replay, did a mega pass on Greg Liefooghe. Liefooghe was smart about it. He didn't put up a fight. Game over towards the end as the BGB Cayman is headed for the bench in their final Michelin Pilot race. The team of Tecce, Collingwood, and Pumpelly, will be gutted. It will be a mad scrum to the end of this motor race. Kuno Wittmer leads. Mike Skeen second. Bill Auberlen third. Ryan Eversley is running very well, with team mate (a driver who has not run in IMSA since 2016) Greg Strelzoff. Michael Lewis is racing with Taylor Hagler. Does anyone have anything left in the locker for Kuno Wittmer? It does not seem like it.
A McLaren is being chased by BMW's. Here we go. They are stacking up, and Kuno Wittmer smashes the gas pedal and he's gone. The BMW's are scrapping amongst themselves. Auberlen, Skeen, Liefooghe. Auberlen wants a shot at these two blokes. The McLaren may have the power as Ryan Eversley is getting swamped by Mikey Taylor. Mikey Taylor has been over a second quicker than Eversley in the Honda and Mike Lewis in the Hyundai. Can a BMW win the BMW Endurance Challenge? Will it be a day for McLaren? AWA McLaren are back. Pfaff Motorsports sells the McLaren's in Canada. Here comes Auberlen around Mike Skeen! Four wide with the BMW's. Foley and Liefooghe are flying as well. Clean stuff there, look.
Kuno Wittmer is grinning like a stuck possum right now. Mikey Taylor leads in the sequential gearbox Audi in TCR. Eversley in the Honda is going to be steaming, trying to get by that Audi. Just a minute or so to go as Auberlen and Skeen tussle for second. Auberlen moves 'round Skeen! Yikes! Two laps to go, or a lap and a half. Kuno Wittmer gets the white flag. Auberlen hangs on to second. Can Auberlen catch the McLaren? The TCR battle is still a ding dong scrap. Ryan Eversley wants it over Mikey Taylor, but Taylor is still pushing hard. Here comes Eversley. Will he make it off corner six? Yes, but he will have to make another move.
Kuno Wittmer still leads. Robby Foley and Mike Skeen scrap for third. Side by side. Foley on the high side. No one will catch the McLaren! Orey Fidani and Kuno Wittmer win! In TCR, it's Audi, and JDC-Miller! Mikey Taylor alongside Chris Miller and William Tally win it!
Overall/Grand Sport: #13 Wittmer/Fidani McLaren 570S GT4
TCR: #17 Taylor/Miller/Tally Audi RS3 LMS SEQ
So, McLaren, and the Audi with a sequential gearbox, win the opener for Michelin Pilot Challenge 2021 at Daytona! The next event, round two, will be the Alan Jay Automotive Group 120 at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida, in about seven weeks. In the meantime, there will also be races to cover from last year that yours truly has not had a chance to yet. So, stay tuned, as hopes are to be able to cover more Michelin Pilot Challenge action in 2021. So long for now, from Daytona International Speedway. Bye bye.
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