Saturday, May 15, 2021

Winner & Highlights of the Michelin Pilot Challenge Mid Ohio 120

Round three of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship takes place at the twisting, turning Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.  This is the first natural terrain course of the year that goes uphill and down dale.  We have been to the high banks of Daytona and the airport runways of Sebring.  Now is the chance for the GT4 and TCR cars to tackle a true, natural terrain road circuit.  We have one notable contender making their debut in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition.  Transitioning to IMSA from a different championship, we have FCP Euro ready to make their debut.  Car #11 is a Mercedes AMG GT4 set to be driven by Nate Vincent and Michael Hurczyn. 

Some other notable changes in driver lineups also exist for this race.  The #13 AWA McLaren 570S GT4 has Montreal, Quebec native, Chris Green partnering with Kuno Wittmer.  Orey Fidani, his regular co-driver, is at home awaiting the birth of his son.  Chris Green is the general manager of McLaren Toronto, one of their dealers.  So, he will get a chance to get behind the wheel and race today.  Green last drove the AWA McLaren at Road America in 2019 where the team scored a top five finish on that day.  We also have another notable new entry in today’s motor race.

The American Wheelman Ford Mustang GT4 to be driven by Jack Roush Jr. and Nate Stacy.  330 acres of beautiful racetrack here in central Ohio.  Turner Motorsports with Dillon Machavern and Bill Auberlen are leading the Grand Sport points.  Consistency is very, very important.  It’s been 17 years since Auberlen has won a championship title.  Ryan Hardwick, too, is back on track after his concussion, and he has Jan Heylen co-driving once again.  The TCR class is going to be a big show too.  Road Shagger Racing and their Audi RS3 LMS TCR, they went 70 minutes on a tank of fuel and now Gavin Ermstone and John Morley are confident.

Again, we have a familiar face with Jack Roush Jr. and Nate Stacy in this new Mustang.  This team won the doubleheader for the series at Mid-Ohio last fall.  We are halfway between Columbus and Cleveland and the pavement is worn, but the Keyhole will be a major point.  Watch out for China Beach and into Madness.  The Carousel is also demanding, up and over the crest of a hill.  Watch the bumps coming to the finish line.  We start the race remotely, headed down the backstretch.  Here we go.  The clock has started, for two hours.  One pit stop will be the order of the day. 

Here we go!  We’ve got a green flag and the race is on!  Ryan Hardwick leads into China Beach.  Chris Green follows.  Here comes the TCR start with Chris Miller and Mike LaMarra and there’s Perker Chase in the Hyundai and Gavin Ernstone in the Audi.  We don’t want a shemozzle at the start.  Hardwick leads the motor race in his first race since Daytona.  Peeking to the inside is Chris Green.  Hugh Plumb in the Camaro and then comes Alan Brynjolfsson in the Volt Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.  He was just in the Prototype Challenge race that ran before this.

Wow.  Rory van der Steur moves ‘round Ermstone.  Tyler Gonzalez next in the queue.  The Tyler and Tyler show.  Chris Green has moved into the lead, look, ahead of Ryan Hardwick.  Hugh Plumb next up in the #46 Team TGM Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R.  McLaren vs. Porsche Cayman vs. Chevrolet Camaro.  The twisty nature of Mid-Ohio suits the TCR machinery.  Two Hyundai's, a Veloster and an Elantra, are pushing, pushin, pushing to get by the bullish blokes at Audi.

Ermstone almost spun out!  Front Wheel Drive, nail the gas, and save the car!  Yikes!  Jeepers creepers!  So, Rory van der Steur is moving up.  We see that Gonzalez wanted to move by Ermstone and ran out of road.  Chris Green leads overall.  McLaren at the top of the shop as we get underway.  Chris Miller in the JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR is making his move to the lead ‘round Rory van der Steur in the Hyundai.  Oh dear.  #71 off the road, look.  That’s the Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro from Frank DePew and Robin Liddell.  Now, back on track, and keep on trucking as we go onboard the #3 MIA Racing McLaren 570S GT4, with Sheena Monk and Spencer Pigot sharing the driving chores.

Battle for second place and it’s a dandy.  Hardwick is keeping Hugh Plumb at bay with Alan Brynjolfsson in the Aston next up as Chris Green has already put a tremendous amount of daylight between himself and the pursuers.  Some argy bargy as well, and three wide as Chris Miller and Rory van der Steur are pressing to get by the GT4 Toyota Supra, car #14.  That is the Riley Motorsports entry for Javier Quiros from Costa Rica sharing with Alfredo Najri of the Dominican Republic.  The action is close in TCR as well, look.  Audi, Hyundai, Honda.  Man oh man!  This is hot stuff!  Chris Miller is now going backwards.  He is dropping like a stone.  The Toyota has made poor old Chris Miller the cork in the bottle.

Through Madness they go once again.  Gavin Ermstone’s broken foot has healed.  Miller has the whole field right on his six now, although Rory van der Steur, too, is beginning to move ahead of Parker Chase.  Tyler Gonzalez is on a mission to finish.  Tyler Maxson is also running well.  He won a touring car championship in the SRO series, the other North American sports car championship that races to TCR regulations.  Lots of grass shavings on the road right now.  The curbs are friendly and not large, sharp turtles or sausage curbs.

Chris Green leads the motor race.  Green and Orey Fidani are both from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and again, Chris Green is a quick driver even though his day-to-day job is managing the Toronto McLaren dealer.  Alan Brynjolfsson is running very well making the transition from an LMP3 to a GT4 car.  Ryan Hardwick also races in the GT Daytona class in the WeatherTech Championship that we will see race tomorrow.  15 minutes now on the board as Rory van der Steur is being monstered by both Hyundai Elantra’s, the factory cars for Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker.

TCR cars are front wheel drive and very fun to drive.  The design of the Veloster compared to the Elantra is so different of course one is a hatchback and the other is a sedan.  Things getting spicy in TCR right now but back in the lead, Chris Green is on a Saturday cruise at the moment.  Nothing really going on at the sharp end.  Although, there is some scrapping now in the back half of the GS/GT4 field. Turner Motorsports vs. Winward Racing vs. McCann Racing.  BMW, Mercedes, Audi.  We’ll check back on that in a minute as the TCR scrap between the Hyundai’s is simmering.

Rory van der Steur in the Veloster continues to lead the factory Elantra’s, but Parker Chase wants a bit of the cherry downhill through the back side of the course and van der Steur does not want to give it to him.  Now, he does.  He realizes maybe the Elantra has a wee bit more speed.  Mike LaMarra, carrying the onboard camera in the LAP Motorsports/L.A. Honda World Honda Civic TCR is also in the fight.  This is a fair old dingdong here, look, between these boys. 

The top five in TCR is nose to tail.  One Honda vs. the Hyundai juggernaut.  Through Madness, those blokes in the Hyundai’s are pressing hard.  Anything you can do, I can do better.  Hardy har har.  The #42 Ford Mustang is chasing the Audi and a couple of the Mercedes AMG GT4’s.  Russell Ward and Jeff Mosing, they are in the fight and so is Bryce Ward.  Two Mercedes’ for Winward and one for Murillo.  Nate Stacy and Kyle Marcelli swept the 2020 MPC Grand Sport championship.  Mike Hall, a Marine, has put the American Wheelman team together.  We appreciate you, and your service to our country Mr. Hall.

Bryce Ward has Alex Papadopoulos and Jack Roush Jr. going for it.  Winward won GT Daytona at the Rolex 24, they have been competing in SRO, and also, in DTM in Europe with their new GT3 platform.  Rebel Rock and their Camaro, which won Sebring, they are a lap down now and need to get back in the fight.  That’s Frank DePew sharing with Robin Liddell.  In the lane now, Chris Green for AWA McLaren.  Fuel only, perhaps.  They will need a driver change but we are not even half an hour into the motor race yet.  Save fuel.  When will Kuno Wittmer get into the car?  We shall see. 

If you get a yellow flag, a 56-58 minute window for petrol is all you need.  If we go yellow and everyone pits together, the McLaren boys could get their advantage back.  But now, Ryan Hardwick in the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche Cayman has retaken the lead of the motor race.  The TCR battle is not letting up.  We see Mike LaMarra closing in on the factory Hyundai’s hand over fist.  Oh dear.  Spin there for the #4 Winward Mercedes.  Russell Ward is trying to get the car pointed in the right direction.  Does so.  He’s back in the fight.  Keep on trucking.

Deary me!  He had contact with one of the Turner Motorsports BMW M4s.  Not sure if that was #95 of #96.  TCR time again.  Rory van der Steur in the Veloster continues in the lead but he is the minnow, the factory Hyundai’s and the L.A. Honda World Honda, are the sharks.  van der Steur, Gottsacker, Chase, LaMarra.  This is a fair fight in TCR.  That pot has been brought from a simmer to a boil.  Ryan Hardwick continues to lead in the overall.  He is having a stellar return to racing after two accidents at Daytona and had a concussion but is clear to drive.  He is whistling off into the distance.

Chris Miller is inching his way into the TCR battle.  They are having a little party and they didn’t invite me!  Ugh!  Those little squeakers!  Oh no!  More agricultural racing for the Road Shagger #61 Audi.  Poor old Ermstone was assisted by Taylor Hagler in the #77 Hyundai Veloster.  Calm down.  Keep driving.  40 minutes to 80 minutes maximum as you slice the cake for a two-hour race.  Cake?  What flavor?  Not until you win the motor race, lads.  Russell Ward and company at Winward have been dealing with handling maladies.  He’s on the radio probably saying, “ugh!  I can’t drive the race car!”

He can adjust brake bias to get the car to turn for understeer.  You cannot make too many adjustments on these cars.  Bryan Henderson was fastest in TCR but ran afoul of the tech rules and had to start caboose on the grid.  They had a non-homologated aluminum part that should have been made from Kevlar.  A.J. Muss is being eaten up by Ryan Hardwick.  Talk about a slice of cake.  Muss in the #51 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster sharing with Mason Filippi.  The battle rages in TCR, still.  Nothing has changed. 

Nose to tail in TCR.  This is great action.  LaMarra wants a bite of the cherry but knows he might get the pit.  Discretion the better part of valor there.  Rebel Rock Camaro in the lane.  Tires, fuel, and a driver change as Robin Liddell, the Scotsman, gets into the car.  Toyota Supra in the lane as well, having come in crooked and the Camaro team has to push the car back before releasing from the box.  To the outside comes van der Steur on the factory cars, and the #88 Honda has spun and is righting itself.  That’s the VCMG Racing machine for Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias.

Rory van der Steur continues to hold off the factory Elantra’s.  Parker Chase is really applying the blowtorch.  The van der Steur family raced in prototypes almost 20 years ago.  Trent Hindman is taking over the #7 Volt Racing Aston Martin with Archangel from Alan Brynjolfsson.  Don’t spin the rear wheels.  It looks like he is going to have a penalty in his future.  He selected a gear without having a foot on the brake spinning the tires.  Rory van der Steur is leading but Parker Chase tries him into the Keyhole. 

The old and new Hyundai’s are evenly matched with Balance of Performance.  There’s no real rule to officiate how often you flash your lights.  Ryan Hardwick in the lane for service.  Pit stop time now.  Jan Heylen will get into the car for the driver change.  We have an hour and 12 minutes left on the board.  They will need a splash and dash if we don’t have any yellows.  A clean stop for Wright Motorsports and Heylen back on track.  Trent Hindman is back to speed in the Aston Martin.  Will they have a penalty?  Yes.  Two infractions for Aston Martin #7.  Speeding in the lane, and rotating drive wheels from a safety aspect. 

Pit stop time now for the Road Shagger Audi team as Jon Morley takes over.  Think about the big picture.  There must be a compromise between drivers, but the setup has to be there.  Trouble for tires on the Audi and in replay, we see the rear tires spinning while the Aston Martin was up on the air jacks before being released.  Now, the #42 Mustang of Jack Roush Jr. has spun out of the Carousel.  That’s a pivot point.  Rory van der Steur continues to monster the factory Hyundai Elantra’s.  Parker Chase takes over the TCR lead. 

Come into the pits, put the car in neutral, and the second driver says “get ready”, but don’t try to put the car in gear yet without holding the car on the brake, or the wheels will spin/.  One of the TGM Camaro’s in the lane.  Hugh Plumb out, and Matt Plumb in.  Full Course Yellow now.  Full Course Yellow.  Jack Roush Jr. is stranded in the final turn.  What happened?  Into the Carousel, he got biffed by Russell Ward.  This is the first Full Course Yellow of the race.  The cars continue behind the safety car and we will see when the signal is given to go back to green. 

Pit stop time now for the leading Grand Sport GT4 cars.  AWA McLaren are making their driver change as Kuno Wittmer will get into the car and many other teams are doing likewise.  Wright Motorsports, Turner Motorsports, Volt Racing, McCann Racing, PF Racing, and more.  How will the order shake out after the stops?  We are about to find out.  Some front splitter damage, maybe, on the #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR for Brian Henderson and Robert Noaker.

All 11 lead lap cars in TCR are in the pit lane for fuel, tires, and a driver change.  The Hyundai Elantra’s are in.  Ryan Norman replaces Parker Chase.  Mark Wilkins replaces Harry Gottsacker in the sister #33 car.  Dennis DuPont in the #19 takes over from Rory van der Steur with just under an hour to go.  Wow.  The #27 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster of Tyler Gonzalez and Tyler Maxson takes the lead in class.  Wilkins and Ryan Norman, both are champion drivers.  This restart ought to be fun.  Stay with us.  It is not over yet ladies and gentlemen.

Green flag and we have Matt Plumb in the lead with Jan Heylen, Trent Hindman and also James Vance.  Here comes Heylen into the Keyhole.  Trent Hindman wants by Jan Heylen.  Hindman shared a car with Heylen at the Rolex 24.  Matt Plumb defending from James Vance into Madness.  The MCLaren is hooked up and has the speed as Kuno Wittmer is bish bash boshing it right now.  Bill Auberlen, the winningest driver in IMSA is also flying as we see Stephen Simpson high sided on the curb in turn five just after he took the car over from Michael Johnson.

Side by side to turn four between Audi and Aston Martin.  Jan Heylen has the track position, look, over Kuno Wittmer.  James Vance has been overtaken by Trent Hindman as Bill Auberlen smells blood in the water.  BMW have not had the pace.  Oh no.  Poor old Mat Pombo is nerfed out of the way by Mikey Taylor!  Yikes!  Argy bargy ahoy!  Meanwhile, the Hyundai scrap is still simmering.  Maxson vs. DuPont and Spencer Pigot tags Bill Auberlen who goes off the road!  Jeepers creepers!  That’s two jeepers creepers calls if you are keeping score at home.

Pigot has a tire rub as we see in replay, Auberlen defends, and Pigot has just enough room but can’t get stopped before slamming the BMW!  Bang!  Auberlen was a sitting duck.  Alec Udell in the #57 Winward Mercedes moves past as well.  Udell sharing with Bryce Ward.  Oh dear.  Auberlen in the lane with crash damage.  He has won races, but he is going to be on the back foot in terms of the championship as the right front corner is crumpled.

There could be a broken A arm in the suspension as well.  Dennis DuPont’s pace has slowed a wee bit as one of the focuses is keeping the cars cool and getting grass out of the radiator.  Wittmer has a run on Heylen and for the Dutchman, it Is get your own back time, look.  Hyundai madness also continues in TCR.  More damage to the BMW M4 for Turner Motorsports.  One of the mechanics says, “take it to the garage.  We need a new tie rod.”  It could be game over for the Turner Motorsports BMW team and they will have to wait until tomorrow to run well in the WeatherTech Championship in GT Daytona. 

45 minutes now remaining in the motor race.  It is the foxes and the hounds in TCR still.  Oh, we have someone dropping a wheel into the dust.  Also, the GS battle is heating up as Trent Hindman is all over Jan Heylen like a rash.  Kuno Wittmer runs up ahead.  McLaren, Porsche Cayman, Aston Martin Vantage.  This is a real humdinger of a scrap we are watching now, ladies and gentlemen.  Hindman wants it.  He is pushing.  Right now, the Camaro is still leading the motor race.  Four manufacturers vying for the lead of this remarkable motor race.  

Hindman and Heylen co-drove together in the WeatherTech Championship at Daytona and Sebring.  It’s a difficult dynamic.  We have an update on Hyundai #19 as there was fuel pressure troublke on that automobile.  Denis DuPont is slowing again.  A fraught motor race for these boys.  BMW #95 did go behind the wall, with Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern.  Suspension damage as we mentioned.  They need to get some points in the final 40 minutes.  Good scrap now between Mikey Taylor and the #94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda of Ryan Eversley sharing with Scott Smithson.

With TCR cars, it is hard to identify them because some cars even from different brands have similar shapes.  Be careful where you race here at Mid-Ohio because you may end up doing agricultural racing, indulging in some autocross, turning your race car into a lawnmower.  Now we return to the Wittmer, Heylen, Hindman story in the scrum for second spot as Matt Plumb is whistling off into the distance.  Heylen is not getting much closer to the McLaren while Trent Hindman can smell blood in the ater.  The TCR battle for the lead has Taylor Maxson leading and Ryan Norman in second.  Veloster vs. Elantra, (factory Elantra), in the Hyundai camp.

Good day for a motor race to sit on the hillside, with a picnic lunch, socially distanced of course, unless you have already been vaccinated for the virus.  Mid-Ohio is a racetrack but also home of driving schools for track and street driving.  Robert Wickens after his horrible accident in IndyCar, is back in racing.  Michael Johnson who is also paralyzed, and can drive, said “take it easy, enjoy the moment in the race car.”  He will have to learn how to feel the car through his hands instead of the seat of his pants.  Michael Johnson had a great stint and now, Stephen Simpson is into the car.

Sanctioning bodies are recognizing drivers with disabilities want to compete.  There are two rings to control the accelerator and brake from the steering wheel as well as the gearshift.  We have seen Alex Zanardi and we have seen a trio of drivers with disabilities in Europe also race.  Matt Plumb continues to lead the race.  Hugh Plumb said they are being creative, and they have gotten track position and are maintaining a gap.  Matt and Hugh Plumb are brothers and have raced both together and against each other. 

33 wins between the Plumb brothers, with Matt at the wheel right now.  The Camaro had a Balance of Performance tweak for more power but less fuel capacity, less fuel range.  The great thing about sports car racing is hearing the different engine notes go by on track.  Tyler Maxson has leapfrogged the factory Hyundai’s and he is feeling the heat from Ryan Norman who wants a bite of the apple.  It is hard to tell if there is a difference between the Veloster and the Elantra and Norman wants to go for it and Mike Lewis has gone ‘round Mark Wilkins.  Back and forth and to the lead, Ryan Norman!

Wow!  This is a big fight for the Hyundai team.  Taylor Hagler had that argy bargy in the #77 with the Road Shagger Audi earlier on.  Some info shared between factory and customer teams at Hyundai, but they are rivals.  Mike Lewis is pressing Ryan Norman and I don’t have to tell you, hard.  Norman and Lewis have both gone by Tyler Maxson.  The Wittmer/Heylen/Hindman battle steams on.  This has also been fascinating to watch through the course of the race.  They are second and Matty Plumb in the Camaro is a country mile up the road.

Whoops!  A smashup for the pink #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang.  The left front of that car is crunched.  So, trouble for James Pesek and Chad McCumbee.  Actually, the whole front of that automobile is compromised.  He must have slapped the Armco a ton there.  Could be another Full Course Yellow.  Put it out?  We’ll see.  Meanwhile, the second-place scrap continues to simmer.  Ah yes.  Full Course Yellow.  Put it out!  That Mustang is dead in the water.  This is the second FCY of this motor race.  Poor old Chad McCumbee could be out of the motor race.  He spins and clips the Murillo Racing Mercedes and tears the front nose off the Mustang.  Screech!  Crunch!  He just squirted the power and lost the tail.

Eric Foss was an innocent bystander.  Nothing the poor bloke could do.  Just over 22 minutes left on the board before this motor race is done and dusted.  Fuel saving might not be too problematic but there was concern on the petrol tank in the #13 McLaren, Kuno Wittmer at the controls.  Chris Green did very well at the beginning of this race.  Wittmer will be chasing down the aforementioned Matt Plumb.  Team manager and former driver Joe Varde has made him aware of that.  It is coming down to crunch time with 20 minutes now left.

We run under yellow behind the safety car and when we go back to green, this will be a shootout to the end.  So, Matt Plumb will now bring the field to the restart after a short yellow and we are back to racing.  Jan Heylen wanted to move ‘round the McLaren but no.  Trent Hindman is pushing hard.  Hindman goes deep into the turn.  Spencer Pigot is fifth and also pushing hard.  Into China Beach, Matt Plumb keeps the lead, but he will have to worm for the record as Wittmer pours on the power.  Into Madness, off the road goes Hindman and back on. 

Plumb knows how to win races and did not see much action with the COVID virus, but the TGM boys are back now.  Here comes Heylen, with Trent Hindman on the outside on used tires that are knackered.  Heylen forces the issue.  Wittmer running on Plumb down the hill and Plumb outbrakes the McLaren.  The Camaro has great handling and braking in addition to raw, brute horsepower from the V8 motor.  15 minutes now on the clock.  Hindman is pushing, pushing, pushing, being denied by Heylen in the Porsche.  Oh dear!  Hindman way off the road!  Wittmer says the McLaren has the braking power.  Plumb is aware of the braking power of the McLaren and Wittmer makes the move into the lead.  Hit your marks.  The Camaro with Hugh Plumb is quick in sector two.  Heylen is clear away from Hindman and in TCR, Ryan Norman holds back Michael Lewis.  Lewis is keeping the pressure on as Tom Dyer is off and on running in ninth place in the CarBahn Audi who are debuting in GT Daytona in the WeatherTech Championship, tomorrow.

Hindman wants by Heylen and wants by Lumb as well.  This will be a fiar scrap.  Hindmna can’t turn in on time before the Porsche takes the spot.  Wittmer is seeing this scrap in his rearview mirror and here comes Spencer Pigot, the former IndyCar driver.  Roll speed off the uphill under the bridge.  Keep going into the Keyhole.  No dice for three wide, but what a race from the top three!  Wittmer leading Plumb and Heylen.  Matty Plumb spins after contact with Trent Hindman!  Plumb did nothing wrong.  He was just another innocent bystander.  Hindman just turns him.  He was very aggressive but in a way, needed to be.

Damage for Hindman and now, Alec Udell and Bryce Ward are on the podium.  This is the second Winward Mercedes.  Trent Hindman in the Aston Martin is into the fence!  He has a broken suspension piece or something and cannot steer it.  Damage from the contact with the Camaro.  What a terrible break for Aston Martin and it is game over for the Volt Lightning Aston Martin.  Kuno Wittmer continues leading this motor race as we watch the TCR battle.  Norman ahead of Michael Lewis for the Hyundai brigade and then comes Ryan Eversley in the #94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda. 

Once again, give a call to Alec Udell as he is up to third for the Winward Motorsports Mercedes team.  TCR leaders catching the back part of the GT4 cars as Nate Vincent in the FCP Euro Mercedes goes off the road in that #11 car he shares with Michael Hurczyn.  In replay, we see Vincent going wide and getting off in the clag on the side of the road.  Ryan Eversley is running third in TCR.  He has to move by Michael Lewis in the Hyundai Veloster #77 with six minutes to go. 

Mat Pombo uncorks the fastest lap at 1:28.8 in TCR as the Michelin Pilot tires squeal for mercy.  TCR cars are front wheel drive and so the left front takes a pounding here at Mid-Ohio.  Ryan Norman leads TCR but he is not home and hosed yet.  Jan Heylen will make up ground in points and lose ground as well to the McLaren boys unless of course Heylen can catch Wittmer.  Alfredo Najri in the Toyota Supra is the cork in the bottle for the TCR lads.  Heylen closes in on Wittmer for the lead.

These two chaps have clear track and can uncork qualifying laps in the battle for victory.  Hit your marks.  No mistakes.  Both leading cars are totally clean and have had no argy bargy today.  Wittmer has been able to bring more power because of the fuel mileage being so good for the McLaren boys today.  Meantime, a gap in TCR as Eversley has closed on Lewis.  The Porsche Cayman has the advantage on the back half of the course and here comes Heylen.  White flag!  One lap to go.  Wittmer vs. Heylen.  Into the Keyhole with new pavement.  Wittmer goes defensive down toward corner four. 

Will Heylen have a sniff at getting ‘round the McLaren?  He can turn in crisper with grip and with a tad of roll.  Into the esses, and Heylen dirt tracks it over the top of the hill.  Wittmer has the lead but barely.  Into The Carousel for the last time.  Wittmer wins it!  Second win of the year and the championship lead.  Good race for Kuno Wittmer and Chris Green.  Ryan Norman will be able to win his home race.  He will do it and the first win for the Hyundai Elantra goes to Ryan Norman and Parker Chase!

 Overall/Grand Sport: #13 Wittmer/Green      McLaren 570S GT4

              TCR: #98 Norman/Chase                  Hyundai Elantra N TCR

So, round three of Michelin Pilot Challenge 2021 is done and dusted.  The next event on the calendar sees the series move to Watkins Glen International Raceway in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, in late June, for the second and final four-hour endurance event of the season, which will take place on the final weekend in June.  We will see you then.  It’s going to be a massively exciting race judging from what we’ve seen today.  So long, everybody.  Take care.  WeatherTech Championship racing at Mid-Ohio tomorrow as well.  Don’t miss it!

        

 

  



 

  

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