It is the finale, of a long season, the tenth event, for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Championship. Today, in the red clay hills of northern Georgia, just outside Atlanta, at the famed Road Atlanta, champions will be crowned in Grand Sport for GT4 production based sports cars, and the TCR touring car class. 39 cars are set to take the green flag today. There have been shuffled driver lineups for the finale and we shall get to that soon. After nine races in as many months, one champion has already been crowned, but another must be determined as we race the Fox Factory 120. This is it. We have Dave Burns, Calvin Fish, and Brian Till in the booth for today's race.
Five teams are mathematically in with a shot of the Grand Sport championship for drivers, but when the engines fire up, that number will decrease to two. We are looking at a straight fight for the title between the duo of Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern, while Jan Heylen is the only driver in the pairing for the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, that can mathematically seal the title today. Dillon Machavern is the 2017 Michelin Pilot Challenge GT4 Champion. But, for Bill Auberlen, in spite of all his race wins he has racked up over his career, the man has not won a championship title in 17 years, since 2004. You know he's hungry and wants the championship. Both the champagne, and the victory pie, if you will.
Jan Heylen and Ryan Hardwick had nil points in the season opener at Daytona. Wright Motorsports looking for the hat trick. We are also looking at TCR because the championship will be wrapped up as soon as we go green. Taylor Hagler will become the first woman to win a Michelin Pilot Challenge championship, and she will become the second ever female champion in IMSA after Christina Nielsen. Taylor Hagler and her co-driver Michael Lewis have a 230 point lead in TCR over their closest competitors, the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR and only Parker Chase is in contention for the title. His co-driver, Ryan Norman, is not, as he didn't run all the races I don't think.
Taylor Hagler was a show horse jumper for a decade and she started motor racing four years ago. The driver's championship is wrapped up in TCR. Hyindai have a 40 point lead over Audi in the manufacturer's cup. If Hyundai is second, they lock up the manufacturer's title with eight cars. Six Veloster's and two Elantra's. An hour north of Atlanta, that is where Road Atlanta is. Two and a half miles with twelve corners. An old school circuit. The first corners test the car but so does the uphill to turn three. Power and sweep through the esses. This leads you to turn seven, the most critical and yet slowest turn on the circuit.
Onto the backstretch, you can out brake into turn ten. The #77 Hyundai Veloster are champions! Congratulations Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis! But in Grand Sport, Bill Auberlen wants a championship. They are concerned about pace on long green flag runs. Jan Heylen knows he has to control the balance of the motor race. On long runs, the Porsche will be the best car. Ryan Hardwick will have to be careful as we progress through this two hour motor race, the finale in Michelin Pilot Challenge. It all comes down to this for the GS championship. Here we go. It is time for a split start The GS cars go first.
Down the hill they come. Green flag! Drop the hammer! It's go time at Road Atlanta for Michelin Pilot Challenge in the finale! Great start as Kenny Murillo leads from the pole followed by the Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Nolan Siegel. Ryan Hardwick too, is in the thick of the battle as we watch the start for the TCR field. Again, down the hill they come. The two Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra's lead the field. Ryan Norman alongside Harry Gottsacker. Mega sized jump! You need to stay in your column until you pass the start/finish line. It is easy to get racy too early.
So, Ryan Hardwick is down to fifth, with Dillon Machavern chasing. Kenny Murillo, 25 years old, a young bloke who is really pushing and Nolan Siegel is only 17 years old. These chaps are the future of the sport of IMSA and sports car racing. Good move as Machavern is really pushing the Porsche through the esses. Ryan Hardwick has to keep the car in contention. As they sit with 30 points for the #95 over the #16. They don't want the #16 to win. Now, we see other drivers and teams in the race that are out to win the race and that is all they care about.
So, you have the #7 Volt Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the hands of Alan Brynjolfsson being monstered right now by Mike McCann aboard the #8 McCann Racing Audi R8 GT4 with co-driver Andrew Davis. Finish the season on a high note, looking to next year, for 2022. Will Turner and Don Salama have to be telling Dillon Machavern to just keep driving the race car to be honest. Ryan Hardwick too, knows his role. He ahs to stay clean in the opening half of the race. Hardwick is not a part of the championship necessarily since he missed a race at Daytona, but he knows he is part of it and getting a championship for Wright Motorsports.
At Turner Motorsports and in the BMW camp, they are in attack mode. They know they must win the race and beat the Porsche. Kenny Murillo in the bronze colored Mercedes AMG GT4 leads the motor race thus far. In TCR, the battle is heating up in the middle of the field. We watch a spirited fight in the back half of the top ten between the #81 CB Motorsports Hyundai Veloster N TCR in the hands of Coby Shield, sharing the car with Caleb Bacon. Right on his six are both Roy Block in the #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR, and Gavin Ernstone in the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR.
Block sharing with Tim Lewis Jr. Ernstone sharing with Jon Morley. Immediately behind Ernstone is the #17, another Audi RS3 LMS TCR for Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports, and the duo of Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor. Some of the Audi's have sequential gearboxes while others have an automatic DSG gearbox. Snaking through the esses they go, downhill, and back uphill again. Ernstone is looking to make a move on Block. Taylor as well, he has another contender right on his six. It looks like one of the Honda Civic's. Cannot tell which one it is. Ironically, Atlanta Speedwerks this weekend in the finale are running just one FK7 Civic TCR. Car #84 is not here, but #94 is.
Ryan Eversley is in his home race here in Atlanta, sharing with Tyler Stone, from Alabama. At the sharp end of TCR, the top end of town, if you will, we have a spiritied three way lead battle between three Hyundai's. Tyler Gonzalez aboard the #27 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster, is the meat in the sandwich between the two Bryan Herta Autosport Elantra's. Gonzalez is one half of the Tyler and Tyler show that we have seen all year in Michelin Pilot Challenge, sharing the car with Tyler Maxson. Meanwhile, we ride aboard the #3 Motorsports In Action McLaren 570S GT4. This is the car shared by Sheena Monk and Spencer Pigot.
Monk is doing her level best to pass into turn ten and she has the #40, the familiar pink PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4 up ahead. That car is carrying Shelby-esque blue racing stripes today, being shared by the usual duo of James Pesek and Chad McCumbee. That diving turn ten under the bridge is amazing. It's blind, and the world falls away onto the front straight before tackling another lap and the undulations of this great circuit at Road Atlanta. Back to the TCR battle as Gottsacker is reeling in Gonzalez for second in TCR. This has allowed Ryan Norman in the sister blue Hyundai Veloster to pull away.
The Elantra's are having it all their own way over the Veloster's right now. Eight Hyundai's. The Elantra team is very bullish about sweeping the front row. Bryan Herta is now helping one of his customer teams and assisting the #54 entry, the Michael Johnson Racing Veloster for Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson. The Elantra didn't have the same performance than the Veloster at the beginning of the year, but, the scoop is that they've really improved through the course of the year. Taylor Hagler is 13th in TCR in another Veloster. Michael Lewis, a champion in Michelin Pilot Challenge once more. He says it is an honor to win the title with Taylor Hagler and Bryan Herta Autosport, wrapping up the title before the race event begins.
A hat trick for BHA and Hyundai. The manufacturer's championship for Hyundai is a major deal for BHA as well, running a block on Honda, Audi and others. Whoops! Another Hyundai is off the road. A.J. Muss aboard the #51 Copeland Motorsports Veloster, indulges in a wee bit of grass track racing before getting himself back onto the pavement. Yes Sir, that's where the track goes, into the right hander. Thank you, mate. With a front wheel drive car, to save the slide, you just punch it and drive right through the skid and A.J. Muss showed the correct way to do that without getting stuck in the weeds.
A.J. Muss is an Olympic snowboarder turned racing driver, so, he knows a lot about speed and control to begin with and that was great car control. Muss will have his hands full with Gino Manley right behind. Manley at the wheel of the #85 AOA Racing Audi. This is a DSG equipped RS3 LMS TCR sedan. Manley, co-driving with Patrick Wilmot, a local driver, from nearby Roswell, Georgia. Gino Manley is a Floridian. Everyone is dipping their toe in the water for next year, and in 2022, get this. We could see ten more entries in the field for next year. So, five Grand Sport/GT4 cars, and five more TCR cars. Next year may very well see a bumper grid for Michelin Pilot Challenge. Stay tuned.
This TCR racing is affordable, the cars are fun to drive, and man, as a fan you get value for money, because these ladies and gentlemen bring the action in spades. The TCR cars are real pocket rockets and are quicker in cornering than even the Grand Sport, the GT4 cars. Bryan Herta ran an 8 hour enduro in California years ago and drove a TCR car and loved it. What a gorgeous day to go racing here in Georgia, just outside the capitol city of Atlanta. A slew of TCR cars is making it's way towards the back half of the GS field. A little bit of everything in this conga line. Hyundai, Audi, Honda, Alfa Romeo, you name it, it is here.
Ernstone wants a pass on Shield. Will he make it? Coby Shield is not giving up the ghost easily. Meanwhile, Chris Miller will join in the fun here. They're having a little party, and they didn't invite me! Miller and Ernstone in the Audi's try whistling by on the downhill into the braking zone for turn ten. Miller sticks the landing, as Ernstone wants a shot on the inside, and Miller slams the door in his face. Back up front, and Kenny Murillo is cruising. The bronze colored #56 Mercedes AMG GT4 leading the motor race to the tune of three and a half seconds over the #93 Audi in second, Nolan Siegel at the wheel of it.
In the meantime, the TCR swarm, the land rush continues. Miller, Ernstone, and Shield want past the #89 TWOth Autosport/Bestline AutoTech Audi being shared by Canadian's Marco Cirone and Travis Hill. Cirone from Toronto, Ontario, while Hill hails from Ottawa, Ontario. Pit stop time for the #93 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4. Nolan Siegel in the pit lane sharing that automobile with fellow Californian Tyler McQuarrie. The Audi scrap continues and now, Miller wants by the Hyundai Veloster, the #54 of Michael Johnson. Johnson will get mugged by Cirone here, too, look.
Maybe not. Gavin Ernstone slots in line and denies Cirone the opportunity to pass. Whoops! Spin there down through the esses right at the bottom, with the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. That is the Robin Liddell and Frank DePew automobile. The Virginian, sharing with the very experienced Scotsman. Only 20 minutes on the board. So, a ways to go, and the Camaro is beached in the gravel. He's high sided. He bounced over the curbs and perhaps got a push there from one of the Hyundai's. That's the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Elantra, the Parker Chase and Ryan Norman driven car. Well, well, well. Full Course Yellow, now. He's beached that Camaro and can't get out.
A driver change it looks like for the CarBahn Audi? Nope. Nope. Something's wrong. They are pushing it back to the garage. It could be game over for #93 today. They will come back and try again next year. Meantime, the safety workers have come to Robin Liddell's rescue. So, we continue under the safety car for the time being. The underside of that American muscle car will be littered with gravel. Liddell may indeed still limp that car back to the pits. He's back up and running again and so that's a good sign. Pit stop time now. The championship contenders in line in the lane.
Ryan Hardwick will stay at the wheel and scrubbed tires will go on the car. We also see, it looks like the #23 Notlad Racing by RS1 Aston Martin in the lane, being shared by Stevan McAleer and Patrick Gallagher. Fuel and tires for the #16. Routine service, and right side tires for the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW as well. Wow! #16's gamble on two tires should pay off! The #95 is going for four tire and losing time in the lane. Some contact with the PF Racing Mustang and there was almost some argy bargy there with one of the Turner BMW's and the other is just now being released from the air jacks.
Machavern was boxed as we look at the sister Turner BMW #96, Vinnie Barletta, with a wheel issue on the left front. Hold everything! Excuse me! This is the #95, the championship contender with wheel trouble! Vinnie Barletta passes Dillon Machavern in the pit lane. What a disaster for the championship leaders! Now, Ryan Hardwick is not out of the danger zone yet either. Hardwick could get pinged by the stewards for trying to exit to the fast lane in the pits with another car passing through. Any overlap you have to fall in line. That didn't happen.
Patrick Gallagher is serviced and sent in the Aston Martin. But, the fueler takes a spill, and speaking of spilling, the coupling for the probe for the fueling rig detaches, spraying fuel all over the place and lands on the pit box! James Pesek in the Mustang was supposed to assume the position, but Hardwick cut him off. No action taken on the Frank DePew and Ryan Norman incident. TCR cars in the lane now. Most of the Hyundai's are stacked together including the #27 car of the Tyler and Tyler show and the new championship winners, Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler, who have to back the car up.
Ryan Norman has to do likewise to avoid piling into teammate Harry Gottsacker! Jeepers creepers this is a stacked pit lane here at Road Atlanta! Two of the front running Hyundai's in a pickle in the pit lane. Some scuff marks on Norman's wheel on the right front I believe, and ooh, A.J. Muss runs into his front wheel. That incident for Bryan Herta Autosport is their worst nightmare, coming true right in front of our eyes! The marshals will be scrambling down there and we still have to settle the Grand Sport/GT4 series.
We see the fans having a good time watching the race today. One young fan is playing with a stuffed animal, and ooh! He's down, trying to get a hold of it. Well, little man, enjoy the sports car racing today. A fan, and maybe, a future driver right there, ladies and gentlemen. We can see Audi and Hyundai permeating the TCR field with the one lone Alfa Romeo in the fight. But as we look at the top ten in Grand Sport, it is a bevy of different brands at the sharp end. Mercedes AMG GT4, Audi R8 GT4, McLaren 570S GT4, Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, Toyota Supra GT4, Chevrolet Camar GT4.R, Ford Mustang GT4 and Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
The driver order in each class, top ten, looks like this. Kenny Murillo followed by Mike McCann, Sheena Monk, Atlanta's Wesley Slimp in the #9 Goldcrest Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, Luke Rumburg in the #6 Forbush Performance Toyota Supra he is sharing with Tom Long, Anton Dias Perera in the #14 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra, the #41 NTE Sport Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Chinese driver Kerong Li, (sharing the car with Jean Francois Brunot out of Atlanta, possibly an Atlanta based Frenchman), Ted Giovannis in the #64 TGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro he shares with Owen Trinkler. Spencer Gallagher in the Notlad Aston Martin, and James Pesek in the PF Racing Mustang.
The TCR top ten is Gavin Ernstone, Marco Cirone, Alex Rockwell (sharing with his brother Eric), aboard the #15 Rockwell Autosport Development Audi RS3 LMS TCR, with the DSG gearbox, Chris Miller, Tyler Gonzalez, Roy Block, A.J. Muss, Cliff Brown (from right here in Braselton, Georgia, aboard the #44 New German Performance Audi RS3 LMS TCR with the DSG automatic gearbox), sharing with Tristan Herbert. They are eighth in class, and followed by a couple Honda Civic's. Victor Gonzalez in the #88 VCMG Racing Honda Civic FK7 TCR sharing with Karl Wittmer, (so, a Puerto Rican driver and a Canadian driver), and in tenth is the #94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic FK7 TCR.
This is the car currently in the hands of Tyler Stone, sharing with Ryan Eversley. Perfect weather here in Georgia as we are soon to go back to green. We still have one more round of pit stops. Green flag! We are back to racing. Seven cars in this lead group elected not to pit. You'll see cars scything their way through the field like a hot knife through butter. We see a battle of the America muscle cars as Ted Giovanis in the Camaro is being hounded by James Pesek in the Mustang. Shades of the Trans Am days and the Penske Sunoco Chevrolet Camaro of Mark Donohue vs. the Bud Moore Ford Mustang Boss 302's of Parnelli Jones and George Follmer.
You can gain places rather easily off this restart. Kenny Murillo and his team elected to stay out. But they still will need both a full stop and a splash and a dash. The Aston Martin tries moving 'round the Mercedes. No dice. Then, what have we here? Screech! That's squealing tires as we see a spin there, look, for the #17 Audi RS3 TCR of Chris Miller. The #71 Rebel Rock Racing Camaro with Frank DePew still at the wheel of it, he nerfed Chris Miller out of the way. With front wheel drive, he could inch his way out of the gravel, but nope. We need a short yellow so the marshals can rescue him.
Frank DePew had no traction on the dirty side of the road, and he couldn't stop in time, and tipped Chris Miller into a turn on the whirligig. Miller will try to free himself from the clutches of the gravel trap as we are under yellow again. Has there been action? Oh yes. We've brought it so far and it's not over yet ladies and gentlemen. Miller was a lucky chap to get out of there without beaching it in the gravel. You could hear a safety worker yelling to him to stop, so they push him and get him back on the racing surface.
One of the Hyundai Veloster's is in the pit lane with heavy damage as the field circulates behind the safety car. Second Full Course Yellow of the day. What a gorgeous day it is today! The #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 has been saved by this yellow. Hardwick though had a better restart. He is ninth while Dillon Machavern is 15th as we go back to green. Kenny Murillo in the bronze/rust colored Mercedes leads the motor race. Murillo can make hay while the sun shines. In the middle of the pack, Ryan Hardwick aboard the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche Cayman is feeling the pressure from Hugh Plumb in the #46 TGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. Kenny Murillo has hot tires.
Murillo has only run a couple races in Michelin Pilot Challenge but he's won in a different championship, a few times in their GT4 class this year. He is running for his father's team and is an engineer. Kenny Murillo's father was a successful single seater racer in Formula Ford, Barber Dodge and the like, during the 1980s and '90s. James Pesek is monstering Anton Dias Perera right now and more cars want in on this little tussle. Aston Martin #23 has been penalized by the stewards for leaving the pit lane with equipment attached to the car.
You only have four laps to serve the penalty when it is handed out.. Out of turn ten, contact, and... auuugh! That was a massive wreck! Vinnie Barletta absolutely punches the tire barrier and destroys the front end of the second #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4! Oh my God! That was massive! Holy moly Martha! That was unreal. Huge speed screaming down the hill towards turn ten and he got loose and pasted the tire wall, hard! This car and team were third and now it is game over. They are done for the day. They could have helped the sister car for Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern. That was a massive accident!
Vinnie Barletta and Robby Foley won this race last year. Barletta should be OK, talking to the safety workers. A nice, normal conversation asking "are you OK?" Vin Barletta is out of the car under his own steam. Robby Foley won't get to drive. Alan Brynjolfson in the Aston Martin moved over on the inside and a brush just sent Barletta's car, heading for the moon! The tire bundles are banded together with rubber conveyor belt material and that truly absorbs the impact. A lot better than the old days when we just saw Armco barriers and hay bales.
That is a solid, savage impact. AMR safety team have renewed with IMSA for the next three years. You cannot say enough for the safety gear these drivers wear. Minimum drive time is met. But for Vinnie Barletta and company, it is game over, day and season, done. We shall be under yellow for an extended period of time for track cleanup with those tire bundles getting dispersed. So, the field once again works its way around Road Atlanta behind the safety car. Pit stop time for some of if not all of the remaining Grand Sport entries.
The Murillo Racing Mercedes is fueling, changing tires, and changing drivers. Eric Foss will take over the Mercedes. We also see tires, fuel, and a driver change at Wright Motorsports for the #16 Porsche Cayman and now, Jan Heylen, the Dutchman, takes over from Ryan Hardwick. The Turner Motorsports #95 is in, the sole remaining car for that team, in the race. Clean pit stops for most. #16 clear to go, released from the air jacks. Likewise for the Murillo Racing Mercedes, Eric Foss now at the controls. Frantic action in the lane as we see the wreckage of the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW still being cleaned up.
This is going to take a wee while, ladies and gentlemen. Might as well put on a cup of tea and just settle in and enjoy whatever amount of motor racing we will have left. Now we move on this lap, to TCR pit stops. The TCR cars come to the lane for service. Every one of the TCR cars is in. Gavin Ernstone will hand to Jon Morley, A.J. Muss to Mason Filippi, Victor Gonzalez will take over from Karl Wittmer. More cars are in now. This will be the run to home, to the end of the 2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge season.
The Alfa Romeo, the factory Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai's, and more, pit. One of the Hyundai Elantra's seems to be having some kind of mechanical trouble in the pit lane. The Hyundai that was in strife is now at the end of the pit lane but stopped. So, is this the #33 Gottsacker/Wilkins car? Or is it the #98 Norman/Chase entry? Never mind my suspicion. That Elantra was being held at the end of the pit lane by a marshal for a transgression of some kind. The track workers now have a front end loader putting the new tire bundles into place along the front straightaway under the bridge and the flag stand with the Michelin and Motul advertising signage.
In this shuffle behind the BMW safety car, the order has changed entirely in both classes. We now have Orey Fidani in the #13 AWA McLaren 570S GT4 in the lead of the motor race. Scott Andrews, the Australian, second in the #21 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4. In third place, the #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang driven by Chad McCumbee. Bill Auberlen in the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 is next, followed by the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 of Eric Foss. This is your top five. Six through ten, Matt Plumb in the first of the TGM Camaro GT4's #46, Stevan McAleer in the #23 Notlad By RS1 Aston Martin Vantage GT4. An identical Aston Martin for Volt Racing, #7 now in the hands of Trent Hindman. Spencer Pigot is ninth taking over the #3 Motorsports In Action McLaren 570S GT4 from Sheena Monk, and tenth place belongs to the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 of Jan Heylen.
In TCR, here is the order. Audi's run 1-2 with the #89 Twoth Autosport Sequential gearbox Audi of Marco Cirone leading, and the #44 DSG version for New German Performance in second spot, Cliff Brown at the wheel of it. Tyler Maxson is on the podium provisionally, in third aboard the #27 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster. He is followed immediately by the #5 KMW TMR Alfa Romeo of Tim Lewis Jr. Ryan Norman rounds out the top five in Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra #98. Sixth through tenth, it is Jon Morley in the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR, with a sequential gearbox.
Then comes Michael Lewis in the #77 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster. Mason Filippi next up in the identical car, #51 for Copeland Motorsports. Completing the top ten, the #94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic for Ryan Eversley and Stephen Simpson, the South African former WeatherTech Championship contender for Michael Johnson Racing in the Hyundai Veloster. So, there's your top ten places in each class as we hope to go back to green flag action here shortly. The safety crews continue cleaning up the wreckage. Kenny Murillo is actually filling in for regular driver Jeff Mosing who missed this race due to an ankle injury.
Bill Auberlen is back in the fight for the championship and has moved six places ahead of the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche and we see the championship turned around a bit. But, we have a full hour and a little bit more of the race still to go. Turner Motorsports have had tire issues here at Road Atlanta before and so they are checking the pressures to make sure that doesn't happen again. On fresh left side tires under Full Course Yellow, he can bring the pressures back up, so there won't be pinch that damages the sidewall on low pressure. Jan Heylen is responsible for winning his championship, trying his very hardest to chase down Bill Auberlen. Look out for Eric Foss, too.
Ryan Hardwick says that the car is running very well and they are trying to keep the #95 BMW behind them. They had a pit mishap and the tire strategy between the Porsche and the BMW are different. Ryan Hardwick is not in the points situation but a championship will mean the world to him. They've fought tooth and nail the whole season and the #16 team is very scrappy. Dillon Machavern says that the team at Turner Motorsports was pretty calm. The idea is this is just another race. Don't let your nerves get the best of you.
The wheel loader is still repairing the tire bundles after Vinny Barletta's enormous shunt. Scott Andrews aboard the #21 Toyota Supra GT4 for Riley Motorsports, takes a quick pit stop. We saw from the onboard camera and it was a quick in and out. A splash and a dash. Both Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra's are exiting from the pit lane along with the #13 AWA McLaren. Now we ride aboard with the erstwhile leader in Grand Sport, Chad McCumbee, in the #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4. Switching onboard cameras we also ride along briefly with Spencer Pigot in the #3 Motorsports In Action McLaren as the #85 Audi RS3 LMS TCR is in the lane. Back to the onboardds as we ride with Ryan Eversley in the #94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR.
Ryan Eversley gives a signal to the camera, or a wave. Not sure what that gesture was. Back to the Toyota Supra in the meantime as we continue under yellow. Tyler Maxson has cycled back to the lead in TCR while Bill Auberlen in GS and the overall has done the same. These repairs are complete at Road Atlanta on the front straightaway. Track maintenance does a great job. The rumble strips are back together and the grip will be OK. The Michelin tires will be able to bite on them. Patrick Wilmot, a local driver from Roswell, Georgia. Gino Manley is a track day driver who is getting a shot at racing.
AOA is the little team that could. The team is all volunteer. They blew a gearbox to bits on Thursday in qualifying and stayed at the track until 4AM on Friday morning to fix it. Now that's dedication because they probably only got a few hours of sleep in the pre-dawn before the race. Green flag! Everyone isnthrough as Eric Foss moves to the lead of the motor race past Auberlen. Nobody is more aggressive than Eric Foss. He read the restart perfectly. He knows this track and was a longtime racing instructor here at Road Atlanta as Jan Heylen is catching up to Bill Auberlen.
Replaying the restart, it was perfect for Foss, having the draft. Auberlen is thinking big picture. Don't do anyuthing silly. A couple of cars dive for the pit lane including the #7 Volt Aston Martin for an incident responsibility penalty. Points as they run with less than 50 minutes to go in the race has Dillon Machvern and Bill Auberlen now ahead of Jan Heylen by only 140 points. Auberlen has one car over him and Heylen. If Foss wins, Auberlen can finish behind Heylen and still win the title. Heylen is closing up though, so this is not over. Down and around to turns six and seven and a slight uphill to a downhill towards turn ten.
Heylen can see Auberlen up ahead. Heylen knows he can reach for that brass ring. He's almost got it. He can pass Auberlen to get to the lead but needs a buffer, a lapped car as a pick to keep Auberlen at bay. Heylen is told not to fight the #7 Aston Martin of Trent Hindman because Hindman has to hit the pit lane. Hindman and Heylen were teammates at Wright Motorsports in the Petit Le Mans which was the day after this race and you've read about that event already. This Michelin Pilot race we bring you now, took place on the Friday before the Petit Le Mans happened.
Hindman to the lane to serve his penalty. That message was relayed to Jan Heylen. The #7 has to regroup. The Plumb brothers aboard the #46 TGM Camaro are third and they've played the yellows to their strategy very well. That Camaro is a strong car, a championship winning team. They lost some weight on that car, struggling for torque and power. Heylen is telling Plumb to move over so he can get points and positions. Porsche are better on long runs on their tire balance and the BMW boys just don't have that. The TCR fight is right in our faces as we see Tyler Maxson leading Tim Lewis Jr., Michael Lewis (no relation), and Ryan Eversley. So, Hyundai, Alfa Romeo, Hyundai, Honda.
Maxson also ran IMSA Prototype Challenge here at Road Atlanta. Michael Lewis, the champion, passes. Maxson sees Lewis Jr. in his rearview mirror and goes, "oh no! It's deja vu all over again from 2020!" Lewis Jr. can put the icing on the cake before the awards ceremonies. Oh dear! Another massive crash! Karl Wittmer has stuffed the #88 VCMG Honda Civic into the tire barriers! Karl Wittmer is one of Kuno Wittmer's brothers. Karl though, is going nowhere fast as the radiator on that Honda is steaming, spewing water into the grass, giving it a good watering.
Hard to tell where he went off the road. We are still under green. It's go time! Bill Auberlen has caught Eric Foss, and for good reason, because he sees that blue Porsche of Jan Heylen looming large in his mirrors, his championship rival. Full Course Yellow, now. Full Course Yellow. The fourth FCY of the day. Another stroke of luck for Auberlen and Turner Motorsports. With these short stints, you feel desperate. We get another wave from Ryan Eversley. That's what we saw earlier, he waved to the camera to the TV audience.
So, the marshals are now there to retrieve that steaming Honda which is going nowhere except back to the paddock on a rollback truck. Karl Wittmer out of the car throwing his hands up to say "I can't believe this!" A marshal calls out to his team of workers, "the car is on fire! Put it out!" Speaking of that, we have had numerous "put it out!" moments, for the yellow flag here. Haven't noticed, but, it is true. We've had what, five "put it out!" moments in this race so far. Who says motor racing is boring? This isn't boring.
Everybody is now in the safety car crocodile, both GS and TCR alike. 2.54 miles, 12 turns, and wicked elevation change at 125 feel here at Road Atlanta. This is an old school circuit. Taylor Hagler is extremely happy to win a championship since she was a little girl and she has also been a showjumping champion on horses. Wow. She is the second female driver to win an IMSA championship along with Christina Nielsen. Taylor Hagler wants to race again next year in Michelin Pilot Challenge. She's also been racing GT3 cars in another championship that we've seen. It won't be long. Mark my words, Taylor Hagler, we could see her in the top level in the WeatherTech Championship before too long.
Michael Lewis was coached by Mark Wilkins at Bryan Herta Autosport. Now, Michael Lewis will be a mentor to Taylor Hagler. This is what Bryan Herta has done with his team. Congratulations, Taylor Hagler. Can Michael Lewis seal the deal and win? Green flag. Just over half an hour left in the season and we will see a battle to the end between Eric Foss and Bill Auberlen for the overall victory. Which cars will come up to speed? Tires are dirty. Jan Heylen defends from Matt Plumb. Pull the pin now. It's all on the line. Jan Heylen is tied with Billy Johnson in Michelin Pilot Challenge for the most wins all-time. He wants to be in sole possession of that record, and to be a champion.
We have only had 13 minutes of green flag racing in the last hour. Attack mode is all you can do. The BMW is faster getting up to speed. He will hope the BMW's tires become knackered. Go on fuel save, but the conundrum is the championship. It is all or nothing. Auberlen with a run down the hill on Foss. Can he move by? No. He is held off by the Mercedes man. Jan Heylen will be able to close up because the squabbling for the lead of the motor race. Auberlen had the draft and the power and with the ABS, Foss got by. Foss though is vulnerable.
In TCR, Tyler Maxson is now right on Michael Lewis' six as they have a lapped GT4 Audi ahead. That is the #41 NTE Sport entry, the Audi R8 GT4, Kerong Li and Jean Francois Brunot sharing the automobile. The Audi will have the straight line speed but the Hyundai's will be more nimble as Maxson applies the blowtorch to Lewis. Maxson has a Captain Cook but decides discretion is the better part of valor for now. Maxson has won a TCR championship in SRO competition, which is the other major TCR sanctioning series here in North America.
Jon Morley has the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 off the road and back on. Tim Lewis Jr. in the Alfa Romeo, he wants a piece of this. That is a super quick car! He wants the lead in TCR from Michael Lewis but Lewis defends in the middle of the road. Roy Block, co-driver, says the Alfa Romeo is great on the brakes and on straight line pace. They won earlier in the season at Road America back in August. Team Atlanta in their home race, Ryan Eversley is moving up to challenge. Eversley is also a TCR champion.
He wants to win here on the home turf. Todd Lamb, owner of Atlanta Speedwerks, they have had the yellows come their way. Many of these teams are building programs for 2022. Tim Lewis moves ahead. KohR Autosport came here to race and qualified on the pole but they elected not to start, even though they are showing their hand for 2022. Tim Lewis Jr. moves to the lead in TCR and the lead for Grand Sport/GT4 honors is still in flux. Eric Foss has it while Bill Auberlen and Jan Heylen want it. Auberlen runs off and back on. Foss runs to the very outside limits of the road too. Breaking the draft, here comes Heylen, and he can't get by. Foss and Auberlen put some daylight between themselves and the Dutchman.
Foss leads. Bill Auberlen and Jan Heylen are moving for the championship. Once again, HAuberlen wants by Foss. They touch! They're off the road! Turn ten. They're stuck and Jan Heylen says, see ya later daddy-o! I'm outta here! Foss is back on the road but Auberlen, is kicking up the dust from the red Georgia clay and he's stopped. His championship could very well be over! Heylen leads the motor race and should he stay clean for the next 26 minutes, he'll be the champ.
Will Turner and Don Salama, the whole Turner Motorsports team cannot believe their eyes! Eric Foss is in dire straits as well, look. The suspension on the back of that Mercedes is busted as he crabs his way into the lane. As long as #16 finishes this race, Jan Heylen is the sole champion in Grand Sport in Michelin Pilot Challenge for 2021. Auberlen and Machavern are too far back. There's no chance of doing it now, 180 points in-arrears with just 25 minutes left on the board. Auberlen is stuck. Auberlen had a head of steam and he and Foss lock horns.
You are racing with someone this doesn't matter to. Foss and Murillo want the win. Foss has nothing to lose. Auberlen pushed too far. Foss made an aggressive move through turn ten B. Winner takes all. Auberlen would love a redo on this. He will be kicking himself. Will Turner has made his way to the pit box for the Murillo Racing Team and he wants to confront Kenny Murillo and say, "what did you do? You took our championship chances away?" This is our fifth Full Course Yellow today at Road Atlanta with major championship implications. Wow.
We can see repairs going on to one of the cars, and that could be the Murillo car. The BMW is forlornly towed away. Game over. Championship over and out. #95 is running again, but it is all over. There's no chance of doing it now. The wounded #95 BMW M4 GT4 was rescued from outside turn 11. Down the hill into the braking zone, Foss does not want to give it up. At the apex, Auberlen cuts, and Foss cuts more aggressively and they lock horns. Was it time to turn right or did he turn back early to pitch Auberlen to the inside? Auberlen wants to make a statement, but is told by a pit marshal, "no. You move to your pit stall, mate."
You could tell Auberlen wanted to get out of the car and take a swing at somebody on the Murillo team. Green flag. Jan Heylen in the lead with less than 20 minutes to go in the season. Matt Plumb is tied with the most wins in Michelin Pilot history. Can TGM break through and can Matt Plumb break the tie? It is now Porsche, Chevy, Chevy. You have the Wright Motorsports Cayman vs. both of the TGM Chevrolet Camaro's. Owen Trinkler in the sister car has moved up to third past the McLaren #3 of Spencer Pigot. We can't quite give Jan Heylen the title yet.
But for sure he wanted to race with Bill Auberlen fair and square and now will not have that opportunity. We ride along in seventh place and watch the two Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra's. Scott Andrews being chased by teammate Pierre Kleinubing. Information to the pit lane. Incident between car #95 and #56, no further action. Racing deal. That's all. Hate to see it end this way. Heylen will win the title now by 200 points over Auberlen/Machavern and 300 points over the third placed duo of Pigot and Monk. Heylen can seal the deal, but Trinkler has caught Plumb. Trinkler came here to Road Atlanta to watch races as wee lad in a stroller and now he is racing against his team mate Matt Plumb. Trinkler drove with Hugh Plumb, Matt's brother, not too many years ago.
Will Turner says, and I quote "it is unfortunate the orange car got in the way. Clearly the BMW had the Mercedes covered and there was no reason for him to make it hard to get by. So many times cars race up the hill with no contact. Ultimately, he took us both out and there's no race for the championship. It's unfortunate. I'm disappointed but I love the competitiveness of the series, as anyone can win and it is exciting. We've won before and we can win again. Of course disappointed, but I've been there. I know this is racing and we'll be back."
Now, back into turn ten, Trinkler wants by Spencer Pigot. Wham! Trinkler slams the door on Pigot quite literally and this is what we just saw in the Auberlen and Foss incident. Trinkler is off the road and we see the #18 Mercedes AMG GT4 go off the road as well. That is the CB Motorsports car shared by Trenton Estep and Mark Kvamme. With 15 minutes left in the season, Scott Andrews in the #21 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra is charging through the field. Andrews, the Australian, is up to third. Wow!
What does Scott Andrews have left in the locker before this race is done and dusted? We'll see. Heylen in the lead, is pulling away. Andrew Davis and Kuno Wittmer in the McCann Racing Audi and the AWA McLaren are also in the thick of the battle. Meanwhile, Ryan Eversley is chasing after Tyler Maxson in another Honda vs. Hyundai battle in TCR. Toyota have shown their GT4 prowess elsewhere on American soil and now the Supra looks to be readyn to finish very successfully, maybe on the podium, here in IMSA and in Michelin Pilot Challenge, specifically. New driver ratings were recently announced and Scott Andrews has been upgraded to gold status.
Second in TCR and Tyler Maxson, takes it, from Michael Lewis. Hyundai are in good shape for the TCR manufacturer's cup. Audi could steal it away, but we don't see any Audi's in the TCR top five. Tristan Herbert is the closest Audi in sixth spot in the #44 car for New German Performance. A spot of bother now for the second Toyota, the #14 Supra in the hands of Pierre Kleinubing. Over the years, Pierre Kleinubing won a bunch of titles in front wheel drive touring cars. He's shortened the Supra up a good deal, having a clatter over the curbs and pounding the wall on the inside.
He ran over the big bump in turn five and has gone into the tires, making a pig's breakfast out of that Supra. Game over. He had contact with the #64 TGM Camaro of Owen Trinkler which is now headed for the lane. Owen Trinkler's sons are now winning in go karting and they've been bugging their old dad to get a win and he still needs one. Ryan Eversley uses the curbs, fighting the car. Back to power with front wheel drive, the car wants to understeer as you turn and accelerate simultaneously. The car is set up nicely to rotate on corner entry, and in rotation off the corner it works, but the car feels very nervous to an amateur driver.
It s hard for the car setup to work. Confidence in high speed corner entry and trust the car, that's something a lot fo drivers have to do. In GS, would be champion Jan Heylen leads the motor race with just eight and a half minutes remaining in the season. Jan Heylen and Ryan Hardwick will soon take home the title but they have Scott Andrews coming in a hurry. The Bill Auberlen driven BMW has of course crashed out. There was a 30 point gap coming into this race, but now, Heylen needs to focus forward. Just another race. Don't worry about the championship. Just drive the car the way you drive it. As soon as you change your approach, you get your mind into a wird spot. Heylen needs to give it up even though Andrews is really applying the blowtorch.
It's too tight to risk it. Wright Motorsports have won this year and had podiums. They've been amazingly consistent. Now we see Spencer Pigot approach the pit lane in the #3 MIA McLaren. They haver a left front tire going down. They were fifth in the points hoping to move up but now that chance has gone. It is on now in TCR as Ryan Eversley is pressurizing Michael Lewis. Lewis' tires are knackered and Ryan Eversley and Parker Chase are coming. Jan Heylen and Ryan Hardwick have been digging for this championship to lock this up. But the trouble is that if Jan Heylen went out, Auberlen could still be champion.
Don't play tight margins. Heylen is focusing but Andrews is right on his six. This is Andrews' first start in Michelin Pilot at Road Atlanta but has had more experience in a Prototype Challenge car. Heylen and Andrews have not raced together that much. We are just about at the two minute warning as the TCR battle rages. Tyler Maxson wants a win in TCR and he is doing everything he can to get it, as the Hyundai chases down the Alfa Romeo. Two laps to go. Andrews is closing in. Heylen can roll speed through the first turn. The Toyota does not have the straightaway speed that the Porsche does. Andrews' tires are giving out. This will be the final lap of the motor race. Lewis Jr. kind of looks like Dale Earnhardt with the mustache and the sunglasses.
Jan Heylen, elbows out, with one lap to go. White flag. Heylen has his mirrors full of Andrews in the Toyota Supra. Lrt him run and make the decision. The torque and the gear ratio for the Toyota is in it's sweet spot. Heylen runs wide. Andrews is still pushing. This is the next to the last shot. Where do you send it? He plays it clean. He doesn't want to risk it, flashing the lights to let him know he's there. The Porsche has the straightaway speed advantage. Heylen withstands the pressure. Heylen wins the motor race and the championship!
Wow! Heylen was married to his wife Margaret, marrying into the Petty family. In TCR, Tim Lewis Jr. leads but the battle is on for second. Contact between Tyler Maxson and Michael Lewis! Michael Lewis loses the spot! Here comes Ryan Eversley in the Honda! Eversley gets second as Tim Lewis Jr. and Roy Block win the race for Alfa Romeo in TCR! What a finish! 0.162 seconds, the margin of victory between Jan Heylen and Scott Andrews. Maxson sent it but went off into the weeds. Lewis was like, be my guest, chaps, and I will whistle off to the winner's circle. A win and a championship for Wright Motorsports and Porsche!
Overall/Grand Sport: #16 Heylen/Hardwick Wright Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport
TCR: #5 Lewis Jr./Block KMW Motorpsorts with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR
Your 2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge champions:
Overall/Grand Sport: #16 Jan Heylen Wright Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport
TCR: #77 Hagler/Lewis Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster N TCR
Jan Heylen is so thankful to his team and to Porsche. They didn't have to win, but they knew they wanted to. Ryan Hardwick says the idea is to put yourself in the right position to win, and Wright Motorsports have done so. Consistency wins titles. Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis have won the championship in TCR. Congratulations to them and to Bryan Herta Autosport! Consistency was the key for Bryan Herta Autosport and they've done it! There was a tie between the #7 Hindman/Brynjolfson Aston Martin and the #96 Barletta/Foley BMW for third in points. How will that tiebraker go? We'll find out. Everyone is excited for 2022 and we will see you next year for the Michelin Pilot Challenge. So long, everybody, from Road Atlanta.
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