Virginia International Raceway is the setting for the latest round of Michelin Pilot Challenge, the penultimate event of the 2021 season for MPC. Good to have your company for this motor race. The cars are rolling on their formation lap. 3 and 1/4 miles around this 17-turn circuit. A gorgeous track that reflects the country roads. Watch for turn one and turn 12 at the south end. The Oak Tree corner always provides action, and we mourn the passing of that old oak tree that once stood there. The Rollercoaster will be another segment of the track to keep an eye on. On the pole position, the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. Qualifying for this race was competitive as always.
Turner Motorsports has pole with Dillon Machavern. Bill Auberlen won this race with Robby Foley in 2020. Auberlen and Machavern lead the points over their teammates Vinny Barletta and Robby Foley. Jan Heylen in the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, will also be a major factor in this motor race. As far as TCR is concerned, Bryan Herta Autosport has Harry Gottsacker on pole position, but we must look for many cars on the road. We also have a new car and a new team on the Michelin Pilot grid for today's race, (a race that took place, actually, in October). Welcome back to the championship, Britt Casey Jr., the 2018 MPC TCR champion, sharing the #44 New German Performance Audi RS3 LMS TCR DSG. Now, that's a mouthful of letters.
Britt Casey Jr. will be sharing the car with Tristan Herbert. Casey Jr. has been racing in Mazda MX-5 Cup lately. This is Tristan Herbert's return. He is the team manager for Audi Sport Customer Racing. 70 degrees ambient temperature and 75 degreess track temperature as we have two hours on the board. The lights are out atop the Toyota Supra safety car. Mercedes on pole with Murillo Racing, the #56 bronze colored Mercedes AMG GT4 in the hands of Kenny Murillo and Eric Foss. Aston Martin and McLaren are next up.
Aston Martin and Porsche Cayman on row three and on the fourth row we have a Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R and another AMG Mercedes GT4. The safety car pulls away from the field and let's hope we go green for the next two hours. The Sunday main event for Michelin Pilot Challenge. Dillon Machavern brings the field down. Note the split start. The gap between the GT4 and TCR cars. Green flag! Punch it! This motor race is underway! Bibendum, the Michelin man waves the flag. Alan Brynjolfsson is looking racy already! Into the lead goes Dillon Machavern.
Brynjolfson hanging tough on the outside, look, as we see the start for the TCR cars. Side by side stuff between two of the Hyundai's. It's Harry Gottsacker vs. Tyler Gonzalez from the drop of the green. Tristan Herbert is going to poke his nose in early as well, look. Nope. My apologies, as he has decided discretion is the better part of valor for the time being. Phew! We have ourselves a clean start, mate. Splitting the field is a smart idea. Both fields get away well. 2017 MPC champion Dillon Machavern leads as Alan Brynjolfson scraps with the other Aston Martin and the lone McLaren in the field. Patrick Gallagher is moving in.
Gallagher and Notlad Racing with RS1, they are running selected events in Pilot Challenge this year. Dillon Machavern, going back to 2017, he won a title with RS1 that year, driving a Porsche Cayman. Gallagher third right on the boot lid of Kenny Murillo, son of team boss Ken Murillo who himself is a former racing driver. Murillo wants to go for it. Orey Fidani, Hugh Plumb, they are fifth and sixth. Tyler Gonzalez leads TCR over Tristan Herbert, Harry Gottsacker, and Brian Henderson. So, a good mix of cars in TCR with Hyundai, Audi, another Hyundai, and a Honda. There is a Veloster and an Elantra, both, in the mix in TCR early doors.
Through Oak Tree again ahd the top four in GS break away from the rest of the field as Orey Fidani is really pressing on, sharing the car with Kuno Wittmer, another former champion in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Now, we see the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra with a problem, I think. This is the car that in qualifying caused a red flag and therefore the lap times were deleted entirely and it didn't set an official time and had to start caboose on the field in TCR. Parker Chase will have to dig hard. They had to retrieve the bonnet off a show car and paint it.
Look at Gallagher! He is right on Murillo's six as the two orange GT4 cars are scrapping hard. Through The Snake they go. Rory van der Steur also has one of the Hyundai's in the fight in TCR too. Ditto for Michael Johnson. So, #98 is in the lane and they may have engine issues. The Hyundai Elantra is a brand-new car and racing around the world. Spares are at a premium. Not only do they have this program in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, they also are racing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, so spares are at a premium and need to be allocated accordingly. There's a power issue and an issue with a turbo hose on that car.
Scrambling to get the turbo hose reconnected before they go a lap down. No wonder that motor is panting and gasping. Murillo in the cinnamon colored Mercedes is still harrying Machavern. Whoops! Off the road goes the #17 Audi RS3! Yikes! That's the Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor driven Audi RS3 LMS with the sequential gearbox driven by Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller for JDC-Miller Motorsports. More Audi trouble too, look, for the #61 Road Shagger Racing RS3 of Jon Morley and Gavin Ernstone. Ernstone at the controls right now.
We now see the #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4. James Pesek weaves that car back and forth which tells me he has been off the road someplace and has clag all over his tires. Wow! Not only that. Poor old Pesek has lost the rear bumper and the diffuser on that Mustang. So that automobile will be a handful for a wee while. VIR is an aero dependent circuit and GT4 and TCR cars are aerodynamically dependent just as the GT and prototype cars are that we see in the WeatherTech Championship. What a shame too for Road Shagger as the #61 Audi is going behind the wall. Will they get that car back into the motor race?
October 10th, the day this race took place, was Jon Morley's birthday. Not the birthday gift he wanted. According to Gavin Ernstone, if they haven't had bad luck, they've had no luck at all. We are barely ten minutes into the race. Dillon Machavern in the blue and yellow BMW M4 GT4 for Turner Motorsports continues to lead the copper-colored Mercedes of Kenny Murillo, followed by Patrick Gallagher. Tyler Gonzalez has a comfortable gap in TCR. We see Patrick Gallagher in third, fastest last time around. He also recently had a birthday. James Pesek still has damage to the pink Mustang with blue stripes and he has been off the road on the exit of oak tree corner. That's how the damage occurred. So, that answers the burning question at least for now, ladies and gentlemen.
He went for a bunny hop and ripped the rear end off of the car. There's side by side stuff in TCR as Brian Henderson is really pushing hard indeed. He is well inside the top ten in TCR. There was a piece of exhaust pipe that came off the #40 Mustang. The points battle is tight. Now, since yours truly was late to the party for this motor race, you will have to read about this one and then double back and read my race report about the finale at Road Atlanta to find out what went on there if you didn't see it because that was a wild event.
Michael Johnson in the #54 sharing with Stephen Simpson in the Michael Johnson Racing Hyundai Veloster, he has now moved to fourth in class in TCR. We can see Hyundai Elantra #98 is back on track, but it seems that the #61 Audi will be headed for the house because there's white smoke puking out of the engine. Game over. So, Tyler Gonzalez leads TCR in the white Hyundai with the blue and orange trim accents on it. He is still holding Tristan Herbert at bay. He leads by a second and a half and we have only been racing now for 14 minutes. Michael Johnson is moving in on the tail end runners in GT4 including applying the blowtorch to the #14 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra. It is an all-Costa Rican lineup in that car this weekend as Javier Quiros is sharing with Milo Valverde.
The Hyundai handles well in the twisty sections of the road. Parker Chase is back in pit lane and the bonnet is up once again. Maybe that pipe dislodged itself again. It is true. The mechanic is fettling the hose clamp. They've splashed some fuel into the tank as well. They want to elongate the stint and pray for a Full Course Yellow. The top four overall and in GS are still together. Roy Block in the #5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta has been off the pace recently. This car has been a rocket when it has been on form. They finally broke through and won at Road America back in August.
Roy Block remains on the lead lap and the turbo repairs for #98 are likely to be the undoing of that car. Oh dear! Off the road at Oak Tree corner is Nate Vincent at the wheel of the #11 FCP Euro Mercedes AMG GT4! He has crunched the right rear corner of that automobile, whacking it into the barriers! Hello, tires! That was the car 15th in class in GS. Well, well, well. The leading quartet are still racing hammer and tongs and it's quality action. Patrick Gallagher is absolutely being monstered by Alan Brynjolfsson at the moment. The battle is on between two Aston Martin's.
Gallagher has been doing everything possiuble to get past Kenny Murillo. He has Alan Brynjolfsson right on his gearbox. Hugh Plumb has passed Orey Fidani but is losing time to the frontrunning quartet. Two hours around Virginia International Raceway, on full throttle for a lot of the time, might yield a two-stop race. The minimum drive time is 45 minutes leaving an hour and 15 minutes for the second driver. TCR are marginal on one stop and the GS cars probably will be expecting two stops. Full Course Yellows will change things. Pit stop time now for the Toyota Supra, the #21 car. Anton Dias Perera and Scott Andrews sharing this automobile.
They are pitting early, outside the window as the #51 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster is in the lane, A.J. Muss at the controls, former professional snowboarder. Dillon Machavery is still leading this race ahead of Kenny Murillo. We've seen Alan Brynjolfsson upping his game before handing the Aston Martin Vantage to Trent Hindman. Brynjolfsson is pulling ahead of Matt Plumb. We are also keeping an eye on the back half of the top ten. So, that is Hugh Plumb rounding out the top five. Six through ten then are Trent Hindman, Orey Fidani, Sheena Monk, Mike McCann and Tim Probert.
James Pesek and Frank DePew are next in the serial. Robin Liddell, veteran sports car driver, he will take over from DePew later on. Dillon Machavern continues to be hounded by both Kelly Murillo and Patrick Gallagher. Kenny Murillo is filling in for Jeff Mosing this weekend. Murillo has been driving for his dad in other sports car racing championships and it is his sixth IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge start. The leading trio is now Machavern, Murillo, and Gallagher. Brynjolfson is being left behind just a bit. VIR is such a historic circuit.
The battle is on in TCR through the Hog Pen. Tristan Herbert has gone around Tyler Gonzalez using the slower GS cars to his advantage. Gonzalez is doing everything he possible can to get by the Audi. The GS cars definitely have more power as Nate Vincent is trying to catch both Javier Quiros in the Toyota Supra and the #09 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4, being shared by Rob Ecklin and Ramin Abdolvahabi. Brian Henderson has a lot of company in the TCR field. Great to see TCR cars running in IMSA.
Hyundai have now gone through three different body styles with the I30, Veloster, and Elantra. This is the fourth year of TCR in IMSA. Now, we will also see a new Audi. TCR cars are formidable opponents to the GT4 machines. We have an hour and a half to go, so, half an hour complete already. Hyundai, Honda, Audi, and Alfa Romeo have all won in TCR this year, as Kenny Murillo wants by Patrick Gallagher. Oh dear! The #51 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai of A.J. Muss has walloped the tires. Now then, he has damage on the right side.
Wait a minute. He is back on track now, so he will be fine and get to the lane. Now then, we still have three GS cars ahead of these three TCR's. The Grand Sport cars will pull ahead with the extra legs down the straightaway, but when they reach the Rollercoaster, they are going to be backed up into this battle for the TCR overall lead and poor old Tristan Herbert is sure to get balked like there's no tomorrow. Tyler Gonzalez will be right on Herbert's six. The lead battle continues. We have 21 GS cars in the field and we've got about 16 TCR's if I am right. We've got a total of 34 cars in the field. Frank DePew is really running well in GS, chasing Orey Fidani.
Patrick Gallagher has moved to second breaching Kenny Murillo's defense. Dillon Machavern leads the motor race outright. Turner, Notlad, Murillo, and Volt Racing. That's the top four. They are followed by Team TGM with Hugh Plumb at the wheel of the Camaro #46. He may be holding his cards close to his chest for now until we get too the sharp end of the motor race before the end. Brian Henderson and Victor Gonzalez are also scrapping in TCR. Chris Miller is also coming in a hurry. We have the top six TCR cars covered by five seconds at least. Wow. Gottsacker is really pressing on hard.
Brian Henderson has moved around Victor Gonzalez. OK. This is a great TCR battle, only 36 minutes on the board. But we will see pit stops shortly. Hello, once again, everyone. Good to have your company for this two-hour race. Kenny Murillo has moved past Patrick Gallagher once more. The two orange/bronze cars battle each other. We still have this sensational ding dong scrap in TCR. Now, will they go three-wide to the top of the hill? Wait. Don't suggest it, mate. You just know they'll try it. Victor Gonzalez in Honda #88 is moving up. Whoops. Spin there by the #64 TGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro. That is Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler. Whoever is driving, he got behind in his steering into Oak Tree corner, and just spun all by his lonesome. No assistance.
Ted Giovannis did spin. Now then, back to the lead. Ding, ding, ding. Round three of this boxing match between Murillo and Gallagher! This is a heavyweight prize fight. To quote Michael Buffer, "let's get ready to rumble!" Meanwhile, poor old Brynjolfsson is losing time to these two blokes. Brian Henderson tussling with Harry Gottsacker. Honda and Hyundai. That accordion will come bac together in TCR. Just wait. Meanwhile, it is Gallagher and Murillo again. Brave and respectful racing. Machavern in the lane along with Murillo, with 40 minutes on the board. Full Course Yellow expected. Eric Foss is next into car #56.
Bill Auberlen takes over the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW as we have a Full Course Yellow on the speedway, look. Michael McCann is off the road aboard the #8 McCann Racing Audi R8 GT4 that he is sharing with Andrew Davis. Alan Brynjolfsson hands the Volt Racing Aston to Trent Hindman while at Wright Motorsports, it is time for Jan Heylen to take over from Ryan Hardwick. Will we see a Jan Heylen and Bill Auberlen scrap for the second portion of this motor race? Fans are crossing their fingers that will indeed happen.
Orey Fidani is in the lane and Kuno Wittmer will take over the #13 AWA McLaren. These are five lug wheels, so that is the vroom, vroom, vroom you hear from the rattle guns. One of the Toyota Supra's is in the lane and the TCR battle is still hot and heavy, look. Patrick Gallagher now pitting the #23 Aston Martin for Notlad Racing by RS1. Stevan McAleer is into the car. McAleer has not run well here. But he wants to go for it. Will McAleer have the good luck he wants? Matt Plumb will take over from Hugh Plumb in the #46 TGM Camaro and Spencer Pigot will take over the #3 MIA McLaren from Sheena Monk. Also, the #93 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 GT4 is into the pit lane. Mark Siegel done with his stint and he will hand over to Tyler McQuarrie.
Welcome back, Tyler. Now, we have a shemozzle up at Oak ree and a TCR car has nosed into the Armco. Victor Gonzalez may be the victim claimed by the skid pan. But he is now back in the race. So, no harm, no foul there. Murillo Racing has gotten Eric Foss out ahead of Bill Auberlen. Victor Gonzalez was indeed off the road and he has dropped down behind the #77 Hyundai in the hands of Taylor Hagler. Check that. Brian Henderson in the #84 is now in the lead of TCR while Chad McCumbee is taking over the #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang. Tim Probert hands over the sister #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 to Brent Mosing.
Brian Henderson now in the lead, and Ryan Eversley is going to take that car over. Eversley has a great track record here at VIR. The TCR battle is right on the money while we see Brian Henderson now leading Tristan Herbert who has moved back up to second spot. Harry Gottsacker is hanging in there, too while Tyler Gonzalez and Chris Miller are close behind. Frank Depew is now the race leader over Eric Foss. He will hand that car over to Robin Liddell. Rebel Rock Racing are 20 seconds in the lead. Frank DePew does owe us a pit stop, but it looks like they are clearing off to try and get past those who are still in need of a pit stop.
Tristan Herbert drops a wheel onto the grass. The gap is at 1.4 seconds now. Stevan McAleer has dropped behind. No. Wait. Trent Hindman has truned a fast lap. Pits closed and the yellow is out. Full Course Yellow. Now, the #8 Michael McCann Audi has been off the road. We have debris though at the oak tree corner. The Audi is behind the tire barriers at turn three and they have to recover that car out of turn three which has been sitting there for a good ten minutes. Maybe the marshals let people pit. The pits will be open soon for a handover to Robin Liddell so Frank DePew can finish his stint. Liddell will be on the lead lap but at the tail end of the pack.
Mike McCann is now out of the #8 Audi. We will have another lap still before the pit lane is opened up. There's a huge gap before the Brent Mosing Mercedes in 20th place. That is the #65 car. Pit lane still has to open up. We'll have a leisurely drive to the finish. Or at least that is what is hoped. What a shame for Michael McCann and Andrew Davis. They're sixth in points and have had five top ten's this year. What a shame that they are headed for the house. Game over today. Great work by the AMR safety team and the volunteers, the volunteer marshals, medical staff, checking tickets, parking cars. Volunteers are a huge part of our sport. Thank you!
One lap before the pits open. So, Rebel Rock Racing might just be in the pound seats. Does everybody hit the lane at the same time? It's very possible. If there is another Full Course Yellow, everyone can get to the end on fuel. A splash and dash will be the only thing they need. For TCR, we'll see wholesale pit stops. So, the plot thickens indeed. With Oak Tree corner, it is a really difficult entry into the turn, over the top of turn ten, hit the compression, hit a rise, and brake and turn at the same time. If you miss that by a couple feet, you are going for a ride on the grass. Turns ten and eleven are calamity corner here at VIR.
We haven't seen any pit stops yet from the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Camaro or the #11 FCP Euro Mercedes AMG GT4. The #09 Automatic Racing Aston Martin and the #64 Team TGM Camaro also have to pit. The run to the flag will be 57 minutes. So, the pits are open for GS. Frank DePew is the first driver behind the safety car who can pit. Who will come in. DePew is probably already on the pit lane speed limiter. The Toyota Supra's are going to get their laps back. Murillo Racing is also in. Robin Liddell will take over the Camaro. Splash and dash for the #56 car and we also see Wright Motorsports, along with Jan Heylen driving, doing a splash and dash.
Who else is in? Nate Vincent is in for full service and Matt Plumb in the lane for a splash and dash. Kuno Wittmer and Chad McCumbee pit. Eric Foss and Jan Heylen emerge 1-2. Matt Plumb now third and so these three are going to be fuel saving to the end. One hour to go. We are haflway through this race now. Lots of wheelspin from Robin Liddell in the Camaro. That pit stall was used by the #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini in the WeatherTech Championship event yesterday. Now, there was lots of wheelspin before any forward motion, in both cases, for each car. So is that portion of the pit lane greasy?
It is the first box after the break in the pit lane. Weird stuff. We are going to head back to green very shortly. Maybe a couple of these teams missed the boat here. What will we see before this race ends? Turner Motorsports strategist Don Salama makes things work, himself, a former driver. So, will we see the championship leaders going for it or just cruising to the finish? The pits are now open this lap for the TCR cars and that will be a mad scramble too. Bill Auberlen, Stevan McAleer, Trent Hindman, Spencer Pigot, Brent Mosing, and Robby Foley all stayed out and so did Tyler McQuarrie. TCR cars in the lane for their sole pit stop.
From the lead, the Atlanta Speedwerks Honda, Ryan Eversley into the car. Tyler Maxson is into the Hyundai while the Audi is now in the hands of Britt Casey Jr. Mikey Taylor is into the #17 JDC-Miller Audi and Mark Wilkins is now in the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra. The TCR boys and girls will all go to the end of the motor race. The rear tires on a front wheel drive car can sometimes just be there to keep the exhaust from dragging on the ground. But that isn't really true. Two tires at Copeland Motorsports Hyundai and two tires for Honda it appears.
We have another retirement and it had to be the #51 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai. Game over for A.J. Muss and Mason Filippi? Well, it isn't game over. They'll keep fighting. Keep soldiering on. Mason Filippi should be in the car now as A.J. Muss has very likely completed his stint, has the former snowboarder. More takers for the pit lane and those are the #7 Volt Racing Aston Martin and the #64 TGM Camaro. The Automatic Racing Aston #09 is also in. Rob Ecklund at the wheel of it. He is trying to get a lap back. Owen Trinkler is now into the #64 Camaro which drops off the air jacks while the tire is being changed.
The #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda only took front tires. The top three is Auberlen, McAleer, and Pigot. Bill Auberlen and Stevan McAleer are fine on fuel. Not so for Spencer Pigot. He will need a splash and dash as we see the #21 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4 in the lane. This is the car of Scott Andrews and Anton Dias Perera. They are working on getting their laps back and the sister car is in as well, the Javier Quiros and Milo Valverde car. Trent Hindman did set fastest lap of the race so far. So, these pit stops will put the cat among the pigeons indeed.
Just as a point of order Mr. Chairman, Robin Liddell is fueled to the end. #71 is 11th, 11 seconds off the lead as we go back to green. Here's Stevan McAller pressing Bill Auberlen. Oh boy. Spencer Pigot is keeping a watching brief. Brent Mosing next up in fourth spot. Four brands in the top four. We also have Robby Foley and Tyler McQuarrie, with 50 minutes to go, also wanting a look in. This is going to be a barnburner to the end. Trent Hindman zoomed around and caught up to the tail end of the pack. So, he will be fine on fuel or so it seems. Bill Auberlen has been in the car for 30 minutes. Two of the laps he's clocked have been at racing speed. Still 48 minutes left on the board.
Auberlen is a second and a half up on McAleer and whistling off into the distance. In TCR, meantime, the scrap is steaming along at full bore. Hyundai, Honda, Audi, Hyundai. We have both a Veloster and an Elantra in this spicy little battle. Tyler Maxson vs. Ryan Eversley vs. Mikey Taylor vs. Mark Wilkins. Tyler Maxson leads the motor race in TCR. Taylor and company had a problem early on in the game. But he is right back into the fight now, look. Poor old Brit Casey in the #44 New German Performance Audi was the meat in the sandwich and he absolutely got freight trained and is nowhere to be found right now.
Yikes! Some argy bargy there, dodge 'em cars stuff, between Dennis Dupont and Stephen Simpson. Wow. Two Hyundai Veloster's lean on each other. Britt Casey Jr. is now coming into the picture as well. He has graduated college with a marketing degree but is a race driving instructor as well. Hello, tap, tap, tap. Coming through. Mikey Taylor passes Tyler Gonzalez and he bunny hops over the grass once more, look. Maxson gets dropped like a rock as well. Taylor is pushing hard. He and his team could have won this year, and look to rebound after winning the season opener at Daytona. The #95 BMW M4 GT4 is in the lane for a splash and dash.
They miscalculated the fuel. That was a considerable fill. 43 seconds pit lane time. Bill Auberlen turned up to full rich? Yes please! Mikey Taylor is neck and neck now with Ryan Eversley. They head to turn 14 and Taylor slams the door in Eversley's face. If you are trackside and bought a seat, you will need to only use the edge. This is getting spicy. Once again, it is true. A great Sunday afternoon of racing as we head toward 3:30 P.M. We still have 40+ minutes to go to see who is going to win the Virginia is for Lovers Grand Prix.
We've had a boatload of action this whole weekend. Spencer Pigot wants by Stevan McAleer. This is the scrap for the lead of the motor race. McAleer is flying and so is Pigot. No one is fuel saving now. Turner Motorsports have made their minds up that they can't get there even with a safety car. Burn off the petrol. Use it all up. In TCR, through turn one, the battle rages. Spencer Pigot is really pushing hard. He has passed by Stevan McAleer for the lead, into Hog Pen and here comes Robby Foley. Into the lane comes the leading Turner Motorsports BMW. Wow. They are going to drop like a stone. Many cars have already pitted under the Full Course Yellow earlier.
Will it be taco night for Turner Motorsports or will they be ordering a different meal tonight? Spencer Pigot in his first season in Michelin Pilot Challenge, has uncorked his fastest lap of this race at 1:54.3. Pigot, McAleer and McQuarrie did not pit. We know Pigot short fueled on his last stop. We must doff our hats to Turner Motorsports for very close pit stops. Race Control has assigned Mikey Taylor an incident responsibility warning. Be careful out there. Use your head. The two Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra's are at the taile end of the lead lap or fully a lap down now.
Scott Andrews and Milo Valverde are still pushing. Bill Auberlen has moved past Dennis Dupont and Brit Casey. He is now working his way by both Mikey Taylor and Ryan Eversley. He is up to Mark Wlkins and actually still has Eversley and Taylor to work with. The margin is nothing now between Spencer Pigot and Stevan McAleer. McAleer is coming in a hurry., Bill Auberlen still has fastest lap in GS, and I think Trent Hindman is even closer. Auberlen will need a Full Course Yellow to get back into the game.
Ditto for his team mate Robby Foley. Full Course Yellow! Manna from heaven for Turner Motorsports as the #88 VCMG Honda TCR car is in a spot of bother once more, look. Karl Wittmer at the controls and he is off the road at the exit of turn one. The field is going to tighten up. We haven't had 15 minutes since the last Full Course Yellow. Karl Wittmer has pulled off as the engine in that Honda has gone bang. This is a Full Course Yellow and not a short one. A loose connector on the steering wheel for Alfa Romeo was what Roy Block dealt with in his stint and now Tim Lewis Jr. is booking it to try and get Alfa Romeo a good finish.
Spencer Pigot did pit and Stevan McAleer stayed out. Eric Foss in the lane doing one new Michelin tire after fuel. Four tires and fuel for Spencer Pigot now too with less than a half an hour to go. Brent Mosing was also in in the sister Murillo Racing Mercedes and the #56 car has tire trouble on the pit stop! Deary me! This is unreal. The hub of the Murillo Racing Mercedes is broken. The wheel nut went all the way through the wheel and fastened it's way onto the hub, so the stud has to be stripped. Murillo Racing will be heartbroken if they can't get back into contention.
The #88 VCMG Honda is officially retired as Dennis Dupont is in the lane in the #19 Hyundai Veloster for tires and fuel. Mikey Taylor also stayed out. This will be fun to watch to the end. The sun is shining and the track temperature is up to 32 degrees Celsius. Mark Siegel and Tyler McQuarrie have both been running well in the #93 CarBahn Audi. Jan Heylen is also a contender and so is Chad McCumbee, a former Street Tuner champion. Robin Liddell and Trent Hindman are up at the sharp end too. Get ready for a wild finish. We haven't had much green flag racing this stint.
McAleer and McQuarrie are pressing each other and here comes Chad McCumbee as well. McAleer, McQuarrie, & McCumbee. Sounds like an accounting firm. Or maybe a law firm. Jan Heylen has now ducked his way into third spot. This is the lightweight, superlegerra Ford Mustang that lost it's rear diffuser and exhaust. Robin Liddell is pressing as well moving past McCumbee, clean as a whistle. Here comes Trent Hindman as well. Robin Liddell just forged his way through there. PF Racing has the only Ford Mustang in the field and we'd love to see more of them. So, Jan Heylen has come to second. Robin Liddell moving in on Tyler McQuarrie.
Through The Snake under blue skies and puffy white clouds. It is now 77 degrees Fahrenheit track temperature with 20 minutes left. We are glad to finally see the sun. Bill Auberlen has indeed set fastest lap of the motor race. Oh dear! Off the road at the Oak Tree corner, is the #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda in TCR! That's Ryan Eversley who has nosed it into the tires! He was trying to find reverse and finally has. Now he needs to get back to first gear and maybe the gearbox is busted. A small error. Slide wide, and, crunch! It's a really precise entry into Oak Tree. There's nothing he could do.
Trenton Estep in the #18 CB Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, taking over from Mark Kvamme. Trenton Estep is really proving himself and running with the big dogs. McAleer and McQuarrie have less fuel while Trent Hindman is the one best positioned on fuel mileage, cutting the margins quite fine with less than 20 minutes to go. Will some of these drivers make it on fuel? McAleer defends into turn one over Heylen, holding on by the skin of his teeth. The #16 Porsche Cayman team for Wright Motorsports, Heylen is being told to push. A bad day for Riley Motorsports and Toyota, now behind the wall. CB Motorsports were here at the track until 1AM after a huge off in qualifying and/or practice to repair it. Today's race shows a major points swing.
Again, remember, this race was before the finale at Road Atlanta which we've already spoken of. Bill Auberlen is making hay while the sun shines. McAleer leads, barely, from Jan Heylen. McAleer uncorks a 1:54.398 compared to 1:54.5 for Heylen while Tyler McQuarries does a 1:54.7. Liddell is pushing hard. He is the shark smelling blood in the water. But these minnows ahead are swimming away. 14 minutes on the board will give us nine or ten laps. This event is not over yet. Hindman wants the outside of McAleer. No way. The top five separated by nothing. Trenton Estep is still trying to get back on terms with the rest of the field.
Hindman wants to do the over/under. Liddell does likewise to pass Tyler McQuarrie or try to. Auberlen is still in this fight too. We've had an incredible race here at Virginia International Raceway. Auberlen's BMW is really loose through Oak Tree, backing the car into the turn, motorcycle style. Estep has been passed by Auberlen! Trent Hindman is next on his radar. Jan Heylen has gone to the lead passing Stevan McAleer and Robin Liddell has to pull the pin now. Jan Heylen is too fast. He might just be able to keep the car out front.
Heylen and Hardwick are looking for the second race win in succession and Max Root drove with Jan Heylen last time at Laguna Seca. Huge tank slapper there between Auberlen and Estep! That's going to leave a mark! Jeepers creepers! That was Estep going for sixth spot. Meanwhile, the Alfa Romeo is slicing and dicing its way through the TCR lead battle pack. They had steering wheel trouble earlier but are still motoring. Jan Heylen has not cleared away with Stevan McAleer right on his six. Auberlen has passed by Estep again. These guys were last in the pit lane just after Auberlen did his penultimate pit stop.
Trent Hindman is next up and has gone around Robin Liddell, challenging Tyler McQuarrie for the final podium spot. Where is Robin Liddell? He is supposed to be in fifth place. Liddell has dropped down the order and Auberlen has passed him. There's still six minutes to go yet. Has Liddell been told to back off? Auberlen has no fuel concerns. These cars make their speeds in different ways and different spots on the road, but they are very evenly matched. Stephen Simpson in the #54 Hyundai Veloster has moved right in on Mikey Taylor who leads by a second in TCR. Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis are next up in the two Hyundai's. Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler have run very well today and so have Tyler Maxson and Tyler Gonzalez along with Britt Casey and Tristan Herbert.
Audi #44 did have a long pit stop. But they've been in it all day. The #23 Aston Martin ahs been battling hard all day too. Less than two minutes to go in this race as Jan Heylen leads over the two Aston Martin's. Stevan McAleer, Trent Hindman, and Bill Auberlen, this is a fair fight in the last minute and a half before the end. This is great racing we have seen the whole day. Frank DePew had a great opening stint in the #71 Rebel Rock Urban Grid Camaro. We have also seen a brilliant race from CB Racing today. This is only their third start in a Mercedes AMG GT4.
Final lap of the motor race. Under three miles to go. The top four are right together as Bill Auberlen uses all the road and more. Anyone could win. We'll see here. Heylen is 3/4 of a second ahead of the two Aston Martin's and the BMW. Dwon Madison Avenue for the final time. Here comes Auberlen! He is going for the doim as Hindman slasm the door! He'll get another chance through Hog Pen and into the front straight. Jan Heylen and Ryan Hardwick win this one!
In TCR it will be a scrap for the finish as well. Who will win? It's still elbows out in TCR. It is going to be spin and win for the #17 Unitronic JDC-Miller Audi winning! Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller win it!
Overall/Grand Sport: #16 Hardwick/Heylen Wright Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport
TCR: #17 Taylor/Miller Unitronic/JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS SEQ
Wow! So, that's a wrap on VIR and on the season for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2021 with 2022 not far away by any means! We will see you at Daytona International Speedway in just over a month. Bye bye for now, everybody.
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