Saturday, May 14, 2022

Winner & Highlights of the IMSA MIchelin Pilot Challenge Mid-Ohio 120

Welcome, everybody, to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, a staple of the IMSA schedule for many, many years.  This is round four of the 2022 MPC championship.  On pole for today's motor race is the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 and it was taken to the top in qualifying by Kenton Koch, sharing with Eric Foss.  TCR pole position sees Honda in P1 with the #37 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic FK7 TCR, put on pole by ex-Formula 1 driver, veteran Portuguese racer Tiago Monteiro in a one-off drive.  Monteiro is very successful with the Honda factory in the FIA World TCR Championship.  So, he is a quick shoe behind the wheel of a Civic race car.  He is sharing car #37 with co-driver and regular team driver, Mat Pombo.   

The circuit here at Mid-Ohio tests man and machine equally.  There is really just one long straightaway, and many corners.  So, that does not offer a driver a chance to rest.  It is full concentration, maximum attack, every single lap around the circuit.  Since 1962, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been in existence.  This is the 19th Michelin Pilot Challenge event at Mid-Ohio.  Cars are on track.  We join Dave Burns and Calvin Fish in the commentary box.  Who has the handle on the season?  We saw the #7 Volt Racing Aston Martin breaking their three-year winless streak.  They have aligned with Wright Motorsports for 2022.  Alan Brynjolfsson starts fifth.  Two of the four cars ahead are championship contenders.  Eric Foss on the pole in the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4.

It is early doors yet.  In TCR, we have Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler, 30 points ahead of Tim Lewis Jr. and Roy Block, two-time winners for Alfa Romeo and KMW Motorsports in TCR.  They have massive speed.  But Roy Block did not have the grip during qualifying and he was ultra-loose during the run.  Car #5 needs consistency.  That is what they are looking for, but they are buried in the field.  We could see a slight chance of rain and if so, the track becomes a skating rink.  At Mid-ohio, it is two and a quarter-miles, with 13 corners.  Narrow, low grip, 136 feet of elevation change.  Find the rhythm.

The Keyhole is a critical turn.  Watch for China Beach in turn four, known as Madness.  The final turn, the Carousel, uphill, double apex.  Get the power down, and don't abuse the left front Michelin Pilot tire.  The clock has started.  The starting line is remote on the backstretch.  Trouble already for HART, Honda of America Race Team at their home circuit.  No boost, and no power.  They will go a lap down.  Green flag, now.  Alexandre Premat wats to go and does, but as we go through turn four and China Beach, Kenton Koch takes the lead.  Both classes starting together and we have a spin already!  Now, who is that?  Two, three cars off the road already.

#59, the KohR Motorsprots Mustang, and the #37 Honda, Tiago Monteiro is in that shemozzle, too!  Deary me!  He had no place to go and whacked the Mustang!  Jeepers creepers!  Gavin Ernstone is on the move already in the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR.  #40, the PF Racing Mustang got clobbered by the similar Mustang #59, Bob Michaelian at the wheel of it.  Tiago Monteiro will be disgusted.  He raced Formula 1 for three years but no more motor racing for Monteiro today.  Game over.  Could there be suspension damage on the #59 Mustang?  We'll have to see about that.  

The #37 Honda has skewed suspension on the left front.  That is clearly a broken left front wheel.  So, early dramas here at Mid-Ohio in Michelin Pilot Challenge.  We look again, in slow motion and saw James Pesek in the #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang take quite a lick!  Also in the lane, the #83 Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS, Thomas Collingwood and Spencer Pumpelly, sharing the car for BGB Motorsports.  Work going on on the #59 Mustang.  They could be done for the day.  We have seen #89 in for service as well.  Major drama on the opening lap of the race.  Huge trouble for Bob Michaelian and Billy Johnson with a broken shock mount on the lower control arm. 

This will be a long repair for those boys.  The #15 Belgard & Techniseal Racing Audi was also in the lane with trouble.  Green flag again and we see the two Murillo Racing Mercedes' 1-2 so far.  The Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 is in the lane to clean the grille.  Sean Quinlan atn the controls.  Wow.  We have Mike McCann going for a move on Alan Brynjolfsson and he makes the move stick.  Stay clean.  Settle into a rhythm and go for points.  Rory van der Steur and Michael Johnson in TCR battle.  Gabby Chaves has moved down.  Parker Chase leads in class in the #98 BHA Hyundai Elantra.  We ride along with Gavin Ernstone in the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi.  

Kenton Koch and Kenny Murillo still run 1-2 for Murillo Racing Mercedes.  Fire it into turn five, keep up the momentum.  Be smooth.  You are quicker that way.  Don't overdrive this circuit or it will bite you.  15 minutes elapsed already.  This is the Audi RS3 with the sequential gearbox.  This is front wheel dependent circuit even on a rear-wheel-drive car.  So the TCR's will get their Michelin Pilot tires hammered today.  Rory van der Steur is right on Parker Chase's six.  Chaves wants the spot and almost turns van der Steur around!

They work their way past the #11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT4, Gary Fererra at the wheel of it.  Fererra sharing with Kris Wilson.  Mark Wilkins had a family emergency so, Gabby Chaves is subbing.  Robert Wickens will drive the car at the end of the race.  The driver change will take a tad longer to help Wickens into the car from his wheelchair.  He of course, was paralyzed in a horrible IndyCar crash in 2018.  Kenton Koch has not won yet in 2022 and wants it.  Right now he leads team mate Kenny Murillo by almost a second.  Oh dear!  We have a car that has skidded along the barrier and crunched it, hard!  The #93 Carbahn with Peregrine Racing Porsche Cayman is destroyed in the front end!

Mark Siegel and Tyler McQuarrie will be going no further today I'm afraid.  He spun, caught the wall with the front of the car, and over and out.  He fortunately stayed planted, but that car has heavy damage.  He skidded backwards along the grass, dug in, and caught the right front corner of the car.  You can see the radiator is busted with all the steam coming out of it.  The driver's side door is right up against the wall.  He may have to climb out the passenger door.  The incident again, and he just lost it as we watch from the onboard camera, of the Mustang, the PF Racing car.  Grinding it down in a slow slide.  That's one slightly used race car for dead sure.

We also see the #2 Hyundai Elantra, the other Bryan Herta Autosport entry with Ryan Norman and A.J. Muss sharing the driving.  The driver is climbing out of the #93 Porsche under his own steam.  The car though is a mess, and is totally written off.  That team will have much work to do but a good chunk of time to do it in before the next Michelin Pilot event at Watkins Glen, New York, at the end of June.  A couple of heavy hitters have already fallen by the wayside.  Pit stop time at Turner Motorsports and at JG Wentworth Racing by PF Racing.  Some trouble with a right front tire on the #95 BMW?  Maybe not.  Five lug wheels on the GS cars.  No single lug nut wheels.  That is the Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern entry for Turner Motorsports and we have also seen the BGB Cayman, the #83 Thomas Collingwood and Spencer Pumpelly car, where the fueler takes a spill after closing the vent!  Ouch!

Pit stop time now for TCR machines.  All the Hyundai's are in and so are the Honda's and Audi's.  BHA has to watch out so they don't double stack and block one of their team cars and we also see the JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi team going to work.  Quick and efficient stops for the TCR teams.  We shall see one more round out pit stops towards the end of the race with almost half an hour on the board already.  We have a mixed candy dish of cars in the order in both classes but it is AMG Mercedes at the top of the shop in GS thus far.  This is the second Full Course Yellow of the day.  In replay, we see Mark Siegel ahving contact in the #93 Porsche and he had argy bargy with A.J. Muss in the #2 Hyundai.  That was a massive impact, nose first into the barrier.  Lots of rain and so he was just skating along on the grass.

We have seen overlap with the two classes causing some accidents in recent Michelin Pilot races.  Manyd drivers had to have fuel tanks topped up and driver changes will take place on the next stop.  Sheena Monk was in the lane.  Fuel only for #77 and tires and fuel for #2.  Green flag again and another accordion effect.  The GS entries have a long fuel fill.  Dillon Machavern will be quicker on the second pit stop when he hands over to Bill Auberlen.  Anton Dias Perera in the #21 Toyota Supra GT4 is pushing hard, sharing the Riley Motorsports entry with Scott Andrews.  Several ways to skin a cat going through these turns and blind elevation changes here at Mid-Ohio.  Have a light touch so you don't have the tires get out from under you.

James Pesek, part of the winning team at Sebring back in March, he is pushing, climbing the hill, getting grip[ back.  Pesek was involved in the first Full Course Yellow we saw.  Victor Gonzalez vs. Ted Giovannis.  TCR vs. GS.  Honda Civic vs. Porsche Cayman.  Smart racing as Gonzalez leads TCR.  Parker Chase and Rory van der Steur have pitted.  Chase wants the lead and tries Gonzalez.  No dice.  Low curbs help.  Mason Filippi and Parker Chase want to join this party.  Taylor Hagler is back there as well.  We are going to see an easy one stop race in TCR.  Lower throttle percentage means less fuel burn and monster gas mileage.

The GS cars can go almost an hour and TCR can go an hour on full tanks.  The final pit stop will be more about the second driver's minimum drive time when all is equal and when the chips are down.  Rory van der Steur wants a bite of the cherry and takes it.  Gonzalez got stymied and Parker Chase said, "'thanks mate, I'll just whistle by."  Risk vs. reward is mega on the back part of the course here at Mid-Ohio.  We see the TCR's catching the #09 Aston Martin for Automatic Racing of Ramin Abdolvahabi.  and Rob Ecklin.  Luca Mars is chasing Alexandre Premat and Kenny Murillo.  Mercedes AMG GT4, vs. Porsche Cayman vs. Ford Mustang.  Team owner Dean Martin is giving Luca Mars lots of seat time in these big, heavy GT4 cars.  

Kenton Koch's margin over his teammate Kenny Murillo has ballooned somewhat.  The mega scrap continues on, in TCR too, look.  Gonzalez really wants by both of the Hyundais and now Mickey Taylor (Chris Miller, ctually), also tries getting in the picture but spins off into the gravel and fortunately points the Audi in the right direction so we should stay green.  In replay, aye, yaye yaye, he just got punted by Gonzalez going in the corner.  He seems to be back on it.  Nope.  Mega damage to the rear wheel on the left side of the Audi as one of the Turner BMW's is in the lane again.  Now the #88 VCMG Honda is slow!  This is the sister #96 Turner BMW M4 GT4, Robby Foley sharing with Vincent Barletta.

#17 has trundled into the lane.  New tire, maybe, but here could be suspension damage, and a lot of grass in the front radiator of the car.  As a kid, Mike McCann Jr. in North Canton, Ohio, started out in motorcycles.  Michael McCann and Andrew Davis, are at their home race for McCann Racing, family and friends here watching the motor race.  His father, Mike McCann Sr. ran well in World Challenge racing.  Alfredo Najri, he is a superstar in the Dominican Republic.  The people in his home country, love him, and he gets headlines in the local newspapers.  More repairs for Chris Miller.  That was Steve Eich in the #89 Honda, not Victor Gonzalez, but that was a hard hit!  Eich in the Honda America Racing Team Civic TCR.  Game over though for #17.  They have had two straight did not finish results.  They won a couple times in 2021 but are on the back foot in 2022 so far.

BHA vs. van der Steur Racing in TCR, an all-Hyundai show.  van der Steur gets the eye of the needle threaded on him by Gabby Chaves.  Chaves had the right front wheel on the grass!  Wow.  Parker Chase leading the division right now right ahead of teammate Chaves.  Victor Gonzalez has hung onto fourth spot but has yet to pit.  Koch and Murillo continue the intrateam battle.  Kenny Murillo, son of Ken Murillo, team owner, who was a racing driver himself.  Murillo and Christian Szymczak were champs in SRO GT4 in 2021.  Chaves off and on trying to dive for the lead into turn four, and there was a nudge there from Rory van der Steur, putting poor old Chaves on the back foot!

Rory van der Steur leads Parker Chase by six tenths of a second.  It is anyone's game in TCR.  Rory van der Dteur, for his family team, he is opening up a gap on the factory cars from Bryan Herta Autosport.  Oh dear!  Rory van der Steur has just been slapped with a penalty by IMSA for his scrum with Gabby Chaves!  Chaves flicks it to the outside of Chase.  Chase bounding over the curbs, van der Steur makes a late dive.  Well, he was dinged by the stewards for that late dive.  The talk of the TCR paddock was excessive biff and barge.  That move is hard racing, not genuine contact.  However, the IMSA marshals are eagle eyed and so are the stewards in Race Control.  van der Steur serves his penalty.  He will be seeing red!

The stewards have drawn a line in the sand, but this is the way to turn a racing driver into a fire breathing dragon.  Morley in the Audi, #61 also dove for the lane.  TCR cars racing liner stern down the the frontstretch.  Alfredo Najri is none too happy with one of his competitors and flips the bird out the window to one of the TCR drivers saying, "you idiot!  Let me by!"  The Hyundai battle continues in earnest with that Honda the meat in a triple decker Hyundai sandwich.  A couple of Honda's.  There's the beleaguered #37 making it's way back up the order.  Tiago Monteiro I believe is still the car or maybe he has handed it to Mat Pombo.

Alfa Romeo in the lane, the #5 KMW TMR car for Tim Lewis Jr. and Roy Block.  Meantime, the two Mercedes' from Murillo Racing continuing to lead.  This scrum between the Mercedes and Scott Andrews in the Toyota.  Andrews wants to get back on the lead lap, chasing Kenton Koch.  How much will Koch defend?  Does he let Andrews go by?  Audi #61 in the lane for Road Shagger Racing.  Jon Morley takes over from Gavin Ernstone.  We are getting to halfway.  The driver change, almost matched the fuel fill necessary to get to the end.  Andrews is closing up.  Kenton Koch in the race lead is not home and hosed yet.  

Mike LaMarra off and on in the Keyhole.  LaMarra in the sister L.A. Honda World Civic #73 sharing with Ryan Eversley.  Parker Chase leads TCR as Victor Gonzalez is still monstering him.  LaMarra was jolly lucky to keep the #73 in a straight line.  Taylor Hagler, points leader, she is running very well with co-driver Michael Lewis.  LaMarra in the lane to have the grille cleaned up after the lawn mowing job.  This Hyundai intra-team battle must be driving Robert Wickens up the wall.  He wants to get in the car and go out and beat his team mates as well as the others in TCR.  Into the second half of the motor race.  

Taylor Hagler was told she is running lap times equal to the #33 sister car.  Michael Lewis will be ready to go as we see Kenton Koch coming to pit lane and here is the driver change over to Eric Foss.  More GS cars in for wholesale service.  Eric Foss is shorter than Kenton Koch and needs a cushion in the seat.  Murillo in the sister #72 Mercedes he has gone to the lead.  Hyundai #33 in the lane and Robert Wickens gets into the car, Chaves engaging the hand controls for Wickens when he gets into the car.  He is fiddling with the safety belts making sure they are done up and he is back into the car.  He wants this race win, no matter what Gabby Chaves thinks.  They may be teammates, but Wickens knows what he is after.  We have told his story plenty and he wants to be a winner.

Hyundai #2 in the lane, another Elantra for BHA.  Driver change, tires, fuel.  Ryan Norman taking over from A.J. Muss.  Dillon Machavern scything his way through TCR traffic.  More pit stops being completed as the Volt Racing Aston Martin and a few others come in.  Saw the #43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW in the lane as well for Greg Liefooghe and Sean Quinlan.  Hyundai Elantra #98 pits and is down and away.  The leading BMW is also into the lane as I believe Bill Auberlen should take it to the end of the motor race.  #98 should have Harry Gottsacker at the controls to the end.

#96 in the lane too for Turner Motorsports.  Something happened to the #95.  He tried to pull away for a short fill.  They did not get all the fuel into the tank.  You need a full fuel load to make the final 50+ minutes.  Stevan McAleer scrapping with Trent Hindman.  Aston Martin vs. Porsche.  Volt Racing vs. RS1.  Top GS positions chopping and changing.  Eric Foss, Nate Stacy, Christian Szymczak, Trent Hindman, and Stevan McAleer.  The Aston Martin has the speed over the Mercedes or so it seems.  Pick the right time to force the move.  Szymczak is a veteran racer who won't easily crack under pressure.

All the leaders on the same strategy and here comes both Stevan McAleer and Andy Jankos, co-driver for Alfredo Najri in the Supra today.  To the Keyhole, Szymczak screams past Hindman!  The stopping power on the brakes is instant as Eric Foss' lead has ballooned to ten seconds doing the undercut pitting early.  Nate Stacy has an angry swarm of motorcars right behind him.  Rory van der Steur says of his penalty, Parker Chase went to block, and Gabby Chaves went inside, but gave Chaves too much of a bump.  He does not believe IMSA's decision is fair.  He is not happy with anything and understandably so.  Where do you draw the line?  Victor Gonzalez has finally made ti to the pit lane and Szymczak loops it around.  

Downhill to turn six, two into one does not go and Nate Stacy pinches Szymczak into a spin.  Trent Hindman had a similar incident last year.  Hindman, McAleer, and Jankos are all lining up to try and get around Nate Stacy.  They are balked now by a TCR Honda.  Hindman, chrome horn.  Stacy is still fighting.  He gets by.  McAleer wants this.  Stevan McAleer, you little fighter!  Off in the dust goes Hindkan and he gets dropped like a stone!  Stacy shoots of a cannon and makes good his escape.  Jankos now right on Hindman's six.  Poor old Trent Hindman is getting mugged right now.  

More dust, look.  Still more.  McAleer right on the back decklid of Stacy in the Mustang.  Poking his nose out to pass.  No dice.  Stacy closes the door.  Hindman fighting back on McAleer.  Trent Hindman is not going to have the rough end of the pineapple here.  This is a four-way lead battle.  Stacy swept both MPC races at Mid-Ohio in 2020.  McAleer right on his gearbox.  Eric Foss is whistling off into the distance, meanwhile.  Kenton Koch, filling in for Jeff Mosing in the Mercedes #56.  He knows he does not mess things up for his co-driver.  Everyone on the team is assisting and getting the learning curve figured out.

Koch feels good about the car and has driven it before.  This Mercedes is a fast hotrod according to Koch as they are managing tires and fuel, or they were.  He had a left front tire falling off and had a vibration in the car but it is cured.  Fuel mileage is their deal to get to the end of the motor race.  McAleer and Hindman round two?  Hindman is playing for keeps!  They're racing for sheep stations here at Mid-Ohio.  Hindman has made the move on McAleer and is now oging after Stacy.  He pokes the nose to the outside.  Can't quite make it.  Ford Mustang, Aston Martin Vantage, Porsche Cayman, Toyota Supra.   

Hindman closes up again.  This motor race is hot and heavy.  Three winners in the first three races.  Will we see four?  We'll know in a shade over half an hour.  Hindman makes his move 'round Stacy.  McAleer moves down to fourth spot.  Foss and his team had their hand forced to pit earlier than they wanted, managing fuel with Trent Hindman pushing, pushing, pushing.  Hindman clears Stacy while he has McAleer all over him.  Through the Madness section of the course, we saw that clean pass by Hindman on McAleer.  Hindman is 11.7 seconds in-arrears from Foss in the lead.  McAleer and Stacy continue scrapping.  Half an hour to go.  #7 is good on fuel, but for #56, Ken Murillo says they can get to the checkers but no farther.  They may be a wee bit short on petrol before the motor race ends.  Eric Foss, short shifting, coasting, to save petrol.  

Foss' lead is shrinking over Trent Hindman.  This motor race is far from over.  Harry Gottsacker, meanwhile, has a comfortable margin in TCR by nearly six and a half seconds over teammate Ryan Norman.  Some TCR traffic in Nate Stacy's way and here comes McAleer!  He is closer than ever to the Mustang, in this scrap for the final step on the podium.  That Hyundai Elantra does not have a disappear button built in, so the fight goes on.  Foss only has ten seconds over Hindman with 25 minutes left.  Hindman slicing into that lead.  Is Hindman still using his tires?  Are his tires knackered?  The Nate Stacy and Stevan McAleer story continues to be written.  The Mustang is a big muscle car and is getting quite large over the Cayman.  

The Mustang is long in the tooth but the thing is still competitive.  Harry Gottsacker has opened his lead over Ryan Norman by seven seconds.  Hyundai could very well see victory and taste the champagne today, but who will it be?  Tyler Maxson is just eight tenths of a second behind Norman in yet another Hyundai.  They are doing tire saving, Maxson is.  His chief mechanic reminds him to keep taking care of the front tires.  The rear tires could loose a tad bit of adhesion.  Michael Lewis though, speaking of Hyundai, he wants it as well.  This Bryan Herta Autosport scrum is incredible.  Bryan Herta and Sean Jones, along with Phil Howard, have chemistry.  But everyone on the team, all the drivers, want to win.

Execute to the best of your ability weekend after weekend.  Maximize the potential you have.  20 minutes to go, and maximizing potential?  Well, that's the key.  Maximize potential of winning this here motor race.  GT4 cars scything their way through TCR traffic.  A constant in endurance sports car racing even in this sprint races for Pilot Challenge.  Hindman appears to be separated from Foss by back markers.  Andrew Davis in the #8 McCann Racing Porsche Cayman is now on Nate Stacy's six as well, look.  Trent Hindman continually eating into the lead of the #56 Mercedes Benz.  Foss has the Mustang of Billy Johnson behind him, the #59, he is laps behind to be truthful.  So he will be a good sport and let these boys race.

Bill Auberlen will make his move on Andrew Davis and Nate Stacy, both.  He wants to move up after that shemozzle in the lane earlier.  Someone is off the road kicking up dust.  What does Andrew Davis have in the locker?  Can he move by Stacy?  Davis is a savvy racer.  He is making calculated moves.  Johnson gives way and now Hindman is right behind Foss for the race victory with less than 15 minutes to go.  Is Foss having to lift and coast to get to the fuel number?  That is a good question.  We know Trent Hindman has sky high confidence.  Let's see if the car will still have the sharp edge on it.  Will it go numb in the handling department for Hindman?  Or will he stay in it?

Hyundai, Hyundai, Hyundai, Hyundai, the top four in TCR.  You've missed nothing while we've paid attention to the GS lead battle.  Hindman is now right on Foss' gearbox.  Oh boy, oh boy.  This will be a sizzler to the very end with just 11 minutes on the board.  Hindman pokes his nose in there.  You know he wants this.  He wants back-to-back wins for the highlighter yellow Aston.  Hindman is right there on the copper orange Mercedes in the lead.  Hindman monstering Foss.  How much risk do you want to take?  They have a podium and a win before this motor race.  Winning is what the Volt Racing Team wants.  Hindman wants it.  Foss protecting his line.  No contact.  Goss opens his hands to give a wee bit of space.

Read the situation before you commit.  Committing on the corner all at once will get you in trouble.  Foss' lead has gone down the drain, but the gap remains slight.  Tough day for the #15 Audi of Dennis DuPont who podiumed in TCR at Laguna Seca.  Not today.  Mid-Ohio is a low grip, high tire degradation type of circuit.  Fuel management has been the big deal.  We've seen loads of argy bargy but a long spell of green flag racing as this race is ending.  Kenny and Ken Murillo, father and son, checking things out.  Nothing being said. Mum's the word about fuel at Murillo Racing.  Maybe he is very worried about their tank.

Roll the dice.  That's all you can do.  The GS battle has been a sizzler today!  Stacy, Davis, Auberlen, Szymczak, battling for fifth place with five minutes to go.  The leader may have to run an extra lap if the clock runs out.  IMSA will not offer the white flag until the clock runs to zero.  Lewis in TCR has passed Norman.  Jon Morley right on Norman's six.  This is the TCR battle for third place.  Morley in deep but gets the advantage out of the Keyhole.  This is for third in class whole Gottsacker leads Lewis by four seconds.  Ten seconds ahead of this battle.  About three laps left.  Two and a half minutes on ye olde clock.

The Stacy, Davis, Auberlen, Szymczak scrap continues and there's contact in the Keyhole and the #22 Porsche Cayman spins!  That is the Nick Galante, Sean McAllister Porsche Cayman for Hardpoint.  He will be puking fluid out of the back of that motorcar.  No Full Course Yellow. Just a local yellow.  Hindman told about Foss' fuel situation.  Watch the oil on corner exit in turn two.  One lap to go.  Can the Mercedes keep running and not cough and sputter?  Maybe he is good to go on gas.  1.4 seconds the gap.  McAleer in the #28 Porsche, out of gas!  Auberlen in the BMW, out of gas!  Can the Mercedes hang on with petrol to spare?  Foss is slowing a bit.  Hindman is coming.  Dust is flying in the air.  Final two turns.  Can Eric Foss make it home?  Yes!  Eric Foss, Kenton Koch, and Murillo Racing are your winners!

They are dropping like flies!  Harry Gottsacker has Michael Lewis right behind.  BHA looking for their first win and they get it.  Harry Gottsacker and Parker Chase win it!

Overall/Grand Sport: #56 Foss/Koch   Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4

             TCR: #98 Chase/Gottsacker    Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra 

                                                              N TCR

So, Murillo Racing is your fourth different winning team in MPC racing in 2022.  Now, a short break for Michelin Pilot as they will race again at Watkins Glen International Raceway in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York at the great circuit, at the end of June for the Tioga Downs Casino & Resort 120, a race that is cut in half from being a traditional four-hour event over the last few years.  I believe the other four-hour event will be at Road America later in the year.

We will see you at Watkins Glen at the end of June and see you tomorrow for the WeatherTech Championship Lexus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio.  Have a good night, everybody, and we'll see you tomorrow for more action packed motor racing.  Bye bye.


       

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