Once again, it is time to bring the action in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. The GS and TCR drivers and teams are north of the border, eh, in Canada, at Mosport Park (now, officially called Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, of course), for the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120. Mosport, the circuit's original name is actually a contraction of the word motorsport. Hometown driver Parker Thompson, who actually hails from the Canadian province of Alberta, is at the top of the shop after qualifying, aboard the #50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4 EVO sharing the car with co-driver Billy Johnson. Thompson earned the pole after a shortened qualifying session for the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
In the TCR touring car class, it was Chris Miller for JDC-Miller Motorsports with Unitronic sponsorship for their #17 Audi RS3 LMS TCR sharing alongside South African driver Mikey Taylor, who broke the class pole streak that was being set earlier in the season by Mat Pombo and the L.A. Honda World Honda Civic team. Miller beat Pombo to the top of the tree by a mere five hundredths of a second! How close do you like your touring car racing? In other words, by a whisker! If qualifying is anything to go by, these results certainly bode well for an exciting motor race this afternoon. No testing for Hattori Motorsports but they will be contenders, trust me.
Here is our track map, an hour's north of Toronto. Tons of elevation change. 171 feet worth of it. The Mario Andretti straightaway is a big deal but the first major corner is turn two with a blind entry. Tight corner at turn five, Moss corner. Turn eight is also a commitment, high speed turn, shifting down a gear and gently feeding back into the power. We have a two-hour race ready to go. 35 cars starting this motor race today in Grand Sport and in TCR. 120 minutes of Michelin Pilot Challenge racing coming up. Driver's start your engines! The command is given. Soon, we will be all set to go racing.
What a glorious day for motor racing. Brian Till and Calvin fish will be covering the race from the broadcast booth this afternoon. Low 70s ambient temperature with a wee bit of cloud cover. Fifth round for Grand Sport, fourth round for TCR. Four different winners in the last five Grand Sport races. Turner Motorsports are the only repeat winners in 2023. Last year, Murillo Racing finished 1-2 in this event. They have a couple strong cars. Ford, BMW, and Mercedes have all won. But now it is the debut race for Hattori Racing and Toyota. Parker Thompson starting the car with co-driver Billy Johnson.
Parker Thompson won for Lexus in GT Daytona in the WeatherTech Championship just a few weekends ago at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. In TCR, Mark Wilkins and Robert Wickens won last year. The Hyundai teammates will be battling each other at Bryan Herta Autosport. The GS and TCR title fights are red hot. Safety car to the pit lane. Split start between Grand Sport and TCR. Green flag! We're racing at Mosport! Wow! Parker Thompson does get the jump and now, Hugh Plumb is right in the fight with the Murillo Racing Mercedes. Mikey Taylor in the JDC Audi leads the TCR field with all cars on cold tires with cloud cover over the track.
They scream uphill on the Mario Andretti straightaway for the first time after going through Moss corner. Parker Thompson needs to push and Michael DiMeo is now up to sixth. Some argy bargy and Jeff Mosing turns Jenson Altzman around! Mosing was hung out to dry and has cut down a tire. Oy yoy yoy! The stewards will be looking at that hip and shoulder. The TCR scrap is hot and heavy with Chirs Miller. #13 has a flat left rear tire and suspension damage, both. Mat Pombo has a head of steam on Chris Miller. In replay, Altzman to the inside and Mosing just arced into apex and was in no man's land.
Bryce Ward off the road in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 with a flat right rear tire. In replay, he got tipped by one of the BMW M4 GT4's from Turner Motorsports giving him a shot. So, Bryce Ward and the team are on the back foot. A couple of Mercedes AMG GT4's on the back foot already. Bucketloads of argy bargy so far and these drivers are going to have to give each other a wee bit more room as this race goes on. Commit, but keep the cars on the road. Parker Thompson leads the motor race, the Canadian in his home race at his home track, but only by about 3/10ths of a second give or take.
We ride onboard with Thompson who has Rory van der Steur behind, beginning to turn it on. Hugh Plumb is also back there, lurking. Toyota, Aston Martin, Aston Martin. In replay, we see more argy bargy as the sister TGM Racing Aston Martin got tagged. I want to say it is either Ted Giovanis or Owen Trinkler at the wheel of it. Single file, but a real close formation at the top of the shop and you can hear the cars scraping their undertrays over the bumps. We found a lot of that earlier this afternoon in WeatherTech Championship qualifying earlier in the afternoon as well.
Good battle here, look, between the Rebel Rock Racing Grand Sport Camaro, and one of the Honda Civic TCR's for L.A. Honda World Racing. Mat Pombo, the TCR leader aboard #37 reeling in the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R in the hands of Robin Liddell and Frank DePew. Chris Miller making inroads little by little and so is Harry Gottsacker. So, it is a three-way TCR scrap between Audi, Honda, and Hyundai early doors here at Mosport Park. This track has 171 feet of elevation change. It is like being on a runaway train.
Mat Pombo is getting racy and Miller got balked by a GS car, the Aston Martin. Mat Pombo has to be frustrated by the Grand Sport traffic. He is on fire, on the radio, screaming to the team, "get these cars out of my way!" Driving angry may help for a wee while, but cool yourself down. You can't let fury get a hold of you behind the wheel. Pombo and Michael Lewis in the Hyundai locked horns in the race at the Watkins Glen a couple weekends ago. Chris Miller has moved back around Harry Gottsacker, and now, Pombo in the pit lane! Oh my! This cannot be a scheduled stop.
What is the trouble? It looks like they might be changing the front tires at the very least. Again, Pombo is not a happy bunny probably on the radio saying "I can't drive this race car!" Chris Miller still 3/10ths of a second ahead of Harry Gottsacker. Drive through penalty for the #43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 for an incorrect starting driver and a penalty for Jeff Mosing in the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4. The #59 Ford Mustang GT4 has spun. That is Bob Michaelin in 11th place. He has backed it into the fence at the exit of Moss corner, turn 5B. He ran wide through Moss, left the door open, and got biffed by Moisey Uretsky in the Aston Martin.
Uretsky in the #44 Accelerating Performance car sharing with Michael Cooper. Braking issues is going to be a problem here at Mosport and they might also have suspension damage. Parker Thompson giving it a solid effort 1.3 seconds up the road from Rory van der Steur and Hugh Plumb. So, it is Toyota, Aston Martin, and Aston Martin, currently, at the top of the shop. Thompson eking out a gap and s[peaking of that, Plumb now heads Murillo by about a second as this motor race continues. We have been racing now for 20 minutes. That Toyota Supra is powered by an identical motor to the BMW M4 GT4. That is a BMW inline six motor and Moisey Uretsky is taking the #44 Aston Martin to the garage.
It could very well be game over for Accelerating Performance on this day. Miller stretching out the rubber band on Gottsacker in the TCR class. Work continuing at L.A. Honda World on this braking issue they have been having and Mat Pombo has been dropping like a stone. He is tenth in class in TCR already two laps down. A big clump of TCR cars all battling for position. Mason Filippi, Taylor Hagler, Victor Gonzalez, Roy Block, Eric Rockwell, William Tally, and Alex Rockwell.
Hyundai, Honda, Alfa Romeo, Audi. Not as many brands in TCR but still some variety despite all cars using 2 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder motors. Let the horses run. Good to see Hattori Motorsports in GT4. They have run this car in another championship. Billy Johnson is tied with Matt Plumb at 23 wins for the most wins in Michelin Pilot Challenge history. With the #50, there is smoke out of the car. Hard to say if it is out of the exhaust or out of the rear end, differential, or transmission. Is there an oil source delivering said smoke? We'll have to have a Captain Cook at that.
Rory van der Steur keeping Parker Thompson honest. There is a wisp of smoke out of the left side but not out of the exhaust pipe. When they quit smoking, that's not good. Hopefully it isn't drama. This is a high load track here at Mosport. Toyota have been very strong in GT4 in other different championships. He has lapped traffic ahead with one Grand Sport entry and a number of TCR cars as well, look. How do you catch these cars? If you catch them, you know van der Steur will be right on your six. Thompson is carving his way through the traffic. Traffic giveth. Traffic taketh away.
Yikes! Thompson goes off and back on the road out in the dust! That's close! Bob Michaelian is now back on track but has to get a wriggle on to catch up and now van der Steur is bottled up behind all this traffic. Gary Ferrera, a lapped car in the #11 Mercedes AMG GT4 he shares with Kris Wilson for the Wilsports team. Three wide, outside track limits trying to pass the two TCR cars! That could very well be a track limits penalty. He might be given a mulligan for that one move. Back in the day when there was grass there, you wouldn't make it. But Parker Thompson is really going for it right now and that has to make him and his team at Hattori Motorsports here in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Rory van der Steur really going for it. Parker Thompson is a Porsche Carrera Cup champion as well. You really want to know which driver is in one of these lapped cars as we have half an hour on the board with a minimum drive time of 40 minutes. A few teams will cash in on the drive time and get the Pro rated driver into the car and finish the stint for the gentleman driver. It is tough to fuel save when you are in the fight and the engineer gets on the phone and says, "go fast, mate, but save fuel if you can." All you can really do is say "copy". This is getting busy like Monday morning rush hour in Toronto but at much faster speeds.
Harry Gottsacker still reeling in Chris Miller in the TCR class. This battle continues raging. Audi vs. Hyundai. Mat Pombo in the beleaguered Honda back to pit lane again. Amazing how they sweep through these turns here at Mosport. The twists, turns, and elevation change of this place, is absolutely stunning. It has been a staple on the IMSA schedule now for many years. I remember many great battles here in the old American Le Mans Series as well in the late 1990s and 2000s. Panoz, BMW, Audi, and many others. Dodge Viper and Chevrolet Corvette too as I recall.
Gottsacker keeping Miller honest in the TCR fight, that's for dead sure. Parker Thompson on a Saturday cruise having opened the gap over Rory van der Steur that has ballooned to over seven seconds. 7.2 seconds to be exact. Thompson of course will hand the car to Billy Johnson. We believe Mat Pombo did have brake and suspension woes. Chris Miller and Harry Gottsacker continue their fight. Mason Filippi is 15 seconds behind these two blokes. Mark Wilkins and Robert Wickens shared a car at Bryan Herta Autosport last year but the drivers were split up for this year. They were great friends, had great chemistry and so on.
Wickens is now a team leader. Mark Wilkins has been in the same role. They all want to win on race day. They had five or six cars at Bryan Herta Autosport last year and have whittled that down for 2023. They have had a solid season. Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer have been on the back foot after Filgueiras got caught in an incident with Frank DePew in the morning warmup. Filgueiras though has been pushing ahead and really going for it. Stevan McAleer, Filgueiras' co-driver said the car has been doing a good job. At Turner Motorsports, Vincent Barletta is in the #96 BMW M4 GT4 having to fix a broken toe link and losing nine laps.
They are battling Murillo Motorsports. Jenson Altzman had a broken upright on the McCumbee McAleer Mustang and the #57 Winward Mercedes, for Bryce Ward and company, it is game over. The car was running in an iffy manner. One of the Hyundai's is slow. Trying to figure out which one it is. We'll have to wait and find out what the deal is. The #1 has a flat left front tire and maybe the wheel or the suspension is damaged as well, look. Pit stop time for the #64 Team TGM Aston Martin. I think Ted Giovanis has finished his stint and Owen Trinkler will finish, and Hugh Plumb will hand the sister car to brother Matt Plumb,.
TGM are finally able to show the pace of the Aston Martin, a team that has run several different kinds of cars over the years. The gentleman drivers have trouble on this track because of the demands of this track. Watkins Glen or Road America, with the long laps are easier to get a hold of. Robert Megennis is gaining ground in the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 sharing with Cameron Lawrence and now, Megennis elbows Hugh Plumb! Don't forget that Megennis is on probation after the massive incident he had at Detroit with the van der Steur Aston Martin. Cameron Lawrence qualified the car at Detroit and there was this massive accident.
That race took place last month, on June 3rd. At pit stop time, the tables can be totally reset. In no way is the die completely cast in this motor race yet. Alea iacta est? Not yet. In the meantime, the chase remains hot and heavy as Miller has his mirrors still full of Gottsacker in the TCR division. Pit stop time at Rennsport1, (RS1) and it looks like Stevan McAleer has taken over the #28 Porsche Cayman from Eric Filgueiras. A battle is afoot as well, look, with a couple of Ford Mustang's. Jenson Altzman vs. Bob Michaelian I believe.
Hugh Plumb is also reeling in Kenny Murillo. More TCR traffic lies ahead on the Mario Andretti straightaway. The cars still seem to be scraping over the pavement. Closing in on halfway through the motor race and the GS cars are going extremely deep into the run here. Some dominos are falling. #28 and #39. If it goes yellow, the lane will be closed initially. If you don't take it and go Full Course Yellow, your fuel tank will run dry. OK. Kenny Murillo pits now. Be smart. Aston Martin #19 in the lane too. Rory van der Steur handing over to Austin McCusker I think.
We also see the #91 Hyundai Elantra, the team car in TCR, in for a stop as well. Bryan Ortiz and Tyler Maxson. Now, it looks like Jeff Mosing is out of fuel! Mosing weaving around trying to get fuel or fuel pickup. Sloshing fuel around in the tank may help but he could be running on fumes and now, the #33 Hyundai and Robert Wickens will take over the Elantra from Harry Gottsacker. The leading #50 Toyota Supra is in and Billy Johnson takes over from Parker Thompson, the third GT4 car he has driven also including an Aston Martin Vantage and a Ford Mustang as well as the Supra.
Billy Johnson a considerably taller driver than Parker Thompson. I think it is the first time these two drivers have driven together. Thaze Competition has Marc Miller taking over from Canadian Michael DiMeo at his home track, the Toronot native. The #69 McLaren Artura GT4 is also in, the Motorsports in Action entry of Jesse Lazare and Alex Filsinger. Only six cars on the lead lap in the Grand Sport class currently. Also in the mix in GS is the Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 #43, the car of Sean Quinlan and Greg Liefooghe. Closing in on the halfway mark of the Michelin Pilot Challenge race here at Mosport.
Mikey Taylor now up to second overall in TCR and in the overall but he does indeed get dusted by the Supra of Billy Johnson, the faster Grand Sport entry that is built to GT4 specifications of course and Miller is in the pit lane for service it appears. He is going to hand over to Mikey Taylor as the team changes tires and adds fuel. So this was indeed a scheduled pit stop. We are nearly bang on the halfway mark in the race. Turner Motorsports are also in and so is one of the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai entries. Clean pit stops all and it appears Billy Johnson might just cycle back into the lead of the motor race here before long.
Cameron Lawrence is on his outlap as we enter the second half of the motor race. Cameron Lawrence in a fuel saving mode should be good to get to the end of the race if it stays green. Great opening stint for Parker Thompson. He feels the car is running very well. Hattori Motorsports are doing their first Michelin Pilot Challenge event. Rain is surely on the way. It seems to be spritzing with rain. Robert Megennis says that he has had a fun stint. He was able to save fuel behind slower traffic. There could be rain on the way. We'll have to see. We could see raindrops before the race ends this afternoon.
Cameron Lawrence will now put the welly down. He has more petrol in the tank than Billy Johnson does currently. Parker Thompson had to be playing the old poker game there. Lawrence has a good horse underneath him and he is chasing down Billy Johnson as the rain seems to be moving in here in Canada, racing north of the border this weekend. Lawrence closing in on Johnson going for the pass. H ei slcose but can't quite make it. Johnson slams the door in his face. Ooh! Cameron Lawrence, you little fighter! He goes right by! Well, well, well. Now, Johnson will be in chase mode. Lawrence is pulling away but has a lapped car ahead.
The rain tires are out on the pit will. So, the treaded boots are going to be necessary as the rain comes down. Cameron Lawrence now leads the motor race of course. He has passed TCR leader Robert Wickens in the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Wickens leading Mikey Taylor in TCR by 19 and a half seconds. Lawrence is going to try conserving fuel. If the rain develops any more, that will slow the pace, cracking the throttle a little quicker and now, Austin McCusker is pushing the #19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Wickens had a much faster pit stop than Taylor did in TCR.
Tim Lewis in the #5 Alfa Romeo, third in the championship, the KMW TMR entry. They are optimistic about the fuel game and the same with thr weather. 45 minutes to go. Feed the horses so they can run and that is how the fuel mileage deal works out. Especially at tracks like Watkins Glen, here at Mosport, or Road America. TCR cars are front wheel drive and put loads through the driving wheels. The left front tires take a lot of load. Fuel mileage is critical in both classes. BHA pitted four laps sooner than Mikey Taylor in the #17 JDC-Miller Audi.
The two Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai's are scrapping for the championship lead. Wickens and Gottsacker lead Wilkins and Filippi by 50 points in the championship chase. Lawrence leading Johnson in GS by 1.2 seconds while Wickens has 16 and a half seconds on Mikey Taylor in TCR. 40 minutes of racing remain here at Mosport. Cameron Lawrence now leads Billy Johnson by 1.2 seconds as time is of the essence for another round of Michelin Pilot Challenge. Cameron Lawrence and company started 17th. Stevan McAleer and Eric Filgueiras started 23rd and are now up to sixth. How much fuel does #95 have in the tank?
Turner BMW cannot make it on fuel. It is hard to say if we've seen a full green flag run yet. Everyone's lap times are slowing down and everyone is conserving petrol. Go fast but save fuel. Cameron Lawrence is well aware of this. We have a little bit of rain in the air and we could see a wet track in the last ten minutes before the race is done and dusted here tonight. Cameron Lawrence could be in the pound seats as we have seen the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman in the pit lane. They know they have to run as fast as possible. But one yellow is going to fling the ball into the air. There are spritzes of rain on the windscreen and everyone is having a Captain Cook at the radar.
Luca Mars is now at the wheel of the #59 KOHR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 he has shared today with Bob Michaelian under team owner and manager Dean Martin. Mikey Taylor continues to run second in TCR behind Robert Wickens by 13.8 seconds. In Grand Sport, Billy Johnson is now only 1.7 seconds behind Cameron Lawrence. So, the BMW vs. Toyota battle is afoot. Five TCR cars remain on the lead lap while the top 11 in Grand Sport are all lead lap cars. Cars are still scraping over the track surface here at Mosport. We've been hearing those tell tale scraping noises on the trackside microphones through the entire race so far today.
Billy Johnson flashing the lights at the lapped Mercedes, car #27 of Scott Andrews. Andrews in the Lone Star Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 sharing with Anton Dias Perera. Mosport Park has hosted sports cars, Formula 1, and IndyCar, mostly sports cars, since the track opened in 1961. Cameron Lawrence continues leading the motor race as fuel mileage is of conversation while the raindrops are becoming a wee bit heavier. Lawrence is trying his best to get fuel save and seems to be in the best shape of the leaders as far as fuel is concerned.
Stevan McAleer, the same way, but he is 45 seconds behind. Trouble for Kris Wilson in the #11 Mercedes AMG G4 who has gone off the road and it looks like he has holed the radiator on that car. Game over. Robert Wickens has the lapped Honda of Mike LaMarra right on his back door and losing a second a lap to Mikey Taylor. LaMarra wants to force the issue on Wickens. Wickens seems to be dictating LaMarra's pace. Let him go and run your own pace. Is LaMarra playing mind games with Wickens? Cameron Lawrence is three seconds to the good over Billy Johnson.
How slow can I go and keep my margin? Johnson seems to be closing up on Lawence and is 1.9 seconds behind while the TCR margin between Wickens and Taylor is 6.9 seconds or so. Make that six seconds. Taylor is continuing to make inroads and this could very well be a two horse race with less than 19 minutes left on the board this afternoon. Taylor is now 4.2 seconds behind. This is only Robert Wickens' fourth time racing at Mosport but he feels he knows this track from watching a bunch of races here. Some moisture might be sitting on the pavement here at Mosport as Mikey Taylor is closing in and fast.
A couple cars do dive for the pit lane and this race is getting closer to it's conclusion, in about 15 minutes time. Mikey Taylor still in second in TCR works his way through the Grand Sport traffic. This is part of the beauty and the frustration of sports car racing, multi class racing. It is never over until it's over and we have 11 minutes left now. Christian Szymczak has just pitted for fuel in the #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes. Wickens is responding and motoring ahead of Mikey Taylor. If you need to save fuel, tell me whe I begin my stint. Fuel margins could be tight here towards the end. Christian Szymczak was running fourth and pitted for fuel.
He lost a couple spots but will gain ground back as Robin Liddell uncorks a 1:22.4 in the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Stevan McAleer runs fourth with plenty of gas in the tank. Billy Johnson in second pitted four laps before Cameron Lawrence did. Will we see a splash and a dash in the final eight minutes? Billy Johnson in the #50 Toyota Supra GT4 had to come in for a splash and a dash with under seven minutes to run. They still could be in the clear as they have 28 seconds in hand over third place Marc Miller in the #78 Thaze Competition Mercedes AMG GT4. Some hip and shoulder there, between Wickens and Liddell.
Sometimes the final chapters are better than the beginning of the book. Cameron Lawrence leads by 30 seconds and the pit lane delta is 24 seconds, so plug the fuel probe in for only three or four seconds. Lawrence could back off six or seven seconds for fuel save, or go as fast as possible and do a splasha and a dash. That is bucketloads of number crunching. Wickens is now hanging on by his fingernails. Taylor right on his six and let me tell you, the South African is going to send it if he can. Wickens is vulnerable, slamming the door urgently in Taylor's face.
Wickens using all the road. Into turn ten, what will happen? Taylor pokes his nose out. Don't play the ace too soon. Cameron Lawrence into turn ten with two minutes on the board, two laps to go. Poor old Wickens might be caught doing two and a half laps. Taylor tries again and tries the bump and run! That will not please Wickens. Taylor goes by. Will the stewards have something to say about that move? Wickens is in the lane! He is out of gas! No reason to review it. They were right on the number with two laps to go! Wickens and company have to throw in the towel!
White flag. One lap to go for Cameron Lawrence and Turner Motorsports, looking for their first win of the year for the #95 team. BMW have been to victory lane in 2023 but not this season after the sister car #96 won Sebring and Watkins Glen. Will Turner praying to get tot he finish. Turner Motorsports looking for their 67th win in Michelin Pilot Challenge. No worries. Turner Motorsports, Robert Megennis ansd Cameron Lawrence win at Mosport! In TCR Mikey Taylor is running on fumes! Get it back all the way around. Go slow.
Where is the #17? He is there. Two corners to go. Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor get the job done! Robin Liddell and Frank DePew for Rebel Rock Racing put the Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R on the podium!
Overall/Grand Sport: #95 Megennis/Lawrence Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 (G82)
No comments:
Post a Comment