It is time, for round two of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship season, from the fabled, 80+ year-old concrete runways of Sebring International Raceway, formerly Hendricks Field, a training base for WW. II. pilots of the B-17 "Flying Fortress" and B-25 bomber planes. Some spring break vacations include peace and quiet, sunny beaches, and good times. Here at Sebring, we have two of those four things. Sunshine? You bet. Beaches? Well, Sebring is in central Florida among the orange groves and the Spanish moss. So, not a beach in sight. Peace and quiet? Definitely not. This historic and fabled former airfield is about to rock to the thunder of production-based sports and touring cars as we get set for the second race of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season.
It is time to let it rip. We join NBC Sports' Brian Till and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth for the race call. At the season opener, back in late January, at Daytona International Speedway (you may remember that race), it became a fuel mileage lottery. One by one, the Grand Sport class leaders were dropping like flies as they ran out of petrol. It was like a game of dominoes. Ultimately, it was the #91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche Cayman that came out on top in the hands of savvy young sports car racer Riley Dickinson, sharing alongside Michael McCarthy, and Brady Golan, taking that car to the checkers. Riley Dickinson has a big, bright future.
This race at Sebring, the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120, is a two-hour event. It is a different situation, but it is still a litmus test for man, woman, and their machines. The drivers and the manufacturers are looking to run well here because it can vault you into championship contention for the rest of the season. The defending champions here at Sebring in Michelin Pilot Challenge are BMW and Turner Motorsports with the M4 GT4. They are seventh on the grid today in a field of 40 cars with 28 of those being in the Grand Sport division.
The driver lineups are strong. One of the major contenders is the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman. This is the car in the hands of Scotsman Stevan McAleer alongside Trent Hindman. This will be a formidable duo in today's motor race. We have a Captain Cook at the starting grid and on the pole for this race is the rapid #69 Motorsports in Action McLaren Artura GT4 with Jesse Lazare and Michael de Quesada. On the pole in the TCR touring car class is the venerable #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR to be driven by Robert Wickens (we know his story well), and Harry Gottsacker.
Let's cast our minds way, way back to Daytona where we saw the #17 Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor win that race. They won, but before that, hours before, they had to make an emergency parts run, made the race start, and went on to the win. It was a stressful situation for the team. They plan to keep their noses clean from second spot going for the win. Meanwhile, our other pit colleague Matt Yocum has the story of the Turner Motorsports BMW team racing for redemption.
The BMW's only finished fourth and fifth at Daytona. Last year in this race, it was Robby Foley and Vincent Barletta who were the winners. Foley mentioned that the team has decent pace and are not quite as fast as they'd like to be. However, they are consistent in the heat. Last year, their strategy was to maximize everything and that is exactly what they'd like to do in this upcoming two-hour race. Before we go racing, let's look at the track map. This place is so different to Daytona. An apples and oranges comparison. We are in fact nestled in the orange groves of central Florida. The bumps are notorious with the cracks and seams in the concrete of the old runways from Hendricks Field during the second World War.
It is like being in a paint shaker driving this circuit. Turn one is blind. High speed, down a gear. You can't see the exit and all the bumps. Be very careful through there. We then come to turn three, Kristensen corner, named after Sebring and Le Mans maestro, Tom Kristensen, who has six wins here in the 12 Hours of Sebring itself. Slow down dramatically through the rhythm section. You jog through turns 3-6 and then, look for turn seven, the Hairpin. Very slow through the apex of the hairpin at 45 miles an hour. But the critical turn on the circuit has to be turn 17, "Sunset Bend" just off of the Ulmann straightaway.
Try making a big, bold move and survive over the bumps through Sunset Bend. These hot conditions will be a test. It is similar conditions to what the drivers' saw during qualifying. A cut and paste on the car setup. Watch for the tire degradation, the marbles, they will wear, and slough chunks of rubber off the tire just the same as shavings from a pencil eraser on a piece of paper. Four manufacturers in the top four places in Grand Sport on the first two rows of the grid. McLaren, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Mercedes-AMG. The Porsche and the McLaren are the two lightest cars in the field.
Watch the second row of the grid, the #78 Thaze Competition Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Josh Green and the #46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the hands of Paul Holton. Green sharing the Mercedes with Marc Miller. Holton set to share alongside Matt Plumb. Green flag! Away we go! Michai Stephens jumps out of line early, looking to make his move right from the start. Now, the stewards need to decide if Stephens has jumped the race start aboard the #34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4. But the McLaren is now leading, the blue and white #69 Artura GT4.
McAleer in second, Holton in third spot. Into Kristensen Corner for the first time, Josh Green got swamped at the start and is doing everything to make up ground. Meanwhile, it is time for the start for the TCR cars. Green is having a go at Paul Holton 'round the outside. Josh Green, the driver from Mount Kisco, New York, has never driven a sedan or a production-based sports coupe like the Mercedes-AMG GT4. He comes from a single seater, open wheel racing background. So he is learning how to drive a GT4 car and how to work traffic.
Stephens is feisty in P5. So, word from the IMSA stewards is the start is under review. OK. Let' see if we can clarify the reason why. We saw Michai Stephen jump out of line to avoid making contact with another car. Is this a legitimate situation? Is this a breach of the IMSA rules? We'll find out fairly soon. Meanwhile, it is status quo at the top of the shop. In this replay, we see Stephens jump out and he cannot switch columns before the stripe. I don't think he gained a place. Josh Green has gathered it up. At TGM Aston Martin, Owen Trinkler did a fabulous job in his first drive since being severely burned in a testing accident.
Paul Holton is the sub for Owen Trinkler. His burns from said wreck, have not healed fully. Watch for the #39 BMW M4 GT4, the green and black CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW M4 GT4 with Sean McAlister, the starting driver, sharing with Jeff Westphal. These guys were on pole at Daytona, but the BMW teams are behind as far as Balance of Performance compared to the other GT4 manufacturers within the Grand Sport division. Be patient. Stick with it. Let the race come to you. Michai Stephens is a methodical racer. He knows Paul Holton is not a regular driver. Stephens, we have seen him display great race craft through the years. He is a full-time IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge racer now. But we have seen him in GT4 machinery in SRO competition here stateside, do the very same thing.
Harry Gottsacker from the TCR class pole is out front by six tenths of a second over Chris Miller. Hyndai vs. Audi. Fourth place is the #77 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR started by Taylor Hagler. She did not have the best race at Daytona in January and is looking to improve today, with co-driver Bryson Morris. The whole team has rebounded. Maybe the Hyundai is better suited for Sebring. But this is Taylor's best qualifying place ever. So, they are notable indeed and she said she is not sure why they are better this weekend at Sebring even compared to last year. They are finding speed.
That being said, Hagler is concerned about the traffic and managing it. She noted a lot of drivers in the field today have either never raced here at Sebring, or for that matter, at this track in IMSA competition. Taylor Hagler has had great success in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Many female drivers have been successful and won in Michelin Pilot Challenge. The most successful is Sarah Cattaneo with five victories. Taylor Hagler and Ashley Freiberg have each won two races in their MPC careers. Four other drivers have one win apiece including Sheena Monk, Belinda Endress, Lara Tallman, and Caroline Wright.
IMSA and sports car racing in general has seen many great women racers, some of whom are racing currently not only in Pilot Challenge but also in the WeatherTech Championship. As I have said before, the car does not know the difference in who the operator is, man or woman. As far as statistics, Owen Trinkler I believe has something like 191 wins in Michelin Pilot Challenge. We also have seen Bryson Morris running in the one-make championships this weekend, specifically in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series. Now we look again at GS and Josh Green, oh my gosh, he has run down and caught both Stevan McAleer and Jesse Lazare.
Lazare, McAleer, Green, and Holton, the top four so far. Josh Green will hand off to Marc Miller later in the race. He too, is very experienced in Michelin Pilot Challenge but also in other sports cars in various championships, especially in endurance races like Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans. Marc Miller ran very well in the VP Challenge events at Daytona. They podiumed at Detroit and finished fourth at CTMP (Mosport) north of the border in Canada. Miller has the tools in his toolbox to go for the win today. It is horses for courses currently with the top four. Which car will be kindest to it's tires?
It gets tiring mentioning those phrases. "Horses for Courses", "Balance of Performance", and so on and so forth. But in sports car racing, that is how this deal works. Each car is different. McAleer has been content to just sit there and wait things out behind Jesse Lazare. However, now the Scotsman has his mirrors full of Josh Green. Green wants a bite of the cherry and is aiming to compete, cleanly and fairly as we always say. Fuel saving could indeed come into play. We expect 55-minute stints for the GS cars on fuel which is just shy of the hour mark and the halfway point.
They will need assistance from Full Course Yellows if the fuel mileage strategies up and down the pit lane are going to work correctly. No penalty for Michai Stephens from the stewards. Just a warning from them to Stephens, "stay in line on the starts, sunbeam." Meanwhile, we are still having a Captain Cook at the TCR battle and nothing has changed at the top end of town in the division. Harry Gottsacker under intense pressure from Chris Miller. Third in TCR is another Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra TCR, the #98 car with Mason Filippi at the wheel of it. Filippi sharing that automobile with Mark Wilkins.
Filippi is being patient and knows tire durability and management is critical. Be consistent. Mason Filippi and Michael Lewis, in a rental car, would turn the heat up and close the windows in the rental car going to the racetrack to get used to the heat. Speaking of turning on the heat, the #88 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in Grand Sport is under intense pressure from one of the Porsche Cayman's. If you'll excuse me, I must figure out which one it is. Hard to tell from the pictures. The Aston Martin is being shared by Todd Coleman and Aaron Telitz.
The scrap for P6 in Grand Sport is raging between Sean McAlister and Rory van der Steur. It is the CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 and the van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. A good start to this race, also, for the #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 of Jenson Altzman in eighth place. Altzman co-driving with Chad McCumbee. Trouble only ten minutes into this motor race for the #55 Eduardo Gou driven Gou Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR, Eduardo and Eddie Gou, out of Southlake, Texas.
There's a flat right front tire and big damage to the right front corner of the car as well. One of two problems could arise here. Is there suspension damage? Or is it just that the Michelin Pilot tire on the right front of the car has a damaged carcass? The wheel looks to be in alignment. But don't go full speed back to the pit lane. Manage your speed so there is no further damage before bringing the car back to the pit lane. Chris Miller is really beginning to apply the blowtorch to Harry Gottsacker for the TCR lead! They are negotiating traffic with some of back markers in Grand Sport, some of the slower GT4 cars. The challenge is the track overlap especially on the two long straightaways. The GS cars are faster on the straightaways but could be slower in the turns.
The right front tire on the #55 Audi has completely shredded. There's bodywork damage. Gou Racing had a horrendous race in the season opener at Daytona, the 4-hour race back in January, completing just five laps total before it was game over. Yikes! McAllister swings out from behind van der Steur and van der Steur throws the block! Yikes! There is different ways to cut the corner, either close to the concrete wall or in the middle of the road. Both apexes through Sunset Bend are truly scary. The second apex right under the bridge, is blind. Drivers just cannot see where they are going before popping out on the front straightaway and back past the pit lane.
Turns one and 17 are two of the most challenging on any North American racetrack. The shock absorber technology is greatly improved and so has suspension. Oh dear! The #59 Ford Mustang GT4 has spun, and we see another car tangled up with it through the hairpin. That is the KOHR Motorsports car with Bob Michaelian at the controls, sharing with Luca Mars. Michaelian is back on track, and I could not see the other car. In replay, yikes, Paul Sparta ran deep and biffed Michaelian right off the road! That is the #92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 with Paul Sparta currently driving. Sparta sharing with Kenton Koch.
Paul Sparta came into the turn way too late. I wonder if there was a braking issue, specifically with the BMW of Sparta. Last weekend when we covered the VP Sports Car Challenge races at St. Petersburg, Florida, on the street course, Greg Liefooghe also driving a BMW M4 GT4 suffered a similar problem. Antilock brakes and the bumps at Sebring, maybe Paul Sparta felt that. Over a bump, the computer in the car triggers the ABS, to keep from locking up, and the brakes go numb so that the driver does not have much feel through the pedal when the electronics take over. I wonder if Paul Sparta went through that, in the little shemozzle we saw into the hairpin.
The race at Daytona was four hours long. This event at Sebring is two hours. We will have another four-hour race later in the year at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, in June. You can afford to be patient in the longer races. But, here at Sebring with a two-hour event, you just go for it. Tire degradation in the heat over the course of a stint is what we will be looking at and so will every team up and down the pit lane. Central Florida here at Sebring in March, on this St. Patrick's Day weekend, is hot. McAleer is content to sit behind the leader for now before handing over to Trent Hindman. RS1 are looking to really kickstart their championship charge in today's race.
Paul Holton slides his way through turn ten putting the rear Michelin tires in danger. Paul Holton is learning the car and the tire after not racing for a long time. Many years ago, he did drive a GT4 spec McLaren, as he wriggles the car through the Gendebien curves. He is excited about racing with a top team but must be patient. We have been underway in the race now for about 15 minutes and are watching Jesse Lazare in the lead aboard the MIA McLaren. Meanwhile, the #59 KohR Motorsports Mustang is in pit lane with possible damage after his contretemps with Paul Sparta a wee while ago.
Said incident is under review by the stewards as we see a replay of Sparta coming from a long way back with the ABS going south. Sparta has affected another driver's day, so he shall have to pay a penalty and is doing so now. Sparta will be frustrated by this. Co-driver Kenton Koch says that nothing was said on the radio as Sparta goes through the motions of the drive through. The car did not slow down on the inside line. The penalty is understood and will not be contested or argued. You need to flow from corner to corner as we see another car off the road and back on.
Frank DePew in the Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 and another of the TCR cars. I couldn't quite pick up on which one it was. Through turns ten and 11 it is Gottsacker vs. Miller through traffic. Gottsacker has the lead with Chris Miller giving him all he can handle. It is a delicate balance, as fuel save is straightforward, lifting and coasting into the braking zone. Saving tires with carrying rolling speed through the corner, on front wheel drive cars like a TCR, as Miller gets the run and Gottsacker might have to give it up, and he does. But, with tire management, on a front wheel drive car, the front wheels are managing, not only the drive of the car but all of the traction.
The rear wheels are just sitting there and have no component in steering or maneuvering the car necessarily. Slow down on corner entry, point the car, and release the steering input a little bit. Gottsacker got checked up through turn 17 and Miller was able to pass as Amir Haleem aboard the #66 car has a bird's eye view of the TCR leaders. Haleem driving the #66 CDR Valkyrie Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO alongside Brian Lock. Haleem, from London, England, and Brian Lock hailing out of Santz Cruz, California.
It is hot and Robert Wickens explains that Harry Gottsacker got bottled up out of Sunset Bend. He brushes off claims that he was conserving tires, or that the Audi is better on pace. Wickens says they were stymied by a slower Grand Sport car. It is a more demanding race here at Sebring even though it is half the duration of Daytona. Settle into a rhythm and see who has more tire life near the end of the race. A good result is crucial in the second of ten races and they don't want any more DNF's which will put them behind. They will be making up points for the whole rest of the year. We have been racing for just over 20 minutes.
Now we go onboard out of turn 17 with the #89 HART Honda Civic FK7 TCR with Steve Eich at the wheel, sharing the car alongside Chad Gilsinger. Both of them, are Honda employees from Marysville, Ohio, Honda's home base. Turn one at Sebring is an awesome corner, as there is drama with the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the hands of Bryce Ward sharing with Daniel Morad. Is there rear damage on that car? Are the rear wheels properly aligned? The tire is definitely flat. I wonder too about suspension damage at the back.
Maybe the wheel rim was damaged. You can hear... thwack! from the trackside microphone, and so there was definitely a hit. That is another one of the Porsche Cayman GT4 cars. It looks like car #21. That is the Rearden Racing Porsche Cayman being shared by two drivers from Utah, Jake Pedersen and Vesko Kozarov. It probably sent the suspension geometry awry, Pedersen went on the curb and slammed into the Mercedes. Pedersen gets on the curb and cannons into the Mercedes. The stewards are reviewing the fracas, and you know Pedersen wants that one back.
Now the battle for the race lead here at Sebring is beginning to simmer once again. Stevan McAleer, crawling all over the back of Jesse Lazare for the top spot. These blokes have eked out a gap on the third place Mercedes, the #78 Thaze Competition car of Josh Green. Jesse Lazare has done very well so far. Lazare and company won the season finale at Road Atlanta in 2023. They finished sixth at the season opener at Daytona International Speedway for 2024. This is the second year of the McLaren Artura GT4 model. The McLaren Artura and Porsche Cayman both got weight breaks from IMSA and so they are the lightest cars currently insofar as Balance of Performance in the Grand Sport class, run to GT4 regulations, obviously.
Jesse Lazare, as you read about recently, he doubled up on victories recently in the VP Sports Car Challenge races held on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, supporting the IndyCar championship lid lifter for their 2024 season, a week or so ago, maybe ten days ago now. Lazare ran incredibly well at St. Petersburg. Different race tracks but both very bumpy and needing suspension compliance. Jesse Lazare is getting many races under his belt. We are also looking back into the TCR field. This is Starcom Racing, a debut team that we touched on in some of the news updates before this race happened. This is the #12 Hyundai Elantra N TCR being shared by Nick Tucker and sports car and NASCAR racing veteran, Andy Lally.
Nick Tucker, the team owner, at the wheel of it. The team is also co-owned by 1990 Daytona 500 winner, Derrike Cope. The one and the only, Derrike Cope, has his fireproof overalls on again, even though he is not driving. Today, he is in charge of the fire bottle in pit lane. Welcome to IMSA, Derrike Cope! Starcom and company left the NASCAR Cup Series and picked racing in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Cope says he is out of the bull pen and now he is in the pit lane on fire bottle duty. The team got the Hyundai Elantra N TCR from the Herta Autosport folks, and massaged it, and now, they are here, racing at Sebring.
What a different world from NASCAR. Trouble in paradise, meanwhile, for the #88 Aston Martin! This car is on FiYah! There's that colloquial spelling of the word fire, again. Don't want to have to use it, colloquial or real, in racing. That's not good! Where there's smoke, there's definitely fire. Hopefully the team is on the radio to Todd Coleman saying "stop the car and bail out! Mate, you're on fire!" He's looking for a corner station and I think hes found ne. But believe you me, when he stops that Aston Martin, that darn thing might become engulfed. Dear God, I hope not!
There's fluid on fire pouring out the bottom of the car. Looks like, gosh, transmission, or gear, or differential fluid. It could be oil. Hard to tell. It's blazing orange and very hot! Full Course Yellow. Wer are under Full Course Yellow. These safe havens are marked with orange painted blocks. Todd Coleman escapes the car but is going to be frantically motioning to a marshal yelling, "my car is on fire!" Coleman is gesturing his frustration, hands on his helmet, throwing his hands in the air, no doubt muttering a few expletives and saying, "why is this happening to me?!"
One of the medics is trying to get his attention. He throws his hands up to say, "man, give me some space!" Full Course Yellow as we are only half an hour into the race and Harry Gottsacker gets the lead back in TCR. In this replay, we can see Chris Miller trying to make his way through Tower Corner, or The Tower Turn. There is, or was, a water tower that stands there. Gottsacker has a run and poor old Chris Miller drops a wheel off the road and for the next tight hander, he makes the pass. Gottsacker read that from behind and poor old Chris Miller was the cork in the bottle in traffic.
Todd Coleman is fine, but he will be a DNF today which will hurt their championship campaign. Coleman's teammate Aaron Telitz will be running with him full-time in the championship this year. But it is game over for them at Sebring, so he will not get a drive today. I wonder what the driver strategy will be. The GS cars can hit the lane for fuel and they will have to decide what to do about the driver change. Maybe double stinting is a good plan and then getting the second driver in. Our mate Brian Till in the broadcast booth points out this was no gasoline fire.
This looked like a fluid fire, gear or differential oil, which ignites at a far higher temperature I believe, than racing gasoline might. 55 minutes is the target for one stop, with some fuel save. But it is quicker to top up under Full Course Yellow rather than doing a full fuel load under green. McLaren, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, Aston Martin, BMW. Five manufacturers in the top five spots in Grand Sport. So, we might need to mention BMW. We have not talked about them as much, so far today. The BMW M4 GT4 is one of the heavier cars in the field. But, as everyone (nearly everyone), is hitting the pit lane, the #39 BMW M4 GT4 of Sean McAlister is one of them.
Oh. Oh. McAleer in the Porsche stays out. Hmmm. A massive chunk of the field in Grand Sport electing to come down the pit lane for service. Thaze Competition and Mercedes, in the lane. Motorsports in Action McLaren, are in the lane. That car has been on rails. Jesse Lazare looking strong as they wait for the fuel. Anyone getting an advantage? I don't think so. McAleer headed for the hairpin half a lap around. McAleer has not pitted and the only team this hurt is the #59 KOHR Ford Mustang GT4 that we saw spun earlier. If everyone had pitted, the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman would have gotten a lap back.
Excuse me. Maybe I am thinking of the aforementioned #59 Mustang. Someone help me. My brain is scrambled! One more set of numbers. Uh um. Hold the phone. Never mind. RS1 is leading. Now, once again we see the image of the stopped Aston Martin with the fluid puking out the bottom of the car. Blimey O'Reilly! When I said thing were heating up here in central Florida, I must have meant it! We remain under Full Course Yellow, and now, the cycle continues. Next lap on the counter, and the TCR touring cars head for the pit lane.
It has been a spicy race between the JDC-Miler Audi of Chris Miller which has seen smooth sailing. The Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai's are also in the lane. Harry Gottsacker staying in and the two Hyundai's are looking good. Filippi also stays in his automobile. They are down off the air jacks, the fuel is in, and they're down and away. Time spent on pit lane does not count towards your drive time. In this replay, we see a touch of argy bargy with the Hyundai and the Audi trying to find their spot. Taylor Hagler aboard the #77 Hyundai Elantra N TCR, another driver getting feisty, trying to find the spot to get back on track.
If there is overlap in the fast lane, the protocol is to move ahead of the other car. Fans young and old here at Sebring for spring break. Bring your umbrella and a cold drink, join us, and watch some jolly good sports car racing. The nfield here at Sebring is jam packed and they started lining up the motor homes a week or ten days ago. Groups of fans have been coming ten, 20, 30 years. It would be fun to go to Sebring just as a fan but it is hot. I have been to Daytona, but not to Sebring yet. Trent Hindman was asked about making a pit stop again. He laughed and said "I don't know. It depends on how long this yellow will be."
The RS1 Porsche boys are in fuel saving mode. They are already thinking about the championship in truth. The Porsche Cayman's struggle in the heat. But they are going to capitalize when they can. The #38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman is in the same boat with team manager John Tecce calling the strategy on the pit box for drivers Thomas Collingwood and Spencer Pumpelly. They seem to mirror the #28 strategy. Spencer Pumpelly will get into the car, the lime green Porsche Cayman in second spot. You know McAleer was doing fuel management and coasting. Don't go back to green and be in a spot where you can't make it.
A couple more Porsche Cayman's are in because their drive time has been sufficed. They can put their hired gun in the car and will be on full fuel tanks. Nolasport are also in the lane with their #47 Porsche Cayman. Matt Travis swapping over to Jason Hart. Travis is known as "the world's fastest accountant." The #09 Aston Martin has boxed them in though, in the pit lane, the #38 car I mean. So, I wonder if the Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 will move. That's the car of Rob Ecklin and Raman Abdolvahabi. You've got time under Full Courser Yellow to execute a pit stop.
In the lane we see the #80 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR being shared by Morgan Burkhard from Charles Town, West Virginia, and Indianapolis' Chase Jones. Don't be in a hurry and make a mistake. Be methodical and get the job done. Behind the safety car the lap times are much slower. But you can still take a chance to roll the dice if you wish. Spencer Pumpelly back on track. This is a chaotic situation as one of the drivers trips trying to put his co-driver in the car in TCR. Fuel mileage is really manufacturer specific.
Sometimes TCR cars can go half the race, an hour. But others don't go so far. A full fuel load is 48 seconds while half a tank is 24 seconds and that is a massive pit lane delta to deal with as we have lights out atop the Cadillac safety car. We are set to go back to green. Stevan McAleer leads the field to green, but right there, look, Michai Stephens in the JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 is right on his six. Michai Stephens, Jesse Webb and their pit crew must have played a blinder and dove to the lane early under the yellow and now they have track position. This is manna from heaven for the JMF team.
He is topped up with fuel and is in the catbird seat. Porsche followed by Mercedes and McLaren. But now, look, Lazare wants to make a move on Stephens in turn one! Stephens is trying to put the block on Lazare. He will hold the position. Michai Stephens has succeeded in North American GT4 competition and done very well. There's more racing back in the pack. Michai Stephens' approach to racing is smart. Lazare up through turn ten past the Mercedes into the braking zone.
The Mercedes is 100 kilograms heavier than the McLaren is as we look at a replay of some massive action through turn three at Kristensen corner. Ugh! Wow! That's massive contact between the #66 CDR Valkyrie Toyota Supra GT4 Evo and the #44 Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman! That's dodging a major bullet between Amir Haleem and Moisey Uretsky! Uretsky sharing the Baby Bull Porsche Cayman with Michael Cooper. We hear the clatter from the onboard camera in the Supra. Boom! Haleem is off in the grass too. Full Course Yellow, again. I don't think this will change the game too much. Going another lap does not get them closer.
This is a short yellow, pit lane stays closed, and we will be at the halfway mark in the motor race in another ten minutes anyhow. If they get another one in 15 minuts, everyone will come together and you will cycle to the back. McAleer might want a do over in terms f strategy. There will be the class split between GS and TCR. Amir Haleem can breathe, finally. If the Toyota was not there, the Porsche would have gone to the wall. Big damage on the left side of the #66 Toyota. The tires were still cold and had very little grip.
The wave by is happening now. Mark Wilkins is now in the #98 BHA Hyundai. Mason Filippi says he ticked all the boxes. Shorten stops for the rest of the race. Mark Wilkins will bring the car up to speed. The Hyundai team has done a driver camp and they went to the Sports Lab in New York City focusing on physical fitness. Hyundai Hope on Wheels is their charity. For every lap led, $100 goes to a charity of their choice for pediatric cancer research. Kudos to them for that one. They donated $20,000 to the pediatric hospitals in 2023.
So, we are now all set to go back to racing, but always respect the bumps! The wreckers are out picking up debris. No, there is no separate class in the race, for tow trucks! We have seen a lot of action, and not necessarily the good kind. The smoke is not from campfires. It is from the computers in pit lane! The #28 RS1 Porsche team have very likely played their hand already. What can they do with just over an hour of racing left on the board?
Are you going to sit out front risking running out of gas in 15 minutes? Or is it better to be second topped up with fuel? I would rather have fuel in the tank. However, a stop under yellow would put RS1 in danger of losing track position as all the Grand Sport cars come in together in one line. Under green it would be better. McAleer has a double-edged sword. First off, he must take off like a bullet from a gun to get ahead but then he also must hit his fuel number to make it to the finish in six or seven minutes. Hyundai's run 1-2 in TCR but it is VGRT in second behind BHA. With about an hour to go, let's look at the running order.
In GS it is McAleer ahead in the Porsche Cayman followed by Jesse Lazare in the McLaren Artura. Then the Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Michai Stephens. Fourth is Sebastian Carazo in the #67 Porsche Cayman for Czabok-Simpson Motorsport, the car the Puerto Rican racer shares with Nikita Lastochkin out of Los Angeles, California. In fifth is the #13 Ford Mustang GT4 currently driven by Jenson Altzman, the McCumbee McAleer Racing car he shares with Chad McCumbee. Dillon Machavern is sixth aboard the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 that he shares with Robert Megennis.
Paul Holton is in seventh in the #46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 he is sharing alongside Matt Plumb. In eighth place is the sister #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 with Francis Selldorff at the controls sharing with Robby Foley. Ninth place is the #78 Thaze Competition Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Josh Green and Marc Miller, while rounding out the top ten in Grand Sport is the #19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Rory van der Steur and VHC, Valentin Hasse-Clot.
Now we move to check the TCR top ten. In the lead, the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Harry Gottsacker sharing with Robert Wickens. Victor Gonzalez holds second in the #99 VGRT Hyundai Elantra N TCR with co-driver Tyler Gonzalez, no relation. Third is the #6 Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR of Blainville, Quebec, Canada's L.P. Montour and Puerto Rican racer Bryan Ortiz. Next, the #5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR of Tim Lewis and Dr. William Tally for KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering.
Taylor Hagler aboard the #77 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR rounds out the top five, sharing with Bryson Morris. In sixth place it is the #93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR shared by Dai Yoshihara of Japan and Canadian driver Karl Wittmer. Seventh is the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Jon Morley and Gavin Ernstone. Eighth place is another Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra. This is Mark Wilkins teamed up with Mason Filippi who we heard the interview from earlier.
Rounding out the top ten, in ninth spot is the #89 HART Honda Civic FK7 TCR currently with Chad Gilsinger at the controls after Steve Eich finished his stint, and rounding out the top ten is car #76, another Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra, this one with Denis Dupont, the Canadian, from Quebec, currently driving. He shares the driving duties with starting driver Preston Brown from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. VGRT have Emily Rivera as their team manager and strategist. She worked for IMSA before but was hired by Victor Gonzalez Racing Team.
At McCumbee McAleer Racing, Jenson Altzman's mom, Alison Altman has a foundation to give young women an opportunity in motorsports. Kudos to their tire management specialist, Ellen Sanders. We are right at the halfway mark in the race, ready to go back to green. One hour down and one hour to go. Stevan McAleer, the Scotsman, from Glasgow, leads the motor race. Not a ton of fuel in the Porsche but the second place McLaren of Jesse Lazare, his tank is filled to the brim. Time for the restart. We are halfway home.
In the next five to ten minutes, we will know exactly how much pace Stevan McAleer has. Green flag! With one more yellow some cars know they can get to the checkers. Michai Stephens turning up the pressure on Jesse Lazare. Remember, these cars are totally different from a weight standpoint, and now, the #33 Hyundai is in pit lane running behind the #47 Nolasport Porsche Cayman. Harry Gottsacker is set to hand over to Robert Wickens. Tires changed, and fuel added. This is right in their window with under an hour to go. Everyone was right together. It takes 52 seconds to fuel the car completely. It is a long lap here at Sebring.
The fuel mileage and drive team at BHA is fine. Last year, they lost out to the Alfa Romeo team here at Sebring as the #89 Honda tries making room, Chad Gilsinger, and then he goes off course. Gilsinger has been successful in the touring car section of Michelin Pilot Challenge and a few years ago he drove and won with sports car racing and open wheel veteran Michael Valiante. The Turner Motorsports BMW team are on the cusp of breaking the number of professional starts in sports car racing for BMW by a team that runs their cars.
Turner Motorsports are about to (later in the year) break Team Schnitzer's record. The BMW's have not had the pace they wanted. Incident responsibility handed to the #44 Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman after nerfing the #66 CDR Valkyrie, Helium Mobile liveried Toyota Supra off the road. Michael Cooper now at the wheel. Oh dear. From the lead in TCR, L.P. Montour has stuffed the #6 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR into the tire wall. Yikes! The #77 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra is also off the road! Taylor Hagler at the controls. Did Hagler and Montour come together to cause this incident?
It is three wheels on me wagon for Montour. The left rear is without a tire. There is a big donut on the left rear door. The two of them came together. Not really. The left rear is flat and so is Hagler's left front and poor old Montour hits the bump and the corner radius is so long, it closes, and you don't have enough room and L.P. Montour went for a ride. That move was just not on. BMWs in the fight and it is rush hour through Sunset Bend as Francis Selldorff gets divebombed by the sister Turner Motorsports machine! Yikes! This is a scrum between Francis Selldorff and Dillon Machavern. Altzman in the Mustang has hit the pit lane. When will the Turner boys in the blue and yellow BMW's do likewise?
Next time by they are in the window, I think. But it depends. It is hard to predict fuel mileage because the software in the onboard computer just like your road car, is making decisions, doing it's job as the engine's brain. If the engine begins to run hot, the computer knows it and dumps more fuel into the motor to cool it off and dissipate the intense heat. That costs fuel mileage. The motor, just like your road car, has a failsafe system on it so it doesn't go bang. Air on the side of caution. Oh dear. We have a loose tire carcass and the #6 Honda, and #77 Hyundai are still in limp home mode on three wheels.
I said it once, I'll say it again. It's three wheels on me wagon. Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow. Stevan McAleer is going to hit the lane for fuel and a lot of other blokes are going to play follow my leader and do likewise. Trent Hindman will drop like a stone and his rivals will have faster stops with less fuel necessary. It will be down to the driver change. You could be using half the time to fuel up and more time to do the driver change. Ford Mustang #13 got to the pits before the Full Course Yellow. So, they have time in hand to do a full service. It's like when you go to the carwash, hand the attendant your ticket and say, "full-service wash, please." Jeepers creepers! That left rear on the Honda, the tire is shredded. It's like sawblade tearing up the bodywork.
You can hear it on the trackside microphone. Whack, whack, whack, whack, whack. If #13 was marginal on fuel, they will be in much better shape, with Chad McCumbee driving. Brian Till makes another great point. Minimum fueling time is not based on five liters, or a full fuel load. It is based on fuel flow. If you need a splash, your stop will be shorter, and the full fill is the only time where you have to meet a minimum pit time in the lane. #77 us trundling to the lane as well. The yellow is saving fuel for some of the teams. This whole thing was the battle for the lead after Hyundai #33 came to the pit lane.
Here's a brief race summary. Stevan McAleer leads with 51 minutes to go, exactly. Two leaders and two lead changes. We have had three yellows for eight laps in total, and 34 of the 40 starters are on the lead lap. That said, things will be mixed up during the FCY. Both classes are good to go. Everyone else will hit pit lane as you back time the race. McAleer is running on fumes and is in big, big trouble. Montour and Hagler, neither one of them wanted to wreck. But both cars coming through that series of corners were fully loaded up and when they broke traction after the contact, both were headed for no man's land and reeling into the barriers.
You could put a finger on the rear fender and the car would go sideways. Turn 17 is a long duration turn and you can't find the hole when the door is closing. 1/3rd of the way into the turn, you are committed. You cannot bail out of it or you will hit the wall. Paul Sparta had a drive through penalty but his co-driver Kenton Koch, his co-driver, is ninth overall and if they nail the pit stop, they could be in the pound seats when we head back to green. Grand Sport cars all in the pit lane now. Jesse Lazare finishes his stint and the MIA McLaren goes for a driver change.
Robby Foley will replace Francis Selldorff aboard the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW. They won this race a year ago. Robert Megennis takes over the sister car. At RS1, Trent Hindman replaces Stevan McAleer, and they have a longer fuel fill. Kenton Koch in the Random Vandals BMW leapfrogs the two Turner cars. Wow! A tight squeeze on pit exit there, look, between Trent Hindman and Gregory Liefooghe! Liefooghe now aboard the #43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4. Liefooghe found his spot behind Hindman but that was a close shave.
Mercedes #34 beat the #28 Porsche out of the lane. Bank on the back half of the field coming in but if the other leaders come in same time as you, you're like "oh no!" This is because you are a sitting duck and cannot avoid flying Plummet Airways down the order. The timing of the yellow flags for this race this year is the same we've seen the last two years in 2022 and '23. Hindman will have a hard time managing tires and scything his way through the field. There's offensive and defensive strategies that can be played as we see a few TCR cars in pit lane as we have 45 minutes of racing left to go.
Hyundai #98 is pitting and of course, the #33 sister car came in just before the most recent green flag to get Robert Wickens into the car. How long is the yellow flag? A short yellow is less meaningful than a longer one. Each one is different depending on the circumstances. The ones that take a really long time are for barrier damage. You cannot do strategy without a large slice of luck. There are three new frontrunners. Michael Cooper now leads in the #44 Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman. Robin Liddell is second in the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
In third place, the #2 Czabok-Simpson Motorsport Porsche Cayman with Jackson Lee at the wheel of it. Jesse Lazare tells us that this race, the first stint when he was in the lead, he could not make any mistakes with the #28 of McAleer behind him. When they took fuel everything worked well and now, his co-driver Michael de Quesada is going for it. They do not have AC in the car but it felt fine. A completely different lineup coming to the restart. Let's have a Captain Cook at the top ten places in each of the classes.
In GS it is Michael Cooper, Robin Liddell, Jackson Lee, Valentin Hasse-Clot, Chad McCumbee, Riley Dickinson, Vesko Kozarov, Kenton Koch, Robby Foley, and Robert Megennis. In TCR, it is Mikey Taylor, Morgan Burkhardt, Mark Wilkins, Chad Gilsinger, Denis Dupont, Andy Lally, Karl Wittmer, Tim Lewis Jr., Robert Wickens, and Tyler Gonzalez. Porsche, Aston Martin, Porsche, Aston Martin, Ford, Porsche, Porsche, BMW, BMW, BMW, in Grand Sport. TCR manufacturer order is Audi, Hyundai, Hyundai, Honda, Hyundai, Hyundai, Honda, Alfa Romeo, Hyundai, Hyundai.
Most of these cars will have enough fuel to get to the end. 41 minutes to go. Green flag. Michael Cooper leading with Robin Liddel right on his six. Jackson Lee wants to beat McLaren more than anyone now because recall, last weekend, Jackson Lee ran second to a McLaren from MIA in both VP Sports Car Challenge sprint events in St. Petersburg, Florida. Jackson Lee was racing open wheel cars but decided to change to sports car GT racing. Oh boy! Kenton Koch leapfrogs a bunch of cars through the hairpin.
Jeff Westphal, too, is going for it in the #39 CarBahn Racing BMW M4 GT4 and he is going after both of the Turner Motorsports BMW's! He wants by both Megennis and Foley! Poor old Westphal has damage to his car and that will not help his cause down the Ulmann straight or the frontstretch. He is hanging essentially a giant parachute out there, just like a toy parachute you would have played with in gym class as a kid. The closers are in the cars. Kenton Koch is crawling all over the back of Vesko Kozarov in the Porsche Cayman. Kozarov is a savvy, cagey racer, and he is not falling for the trickery on this one.
Kozarov is great with engineering and driving alike. Jackson Lee was driving the rival car behind him at St. Petersburg, the #19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin! The car that is behind him. VHC is going to make a move as Lee is fighting it after missing his braking marker and didn't wash out with the ABS. Going from single seaters to sports cars is a big step. He has made his first professional scheduled it stop, has Jackson Lee. For him, there is new information and situations, like drinking from a firehose.
Hugh Plumb went off the road, in the #64 Aston Martin, hitting the bump and... oy yoy yoy, off in the dirt! The GT4 cars do not have the aerodynamic adhesion you get with a prototype. What a wild ride! VHC is taking off ahead of Jackson Lee but Lee has both Chad McCumbee and Riley Dickinson going after him and McCumbee, the former NASCAR racer from North Carolina, is all over his back bumper like a cheap suit! I wonder if Lee's tires are toasted on the Porsche. Maybe the rear tires are screaming, I can't do this! Look at this! For the lead into Sunset Bend!
Michael Cooper, oh my heavens! He has Robin Liddell almost right beside him in that brand new Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo! Lookie here! As they scrap, VHC has other ideas. Valentin Hasse-Clot is showing up to the party uninvited. McCumbee has bested Jackson Lee for a wee while and now, Lee has Riley Dickinson to deal with in another Porsche Cayman. I don't write about this series, but for a few years, I did watch on Peacock, as Riley Dickinson cleaned up in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America sprint races that support IMSA weekends.
Robin Liddell has the speed in the middle of the straightaway while the Porsche of Michael Cooper has the top speed edge right at the end before the corner. It's Stuttgart vs. Gaydon Warwickshire in England. The brand-new Aston Martin is fighting for the win. Is it driving style? Is it the car? Liddell has better rolling speed through the apex. Cooper is racing for his life at this moment! Maybe that's exaggerating it, but Liddell is throwing the kitchen sink at him right now. That said, Cooper is experienced shoe. He has won four SRO America championships, so he's no slouch.
Cooper was pushed into an opportunity by his brother to go racing. He eventually raced with one of his mentors, multiple Sebring race winner in GTS, GT1, and GT2 Corvette's, Johnny O'Connell. Down the frontstretch, Cooper tucks it inside to try and pass Liddell and now, Valentin Hasse-Clot is closer than ever. #19 up the inside and three deep down the fronstretch headed for turn one! Ooh! I don't know about this! VHC charges going for the lead and Liddell slams the door in his face!
Liddell makes it around the outside and poor old Michael Cooper loses two places to the Aston Martin's of Liddell and Hasse-Clot! Michael Cooper has to be scratching his head, wondering, "how on earth did that happen?!" Blimey! The car Hasse-Clot is driving in the second position, that is the older generation Aston Martin compared to Liddell leading the motor race with their newer 2024 spec Aston Martin GT4. It is the new version vs. the old version. Each of the Aston Martin's weighs the same amount. However, back at Daytona in the January MPC opener, the new car got a 45 kilogram weight break compared to the older car.
The GT4 Evo Aston Martin might have an advantage. Meanwhile, Mikey Taylor has now put the #17 Unitronic, JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi out front in TCR. How long is the South African driver going to keep the lead, though? That is the big question. Andy Lally, in the meantime, has made it to P4! He is being chased by Tim Lewis Jr. aboard the #5 KMW with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR. Lally is back in Michelin Pilot Challenge. He won five Rolex watches for 24 hour races and championship titles.
He was giving the other Rolex's to important people in his life, keeping only the first one he won. Derrike Cope has a heck of a driver behind the wheel. After winning TCR here at Sebring last year, we know that the Alfa Romeo is an automobile capable of prodigious speed. Lally vs. Lewis and Lally clears him into turn one. Lally is one of the toughest drivers to pass on the sports car racing circuit. Andy Lally telegraphs to LMP2 and GTP cars, I see you and I will let you go, only when it doesn't cost me anything. Andy Lally is a great driver.
StarCom took delivery of the car from Bryan Herta Autosport, learning the car in a test at Virginia International Raceway. Another notable team is the #80 Hyndai of Morgan Burkhard and Chase Jones. Chase Jones has done go karts and USAC dirt midgets. He is enjoying driving a TCR car and he has had to do his homeowkr on how to drive the car. He loves racing the Hyundai! 30 more minutes to survive and they are running second, currently. Survive the track here at Sebring, too. It chews you up and spits you out, Sebring Raceway does. Another piece of bodywork has vacated the #39 CarBahn BMW M4 GT4.
Drivers will have or run right over that bumper and hope it is made of plastic, not carbon fiber. Carbon fiber bodywork pieces are like Peaky Blinder flat caps and have razor edges to them. I own a flat hat, so, there's that reference. But I don't own a Peaky Blinders flat hat. Peaky Blinders is a British comedy television show, by the way. Meanwhile, trouble for the #38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman, slow and offline. Spencer Pumpelly and company giving it 110%. It looks square. Riley Dickinson is scrapping for eighth place in the Porsche Cayman #91 along with Matty Plumb in the #46 TGM Aston Martin.
Trent Hindman, a former driver for Aston Martin, is about to make a move on Matt Plumb. Like I said, you've got to watch out for Peaky Blinder flat hats. These things are sharp. So are these drivers making moves late in this motor race. Now, Trent Hindman will be all over Riley Dickinson, our race winner at Daytona, like a cheap suit. Deep under braking goes the #69 MIA McLaren and poor old Michael de Quesada is swallowed up by Jackson Lee. This is great motor racing in the waning moments. Jackson Lee does not have the experience in these cars but he is still going for it.
Jackson Lee did the over/under on Michael de Quesada. Strategy and luck and outright speed, all these things are helping him out. Riley Dickinson and Trent Hindman are also in this fight. This is all going to build confidence for Jackson Lee. He is under pressure by the McLaren with more cars coming down the Ulmann Straight. One of the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4's is lurking and so is the Random Vandals BMW M4 GT4. Turner Motorsports team boss Will Turner is cautiously optimistic and now, he feels as though things are not working out as they'd like.
In racing it is tough to deal with everything. They have a good car but not a great handling czr. There's only 25 minutes to go. Everyone else is getting very aggressive and we'll see what happens, regrouping for the next race. We could see some argy bargy late on in the race. Will Turner and Turner Motorsports look to break the record for BMW starts. He says it all came together when they realized that they would eclipse that record for starts, worldwide, with BMW. They are going to keep fighting and building their team.
They will break the record of Team Schnitzer. If you don't know who they are, I urge you to go back through sports car racing and touring car racing history. Type Team Schnitzer into your web browser and do a search on them. You will be glad you did. There's a lot of pushing and shoving for ninth spot in GS. Riley Dickinson and Matt Plumb are scrapping hammer and tongs. The two Turner Motorsports BMW's are also right on the scene. You've got four heavy hitters here with Riley Dickinson, Matt Plumb, Robby Foley, and Kenton Koch. In replay, there's action in the hairpin.
A bit of aggro between the #99 VGRT Hyundai Elantra N TCR and the #64 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage. #99 hops up in the air on three wheels! That is the crossover between the two classes. It is an interesting dynamic, and it is going to get feisty in the final 20 minutes. We should give a call to Jon Morley at the wheel of the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR. Gavin Ernstone was stranded at Sunset Bend but then went to the pit lane and they had to wait to sufficenthe minimum drive time. Team manager Eric Peterson making the calls.
Road Shagger are not committed to the entire season. They will race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, the next stop on the tour for the Michelin Pilot Challenge, and maybe some other races towards the end of the year. Gavin and his wife Kelly have a new baby boy at home, George. George was watching from Daytona earlier in the year. Jackson Lee gets used up by the BMW's and the goody has worn out of those Michelin tires. The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 is in the picture. But poor old Daniel Morad is laps down and not in contention.
Robin Liddell works his way into the Tower Turn. Frank DePew says that with their fuel situation, they are fairly confident but not entirely because they don't have the data on the car yet. They have cars steaming along behind them who are catching up. Right now, they are confident. Their shops are located in Deland, Florida. Jeff Westphal is putting the welly down aboard the #39 BMW M4 GT4 for CarBahn. He might struggle with speed with the bumper. VHC goes off and on.
Liddell and company got six liters less fuel, the Aston Martin did. Westphal has an opportunity to poke his nose in after some hip and shoulder between Hasse-Clot and Cooper! Oh my! McCumbee not slowing down whatsoever. The car drives well but Westphal says the BMW is too slow. They are racing for points, doing damage control at the present time. This track changes so much throughout the day. Jackson Lee can't hold on and goes off the road into the sand and gets passed by Morad and one of the other Porsche Cayman's. That is the Nolasport car.
I don't know if it is Matt Travis or Jason Hart in the Porsche #47 right now. In this replay we see VHC going all the way, using all the road, forcing Chad McCumbee out wide. This has opened the door for Jeff Westphal. Robin Liddell, in the meantime, has opened a 1.8 second buffer on Michael Cooper. Wow. Jeff Westphal has four more laps on fuel than our leader, Robin Liddell. Robin Liddell could be saving fuel. Andy Lally is not saving anything though as he is pressing Chad Gilsinger, putting the squeeze on "The Gunslinger". Will he do the frosoover? No.
Andy Lally, look, he's in a hornet's nest right now with Robert Wickens and Tim Lewis Jr. both right on him. Hyundai, Hyundai, Alfa Romeo. Bump and rub between Lally and Wickens. Lally keeping Wickens at Bay and Lewis Jr. might have a bite of the cherry. A great blend of characters and cars. This is the battle for third through seventh in TCR. Chad Gilsinger, Andy Lally, Robert Wickens, Tim Lewis Jr., and Jon Morley. Oh jeez! Robert Wickens off the road in turn 16 right before the Ulmann straight! Now for the GS battle. Third place up for grabs between VHC, Valentin Hasse-Clot, and Jeff Westphal. Aston Martin vs. BMW.
Michael Cooper is scampering away. Westphal is getting stymied. The last two years, we've seen a late race yellow flag. Oh! Just as I say those words, Morley in the Audi, is all over the shop! That was a massive a tank slapper! Morley saves that thing in the exit of turn one! Yikes! He had to pull himself out of the slide. In a front wheel drive car, don't lift. Keep your right foot buried in the firewall at all costs. It is either feast or famine for Road Shagger Racing. Lewis Jr. beat Wickens in last year's Michelin Pilot Challenge race here at Sebring in 2023. A year later it is cut and paste but with more competition.
Mikey Taylor remains in the TCR lead as Wickens sends it into the entry of turn 14. Mechanical trouble for the #69 McLaren Artura GT4 and for MIA! Oh, my heavens! The Motorsports in Action team are in trouble in the waning moments of the race. All four Michelin tires are up. I wonder if the engine coughed. Westphal continues chasing Hasse-Clot and this is allowing both Cooper and Liddell to get away. Westphal is fighting for track position with 11 minutes left on the board. Westphal is crawling all over Hasse-Clot through Bishop Bend and onto the Ulmann straight.
That being said, Westphal sees Hasse-Clot and what he's doing and he's moving in response to Westphal. Well, that is not in the rulebook. So, you know Westphal is on the horn to the team saying, 'what in earth's name is this bloke doing?" I don't think the stewards will appreciate that. Hasse-Clot is an Aston Martin factory driver, so he has the bag of tricks to try and psych Westphal out. Cue the "Jaws" music because now poor old Westphal is falling into the clutches of Chad McCumbee in the Ford Mustang. These new GT4 cars, the Aston Martin and the Mustang are finally here. We've waited for them for a long time.
The old Mustang was very successful, but long in the tooth. Westphal defending from McCumbee. Cooper is keeping Liddell honest at the top of the shop. Maybe the Porsche has better tires. I wonder. Does the Aston Martin have grubby tires at this stage in the game? Maybe Robin Liddell is told to do some fuel saving with six liters less fuel in the tank. Westphal wants this over Hasse-Clot into the braking zone for Sunset Bend. Mate, have a Captain Cook at this! Westphal, deep on the brakes, he thinks he has VHC cleared. Nope. Not now, sunbeam.
Hasse-Clot makes the pass and now, McCumbee, oh man. He could make his move. Poor old Westphal knows he's exposed here. Is he a sitting duck aboard the BMW? Westphal isn't washed up yet. McCumbee is stymied. He can't make anything work. Westphal side by side with VHC! Wheel to wheel. VHC closes the door. McCumbee is right alongside Westphal now! I wonder. What will the stewards say about the driving of these three blokes? It's clean, but there's bound to be some consternation here.
Westphal is going to be bluing on the radio that Hasse-Clot is making too many moves and that it isn't fair to the letter of the rules. Hasse-Clot in the middle of the road through the Collier corner and Cooper has set sail and is now doing everything in his power to have a head of steam to run down Liddell. #19, warning for blocking from Race Control. It is the blocking down the backstretch. Cooper and Liddell are scurrying away and now, Westphal tries a run but might need to handle it differently through Sunset Bend.
He's as straight as a string down the backstretch and now, the #69 McLaren has joined the party. Blimey! Michael de Quesada has caught this bunch of traffic after we were sure he was fading fast. Knock, knock. It's a thing of beauty when Michael's on duty. de Quesada lapping in the 2:12 range. Hindman uncorked a 2:11.5 earlier. Even on knackered tires he is giving it a good run. Liddell has responded to Michael Cooper's efforts and has opened up a second's worth of a gap on the Porsche driver.
We thought the Porsche would have a tire advantage. Hard to say. de Quesada passes McCumbee for P5. Westphal buried into the ABS brakes with a sprint brake pad and disc set on the car and they will be used up at he end of this one. In TCR the major battle before the end here is Tim Lewis Jr. vs. Robert Wickens with the top three of Mikey Taylor, Morgan Burkhard, and Chad Gilsinger, holding station. Lally has made good his escape over Robert Wickens. Westphal continues to chase Hasse-Clot. Westphal looks to the outside. No dice. Hasse-Clot leaves a lane open. He is keeping the apex of turn 17 tidy and we see now, trouble in paradise for Tim Lewis Jr.! No repeat victory for the Alfa Romeo team!
#5 is fading fast. He might be stopping. Let's hope this isn't a yellow. De Quesada dives in on Westphal into Kristensen Corner and spins him out. That was a late move. Westphal will not be happy about it. It was a little late. I don't think Jeff Westphal expected that, and now, Michael Cooper is off at the hairpin, running slow. He could be out of gas. He was running skinny, and now I think the tank is empty, mate. Two laps to go. de Quesada, unless he incurs a penalty, with the fuel situation, he and the MIA McLaren team are in the catbird seat.
Aston Martin run 1-2 with the new car vs. the old car. Race Control says the #69 team must cop a drive through penalty for barging Westphal off the road. This moves Chad McCumbee to third and the final podium place. Michael de Quesada won the Rolex 24 with his father's team, Alegra Motorsports, way back in 2017. Robin Liddell gets the white flag. One lap to go. Can they hold on? #69 serving the penalty. On this final lap, this could be manna from heaven for Rebel Rock Racing. In replay, we can see that de Quesada was up and over the blue and white curbing and was nowhere near clear on Jeff Westphal, turning into him.
Tim Lewis Jr. is still moving. Final lap of the motor race. Final time through the hairpin. Mikey Taylor takes the white flag in TCR. The real battle in TCR will be for third between Chad Gilsinger and Andy Lally. Lally is closing, fast. Final lap in TCR. Victor Gonzalez Racing Team in P2, with Morgan Burkhard, running down Mikey Taylor. #44 runs out of gas. Lally is not done working over Gilsinger putting it all on the line. Rolex 24 winner, championship winning driver, street luge champion, that is Andy Lally.
Rebel Rock Racing win, debuting a new car here at Sebring! The victory to Robin Liddell and Frank DePew! Lally passes Gilsinger and is now going to be in hot pursuit of Mikey Taylor for the victory! Check that, the final podium place. Morgan Burkhard will finish second. Andy Lally like a terrier on a bone not giving up. Gilsinger has to watch his mirrors as Morley goes off and on fighting with Denis Dupont. Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller win TCR! Two for two in TCR for JDC-Miller Motorsports! Wow! I'll say it again. Wow! Andy Lally holds onto the final podium place!
Overall/Grand Sport: #71 Liddell/DePew Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo
TCR: #17 Miller/Taylor Unitronic/JDC Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR
Righton the end of the race, the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 runs out of gas. The points standings are still in play as we get to the meat of the season. Next up for Michelin Pilot Challenge will be at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, California, coming up on Mother's Day weekend, May 11th and 12th. We'll see you then. Looking forward to it. For now, so long from the orange groves of Sebring International Raceway in central Florida. Join us again tomorrow, for the big one. The 12 Hours of Sebring.
Bye for now.
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