After a two-month break, the cars and the stars of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge are back for another go around, for round three of the championship, the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120, here at the track that lends its name to the race title. Two hours of motor racing around this legendary circuit with it's tricky turns, rises, falls, dives and drops, including the famous Corkscrew, will bring the action in spades. On the pole position in the Grand Sport class for GT4 production-based sports cars, it is the #69 MIA (Motorsports in Action) McLaren Artura GT4 to be driven by Michael de Quesada and co-driver Jesse Lazare. They also topped the timetables in Free Practice. So, they have momentum to be contenders in today's race.
In the TCR touring car class, at the top of the shop it is the #6 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR, with Bryan Ortiz at the wheel of it, just barely beating Chris Miller in the #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR that he will co-drive with South African Mikey Taylor. Ortiz sharing car #6 with co-driver Louis Philippe Montour, the driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A somewhat surprising TCR result after the qualifying sessions wrapped up. 25 GT4 spec Grand Sport cars and a dozen TCR's will take the green flag this afternoon for a grand total of 37 starters.
We do have a handful of driver changes and I believe they have taken place in the GS class as far as co-drivers are concerned. The cars are lined up on the grid. The drives are ready. It is a gorgeous day on this springtime Saturday at Laguna Seca Raceway as we join Dave Burns and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth for the call of the action. Matt Plumb has a ten-point lead over the team of Robin Liddell and Frank DePew. So, it is Team TGM and their Aston Martin Vantage GT4 leading the similar car from Rebel Rock Racing in the Grand Sport class.
In the TCR division, as we join Brian Till and Dillon Welch in the pit lane, we are looking at more battles between Honda, Audi, and Hyundai this afternoon. Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker are the main protagonists aboard the #33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport. The TCR cars roll off onteir formation lap. Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor have a 100 point lead over Denis Dupont and Preston Brown. Laguna Seca Raceway has plenty of elevation change including the world famous Corkscrew.
There are other corners here named for famous drivers and riders. Names like Andretti, Rahal, and Rainey. The Corkscrew at turn eight is the most famous turn on the track. So, we also have a new track surface, a little less than a year ago and this track has a tone of grip. It used to be a deal where there was no grip. But the track will develop, and we are going to see what happens. We expect low tire degradation on the Michelin Pilot tires. Michael de Quesada is the polesitter. Through The Corkscrew they go and it is such a spectacular turn because you are blind before going over the edge of it.
Jesse Webb for JMF Racing in the Mercedes-AMG GT4 on the outside of the front row. A split start between GS and TCR. Green flag and away we go! McLaren with the jump. Everyone else is chasing. No one is allowed to cross columns and I wonder if de Quesada did so. Jesse Webb spins off the road! Oh dear! He is fine and back on track. In TCR, as they go through the Andretti Hairpin, Bryan Ortiz is the leader in class as the tire scream for grip, beging for mercy and one of the new Ford Miustang GT4's is off the road. I don't know which one it is.
Michael de Quesada is being harried now by Stevan McAleer in the RS1 Porsche Cayman, the #28 car sharing with Trent Hindman. Oh no! Another spin! I wonder who it is. It was Jenson Altzman in the #13 Ford Mustang GT4, the McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4. I think the GS cars, the GT4 entries will be doing more than one pit stop today, at least two. The #43 Ford Mustang GT4 was the other car off the road. Sean Quinlan and Gregory Liefooghe have a Ford Mustang GT4 now and not a BMW M4 GT4.
Altzman says the car is not turning well and the steering is out of alignment, perhaps. So, we have only just started the Michelin Pilot Challenge event here at Laguna Seca. We've got a good distance to go yet, ladies and gentlemen. Grab a snack and a cold beverage and stay with us for the next couple of hours. You'll be glad you did. Of course, tomorrow afternoon is the big race, the fourth round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, right here at Laguna Seca as well. Oh dear! We have another wreck and Thomas Collingwood in the #38 BGB Racing Porsche Cayman has clobbered the barriers.
In replay, through turn four, he dropped the left side wheels into the sand and speared it off the road, clobbering the barriers. Spencer Pumpelly is the co-driver. The car was #83 before team boss John Tecce swapped the numbers to have better luck but that will not happen this afternoon as it is game over for the lime green Porsche. The Porsche's ran very well in qualifying and that is of course, Stevan McAleer. They will move on to the next Michelin Pilot event which is a 4-hour event at Mid-Ohio, next month, and we will have that one for you, right here on the blog. It was a glancing blow to the barriers but that lime green Porsche Cayman is torn up. It's busted.
Some teams have spotters, but most of the teams have teleivison monitors in the pit lane and it is better maybe to see it on the screen. So, de Quesada continues to lead the motor race. The grid changed a wee bit due to technical infractions and the like. Jaden Conwright qualified second but had too much camber with the wheel and tire leaning in too far towards the chassis. Jaden Conwright and Jack Hawksworth share this #50 Toyota GR Supra GT4 for Hattori Motorsports. Poor old Conqwright was right at the tail end of the Grand Sport field.
Bryce Ward was also briefly off the road in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 sharing with Daniel Morad. Jesse Lazare, Michael de Quesada's co-driver, he says that a win at Laguna Seca is something he is eager to have. They are looking at the race, lap by lap. They won the last race in 2023 at Road Atlanta. Is it possible to do the race on one pit stop? They don't know about their fuel burn just yet but they have their fingers crossed. Green flag again, and we are racing another time here at Laguna Seca. So, the field packed up and now they are stretching out the rubber band again. Rory van der Steur in the #19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin. Paul Holton follows in the #46 Team TGM Aston Martin followed by Will Lambros in the #16 Aston Martin.
Lambros is driving the car along with Ken Fukuda. That is the Skip Barber Racing liveried automobile. We are also looking at the TGM and van der Steur Aston's. Rory van der Steur sharing the #19 with Frenchman Alexandre Premat. Mark Wilkins ppunces and makes his moe on Chase Jones. Hyundai vs. Hyundai. Bryan Herta Autosport vs. Victor Gonzalez Racing Team. Chase Jones is really pushing trying to get past Wilkins. Be proactive, not reactive. Do not block another driver, whatever you do.
Bryan Ortiz in the Honda Civic FL5 TCR. The Hyundai's are good on tire management but the repaved track here at Laguna Seca means they cannot manage their tires the way they want to. Trouble again for a TCR car with flames coming out of it I think. Hard to tell. Oh dear. It is Chase Jones, off in the gravel trap at the entrance to The Corkscrew. He is stuck in a bad place and we could very well see a Full Course Yellow. Out of turn six... kaboom! There is an explosion at the back of the car. Turn five and turn nine have decent runoff. Maybe he bottomed out or maybe a part of the car dislodged itself. There is now orange marked safe haven where that car has come to rest.
With the higher speeds, turns six, nine and ten, put vertical load on the cars and the drivers. Stiffer suspension systems and higher ride height with the compression, this is a tough deal. Chase Jones is out of the car, motioning to the marshals, "I need a fire bottle to extinguish the flames!" So, now, the AMR safety team is assisting him. It is game over though for Chase Jones and co-driver Morgan Burkhard. No one taking advantage of pit stops yet but topping up on petrol if you have poor track position, could be a good move. Robert Wickens is back on track after he wrecked at the Nurburgring in one of the races, but he will not be able to do what he wanted to, competing in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring coming up in three weeks.
Wickens says though his focus is on Michelin Pilot Challenge, and he knows turning qualifying laps is what he wants to do be able to do on his stint. Bryan Ortiz is a fast driver, and his teammate L.P. Montour is in his first race at Laguna Seca, taking the car to the end of the race. He will do everything to manage the tire but he believes the new track surface is going to help with tire management. An opposite idea is, if you are used to the track, you need to drive it differently and previous experience goes right out the window. The track configuration has not changed but the grip levels have. You don't know what you don't know, so do everything you can to learn.
The downforce of the cars will be relied upon to get through the fast corners like turn six with a longer stint. Your co-driver will need to knuckle down and take the bull by the horns. Chase Jones simply lost power and it is game over for the #80. No takers on pit stops. It is a freebie. A couple TCR cars ar taking stops now. The #5 KMW with TMR Racing and both Gavin Ernstone and Jon Morley have their sons here at the track to show the little ones what the racing is all about. Jon Morley's son Leo is four years old, and Gavin's son George is just a baby. So, he won't understand race cars quite yet.
With the Alfa Romeo team, aerodynamic downforce with low drag on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR, they don't have the downforce and it is tough to even drive the car out of the pit lane. William Tally was doing a little rallying out of the pit lane. Drivers on cold tires in the WeatherTech Championship have been in the sand and off the road, too. You can extend this run but if you come in and need a full fuel load, you won't be stationary as long. Victor Gonzalez in the #98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR, sharing with Tyler Gonzalez, no relation. A team from Puerto Rico that has changed over from Honda to Hyundai. Hyundai is sponsoring the races this weekend at Laguna Seca.
Chase Jone's car has been moved out of the way. Green flag and away we go again. So, Michael de Quesada leads Stevan McAleer, Rory van der Steur, Paul Holton, and Brian Lock. Holton on the attack through The Corkscrew and Rainey Curve. Matt Plumb in a tie with the most Michelin Pilot Challenge wins along with Billy Johnson, at 20. Sean McAllister ran the red light at the end of the pit lane and will cop a drive through penalty in the #39 CarBahn Racing BMW M4 GT4 sharing with Jeff Westphal. So, Frank DePew driving the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin, the Sebring winner, he is in a hornet's nest among the TCR cars.
DePew sharing with Robin Liddell as McAllister serves his penalty. The BMW M4 GT4 teams seem to feel they don't have a good Balance of Performance this weekend as Eddie Gou tries passing Ted Giovanis in the #64 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 he shares with Hugh Plumb and Chris Miller goes for a bit of a ride in the #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR. William Tally and Gavin Ernstone both pitted and now they have found each other again. Holton on the attack again against van der Steur.
Another off and on with the #2 Czabok Simpson Porsche Cayman. This is the car going way off the road, with Gordon Scully at the wheel of it, sharing with Mat Pombo. Michael de Quesada controlling the motor race and now, Stevan McAleer has developed a cushion over both Rory van der Steur and Paul Holton. Matt Plumb says he hates watching his co-driver drive, but he knows that Paul Holton is a reliable racer and now we have another spin up the hill towards The Corkscrew. #76, the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai of Preston Brown and Denis DuPont.
This is a feisty battle between van der Steur and Holton and Brian Locke want a bite of the cherry, too, look. They plunge down through The Corkscrew. Pit stops and driver changes not too far away. We are now watching the #21 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche Cayman and the rear window has shattered out of this car shared by Jake Pedersen and Vesko Kozarov. Jake Pedersen continues racing the car. He is 31st in the overall and in class he is down the order in Grand Sport. Oh dear. Taylor Hagler goes off and on through the exit of the Andretti hairpin. Bryan Ortiz is the TCR class leader currently.
Brian Lock continues to monster Paul Holton for third place in Grand Sport. Frank DePew in the pit lane for a scheduled stop after meeting minimum drive time and handing over to former Laguna Seca race winner, the Scotsman, Robin Liddell. A great Aston Martin green livery on that automobile. They are the most recent race winners at Sebring back in March. Liddell is 50 years old now and has not lost any of his speed. Many cars have gone off the road and into the gravel this afternoon so far. Liddell is getting temperature into his Michelin tires. Sean McAlister had a penalty in the #39 CarBahn BMW. He is sharing with Jeff Westphal.
Robin Liddell needs a yellow, but not right now. Whoops! We have another spinner. Preston Brown has spun off through Rainey Curve. The road falls away with increasing speed. Pit stop time now for Todd Coleman handing the #88 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin over to Aaron Telitz as Bob Michaelian brings the #59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 and handing over to Luca Mars who is racing a few different cars in different championships this year in 2024. A good battle here between the #67 Czabok Simpson Porsche Cayman vs. the similar Porsche Cayman from Kellymoss with Riley. This is Nikita Lastochkin racing with Michael McCarthy and Jaden Conwright in the Toyota Supra. Lastochkin sharing with Sebastian Carazzo.
Michael McCarthy sharing the #91 Porsche with Riley Dickinson. The second half of the circuit is really flat before turn five and the uphill. Trouble with shifting for the #33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Harry Gottsacker shifting the trasmission. Maybe the tires are falling off and nothing is broken but there must be a diagnosis. The gap has increased between Gottsacker in the Hyundai and Bryan Ortiz in the class lead in the Honda, car #6. Sometimes the TCR cars need only the front tires changed with front wheel drive meaning the front end both accelerates and turns.
We have plenty more racing to come as we get into the second half soon, of round three of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season. McLaren are on a Saturday drive, and another spin for the poor old #13 Mustang. Michael de Quesada is now 2.6 seconds ahead of Stevan McAleeer. In the pit lane is the Porsche Cayman with the broken rear window. Jake Pedersen and Kay van Berlo. van Berlo is now into the car after Jake Pedersen, racer, and musician, just handed over. Pedersen had a bunch of material in his racing shoe and the team is going to the garage to try to replace the back window as according to IMSA rules it must be there. Stewards' and marshals' orders.
Michael de Quesada and Jesse Lazare continue to lead the motor race over Stevan McAleer, Paul Holton, and Brian Lock. Jesse Lazare will get intot he car on the pit stop. Trent Hindman will replace Stevan McAleer for the next stint in the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman. Trent Hindman is a great driver, and he had a great weekend last weekend with a couple of wins in SRO competition which we brought to you right here on the blog. Robin Liddell, a lap off the pace and we'll see where he will cycle to after the stops. A Full Course Yellow would compress the field and let Liddell get back on the lead lap. Michael McCarthy is in his first full professional racing season after racing Porsche Carrera Cup North America in 2023.
Car setups are what new drivers will learn and learn to compromise the track time with your co-drivers. The team is so important, more than the drivers, as we are closing on the halfway mark and Rory van der Steur has gone off the road and back on. He was way wide through turn three and did not even turn in or did so too late. From the Andretti hairpin to turn five it is very sandy. It is a one-line racetrack in that area. Alfa Romeo in the lane. The #16 Aston Martin has pitted. William Tally out, and Tim Lewis Jr. in. The Skip Barber Racing School Aston Martin, Will Lambros out, and Ken Fukuda in. Tim Lewis Jr. can now push, push, push to the checkers.
Just over an hour to go. This motor race is flying by. JDC-Miller Motorsports brings the #17 Audi RS3 LMS TCR. Mikey Taylor hands over to Chris Miller. He and his fiancee are going to Italy next weekend to get married. Of course, Monterey, California, too, would be a great place to get married. Lots of birthdays at JDC-Miller Motorsports for team bosses John Church and Chris Miller. Of course, they also race the #85 Porsche 963 in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.
Pit stop time again for both for the Hyundai's at Bryan Herta Autosport. #98 is in, Mark Wilkins handing to Mason Filippi. #77 is in, Taylor Hagler, she is handing off to Bryson Morris. Morris being coached and mentored by sports car racing veteran Nick Longhi as Michael de Quesada is in command of the motor race in the #69 Motorsports in Action McLaren. More pit action with the #99 Hyundai we spoke about a wee while ago and the #44 Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman of Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper. TCR leader in the lane, too. The #6 Montreal Motorsports Honda of Bryan Ortiz handing over to Louis Philippe Montour.
The #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai in the lane too changing over from Harry Gottsacker to Robert Wickens who is recovering from injury. Wickens does not have the use of his legs, so the team must be careful putting him into the car of course. Paul Holton hands the #46 Team TGM Aston Martin to Matty Plumb and now, Trent Hindman has passed by Jesse Lazare and Robert Wickens passes Louis Philippe Montour. Montour lost grip in turn four, the front end went numb, and Robert Wickens made his move.
Jesse Lazare has now taken over the #69 Motorsports in Action McLaren. Brian Lock in the #66 CDR Valkyrie Toyota Supra is the erstwhile leader as we are looking to see where Robin Liddell is and he could now be back on the lead lap. RS1 and Trent Hindman have leapfrogged the #69 McLaren team, pulling a rabbit out of the hat. Jaden Conwright has not yet handed the #50 Toyota Supra to Jack Hawksworth yet. Eddie Gou gets loose and almost spins off the road. OK. Turner Motorsports has brought the #95 BMW M4 GT4 into the lane. Turner Motorsports becomes the worldwide leader of starts and tomorrow is start 557 for them, in the WeatherTech Championship race.
Jaden Conwright now brings the #50 Supra into the lane and Jack Hawksworth climbs into the Hattori Motorsports entry. Hawksworth part of the Lexus/Toyota family. On fresh tires, watch out for the hairpin on pit exit, while tightening your seatbelts. Alexandre Premat being harried by Matt Plumb in the battle of the Aston Martin's. van der Steur Racing vs. Team TGM. More pit action ad the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin topping up on fuel and the same is true for Aaron Telitz in the #88 Archangel Motorsports Aaton. Brian Locke has handed the #66 Toyota Supra to his London, England based teammate, Amir Haleem.
Robert Wickens is now being harried, look, by Louis Philippe Montour, and they are chasing Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi in the #98 Bryan Herta Motorsports Hyundai and Montour, it's the commentator's curse as he twitches and slides the rear end off the road and into the sand! I wodner if he was in the wrong gear or his technical woes. Jon Morley goes by in the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR. He just twitched and went offline where there's no grip. Pull the car straight on a front wheel drive car whereas with a rear-wheel-drive GT4 car, you feather the thrttoles. There is a piece of something dragging underneath the Honda.
The last time Honda won in TCR was at Road Atlanta in September of 2022, so it has been a long dry spell. Less than 48 minutes of racing left on the board. Mikey Taylor in third is now chasing the two Hyundai's and Robin Liddell has copped a drive through penalty and IMSA states they were working outside of the pit box at Rebel Rock Racing. The #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 must pit as well, the car of Francis Selldorff and Robby Foley. Matt Plumb and Alexandre Premat have Robin Liddell, who is now a lap down again, is sandwiched between the other two Aston Martin's.
Trouble with smoke, broken suspension, and/or a flat tire for Louis Philippe Montour. He went off the road into the sand again at slow speed. Something is wrong with the Montreal Motorsports Honda Civic, a shredded left front Michelin Pilot tire. Oh dear. Trouble for Bryson Morris as well in the #77 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai. So he has had contact and gone off the road again as Jack Hawksworth has d\had damage someplace as well and Bryson Morris loses a left ftront tire. Morris pushed the #55 Gou Motorsports Audi out of the way.
We have had a chaotic motor race this afternoon. Hindman leads Lazare and Jack Hawksworth in 24 seconds behind but is up to third spot. Some Michelin Pilot drivers are still knocking the rust off since Sebring while other drivers have been racing sports cars week in and week out. We have also seen Jaden Conwright race in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Put your head down, run your race, let the race come to you, see where things end up. That is what Conwright did before handing the Toyota Supra to Jack Hawksworth. Just over 40 minutes on the board. Jaden Conwright is thrilled to share a race car with Jack Hawksworth.
Brian Lock, from 2011-2023 has done coaching but not a lot of driving and is now back in the racing game. It has been a bear of a day for Rebel Rock Racing as the pit marshals noted he was out of the pit box. The front end may have been slightly out of the box by a few feet. That is a tough one. You can be pushed back after coming in hot. It will be tough to come back from that situation. The points standings are close. Five teams separated by 70 points in Grand Sport competition. RS1 and Porsche continue to lead in the Grand Sport class for GT4 cars.
Hindman is about to lap Hugh Plumb, brother and teammate at TGM of Matt Plumb. Will Hugh Plumb fight it? Hindman going for four Grand Sport class wins here at Laguna Seca. We have had quite a few off course excursions and Tyler Gonzalez goes off the road and back on as well. When you lose grip on the relatively new surface, you are going for a long ride across the sand traps. All sand offline, no grass. If you miss the apex, you are out in the weeds and can't point the car back towards the apex. There are marbles, tire shreds, that get dispersed offline. Jesse Lazare has now lost a second to Trent Hindman and is four and a half seconds behind.
Trent Hindman is now working to lap Hugh Plumb. Do whatever you can to stay on the lead lap even with a safety car scramble. The gap is shrinking between Hindman and Lazare. The McLaren is starting to claw back track position. Alexandre Premat looks to be reeling in Jack Hawksworth as we watch the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Bryce Ward and Daniel Morad, the team out of Houston, Texas, that races in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship and here in Michelin Pilot Challenge too. Winward race on the global stage in IMSA, as well as DTM, and the SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe championship.
Mason Filippi now leading TCR in the #98 Hyundai Elantra. Half an hour to go as Robert Wikcens is chasing down his teammate. Both Hyundai's are on full alert as Mikey Taylor is also steaming right up behind them, looking for a hat trick, for three TCR wins on the bounce. Hugh Plumb is still the cork in the bottle for Trent Hindman and Jesse Lazare has eaten up his lead like Pac Man eating up marbles. Winward Racing team boss Bryce Ward had a great time driving and the track at Laguna Seca has so much grip now. Bryce and Russell Ward have done very well.
Jesse Lazare has now cuahgt Trent Hindman who slides off turn 11 and Lazare has the preferred line on the inside to the Andretti hairpin and Hindman gets loose trying to pass the McLaren back! The handling might be going away on the Porsche Cayman. We did see the #28 go past the #69. No worries for Jesse Lazare though as he has McLaren back out in front with just 27 minutes of motor racing left on the board. TCR traffic ahead and now, Daniel Morad tries to slice inside of Alxandre Premat and Premat says, "not now, sunbeam", and makes the pass back on him. Talk about licking the stamp and sending it!
This scrap is far from over down the hill 180 feet from the top of The Corkscrew to the flat of Rainey curve in the infield. Jack Hawksworth is the next target for both of them. Great battles everywhere as Robert Wickens is being reeled in by Mikey Taylor and Mason Filippi in the sister Hyundai is being backed into the clutches of these two blokes. Wow. Taylor and Wickens throw the cars into the corner, with the rear ends loose, like a dirt track midget or sprint car. Laguna Seca was repaved last year for the first time in 16 years, since 2007 or 2008.
Stevan McAleer says he and Trent Hindman are trying to keep up with McLaren, going full send to do so. Hindman chasing Lazare, 6/10ths of a second behind and the track here at Laguna Seca is very sensitive and some cars take these corners a gear taller. The GT4 cars are not as aerodynamically sensitive as a GT3 car in the WeatherTech Championship. Meanwhile, Luca Mars muscles his way past Sebastian Carazzo, the Puerto Rican driver in the sister Porsche Cayman for Czabok-Simpson Motorsport.
20 minutes to go and Mikey Taylor is flying to catch up with Mason Filippi and Robert Wickens is fuming about Taylor plowing into the side of the #33 Hyundai. No love lost between Robert Wickens and Mikey Taylor. Grand Sport cars pass by the TCR battle and now, Filippi runs wide through the Andretti hairpin and Taylor is now in the clas lead going for the hat trick to start the season off. Taylor is getting married next weekend and lots of birthdays on the JDC-Miller Motorsports team this weekend. Again, they also will race a Porsche 963 in the WeatherTech Championship race tomorrow.
In the overall, Jesse Lazare continues leading Trent Hindman. The car is very stable through turn five and they are two to three tenths faster than the Porsche Cayman is. With Audi #17 and #33, there is some trash talk because JDC-Miller tells us that it is just good, hard racing, trading paint. A little argy bargy as we call it. There are half a dozen Hyundai's, three Audi's, two Honda's, and a sole Alfa Romeo in TCR. Just under 15 minutes to go as Jesse Lazare leads Trent Hindman by 1.1 seconds. It's not over yet. Lots of traffic still to negotiate.
We've seen tires off the road today, plenty of times. Daniel Morad is reeling in Jack Hawksworth and is right on his six now. Morad nearly slid through the net but made a comeback in sports car racing. There is a slight touch between the Toyota and the Mercedes. This is really fun to watch. Morad is turning it on and goes for the pass. Hawksworth gets the door slammed in his face. Morad is up to third. He is also into simulator racing with his "Moradness" brand. Twelve minutes to go. Jesse Lazare is just barely ahead now of Trent Hindman.
I don't know if Hindman has enough of a motorcar to beat the McLaren. The lap times are down to the same hundredth of a second. The McLaren's advantage has stabilized. Lazare has the gap right now. Don't count out Trent Hindman who had a double victory in Fanatec GT World Challenge America GT3 competition at Sebring last weekend. Robert Wickens goes off and back on and that was a huge moment in the braking zone for the Andretti hairpin! Yikes! The #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 is in the lane, Robby Foley and Francis Selldorff. They were short on their fuel strategy with only ten minutes to go.
Plus, they copped a penalty earlier in the motor race. Taylor lead Filippi in TCR by almost five seconds with eight minutes remaining. Mikey Taylor is in a rhythm and is just cruising. Trent Hindman is now closing on Jesse Lazare even though Lazare is on cruise control currently. It is walking a tightrope for Jesse Lazare here with just six and a half minutes before the checkered flag. Race cars go quick when they are low to the ground but there are minimum ride height rules set by IMSA. McLaren, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, Toyota, Aston Martin, five brands in the top five in GS.
Three brands in the tpp four in TCR with Audi, Hyundai, and Alfa Romeo. Tim Lewis Jr. is closing in on Robert Wickens. A wisp of smoke for the #33 Hyundai. The battle is now definitely on for the final step on the podium. Tim Lewis Jr. on the attack against Robert Wickens. Greg Liefooghe next in line is in a race of his own in the Grand Sport class with the GT4 Ford Mustang. Three and a half minutes left in the race. Mikey Taylor is five and a half seconda ahead in TCR. Liefooghe tries pushing it on the inside of Wickens who controls it, and Lewis saw the hole.
Jon Morley is on the charge for Road Shagger as well. Both Jon and Gavin have their young sons in attendance at the race this weekend. Lewis has a head of steam now right on Robert Wickens' six and Morley is catching the Hyundai's. White flag for the overall leader and the Grand Sport class leading McLaren of Jesse Lazare. I don't think Lazare will catch the TCR battle and so this will be a separate race we'll be watching in the next few minutes. Oh dear. The #99 VGRT Hyundai Elantra is slow, again. Tyler Gonzalez at the controls. Into The Corkscrew for the final time of asking, Jesse Lazare has two wins in Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Hindman is closing. One corner to go. Througj turn 11, and Jesse Lazare wins Laguna Seca for his third career win and a first career victory in Michelin Pilot Challenge for Michael de Quesada. TCR podium time and it is between Filippi, Wickens, Lewis Jr. and Morley! Wickens defensive up the Rahal straightaway. Lewis loses ground. Morley tries to go for it. Mikey Taylor looking for the checkers. He and Chris Miller and JDC-Miller Motorsports win in class. Meanwhile, that battle for the rest of the top five sees Filippi ahead of Wickens, Lewis Jr. and Morley who was coming in hot.
A hat trick for JDC-Miller Motorsports!
Overall/Grand Sport: #69 de Quesada/Lazare Motorsports in Action McLaren Artura GT4
TCR: #17 Miller/Taylor Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR
So, race three for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2024 is now in the books. The next event is a headlining, standalone race for the Michelin Pilot Challenge, a four-hour endurance race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, coming up in three weeks, in the second weekend of June. Please do join us for that event. We look forward to it. For now, from the Monterey Peninsula, the Pacific Ocean, and Laguna Seca Raceway, it is goodbye. We'll see you tomorrow for the big event, the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship Motul Course de Monterey. So long for now, everyone. Take care.
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