Welcome back, everybody, for the second and final race of the weekend in the doubleheader for the IMSA VP Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Jagger Jones, victorious in yesterday's first race of the weekend, honored the legacy of his grandfather, Parnelli Jones, the legend. Can he emulate his grandfather and his father P.J. and continue his family's winning legacy in race two of the weekend, today? Stay tuned to find out. This is officially the halfway mark in the season as we join Brian Till and Jeremy Shaw for the race broadcast. The pursuit is on, of the points leaders, for the championships in both LMP3 and GSX. It is very cool in central Ohio, halfway between Columbus and Cleveland, renowned for it's technical nature. The Keyhole is a good spot to overtake. Down the long backstretch, though Madness, into Thunder Valley, and then into The Carousel.
A brand-new track surface is also going to be somewhat of a factor to take a look at in this second and final race of the weekend for VP Challenge. Jesse Lazare on pole in GSX aboard the #21 MIA McLaren Artura GT4. Will Lazare recover after his penalty from yesterday? The GSX field is incredibly competitive. In the nine-car LMP3 field it is Jagger Jones on the pole with Steven Aghakhani at his elbow. Eight Ligier's, and Jagger Jones has the lone Duqueine M30-D08 chassis. Six races and six poles for Jagger Jones. He is perfect so far, three for three. The weather this morning at 60 degrees ambient temperature is much cooler than what we saw for race one yesterday afternoon.
The temperatures are comfortable for everyone, but the tires will need temperature. The grid will pack up and start on the backstretch. The Carousel is so close to the control line that many series that race here start on the backstretch. Meanwhile, the race clock has started. The 45 minutes we have for this race, is already ticking down. The field is forming up. What did Steven Aghakhani learn on the start yesterday? More gamesmanship between Jones and Aghakhani as we get set for a start to this race. Away we go! Jagger Jones gets a flying start and poor old Aghakhani is going to get swamped!
He is now running third as Seth Lucas looks to the inside and nearly makes the pass at the crest of the hill. It is so tricky coming down the hill towards the start. A power move by Seth Lucas. Aghakhani is once again in catch up mode. Alex Kirby now has his hands full with Ryan Phinny as well. Kirby in the #7 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier and Phinny aboard the #51 Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports Ligier. These cars will take three to four laps to get tire temperature and pressure from the Michelin tires on this very smooth surface that does not have the grip the drivers were expecting to find.
The character remains what it has been with the new pavement which cannot always be said for repaving a racetrack. If you get offline, it is very slippery. Give it time and the new pavement will improve. Now we move back to watch the battle in GSX between the McLaren of Jesse Lazare and the KOHR Motorsports Mustang GT4 with Luca Mars at the wheel of it. Typically, we watch these two scrapping for the class lead. But now, they are doing so for second place as Josh Green is building a lead aboard the #78 Thaze Competition Mercedes-AMG GT4. Green has motored into the lead. The battle for second has championship implications.
Lazare finished on the podium in race one yesterday. But copping that drive through penalty yesterday still put him behind the eight ball in the championship chase. He needs to finish in front of Luca Mars to gain more points. 350 points on offer to win, while only 320 are available for second spot. Luca Mars and Jesse Lazare are the top two in the GSX points. Coming into this weekend, Luca Mars and Jesse Lazare each have two wins apiece. There's 170 points between them. Lucas aiming to put daylight between himself and Steven Aghakhani, flashing the lights. Lucas chasing Jagger Jones who was magic yesterday.
Aghakhani is new to prototype racing having run in sedan type or coupe type grand touring cars. This is his first year at the wheel of a prototype. He is in the learning curve but can turn quick lap times and make passes. Hometown hero Seth Lucas in second spot, from Powell, Ohio, an hour away from Mid-Ohio. He is learning the track, the tire, the car. Seth Lucas, we have also seen him contest races at the wheel of GT4 cars and LMP2 cars. Aghakhani still chasing Seth Lucas. Lucas is very aware through Madness, to leave the door open. Lucas has many mentors in his racing career even though he is only 18 years old.
It is great that he is gaining experience in many cars. That said, at some point a driver should focus on a championship racing one specific car for an entire season and becoming embedded and established with one team. Lucas compromises his line through The Keyhole. Maybe Lucas could focus on LMP3 for a while and then move up to LMP2 which is going to have (as it was recently announced) a continuation of their current platform, for many years to come. Josh Green, Jesse Lazare, and Luca Mars, the top three in the GSX division currently. Jesse Lazare made up for the drive through penalty yesterday and now on a long run, he is showing his consistency again.
Josh Green in the lead of the motor race in GSX. Green from Mount Kisco, New York, cut his teeth in open wheel cars and won the Team USA scholarship. Now he is stepping into sports cars for the first time and loves it. Green is intent on making the most of that opportunity he has been given. It is so different being right in the middle of a single seater race car, while in a large grand touring sports car, the view he has, the perspective, is completely different. The sports car is much heavier and the car slides and squirms around more and is not as planted on the road.
Lucas and Aghakhani continue their scrap in LMP3, and someone is looking to show up to the party uninvited as well. That is Miguel Villagomez, the Ecuadorian driver, aboard the #23 Escuderia ABRO Ligier. Alex Kirby and Ryan Phinny are also aiming to get back towards the leading group in the LMP3 class. Seth Lucas has the place, but he is aware other drivers are gaining. The LMP3 cars are now working through the GSX class cars with multi-class racing. This is a platform for drivers to learn how to work traffic if they wish to move up to such championships in IMSA as Michelin Pilot Challenge and the WeatherTech Championship.
Through The Carousel, we can see that Seth Lucas is using the traffic to his advantage as he moves past Eddie Killeen in the second Thaze Competition Mercedes-AMG GT4, car #37. Lucas using the traffic to his advantage in The Carousel, which also includes the pit lane entry. Villagomez, Kirby, and Phinny continues their little scrap in LMP3. Villagomez and Kirby side by side through The Keyhole. This is fabulous racing! Villagomez has been a revelation in 2024, originally from Quito, Ecuador, and has been racing in Central America. He is 38 years old and a Bronze-rated driver. Villagomez has taken the championship lead in the Bronze category in LMP3 from Brian Thienes who is eighth and trying to reel in the Canadian racer Jonathan Woolridge at the wheel of the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier.
Phinny is now beginning to apply the pressure to Villagomez. Phinny sends it late into turn four and makes the pass! Phinny has formula and open wheel racing experience and has tested IndyCars before as well as Indy Next cars. It is heavier but the driving style of the LMP3 is pretty similar. In the GSX class Jesse Lazare still has his hands full trying to make a move for the lead on Josh Green. Traffic ahead. Seth Lucas used it to his advantage but gets caught out and stymied this time with Aghakhani making the pass for second spot. Ryan Phinny on the charge as well. He is starting to show his potential.
Half an hour of racing to go. So, we are 1/3rd of the way through the race. Focus forward and turn consistent lap times. Lucas got caught out behind the GSX class BMW M4 GT4, the #25 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82) in the hands of Mark Brummond, the driver from Charlotte, North Carolina. Aghakhani committed to getting back to the throttle, Lucas was balked, and then Aghakhani was able to plan his move. Aghakhani has reduced his deficit, but Jagger Jones is ten seconds ahead. 11 laps now in the books, 24 and 3/4 miles. Jones is about to overtake the top two GSX cars ad put Green and Lazare both a lap down.
This is round six of twelve in 2024. So, the halfway mark of the season. We will finish at Road Atlanta during the Petit Le Mans weekend in the fall. This is cut and paste from race one for Jagger Jones. FastMD with Remstar have always had a fast car and they are showing that again this morning. Jagger Jones has been perfect, this season despite not being able to race in the opening doubleheader at Daytona back in January. Aghakhani is fractionally quicker than Jones but is still reeling in the #87 car. 1:18.7 for Aghakhani last time by. He laps past the GSX class leaders. Seth Lucas, from Powell, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
The track surface is also warming up. That will put better grip into the tires as Eddie Killeen has spun the #37 Mercedes-AMG GT4 from 11th in GSX. Yikes! He was late on corner entry and the car just snaps away from him. He is looking up the road at traffic out of the fastest corner on the track. Drivers need t be very careful. A local yellow? No. A green flag. You cannot pass another car until you get to that green flag and maybe someone passed under yellow. I don't want to be a tattle tale, but maybe someone made an error. Killeen is back up and running now. He is caboose on the field for the most part.
Jesse Lazare still reeling in Josh Green. He is putting in consistent lap times and has put in the fastest lap of the race in GSX by less than a tenth of a second over the Mercedes. Josh Green is focused forward, running his race. He isn't getting distracted. The prototype traffic has caused this battle to ebb and flow. Through Madness and into Thunder Valley. Green is a very talented driver, but it is a surprise to see that he is driving superbly, or maybe not. He has won every level of open wheel racing he has been through so far. Motorsports In Action McLaren also qualified on pole for the Michelin Pilot Challenge event here at Mid-Ohio. You will hear more about that race, soon, as Lazare's co-driver for it, Carlos de Quesada was the driver to take pole.
Lazare turned his best lap and so did Green, fractionally slower than the McLaren but not by much. We are past the halfway mark. Take care when prototype traffic is coming through. Green does well through The Carousel, on corner exit. The slow corners are the difficult ones. Now we look at the three-way battle for fifth in LMP3. Kirby vs. Villagomez vs. Woolridge. For Villagomez, his goal should be to win the Bronze Cup and extend his lead over Brian Thienes. Trouble here, look, in GSX for Vincent Barletta in the #97 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. He is stopped at the side of the circuit.
Barletta is back up and running but has damage on the car. I think the rear wing has been knocked out of square. But it could be an optical illusion. He is back up and running and should be fine. Ah. He ran wide off into the dust. That was a wild ride! I think maybe he spun and then got back on the road. Villagomez's car was adjusted for this race, but the team may have missed on track conditions and the setup of the car. It is much cooler this morning. Gorgeous weather conditions but not quite what people expected. Fractionally, Jesse Lazare and Josh Green are both improving their lap times. 1:26.7 for Josh Green, 1:26.5-1:26.7. Unbelievably consistent lap times for Green. He is not even defending. He is running a perfect race to this point.
Jesse Lazare too, knows how to win races running both VP Challenge and Michelin Pilot Challenge. Be smart about getting the points when you can. There is a big difference between thinking a driver might have the pass made vs. when he knows for sure that he can pull it off. No risk. No risk. Lazare could be using this same McLaren later on in the Michelin Pilot event or maybe this is a second car set up for the VP Challenge sprint races. No. He has two. One for the VP Challenge and another for Michelin Pilot Challenge. Again, no risk. Josh Green is performing well with some heads up driving and Lazare is in hot pursuit.
The Mercedes comes off the corner well and now Lazare pokes his nose to the inside. The McLaren has the straightaway speed. But if Green does not gain in the corners, the McLaren will be side by side with him. Yikes! Another wild ride over the grass and down the hill for Marc Brummond in the #25 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4! Brummond is sixth in class in GSX. Green knows the McLaren is so quick in a straight line. The McLaren is right on his six. Every inch of road matters. Force your rival to do more work. Will Wachs, a lapped car, the #17 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman, moves out of the way, but not before checking up both of the leaders.
Green running defense into turn nine. Lazare and Green side by side! Lazare clears green into turn 11. Lazare now leading the GSX class. 12 minutes to go. I don't know if Wachs saw Lazare and Green behind him because he was letting an LMP3 car by, and no, I am not sure which one was in the queue. Into Madness they go. How is the handling between the McLaren and the Mercedes. The Mercedes is good under braking. 11 minutes left on the board. The GSX leaders have 14 seconds over third place Luca Mars in the Ford Mustang who in turn has a similar gap over the #88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW of Patrick Wilmot.
Then comes Scott Blind in fifth spot, leader of the Bronze category at the wheel of the #45 Ruckus Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, out of Fenton, Missouri. Green might try the over under on Lazare but hasn't got enough in the locker. Jesse Lazare knows he is there. Ten minutes remaining. The sand is running fast through the hourglass. Lazare putting daylight between himself and Josh Green. LMP3 traffic swarming the GSX cars. It is hard for Josh Green to get assistance from them to make a move on Lazare ahead.
Brian Thienes goes around the outside of Josh Green at the crest of the hill and catching Jesse Lazare into Thunder Valley. Yikes! Lazare is in a hornet's nest because he has a slower GSX Porsche Cayman ahead and Brian Thienes is now side-by-side with him at the wheel of the #77 Forte Racing Ligier. Green might have an opportunity. Will he be close enough by the time they get to The Carousel? Which way do you go? Lazare checked up to the inside. Green tries to dive in but can't make it. What is my next opportunity with just over seven minutes left? There is one of the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4's ahead. Jesse Lazare must be bold and daring to go into the traffic and Green can play the field.
These drivers are learning so much as they move up into Michelin Pilot Challenge or the WeatherTech Championship. Into The Keyhole or down the backstretch, a cleaner pass can be made. Be bold and aggressive. Don't play the waiting game. Right in front of these two is the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, of Joe Dalton, the teammate to Vincent Barletta. A new fastest lap for Jesse Lazare at 1:26.287, 3/10ths quicker than Josh Green through traffic. Joe Dalton gives the leaders racing room. Smart move. Woolridge and Villagomez are continuing to reel in Alex Kirby in LMP3 in the meantime.
The two leaders have been trading fastest laps, Jagger Jones and Steven Aghakhani, going faster than yesterday and Jones has uncorked a 1:16.91. He is not slowing down even though he has a comfortable lead gap. He surely loves to win races but to run wheel-to-wheel and it will help him in the championship fight. He is now fourth in points and if he wins again today which it looks like he will, he is going to gain. We talked about Jagger's dad P.J. and his grandfather, Parnelli, and he knows his grandfather is smiling down on him. Jagger Jones is a real racer just like his grandfather and his dad. Two and a half minutes of racing remaining as there is a spin in The Keyhole for car #12. That is Michael Dayton.
Daytona, out of Culpepper, Virginia, at the wheel of the Swish Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. I don't know if there was contact. He got into a tangle with the Auto Technic BMW of Mark Brummond. Oy yoy yoy! Race Control will need to have a Captain Cook at that little shemozzle. Daytona drives the truck for the team and has Jon Miller as a driver coach. A family run team is Swish Motorsports. There are places, including The Keyhole, where this track can bite you. Michael Dayton is not just a racing driver. He is also a high school basketball coach. He is leading the GSX Bronze Cup in points over Scott Blind. Blind going for maximum points.
One lap remaining now for Jagger Jones. 2.2 miles to go. These big leads are the most difficult driving you will do because a driver can lose focus with corners to negotiate and traffic to deal with. Don't get complacent. It happened to the best, like Nigel Mansell, leading a Formula 1 race in Canada years ago. OK. No worries for Jagger Jones. It is a perfect weekend for Jagger Jones and FastMD Racing! Perfect on the season. Four races and four wins. Jesse Lazare wins GSX! Lazare will extend his points margin in second in the points. Green second on debut and Mars in third place.
Overall/LMP3: #87 Jagger Jones FastMD Racing with Remstar Duqueine M30 D08 Nissan
GSX: #21 Jesse Lazare Motorsports In Action McLaren Artura GT4
Aghakhani in second. Seth Lucas in third place in LMP3. Yikes! Brian Thienes goes off the road and passes Jonathan Woolridge! Observers like me will say, "man! That must have been fun!" A racing driver will counter that with "that was no fun! That was a nightmare!" Any time you go off the road at turn nine and keep your foot in it, yikes! That was a smooth fairway to get into. What a fabulous, a perfect weekend for Jagger Jones. He has been on a tear. Four for four.
Two great races that went caution free, both of them. Clean and safe racing. Still half a dozen races remaining in the season. Steven Aghakhani leads the LMP3 points over Miguel Villagomez, Jagger Jones, and Brian Thiennes with half a dozen races remaining. In Bronze Cup, Miguel Villagomez leads Brian Thienes. Luca Mars leads GSX over Jesse Lazare in the standings. A brilliant debut for Josh Green. In Bronze Cup, Scott Blind takes the points lead by 40 points over Michael Dayton who did come home second. There will be a closer margin than we thought. Dayton is ahead of Blind by 30 points. A perfect racing weekend at Mid-Ohio. Next up, we will see you this coming weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, (Mosport Park), north of the border, in Canada, eh. Join us there. Plenty more action to come from VP Sports Car Challenge in 2024. See you soon.
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