It is time for the penultimate race of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Championship, a two-hour sprint contest at "The Brickyard", Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A grand total of 33 cars are starting this race, ironically, the very same number allowed for the Indianapolis 500. Splitting the classes, we have 20 cars in the Grand Sport division for GT4 production-based sports cars and 13 TCR touring cars, ready to race. Trent Hindman, Stevan McAleer, and RS1 with their #28 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, have earned their second consecutive GS pole position for this race. In the TCR class, after a red flag was brought out in qualifying, the #93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR claimed pole with Yoshihara San, Dai Yoshihara, "the drift king" behind the wheel, sharing the car with Quebec based Canadian racer, Karl Wittmer.
This is one of the most renowned racing circuits in the world and you become a member of a fraternity of the world's best racing drivers. First, you'll need to conquer "The Brickyard". Michelin Pilot Challenge has two races remaining in the 2024 season. It is crunch time! This is round nine of ten in the championship on Peacock and NBC Sports for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120. Brian Till and Calvin Fish calling the action from the broadcast booth. In GS, things have been chopping and changing. Team TGM were in pursuit of a perfect season, and they have had lots of trouble. Now, they have only 50 points over the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman of Stevan McAleer and Trent Hindman.
Winward Racing who won a year ago with Bryce Ward and Philip Ellis in the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT4. Daniel Morad racing in another GT race for sports cars, in Europe, that we will talk about later. In the TCR touring car class, we have seen Audi, Hyundai and everyone else, winning, including Alfs Romeo at Road America and Honda at VIR. Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor are 170 points out as we have Hannah Newhouse along with Matt Yocum in the pit lane to cover the stories downstairs. The #93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda are looking to win.
The road course is 2.43 miles with 14 corners dominated by two long straightaways on the frontstretch and on Hulman Boulevard. Watch turns one and two, very tight and after Hulman Boulevard is the rhythm section before a right-hand sweeper to finish the lap and cross the yard of bricks. Watch out for turn one, trying to coexist as you funnel down through there. It is warm and tire temperature in the Micelin tires won't be an issue but don't shock the tire building heat and pressure to gain grip. Manage the tires. Here we go. It is time for blastoff.
The field comes through the final segment on the track with the safety car in pit lane. Green flag! Away we go! RS1 in the lead and Paul Holton tries sliding past the leader. The TCR class seems clean but we'll see. Don't throw the race away. No argy bargy. Trent Hindman leads over Nate Cicero in the #13 McCumbee McAleer Ford Mustang GT4 as there's trouble for the #73 Honda Civic TCR. Daniel Wu in trouble early doors sharing the car with Tazio Otis. He is through the first sector. Maybe we will go Full Course Yellow, and we do. Paul Holton has done so well to keep the czr clean in the #46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
Matt Plumb leads the championship. But they cannot drop points to the race leader, Trent Hindman in the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman and of course, Stevan McAleer is the co-driver. Holton has to go for it and stay close to the #28. Paul Holton is a rapid fast driver and is the team player for Matty Plumb's charge. But Joe Varde and the folks at TGM will have to say, "hey, mate, we've got to go for it." No surprise to have a Full Course Yellow on lap one. But the Racer's Edge Honda Civic was in trouble. Now, we get set to go back to green. Trent Hindman, Stevan McAleer, and RS1 want to win.
Nate Cicero, on debut in the Ford Mustang #13, he wants to go for it. Green! Let's go! Cicero chasing Hindman over the yard of bricks. Paul Holton, third car in line, the Aston Martin, with Michael McCarthy behind in the #91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche Cayman as well as Sean McAlister in the #39 CarBahn Racing BMW M4 GT4 and Sebastian Carazo in the #67 Porsche Cayman for Czabok-Simpson Motorsports as the #64 TGM Aston Martin of Ted Giovannis goes off the road.
I think the #55 Gou Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR has cut the tire down and we now see the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR making moves and there's shedloads of debris from the #76 BHA Hyundai and the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Gavin Ernstone and Tom O'Gorman! Trouble too, look, for the #76 Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Preston Brown and Denis Dupont. The Road Shagger Audi has broken a right front control arm and has a right rear tire flat! Deary me! Murphy's Law. If something goes wrong it will. Ernstone got into the ABS after having a head of steam and poor old Preston Brown was an innocent victim.
I would guess there was an ABS failure on the Audi. How incredibly bizarre! Drama early and for several teams including Bryan Herta Autosport. The #33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker. Robert Wickens has the new Bosch package for the braking system, the same system, an electric system, as the GTP prototypes. This is an electronic braking system from Bosch. So, it is a wonderful development that took a year and a half to engineer. A great milestone for the Hyundai, the previous system was at it's limits and the new system bridges the gap between Robert Wickens and his teammates.
There are safety features if the brakes should fail. It was approached for reliability with fail safes just like a road car. Lance Fenderson, a fan, can now dream about becoming a racing driver, with a car with hand controls at VIR. Awesome! What an inspiration! Fabulous! Bosch are using the same module for the GTP cars in the WeatherTech Championship. Pit stop time for GS cars, the Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman, both Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4's, in for fuel. They are executing on pit strategy. Pit lane is the same time delta as a lap around the speedway.
Robby Foley sharing the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 with Francis Selldorff and the sister car #95 is Dillon Machavern and Robert Megennis. The #43 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4 has lost a door panel. That is the duo of California racers Sean Quinlan and Greg Liefooghe. We saw Nate Cicero, a national go kart champion and Mazda MX5 Cup racer, had a huge flip in the Mustang Challenge event at Watkins Glen, New York, earlier in the year. Good to see him in this race. Trouble in the pit lane, the pole position TCR Honda Civic of Yoshihara and Wittmer, the turbo clamp sheared itself off the motor! Oh dear!
Tough break for a team that had a great chance today and are championship contenders. Only 270 points back from the TCR leaders. There is a 170 point swing after today's race. We could see a battle in TCR points between the #17 Audi and the #33 Hyundai and they have topped up with fuel, the #17 car. OK. We've got another restart. Let's get some laps in and some green flag track time. Trundling behind the safety car isn't good. Green flag! Away we go again! Watch out for turn one. Please tell me you know what to do into the first turn!
Holton on the offense past Nate Cicero. Michael McCarthy hounding Cicero from behind. Mustang, Porsche Cayman, Aston Martin. Michael McCarthy sharing with Riley Dickinson, a team that won the first race at Daytona in January and then started to perform again at Virginia International Raceway last time out after flying Plummet Airways in the middle of the year as Morgan Burkhard takes the TCR lead in the #99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR sharing with Tyler Gonzalez. The #93 Honda is back on track having dropped many laps down.
Great rhythm through the second half of the road course. All TCR cars are front wheel drive and both steer the car and use traction for braking. Front tires only for the TCR cars as the handling frees up. Penalty assigned to the #61 Audi for contact with the #76 car. You need to show the penalties and police the situation even though #61 is out. Michael de Quesada in the #69 MIA McLaren Artura GT4. MIA have qualified well but haven't converted that into race wins.
Strategy has caught them out, de Quesada sharing with Jesse Lazare of course. They can come back next year and go for the title in 2025. Rory van der Steur is chasing and now, de Quesada gives McCarthy a shot to go by. This is a wild battle. van der Steur Racing will race in the endurance races in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, next year, in the GT Daytona class. Meanwhile, Morgan Burkhard has his hands full with the three factory Hyundai's of Mark Wilkins, Harry Gottsacker, and Taylor Hagler.
Almost half an hour of this race in the book. VGRT won at Road Atlanta in 2022. Burkhard has a good car and Tyler Gonzalez is a strong driver as well. It is a small team, coming from Puerto Rico. In replay, we see Michael de Quesada using up Michael McCarthy and Rory van der Steur says, "thanks, boys." The #43 Ford Mustang GT4 has a new door with helicopter tape. That is the spare door from the spare car from VP Sports Car Challenge I believe where they run #19. A couple laps before the two made room for each other but the last time by that was not the case.
Michael de Quesada has made a pass and now, trouble for the #43 Mustang clattering into Sebastian Carazo in the #67 Czabok Simpson Motorsports Porsche Cayman. That was some hip and shoulder into the turn with Todd Coleman to the inside in the Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, the #88 entry Coleman shares with Aaron Telitz. Michael de Quesada must serve a drive through penalty for incident responsibility with the #91 KellyMoss with Riley Porsche Cayman. de Quesada will drop like a stone in the Grand Sport class and they will need a Full Course Yellow to catch up.
Indianapolis invites you into passes you really shouldn't make ebcause they are too risky. In the first sector from turns one to six and at the end of the backstretch from seven to ten, open the door for every entry point and sending it down the inside doesn't always work. The stewards thought the Michael and Michael show was too extreme. Frank DePew in the #71 Rebel Rock Racinf Aston martin Vantage AMR GT4 is holding up the two leading BHA Hyundai's in TCR. GS vs. TCR and pro drivers in TCR vs. Am drivers in the GS cars.
That makes it awkward for the two classes to coexist in the opening stanza of this motor race. heat is a worry for the cars not so much for the drivers. Harry Gottsacker needs to get clean air into the grille to cool the engine. Those 2 liter turbo 4 cylinders are very high-strung engines. It is a benefit to keep the temepratures in range before the car goes into a fail safe mode. We have a hot day with ambient temperatures in the low 90s and the high 120s for track temperatures. It's hot! Tomorrow is the first day of autumn when we race the WeatherTech Championship enduro.
Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi are looking for the first win of 2024 in the penultimate race. Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will be a wild race and I shall cover that event for everyone, when I can. The length of the lap is very similar but the track at Road Atlanta is very anrrow with tons and tons of elevation change. Todd Coleman in the #88 Aston Martin who won the second enduro at Mid-Ohio in June, he is pressing for sixth place and all over Michael McCarthy in the Porsche Cayman. Fuel save has to be a part of the strategy at KellyMoss Racing.
The 540-minute minimum drive time is coming up. Trouble for Coleman! He has stopped on the road! Is he out of fuel? Is there a mechanical issue? He is dead stick. That was very sudden. He lost drive and now he has the car refired. This is going to cause him to drop like a stone. He comes straight into the pit lane and sort out the issue as well as doing the pit stop and handing the car over to Aaron Telitz. Oh! Big contact for the #99 Hyundai of Morgan Burkhard and front end damage to the #71 Aston Martin, the Rebel Rock entry of Frank DePew!
In the replay, he got it wrong committing to turn one on the dirty side of the road and a king size crunch for both of those automobiles! That was a horrendous, grinding crash! He never would have seen it. We saw this with Gavin Ernstone at the very start of the race. You can have antilock braking issues and sometimes that system can fail. We are under Full Course Yellow again. Frank DePew on the radio said that the car was warm and now, the radiator is holed, and the suspension is broken. The #88 did a driver change to Aaron Telitz and they've got electrical issues having to power cycle the car as we saw.
Grand Sport pit stops underway for fuel, tires, and driver changes for the #46 Aston Martin, the #28 Porsche, and more. Trouble for the right rear on the #28! A broken air jack! Disaster for Stevan McAleer and Trent Hindman! Turner Motorsports beats everyone out and now the #46 Aston Martin has Matt Plumb at the wheel of it. An air jack failure for the RS1 team has put them behind. The right side mirror has also been pushed in. Now time for the TCR cars to come in. RS1 still has a shot at the title but they have a mountain to climb.
At Alfa Romeo, William Tally out and Tim Lewis Jr. in. So far their race is clean. At BHA Hyundai, the #33 of Harry Gottsacker and Robert Wickens are in and now down and away. The other two cars are in and one of them stalls. The #77 team had an engine failure bringing out a red flag in qualifying and had to change the motor. Focus forward, for RS1. The drivers are champions. They can make moves. There is a long way to go. Half the race left. Trouble in the VGRT pit with the rear wing. Gonzalez asking the marshals if a rear wing is needed and they said, you must put the rear wing on the car.
So they will have to take the car back to Gasoline Alley and get the wing fixed. That car was clattered, hard, and it is still straight and the frame was not damaged. However, the suspension might have been compromised and they need to replace the rear wing. The IMSA marshals have dcreed that must happen. In the replay, it was a king size, massive hit with Frank DePew. DePew missed his braking point trying to pass the #38 BGB Porsche Cayman of Thomas Collingwood sharing with Spencer Pumpelly. Green flag as Matt Plumb is charging through the pack already.
He gets close to one of the Turner Motorsports BMW and his brother, his teammate, in the #64 is ahrad and now Luca Mars has to give it up in the #59 KOHR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 as Robby Foley and Robert Megennis are scrapping. Luca Mars and Brady Behrman are running 1-2. Behrman in the #82, the second van der Steur Racing Aston Martin he is sharing with Scott Blind. Matt Plumb is in race mode and not worrying about contact. Robby Foley and Francis Selldorff have not won a race yet as we are onboard the #13 Ford Mustang GT4 of Jenson Altzman carving through the field.
Huge ride through turn six for the #91 Kellymoss Porsche Cayman now with Riley Dickinson at the wheel of it. Philip Ellis has also been making major moves in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. He won the Rolex 24, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, and the 24 Hours of Spa in SRO GT World Challenge Europe. Scott Andrews in the Lone Star Racing Mrrcedes is also quick and Stevan McAleer was being troubled by both Jackson Lee and Riley Dickinson! Holy smokes! Keep the hammer down! Jackson Lee knows the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Yikes! Drama again for Aaron Telitz in the #88 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin.
I wonder if the motor is getting sick or continuing to be ill. Drive through penalty for the #71 Rebel Rock Aston Martin, out of the race, and stop + 60 seconds for going outside the time window of emergency service, Luca Mars and Bob Michaelian not at all happy because they pitted while the pit lane was closed. They will easily lose a lap. At pit in, they knew they wanted to pit with the #88 being in strife and missed the pits before they closed. All he had to do was drive through the lane and come around again.
Also, if you are shy of your drive time, that incurs a penalty. Matt Plumb leading the motor race as we are halfway home. One hour on the board. One hour to go. The racing is hard-nosed, and we could see another yellow if these chaps don't cool it a bit. So, Stevan McAleer has now passed by both Jackson Lee and Riley Dickinson, right behind Scott Andrews in the Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4, the Australian driver, sharing with Dan Knox in car #79. If we see a long yellow, some of the GS cars can stretch it but they will need another stop as we see Jeff Westphal pressurizing Matty Plumb, the #39 CarBahn Racing BMW M4 GT4 sharing with Sean McAlister after finishing in the top five at both Watkins Glen and Mosport and of course they had a hard crash at Mid-Ohio back in June.
BMW have not had the strongest GT4 package this season. CarBahn Racing though want to win. He is out for victory. He doesn't care that Matty Plumb and Aston Martin and TGM are going for a title. He is going to for it, throwing caution to the wind. Westphal says, "look, sunbeam, I am passing you." He just got his nose alongside Plumb's Aston Martin, and he can't afford to get roughed up and had to redress the situation. Robby Foley, Alexandre Premat, Robert Megennis, Phil Ellis, Scott Andrews, and more, have nothing to lose.
In the TCR class it is Mason Filippi leading over Mikey Taylor, Tim Lewis Jr. Robert Wickens, Bryson Morris, and former veteran motorcycle road racer, Larry Pegram. Mikey Taylor is really pushing it in the Liqui Moly liveried Audi. JDC-Miller Motorsports have had an up and down 2024 season with different rules for the Audi per what IMSA has mandated. Mikey Taylor, the South African, is running well. They are doing everything they can. They need a yellow or to fuel save like mad. Robert Wickens now up to third and Bryson Morris right behind in the sister car. Robert Megennis is giving Alexnadre Premat fits!
Megennis on the high line and Premat, the Frenchman, slams the door in his face. He was proactive but now Megennis tries to get him back! That was close! It's get your own back time again. Megennis is tired of Premat's antics and passes fair and square doing the over under. Premat a former Audi factory driver in prototype competition as we see the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman doing a splash and dash hoping for a yellow and a safety car scramble at RS1. The #46 Team TGM Aston Martin did likewise and so RS1 covered that off.
It is a BMW top three in GS. Robby Foley chasing Jeff Westphal. Turner Motorsports believes that the BMW have been on the wrong side of the Balance of Performance equation in GT4. Philip Ellis motoring in the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT4, the team that won in both Michelin Pilot and in the WeatherTech Championship here at Indy last year. Daniel Morad racing in SRO competition in Europe. The #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman continue trying to make their way forward. TGM 11th, RS1 13th. The game changer for Trent Hindman and RS1, did a reset, at VIR, simplifying their strategy process.
No more calling audibles. Stick to your strategy. They play the odds and pit early before a yellow. Ellis is asked about a two-tire stop as the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 is in the pit lane. Fuel the car and they short pit the car. The stop was delayed because of a loose air hose. I wonder if the air jack went haywire. The leader is in pit lane balked by a slower TCR car coming into the pit lane with 46 minutes to go. CarBahn Racing BMW, what are they going to do? The left side tires take a pasting around here in the other direction compared to the Indianapolis 500 or the Brickyard 400. Left side tires only for the CarBahn BMW and he is down and away.
45 minutes to go. This race has flown by! BMW #95, Megennis, on the attack, passing by Stevan McAleer who is managing his tires right now and they did fix the mirror at RS1. Megennis has gone by easily one of the faster cars. RS1 knows they need to have something left in the locker. The #69 MIA McLaren has left rear corner damage. I wonder if Jesse Lazare is aware of that. Right now, the lap times are not coming to Stevan McAleer as now, the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT4 is in with Philip Ellis at Winward Racing sharing with Bryce Ward.
Left side Michelin tires, fuel in the tank. This is a full fuel stop. No rush. No rush. Down and away. That was easy, and they put half a fuel load in the tank. Jesse Lazare leads in Grand Sport but has this damage and he might have been tagged from behind. Some push and shove, hip and shoulder, on the track. At some point the marshals could call them to remove the bodywork and now, Riley Dickinson is trying hard to chase down Philip Ellis and we see both Robby Foley and Robert Megennis charging after these two. The BMW's qualified 12th and 13th with their amateur drivers. They say they don't have the pace. Yet, he just motored by Riley Dickinson in the Porsche Cayman.
In race trim the BMW M4 GT4 seems more competitive. It's a mystery. How have the BMW's found an extra turn of speed? I don't know. Megennis is able to put the car wherever he likes, on the road, and now, he is chasing down the Mercedes. Robby Foley is in the same car. Of course, Ellis and Foley are also battling for the GT Daytona crown in the WeatherTech Championship too. 39 minutes to go. Learn how to make good on strategy and carve through the field if you are behind. It is frustrating but keep a cool head and get the job done.
Megennis' BMW is even stronger as Bryson Morris in the #77 BHA Hyundai passes Tim Lewis' Alfa Romeo, the #5 KMW TMR car, for position. Bryson Morris is impressive and had a great win with Bryan Sellers in a Corvette GT3 car in SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge America. He has also raced Lamborghini Super Trofeo and the TCR Hyundai. He runs at the front in every one of those cars. The TCR cars might need a splash and a dash to get to the finish. After not taking tires, the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman has fallen down the orderr. Trent Hindman says a short fuel stop was the strategy they wanted with Stevan McAleer taking the car to the end.
The points gap is 120 between first and second and 300 to third in the standings, Plumb vs. Hindman and McAleer, and then, Paul Holton in third. Matt Plumb might be in the pound seats because Jesse Lazare, Jackson Lee, and Michael Cooper all need to pit in the top three, the McLaren and the two Porsche's and now, Jackson Lee pits from P2 sharing with Sebastian Carazo. Ex racer Stephen Simpson, the South African, is the team manager. Jesse Lazare, Michael Cooper, and Jeff Westphal the top three and Westphal should lead Plumb when the pit stops cycle through. Michael Cooper currently second in the Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman. Cooper sharing with Moisey Uretsky.
Cooper and Uretsky race for this team with a two-car effort in Porsche Carrera Cup North America, the one make championship. Michael Cooper has run many laps at Indianapolis in SRO competition as their own 8 hour endurance race for GT3 cars will take place here in a handful of weeks. Cooper sliding around on old tires. Westphal in great shape up to P2 and Jesse Lazare might just need a pit stop. Manage the tires if we see a late safety car and the field compresses as Tim Lewis Jr. hits the pit lane in the #5 Alfa Romeo in TCR. So, Jeff Westphal leads the motor race with half an hour left in the motor race.
Winning at Indianapolis is so special. Everyone wants it. Anything can and will happen. Working traffic, dealing with the racecourse, and the heat on an Indian Summer Day in Indianapolis. The #17 Audi RS3 LMS TCR running a special Unitronic and Luqui Moly white, blue, and red livery and they are down and a way and now, the #69 MIA McLaren is in, not worried at all about the bodywork damage. No suspension damage. Fuel in the tank and no tires. Fuel only for Jesse Lazare. If you have an exotic car and start ripping the bodywork off, people will think you've gone mental and flipped your wig.
Now, Jeff Westphal is indeed leading the race with 28 minutes to go. Stevan McAleer now running tenth and that's not great because the points margin has ballooned to 160 points. Team TGM and the Aston Martin are coming in a big hurry as Jeff Westphal has had a good pit stop. Cooper needs to pit. Ellis gets past Plumb and Ellis in the Mercedes takes it in deep defending from Plumb. Plumb has no answer to his riddle under braking. Ellis has shown how to pass the right way, through the tight stuff, and Ellis held Plumb against the wall. He knew he was there and made the pass cleanly.
Does Ellis have the pace to chase down Jeff Westphal? Mason Filippi is second overall leading TCR with 25 minutes to go but they need to pit and hope for a yellow. Good battle between Scott Andrews and Riley Dickinson for seventh place. #79 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 vs. #91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche Cayman. Andrews only had two laps in the car, and he had no seat insert and today during final Free Practice his radio and wiring harness were not working. He was focusing on the WeatherTech Championship in GT3 for the Battle on the Bricks race tomorrow. Dan Knox has had GT2 success in SRO America and they have supported Mercedes teams in the Intercontinental GT Challenge entry.
Dan Knox is very good with preparing barbecue or smoking meat for a meal, for a good barbecue sandwich. Delicious! Meanwhile, BHA Hyundai are rolling the dice and telling the drivers to fuel save. The gap is dwindling away between the top two cars at BHA Hyundai and the top three along with Larry Pegram in the Audi, are all on the same fuel save strategy with 22 minutes to go. Larry "The Worm" Pegram, he is right on the button. He raced flat track and road racing motorcycles. He knows how to race on paved road courses on a Superbike motorcycle and now in a car. They are on the same strategy as the leaders with 12 seconds in hand over Mikey Taylor in fourth spot.
Whoops! A spin for the #99 VGRT Hyundai for Tyler Gonzalez. No harm, no foul. Many family run teams and this is a father daughter team for Larry and Riley Pegram. She has raced go karts and also been around the motorcycles. Larry and Riley Pegram need to fuel save and maintain pace if they want a podium. Chad Gilsinger in the #89 HART Civic FL5 TCR sharing with Tyler Chambers who had to build a new car and get to Indianapolis. Bumper to bumper assembly, race prep, and livery design. They applied all the graphics and the car was completed just in time to load up and get to the speedway. They are skipping the finale at Road Atlanta and Petit Le Mans next month, looking to get 2025 kicked off at Daytona and the Rolex 24 weekend, in the four-hour 2025 season opener for Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Jeff Westphal leads over Philip Ellis by 3.8 seconds. Ellis is still in the fight although Westphal has pace with 14 minutes left on the board. Scott Andrews is running ahead of Michael Cooper. Mercedes have run well at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the past and are doing the same today. The torque and handling of the Mercedes platform pays dividends even though they want to bring some more power as poor old Alexandre Premat is off the road again running slow! Oh dear! Trouble in paradise for the Frenchman as he bizarrely understeers right off the road and skitters across the grass! The car just turned left and he has broken suspension.
The car just stopped turning. He was jolly lucky to not be on the speedway itself. The wheel and the spsension are broken. Now, Jeff Westphal is maintaining a 4.2 second margin and almost nine seconds between Mason Filippi and Robert Wickens. This is a battle in TCR between the Hyundai's. But now, they need to go into fuel saving and Larry Pegram has Mikey Taylor bearing down on him. The poitns swing might be big in the finale at Road Atlanta coming up in three weeks. The Gou Motorsports #55 Audi slides over the grass and regains it's footing, Eddie and Eduardo Gou.
There will be a 90 point swing down the order for RS1 and need drama in the final ten minutes before the chekers. The points gap is 140 points. 2470-2330. Robby Foley has Scott Andrews right on his six. They were former roommates and now are still close competitors and good buddies. Andrews has gone around Robby Foley. Meanwhile, Robert Megennis is trying to chase down Matt Plumb, the points leader. Stevan McAleer only in tenth place. However, Robert Megennis is catching Matt Plumb hand over fist.
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