The #50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 was awarded overall victory and victory in the Grand Sport (GS) class. (IMSA photo)
BOWMANVILLE, Ont. – The No. 50 Toyota GR Supra GT4 of Hattori Motorsports was crowned with overall victory and victory in the Grand Sport (GS) class on Saturday afternoon in Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race.
This comes after the No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 (G82) was given two penalties by Turner Motorsport following the post-race technical inspection for Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120.
The #95 BMW was found to have had a refueling time under the minimum allowable amount and was also under the minimum allowable weight. The penalties moved the car to the bottom of the 24-car GS finish line-up, delivering the No. 50 Hattori Motorsports-Toyota, co-driven by Parker Thompson and Billy Johnson, to victory.
It is the first Michelin Pilot Challenge triumph for Toyota and made Hattori Motorsports the winner in its series debut. It is also the first consecutive win for Thompson and the 24th for Johnson, making him the most victorious driver in Michelin Pilot Challenge history.
During the race, the No. 95 BMW, with drivers Robert Megennis and Cameron Lawrence, executed a one-stop strategy and crossed the finish line 27.234 seconds ahead of the No. 50 Toyota, who started the two-hour race from pole position.
After the penalties were imposed, the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, shared by Frank DePew and Robin Liddell, moves up to second place in the preliminary results, along with the #71 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 19 of van der Steur Racing and his co-drivers Rory van der Steur and Austin McCusker finished third.
The GS class returns to action August 6 at the Road America 120 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Audi No. 17 storms back and wins the TCR class race
Mikey Taylor was 20 seconds down at half time and wasn’t sure if he could come back and win the Touring Car (TCR) portion of Saturday’s race. But a cautious strategy coupled with a bump-and-run overtake for the lead on the penultimate lap gave Taylor and co-driver Chris Miller victory in the #17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS TCR.
Miller started from pole in the No. 17 and led most of his stint, while Harry Gottsacker in the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport and curb-Agajan driver Hyundai Elantra N TCR were hot on his heels the entire time.
Gottsacker pitted from second position with an hour and seven minutes to go and handed the No. 33 Hyundai to Robert Wickens – the latter aiming for a second straight win at his home circuit.
Miller stopped five minutes later, but Taylor was 20 seconds down when he rejoined the track in the No. 17 Audi. From there, the South African made a calculated comeback as Wickens tried to save fuel to finish.
“The team just told me what numbers to hit and what to do and we put a stop to those guys,” Taylor said. “Saving fuel, driving fast, that’s a kind of balance. It was just a management game for the whole race.”
The leaders were running late until Taylor dove into Moss Corner inside Wickens with less than two minutes to go.
The cars made contact, allowing Wickens to get past the swerve and allowing Taylor to take the lead. Noticing damage to his Hyundai, Wickens made another pit stop for a squirt of petrol and a quick check of the car. It came back nearly a lap down but still finished second, ahead of the #98 sister Hyundai shared by Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi.
“There was a little touch but we both saved fuel and he saved a little more than I did,” explained Taylor. “I walked in and he turned around and I was there. That’s racing.”
Wickens said his car was difficult to drive and that saving fuel was important.
“That was the only speed I had and I knew he was going to catch me,” he said. “My only plan was to hopefully still have enough tires to do a run at the end. Unfortunately he hit me at (Turn) 5B and took the lead and then we had to pit on the next lap. It is what it is.”
The win was the first for Miller and Taylor since Lime Rock Park last season and the first in the updated version of the Audi RS3 LMS.
“We’re learning more about this new Audi at every race,” said Miller, “and it’s been a great job from the team to develop it further and get better through our pit stops.” I think we’re in one now for the rest of the season great condition.”
Despite losing the win, Wickens and Gottsacker unofficially took the sole lead in the TCR class after five races, 20 points clear of Wilkins and Filippi and 30 points clear of Miller and Taylor.
“Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out today, but it’s coming,” said Gottsacker. “These are good points for us, but we really want to win.”
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