Category: IMSA

Endurance driver to join Derani in No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 17, 2023) – Jack Aitken, co-driver of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R for this year’s four IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races, will join Pipo Derani as a full-season driver for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Aitken will take over the seat of the hybrid Cadillac racecar from Alexander Sims, who will remain in the GM Motorsports family to drive the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in IMSA’s GTD PRO class.

“Jack came to the top of all the categories late last year when we were researching the various drivers who would be available for our endurance role,” team manager Gary Nelson said of the former Williams F1 reserve driver.

“He has proven to be fast on the track, a fast learner of the GTP car and an asset to the team. We see Jack being a great pairing with Pipo in his expanded role next season.”

Aitken, teaming with Derani and Sims, brought the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R to Victory Circle following a pressure-packed final stint in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. The trio finished second at Watkins Glen International in June and fifth in the debut of the Grand Touring Prototype class in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Aitken recorded the fastest lap among GTP entries in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R leads the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Team and Driver standings through three of the four races. Derani and Sims are a close second in the IMSA GTP Team and Driver Championship standings with two races remaining. Cadillac Racing paces the GTP Manufacturer standings for both the full-season and endurance championships.

“Alex came in with Formula E experience and that was huge for us,” Nelson said. “He is a tremendous asset for the whole team understanding the hybrid unit. For us to learn those things early on was very beneficial. Alex and Pipo make a great pair, and Alex is a big part of our championship run.”

Aitken, who turns 28 on Sept. 23, also teamed with Derani and Sims in the No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R for the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Recently competing in the DTM doubleheader at Nürburgring, Aitken drove in the European Le Mans Series in 2022 for TF Sport in LMP2 plus the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and ADAC GT Masters. He was the 2015 Formula Renault Eurocup champion.

A driver for the 2024 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, which grows to five races, will be announced at a later date.

Action Express Racing has earned the IMSA Team and Driver Championships in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2021 as well as securing the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 North American Endurance Championships titles.

Whelen Engineering has been the primary sponsor of the No. 31 Cadillac prototype since 2016.

JACK AITKEN: “Ever since I started this program with Cadillac Racing and Whelen Engineering, everybody has been incredibly kind and passionate in helping push me and the team forward. This is one of the reasons I’m incredibly excited to become a full-time member of the team next year. The competitiveness of IMSA and the quality of the calendar are another couple of reasons, and I thoroughly enjoy the style of racing I’ve experienced already this year in my endurance outings. I have to say a big thank you to Cadillac and Whelen Engineering for their continued faith in me as well as both of my teammates, Pipo and Alex.”

(Elkhart Lake, Wis.) Aug. 6, 2023 — The IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America marked the return of the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 and Racers Edge Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) in the sprint portion of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Ashton Harrison qualified the No. 93 Rely on RED Acura to start 11th for Sunday’s race and the charge to the front was on from there.

Harrison began the two-hour, 40-minute race as the field saw the green flag fly a few minutes after the clock started given the full course caution for a GTP stopped on track. As traffic quickly began stacking up across the track, Harrison held the Acura Chiaki’s Journey-dressed machine within the top ten of the GTD class heading into the pit window. Just passed 40 minutes of drive time, Harrison came to pit lane and handed the controls over to co-driver Mario Farnbacher. Farnbacher took hold of the red GTD and through an alternate strategy worked his way up into second position in class. As it appeared the Racers Edge Motorsports WTRAndretti team’s strategy could play out for a podium position, Farnbacher was forced to bring the No. 93 to pit lane for fuel with ten minutes remaining the race, tallying an eighth-place result in GTD.

The No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 team will continue their campaign in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship when the series returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the first time since 2014 for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on September 17th, 2023.

No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 DRIVER QUOTES:

Ashton Harrison:
“A P8 result at Road America. A lot to say about the race, but super proud of the entire Racers Edge Motorsports WTRAndretti team for rebuilding this new chassis. Getting all the hours in to get this Acura up and going and for it to be at the front of the field is something to be very proud of. Mario did an amazing job in his stint. We made a great strategy call, unfortunately we didn’t catch a yellow at the end, but we still finished eighth after starting 11th and running as high as second for most of the race. That was very encouraging and we’re looking forward to the next opportunity to showcase our Harrison Contracting Acura NSX and represent Chiaki’s Journey.”

Mario Farnbacher:
“First, a big thank you to the Racers Edge WTRAndretti crew to rebuild the car. We had a great car and unfortunately, we had to make a risk in the race strategy, but it unfortunately didn’t pay off, otherwise I think it would have been a podium finish if would have paid off. In the end, pretty happy with the pace and performance. Big thanks to the team, Harrison Contracting and to Ashton, she did a great job.”

About Harrison Contracting
Harrison Contracting Company, Inc. (HCC) is a commercial painting and facility maintenance contracting company headquartered in Villa Rica, GA with divisional offices in Florida and Texas. HCC provides repainting/reimaging and facility maintenance services nationwide, and new construction painting across the southeastern US. At HCC, red is more than the company color, its culture. RED stands for Reliable, Experienced, and Diligent, and is the cornerstone for all we do. We are more than just your painter; we are your partner.

Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti is also proudly sponsored by Acura Motorsports and Honda Performance Development (HPD).

Newell scores fourth in Nashville

Elkhart Lake, Wisc. (6 August 2023) – The Heart of Racing (HOR) scored back to back IMSA wins in the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage. The No. 27 Heart of Racing entry worked its way up to second before a mechanical issue plagued the team.

The No. 23 Aston Martin team of Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas set the fast lap during the first practice of the weekend with a 2:05.206-second lap. Riberas continued the high speed momentum into Saturday’s qualifying session, breaking the GTD PRO track record at the National Park of Speed with a 2:02.918 second lap, surpassing the previous record by over two seconds to earn pole position.

Riberas was first up behind the wheel of the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage leading the GT field to the IMSA SportsCar Weekend green flag. The Spanish driver was able to keep the lead when handing the Aston Martin over to Gunn.

“Definitely not an easy win by any means,” said Riberas. “I think today was really a matter of optimizing every phase of the race and that’s what ended up achieving this outcome. I feel super proud of the team, especially after rebuilding the car and making sure everything was ready. It feels amazing. I think things are starting to click for our side and it just feels like everything is a bit more enjoyable. Ross did a phenomenal job. To be honest the race was a bit opposite of what we expected, there was only one caution and that played well into our strategy.”

After falling back to fifth during pit stop rotations, Gunn drove up to second place when he started battling the No. 3 Corvette for the lead. Gunn was on his tail when the Corvette was called down pit road to serve a penalty leaving the lead to Gunn.

“The team did an excellent job and I’m incredibly proud of them,” said Gunn. “Aston Martin provides cars that are all pretty close together, but we have found something that’s really working well for us. Throughout the whole season we’ve had a package that has been quick enough and competitive enough to compete at the front, but things just hadn’t clicked. I’m so happy that now things are starting to work and we really want to keep this momentum going.”

Roman De Angelis and Marco Sorensen, pilots of the No. 27 Heart of Racing GTD entry, looked to find more speed through both of Friday’s practice sessions. De Angelis qualified for the pair setting the fifth fastest lap time of 2:04.397 seconds.

“I started fifth and handed the car over in second,” said De Angelis. “I thought we were in a decent position, but just seemed to lack pace compared to the No. 23 car this weekend. We started dropping back a lot and towards the end of the race. I was really pushing in the first stint, and I think a lot of people were fuel saving so it made it a bit difficult. At the end everyone started pushing hard and we seemed to struggle a lot. We’ll see what we can figure out for VIR.”

The No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage team started out very strong, with De Angelis going from sixth to second before handing the Aston Martin over to Sorensen on lap 49. Sorensen battled mechanical issues that kept him from being able to shift to sixth gear. The Danish driver lost pace and crossed the finish line in eighth.

“It was kind of one of those stints you want to forget about,” said Sorensen. “We had some issues on the car that made us really, really slow. That’s something we have to start looking into because it’s the second weekend in a row, even though we still won at Lime Rock, we still didn’t have the full pace. This race it seems we highlighted that a bit, the Heart of Racing is such a good team that we’re going to kind of figure it out and go to Virginia and come back a little bit stronger.”

The Heart of Racing IMSA team will be back in action at VIRginia International Raceway for the second GT standalone event weekend of the IMSA season, August 25-27.

While the IMSA teams were in Wisconsin, 621 miles south in Tennessee Gray Newell competed on the streets of Nashville with SRO GT America powered by AWS. After Friday’s morning practice session was cut extremely short due to standing water on track, Newell found pace in the afternoon scoring the fourth fastest lap in the GT4 category.

Saturday morning saw qualifying rained out with race one’s grid determined by the fastest lap times from Friday’s second practice session. After a bit of delay due to rain earlier in the day, race one began as the sun started to set over Nashville. Newell was able to maintain his fourth place starting position for the first five laps of the race, but unfortunately a mechanical issue forced Newell to pull off in a run off area. As Newell was pulling off a SRO3 car went to pass Newell and hit his rear bumper. Newell was unable to finish the first race.

Race two went to green Sunday afternoon with Newell starting from a fourth place starting position. Newell was battling for third with a Cayman when the Cayman’s tire blew causing a full course caution. The field went back green with just under 25 minutes remaining in the 40 minute race. With 16 minutes left on the clock Newell was passed, forcing him back to fourth, just four minutes later another full course caution slowed the field came out. Newell ran out of laps as the field went back to green flag conditions with just three minutes remaining, Newell crossed the finish line in fourth.

The Heart of Racing SRO GT America powered by AWS and the Pirelli GT4 America series will be on track at Road America August 18-20.

About The Heart of Racing

The Heart of Racing races to raise funds and awareness for Seattle Children’s Cardiology Research. The team competes internationally with concurrent campaigns in IMSA, SRO, Formula Drift and the 24H SERIES. Last season The Heart of Racing won the IMSA GTD Championship title in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The Heart of Racing team hosted their first all-female driver shootout in November of 2022, bringing to the team Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt for the 2023 SRO GT4 America season. To contribute to The Heart of Racing’s fundraising efforts please visit: https://give.seattlechildrens.org/fundraiser/3642390

(Elkhart Lake, Wis.) Aug. 6, 2023 — Following a third-place finish at Road America, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team now retake the lead of the championship with two races remaining in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. After qualifying in fourth for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend, Filipe Albuquerque had control of the blue and black machine as the field came to the green flag for the two-hour, 40-minute race; however, the clock officially began under caution after fellow a GTP competitor went off track. Albuquerque drove a solid stint inside the cockpit to stay within the top five of the field before coming into pit lane to swap driver positions with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) co-driver Ricky Taylor.

Taylor took the reins of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 into the second half of the sprint event and began chipping away at the gap to the GTP competitors ahead. Just under the one-hour to go mark, Taylor made a pass around the No. 01 Cadillac, placing the WTRAndretti team into podium position. The remainder of the race ran caution-free, with WTRAndretti officially securing their podium spot and the lead of the points standings by 14 points.

“I think we should be really happy with today,” said Ricky Taylor. “We’re continuing our momentum. We’ve got Acura back in the lead of the championship and it’s really nice to be in the championship lead. We had an issue with the car today about halfway through the race, so happy that we could survive with such good points and still maintain such good pace, I kind of let the 60 go up and fight for the lead. It’s really good to have this momentum back after the first half of the year was so difficult. I feel like we are back in our rhythm. Now, we can go to Indy with the lead and have that first pit stall on pit lane and start to control things for the last two races of the year.”

“A solid result for us,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “I struggled a little bit in the beginning with cold tires, but then the car was really alive and that was demonstrated as I had the fastest lap of the race and Ricky was very quick as well. Unfortunately, those initial laps were a bit tricky for us. Again, it was about managing the championship as well and all the contenders were behind us, so it was a solid day for us. We are now the championship leaders, so it’s exactly where we want to be and it’s hard to not think about it going into the closing races of the championship.”

“A podium is always good,” said Wayne Taylor. “Even though it was only third, you always want to win. We’ve had such an up and down year and really the focus over the last two races is on the championship – and if we can win, we can win, but the championship is far more valuable than winning one race. Unfortunately, Ricky had a mechanical problem on his last stint, but he was purple laps all the time, but the gap was just too big. I’m really happy with today.”

WTRAndretti now heads to the penultimate race on the 2023 schedule, and the final sprint race, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on September 17th. The TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks marks the return of sportscar racing to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the first “home race” for WTRAndretti since 2014.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the workplace to achieve true connectivity through the Intelligent Connected Workplace. The company guides and supports its clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fifteen consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2021 America’s Best-in-State employers list. The company received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. The company recognizes 150 years in global business in 2023. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting Company, Acura Motorsports, Honda Performance Development and Hammer Nutrition .

A Near-Miss on Sunday Prevented a Weekend Sweep in the No. 12 Beacon Building/Daxxon Gray Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan

ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (August 6, 2023) – Valkyrie Velocity’s Dominic Starkweather earned a belated first career IMSA victory on Saturday and experienced the heartbreak of a narrow miss on Sunday in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America action at Road America.

Starkweather’s No. 12 Beacon Building Products/Hardpoint/Daxxon Gray Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 crossed the finish line in second place of the Am class during Saturday’s race, but as elevated to the win on Sunday morning after the car he was chasing was deemed to have improperly completed the mandatory pit stop.

On Sunday, Starkweather started third overall and on the pole for the Am class and led handily for the first 46 minutes of the 50-minute race. On a very late restart with under four minutes to go, Starkweather had contact with an LB Cup-class competitor who was a lap down but restarting near the front of the field. That subsequent spin left Starkweather just off the podium and with a fourth-place finish.

Valkyrie Velocity Pre-Race News and Notes

• Saturday’s race continued to improve overnight for Starkweather, who was elevated to the win after the No. 69 Lamborghini Huracan who crossed the line ahead of him originally was assessed a time penalty. The 44-second penalty was officially for failing to serve a drive through penalty after entering a closed pit, but came because the rival car had not made it to pit lane prior to the caution coming out and the pits closing.
• The Valkyrie Velocity team made their mandatory pitstop with Starkweather two laps after the second full course caution of the race. Both cars ahead of Starkweather at the time tried to dive to pitlane soon after, but the third full course caution had already been displayed. That left both with a penalty, dropping them down the final results.
• Starkweather had already moved from third, where he ran prior to the first pit stop, to second on the race track. He was closing on the race leader on the final lap, but time expired before he could make the pass on the track.
• The 21-year-old happily celebrated with his crew on the podium with his second IMSA trophy, following a third in the season-opening weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Sunday morning’s first-place trophy was a pleasant surprise.
• Sunday’s race was even more impressive. He had earned the class pole in qualifying two and was starting third overall, behind only two Pro-class cars. From there, he led a significant portion of the race before the last lap incident.
• Starkweather, along with his coach and Watkins Glen co-driver Tyler Cooke, sent the Valkyrie Velocity crew home to the Hardpoint shop just outside the gates of Virginia International Raceway with some setup homework prior to Road America. The team responded, and the car came to life at Road America. Both expect that momentum to continue into the next doubleheader at VIR, later in August.
• That doubleheader, August 25-27, is the home race for the Valkyrie Velocity race platform. The team utilizes Hardpoint crew members and the team’s shop, based in the motorsports technology park at team owner Rob Ferriol’s home track.

Valkyrie Velocity Quote Board

Dominic Starkweather Driver, No. 12 Lamborghini Huracan: “Saturday was a weird race, with the cautions and restarts, but we fought the whole way. We executed well, nailed our pit strategy, followed the procedures and it came together for us as it should. I was content with second place but knew we had more and to hear that we got it at the end was great. Today was a bittersweet moment and more on the bitter side. We ran up front overall, executed again flawlessly on pit road. The last restart, turn three, a couple of cars came together and I fell victim to it. We could focus on the negatives but there were a lot of positives to take away this weekend. We found so much in the car, I found a lot in my driving, and we’ll build on that moving forward.

“I said it yesterday, this Valkyrie Velocity team has one of the hardest working crews I’ve seen. It’s all love from me. We couldn’t have done what we did this weekend without Zach Henson, Dre Joyner and all of the guys on the car. They had a lot of work to do at the shop, and they did it and it showed this weekend.”

Third-place in class for Garcia, Taylor, No. 3 C8.R

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 6, 2023) – Corvette Racing finished third Sunday in the GTD PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s feature event at Road America.

The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor led multiple times in the two-hour, 40-minute race with strong pace and engineering strategy that elevated the team from its third-place starting spot.

Taylor got things started early by getting the jump at the drop of the green flag with a run from third to second place by the first corner. He moved into the class lead just shy of 40 minutes running when the class-leading and race-winning Aston Martin made its first stop as differing fuel strategies emerged in the first stint.

Taylor set his best lap of the race a lap later before handing off to Garcia at the 51-minute mark. Having been the last of the top three cars to pit, Garcia and the No. 3 Corvette carried a fuel advantage for the race’s second and final scheduled pit stop.

That happened with Garcia leading and taking on fuel and four tires with 52 minutes left. He emerged directly ahead of the Aston Martin and barely in the lead. The two cars raced nose-to-tail and side-by-side for a half-lap before Garcia took charge.

Things changed, however, as the No. 3 team was forced to serve a penalty for not meeting the minimum refueling time required by sanctioning body IMSA on the final stop. Team and series officials discussed the matter, but the call stood and Garcia had to give up the lead with 24 minutes left in order to drive through the pitlane.

The Corvette Racing team will continue to work with IMSA to understand its process of determining refueling penalties.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR on August 25-27 from Virginia International Raceway.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED THIRD IN GTD PRO: “A very disappointing result and a shame about the penalty. We had strong pace and good strategy calls that put us in the lead late. It was a hard but fair fight with the Aston late. Instead of gaining points in the championship, now we have lost more. Winning races is our only goal from now on.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I was happy with my stint. The Corvette Racing guys did a great job giving us a good setup to move forward and eventually take the lead a couple of times. Things were looking great until the penalty on the last stop. Now we have to focus on getting maximum points in every race from here on.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (6 August 2023) With a record-setting pace in qualifying and a strong run out front for nearly the entire race, Sean Creech Motorsport dominated much of Sunday’s IMSA SportsCar Weekend race at Road America, but late race loss of grip saw the team finish in second position at the checkered flag.

Drivers Nico Pino and Joao Barbosa combined to keep the No. 33 Focal One Ligier JS 320 in the lead for much of the two-hour and 40-minute race. But the newly repaved racing surface get more and more slippery late in the race, allowing the No. 74 Riley Ligier to catch up – and when Barbosa was momentarily stuck behind a GT car, they were able to get by for the lead with 20 minutes remaining.

Pino – the team’s endurance driver – joined Barbosa at the legendary 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course, with Lance Willsey unable to attend the race weekend due to prior commitments. On Saturday, Pino put the No. 33 on the LMP3 pole, setting a new track record with a lap of 1:57.930. It was the team’s second straight pole position and track record at Road America.

The field took the green flag following four pace laps – double the scheduled number, after a prototype went into the sand in the Carousel. The same GTP prototype stalled on lap three, bringing out the first full course caution of the race.

Once the field returned to green, Pino focused on making inroads into the P2 field ahead while keeping his LMP3 competitors at bay. Despite racing at Road America for the first time, he settled in quickly and stretched his lead to over three seconds with two hours remaining.

Pino continued his charge through the LMP2 field, carving his way forward until he cleared the P2 cars and paced at the back of the GTP field, setting a quick lap at 1:58.566. He completed his quietly masterful stint and headed to pit lane with 1:36 remaining, handing the car to Barbosa – who headed back on track with a lead of over nine seconds on the LMP3 field.

A four-time IMSA champion and past Road America winner, Barbosa quickly slid into rhythm, balancing aggression and caution as he threaded his way through traffic. Increasing his lead over the No. 74 Riley LMP3, Barbosa came into pit lane with 42 minutes remaining for fuel and four Michelin tires.

But as the race hit the late stages – and track temperatures began to rise – Barbosa began fighting for grip, allowing the No. 74 back into the mix. With 22 minutes remaining and fighting with every inch of the racetrack, Barbosa got stuck behind a GT car and the 74 made the pass for the lead.

Barbosa battled hard to the end and brought the No. 33 home for the team’s second podium of the year (after the Rolex 24 at Daytona).

While disappointed, Pino, Barbosa and team principal Sean Creech were all extremely proud of the team for the hard work and effort.

“It was a quick stint for me,” said Pino. “I was on the qualifying tires, and I might have pushed them a bit too much yesterday. I was able to build up a gap early in the race and didn’t make any mistakes. In the end, P2, which is not the best result given what we were expecting, but a strong result overall. The car is in good shape and that’s most important.”

“Overall, it’s a great result for the team,” said Barbosa. “We wanted a bit more, but after the tough few races we’ve had, it’s a solid result. The lower downforce setting helped early in the race, but when the track temps came up, we just didn’t have the pace. But at the end of the day, it’s a good result for everyone on the team.”

“Both drivers did an outstanding job,” said Creech. “We got wrecked out of the lead last year here, so it was good to finish on the podium today. We lost a good deal of grip at the end, both from the track getting even more slippery and with the lower downforce setting we had on the car – it worked well in the cooler temps than in the heat. But it was a great effort from the entire team.”

SCM thanks partner Focal One for its continued support.

Next up for SCM will be the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, September 15-17. The race will be broadcast live in the U.S., on NBC and Peacock TV, while international viewers can watch via IMSA.tv, with IMSA Radio also available at IMSA.com.

About SCM
Team leader Sean Creech has competed in a multitude of sports car series from 1990 until the present day, includingGroup C, IMSA GTP, WSC, Grand-Am, SRO World Challenge, and IMSA. SCM will contest the full WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023 with João Barbosa and Lance Willsey. http://seancreechmotorsport.com/

About Focal One

One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime in the United States. The Focal One® HIFU Prostate treatment offers patients a non-invasive outpatient procedure to target prostate tissue while avoiding the common side effects such as loss of urinary continence and sexual function. The Focal One treatment uses high-performance, high-intensity focused ultrasound
(HIFU) to precisely target and ablate the prostate, allowing patients to quickly return to normal activities. http://www.focalone.com/

SCM Social Media

Instagram: @seancreechms
Twitter: @SeanCreechMS
Threads: @seancreechms
Facebook: Sean Creech Motorsport

Event to feature four-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge endurance race and the debut of the Mustang Challenge

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Aug. 4, 2023) – The thrills of IMSA sports car racing will return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course next season with a three-day event, June 7-9, 2024, headlined by the Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA officials announced today. The weekend will feature a four-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge endurance race – one of only two such competitions on the 2024 IMSA schedule – and the debut of the new IMSA-sanctioned Mustang Challenge.

“Sports car racing was a key foundation in Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course being built, and the track has a proud history of hosting IMSA events dating back to 1972,” said Craig Rust, president of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “We are very excited to bring IMSA competition back to Mid-Ohio. The four-hour Pilot Challenge race, plus the inaugural Mustang Challenge event, further expands the motorsports offerings for our fans in 2024.”

The headlining four-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge endurance race at Mid-Ohio is one of two four-hour competitions on the series’ 2024 slate. Mid-Ohio joins Daytona International Speedway as the two tracks set to host four-hour races next year. The return of an IMSA sports car endurance race to Mid-Ohio next year ties into the sanctioning body’s long history at the track. The “Six Hours of Mid-Ohio” in 1972, featuring a 49-car field won by Bob Beasley and Michael Keyser, was IMSA’s first-ever race at the renowned road course.

IMSA officials’ 2024 season schedule announcement today also confirmed that the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires and VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will join the Michelin Pilot Challenge and the all-new Mustang Challenge on the weekend schedule. The Mustang Challenge, a single-make racing series featuring the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, will compete for the very first time in a pair of races on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn course, launching its inaugural six-weekend, 12-race campaign.

Further details about this new event and the 2024 Mid-Ohio season schedule will be released at a later date. Children 12 and under receive free general admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult at all Mid-Ohio events. Visit midohio.com for more information, and follow its Facebook page @MidOhioSportsCarCourse, Twitter @Mid_Ohio or Instagram @officialmidohio for the latest news.

About Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:

A comprehensive motorsports facility in Lexington, Ohio, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course sits on 380 acres and features a permanent road-racing circuit with two primary race track configurations: 2.4-mile, 15-turn or 2.258-mile, 13-turn layout. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the natural terrain road course is commonly referred to as the “Most Competitive in the U.S.” and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally-sanctioned race events for amateur, club and professional drivers and riders. It is also home to The Mid-Ohio School, featuring over 20 driving and riding courses, for teenagers to professional racers using Honda vehicles. Opened in 1962, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been owned and operated by Green Savoree Mid-Ohio, LLC since 2011, just the raceway’s third private ownership group in its history.

For more information, visit midohio.com, ‘like’ its Facebook page @MidOhioSportsCarCourse or follow updates on Twitter @Mid_Ohio and Instagram @officialmidohio.