IMSA concluded its weekend at Road Atlanta Sunday afternoon for the Michelin Pilot Challenge VP Racing Stay Frosty Coolants 240. On the poles for this race were Nate Stacy in the No. 60 Kohr Motorsports Aston Martin for the GS class, and in the No. 21 Bryan Herta Autosport w/ Curb Agajanian Hyundai of Harry Gottsacker in the TCR class.
Four minutes into the race, The No. 99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin of Gary Ferrera of the GS class was having electrical issues when he pulled the car over, stopped, then was able to get going again. Unfortunately for the Automatic Racing team, they would be battling electrical issues throughout the race.
In the TCR class, the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport w/ Curb Agajanian Hyundai driven by Ryan Norman, was chasing the leader Tim Lewis and the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo when Norman braked late at turn seven and went in the sand. Luckily for Norman, he did not lose any positions.
With a little over three hours left in the race, there was a problem with the No. 35 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG in the GS class driven by Jim Cox as the car shut off and stopped at turn 10 to bring out the caution just as everyone was coming in for pit stops. However, his car did not run out of fuel, and the track crews quickly came to his aid.
As the track crews were waiting for the rest of the cars to go by, the No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG of Tim Probert hit Cox’s car, causing rear suspension damage to both cars and extending the caution for a few more minutes for cleanup. The race would resume with three hours to go.
With a little over two hours left in the race, another wreck occurred involving the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG driven by Bryce Ward of the GS class, and the No. 61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3, driven by Jon Morley of the TCR class, they hit one another at turn three, causing both cars to lose control and slide to the inside of the track to bring out the caution.
During the caution, teams from both classes came to pit road. Once pit stops were complete, it was time to get back to racing with under two hours left. With an hour and twenty minutes left, the GS leader Bill Auberlen had a nine-second lead before he sustained a flat left front tire while the No. 60 of Kyle Marcelli and the No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro of Andrew Davis now battled for the lead in the GS class. Marcelli would take the lead just before debris brought out the caution. Teams from both classes would make pit stops and change drivers. The race would get back underway with under an hour left.
Kyle Marcelli was penalized for attempting to leave pit road with equipment still attached i.e.: his gas can causing his gasman to fall over, which is a penalty, taking him out of contention. Meanwhile, The No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG of Eric Foss and the No. 71 Camaro of Robin Lindell were clashing for the lead with 45 minutes left.
Both drivers would come to pit road to top off under 40 minutes left as the No. 80 Bimmer World BMW of Dillon Machavern was now the new leader. Once pit stops were complete, Lindell resumed the lead with under 15 minutes left.
With under a minute left, the No. 56 Mercedes AMG of Eric Foss ran out of fuel as Lindell would win the race in the GS class by 10.621 seconds over the second-place finishers Seb Priaulx/Scott Maxwell in the No. 22 Multimatic Motorsports, Inc. Ford Mustang.
In the TCR class, the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport w/ Curb Agajanian Hyundai of Gabby Chaves won the race by eighteen seconds over teammates Parker Chase and Spencer Brockman.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will now head to Mid-Ohio for a doubleheader beginning Saturday, September 26th at 1 pm and Sunday, September 27th at 10:30 am both on NBC Sports Gold Track Pass.
