2021 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid Ohio

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S:7.375"

LESS TALK. MORE POWER. 355 HP* 354 LB-FT* MORE TURBO. ACURA-EXCLUSIVE 3.0-LITER TURBO V-6 ENGINE. MORE HANDLING. DOUBLE-WISHBONE FRONT SUSPENSION. MORE CONTROL. TORQUE-VECTORING SUPER HANDLING ALL-WHEEL DRIVE™ TECHNOLOGY. MORE GRIP. LIGHTWEIGHT 20-INCH WHEELS WITH HIGH-PERFORMANCE TIRES. MORE BRAKING POWER. 4-PISTON BREMBO® FRONT CALIPERS. MORE AERO. REAR DECKLID SPOILER AND AGGRESSIVE FRONT SPLITTER. MORE DRIVE MODES. COMFORT, NORMAL, SPORT, SPORT+ AND INDIVIDUAL. MORE PRECISION. MORE CRAFTED. MORE PERFORMANCE. MORE DRIVE.

S:10.25"

*Estimated horsepower and torque. TLX Type S preproduction model shown with available High Performance Wheel and Tire Package. Production model may vary. ©2021 Acura. Acura, TLX, Precision Crafted Performance, Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, and the stylized “A” logo are trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Brembo is a trademark of Brembo S.p.A.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INSIDE 5

Welcome Letters

Focal Point

Meyer Shank Racing moves to DPi

WeatherTech Championship gears up for an exciting “sprint” round at Mid-Ohio

Michelin Pilot Challenge provides great competition, wide variety of cars

Mazda MX-5 and Mid-Ohio are a perfect match

WeatherTech Championship driver profiles

Michelin Pilot Challenge driver profiles

Entry lists

Hone your skills at Mid-Ohio

Things to See and Do

Spot Ten

45 Map

DRIVER PROFILES PG.22

FUN!

e Spot th

1r0ences

Diffe AGE P

46 Schedule

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Welcome to the 2021 Acura Sports Car Challenge Presented by TLX Type S! On behalf of our entire team, it is my pleasure to welcome you this weekend to kick off the 60th season of racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Premier, world-class sports car racing is what Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was founded on in 1962. We couldn’t be more excited to host a full schedule of five races headlined by the Acura Sports Car Challenge presented by TLX Type S, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Series on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday we feature the Michelin Pilot Challenge series and to round out the weekend we have also included the Prototype Challenge on Sunday and Mazda MX-5 Cup which will hold races on both days. From the time gates open on Friday morning until the checkered flag waves on Sunday’s Acura Sports Car Challenge presented by TLX Type S, there will be on track entertainment all weekend long. While you’re here at the track, you’ll want to visit the concessions, souvenir and vendor stands in the infield. If you missed grabbing some awesome Mid-Ohio merchandise, don’t worry. All merchandise is available at shopmostore.com all year long! We’d like to extend a special thank you to Acura for its title partnership of this sports car racing weekend. With the Acura TLX Type S, it has also added presenting sponsor support to make this event possible. Acura’s ongoing support plays a major role in the overall success of this racing facility as a whole. Also, we want to thank the Morrow County Health Department for their direction and leadership to help us implement our COVID-19 health and safety protocols this weekend. Please remember to follow the guidelines throughout your time at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course including wearing a face covering at all times (inside and outside), washing and sanitizing your hands often, don’t touch your face or eyes, and maintain social distancing across our 380 acres of property. This weekend is just kicking things off so don’t forget to come back on June 4-5 for the B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio as the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to Central Ohio and this year will be joined by the ARCA Mendards Series. Then it’s the Vintage Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, June 25-27 followed by our chance to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend by hosting The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the HPD Ridgeline! We look forward to seeing you at the races all summer!

CRAIG RUST

President, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

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Dear IMSA Fans, On behalf of the France family and our colleagues at IMSA, it is our honor to welcome you to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Presented by the TLX Type S. After 36 hours of tremendous racing in our home state of Florida between January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, this weekend’s visit to Mid-Ohio launches the sprint portion of our season, with an all-out battle for two hours and 40 minutes set for Sunday afternoon. Sunday’s headliner features three great WeatherTech Championship classes, including the flagship Daytona Prototype international (DPi), Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) and GT Daytona (GTD). While the new-for-2021 LMP3 will see its first WeatherTech Championship class winner, a pair of manufacturers will be going for their fourth straight wins at Mid-Ohio in the other two classes. Acura – which debuted in DPi in 2018 – has yet to lose here on what is considered its home track, while Lexus is riding a three-race Mid-Ohio win streak of its own into this weekend in GTD. Of course, Sunday’s WeatherTech Championship race is just the tip of the IMSA racing iceberg this weekend. Saturday afternoon, we’ll contest the third round of the 2021 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season – showcasing even more amazing sports car technology – with the two-hour Mid-Ohio 120. The highly entertaining Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires also returns to Mid-Ohio this weekend. Fans of bumper-to-bumper racing action won’t want to miss either one of these 45-minute races on both Saturday and Sunday morning. In addition, we’ll celebrate the halfway point of the six-race 2021 IMSA Prototype Challenge season with a onehour, 45-minute battle on Sunday morning. As was the case when we visited Mid-Ohio last fall, you’ll notice the fan experience will be somewhat different than in years past due to ongoing COVID-19 protocols. Make no mistake, we’ll continue to provide a complete weekend of the most competitive road racing anywhere in the world out on the racetrack, just as we’ve done for decades. But we cannot wait until we can once again welcome race fans back into the garages and out onto the prerace grid here at Mid-Ohio and the 10 other world class road and street courses we visit throughout 2021. Those days will soon return, and when they do, it’ll be a celebration for the ages. Be sure to get your hands on one of our IMSA Fan Guides, download the IMSA App, tune into IMSA Radio or visit IMSA.com to stay up to date with what’s happening on the racetrack this weekend and throughout the 2021 season. And whenever you can’t be with us at the track, make sure you tune into NBC Sports’ fantastic television coverage of IMSA. Once again, thank you so much for joining us here this weekend and for your continued support of IMSA. Best Regards,

ED BENNETT

CEO

JOHN DOONAN President

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Dear Acura Race Fan, Welcome to another action-packed weekend of racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, highlighted by Sunday’s Acura Sports Car Challenge, featuring the cars and drivers of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2021 a challenging year for everyone, and we truly appreciate your continued support for IMSA sports car racing and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This weekend’s race will feature many of the most talented racers from around the world, and a pair of Acura teams in the Daytona Prototype International and GT Daytona categories. In DPi, Wayne Taylor Racing and hometown favorite Meyer Shank Racing will be attempting to extend Acura’s winning streak at Mid-Ohio to an unprecedented four-in-a-row. In 2018, Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor started from the pole and claimed the victory in a 1-2 finish for the Acura ARX-05 in the inaugural prototype win for Acura in its return to IMSA competition. For 2019, it was teammates Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya first to the checkers, as the pair went on to win the Drivers’ Championship, with Acura claiming the Manufacturers’ title and Penske claiming honors in the Teams’ championship. Last year, Castroneves and Taylor returned to victory circle at Mid-Ohio. The pair went on to win the drivers’ title as Acura repeated as Manufacturers’ Champion. In the always competitive GTD class, Magnus with Archangel sees former IMSA GT champion Andy Lally team with veteran John Potter as Acura seeks a second consecutive Manufacturers’ Championship in the production-based category. A second NSX GT3 Evo will be entered by Gradient Racing, which campaigns their #22 Acura in GTD class with drivers Marc Miller and Till Bechtolscheimer. In both classes, Acura will be facing off against strong competition from a wide range of automotive manufacturers. In DPi, Acura will continue to battle works programs from Cadillac and Mazda; and more than a half-dozen rival premium sports-car manufacturers including Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-AMG and Lamborghini in GTD. Our sister company Honda will also be represented this weekend in the MICHELIN Pilot Challenge, with a variety of Honda Civic TCRs taking part in the race. We hope you enjoy the races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, one of the most beautiful road racing facilities in North America, where American Honda has had a relationship that dates to 1994. Have a great weekend!

JON IKEDA

Vice President and Acura Brand Officer

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STAFF LISTING

GREEN SAVOREE RACING PROMOTIONS STAFF Kim Green Chairman & CEO Kevin Savoree President & COO Michael Morrisey Executive Vice President & CFO Jeff Atkinson Vice President, Sales and Marketing

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SOUVENIR PROGRAM

EVENT STAFF

Angela Hogeveen, Steve Bidlack, Jenna Hood Marketing & Communications

Adam Fisher, Stephen Timms, Dave Schwall, Devon Keady, Weston Bell, Kris Boatwright, Nathan Long Operations & Facility

Mike Raven, Tammi Sipes, Gwen Duffy, Anita Karklins, Tiona Howard Ticketing & Box Office

Craig Rust President

Bill Whitmore Safety

Brian Sipes Security Cindy Loomis Catering Services

Dr. Alice Frazier, M.D. Medical

Sonny Gee, Scott McKinley, Max Gee The Mid-Ohio School

Mike Pryor, Helga Klein Race Control

Rusty Bell, Tom Michaels PA Announcer

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EDITORIAL

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F O C A L P O I N T

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GSRP

After getting off to a slow start, Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor won the 2020 Acura Grand Prix, in the #7 Acura Team Penske entry.

Camera NIKON D300

Aperture 4.64

Shutter Speed 1/8,000

Focal Length 75 mm

ISO 4,500

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Meyer Shank Racing

MOVES TO DPi

When Michael Shank walks through the paddock at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, it doesn’t matter if it’s an NTT IndyCar Series race, or an IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car contest, he is the hometown team owner. STORY BY BRUCE MARTIN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY IMSA MEDIA

he Ohio-born and raised driverturned-team owner, now building an impressive new base just east of Columbus, gets tremendous support when his teams compete at Mid-Ohio. But there is something that greatly irritates Shank. His cars have never won a major race on the demanding 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course. “This is one of those thorn in my sides, because it’s my home track, I was literally born there, and we have not won a GRAND-AM, IMSA or INDYCAR race there, ever,” Shank lamented. “We’ve been second many times, but we have never won a race and we have got to get it done. We are going to go test to make sure we change that.

“We have the GMR Indy Grand Prix [in Indianapolis] on Saturday, so we will do that race, then I will drive over to Mid-Ohio on Saturday night for the IMSA Acura Sports Car Challenge on Sunday. That will be a big weekend all the way around. One other major change for Shank’s IMSA team in 2021: this time his car will be in the top division – the exotic DPi category. Meyer Shank Racing won the 2019 IMSA GTD category with the famed Acura NSX GT3. For this season, Honda Performance Development and Acura moved Meyer Shank Racing up to the top division in the series. “For four years, we were there with the NSX and were super happy to do that,” Shank recalled. “Going back at the top level, everything we have done this year at the top level is better for me. It comes with the way we run our business. We have always aspired to get to the top of whatever we are doing. “Now that we are back at Mid-Ohio with a prototype once again, we are trying to win the IMSA race here, especially for Acura on their home track. “With Honda having a major manufacturing facility in Marysville, Ohio, it helps a lot. On top

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of that, we are building a new [race] shop, and we use Honda Manufacturing surface plate to work on the IMSA car. We plan on spending a lot of time up there in the future. It’s been great so far.” In addition to Meyer Shank Racing, Acura and HPD signed the much-heralded Wayne Taylor Racing to the Acura DPi effort, giving the manufacturer two of the top teams in IMSA to lead the way in the fierce battle for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car championship. Both teams received new Acura Prototypes for 2021, but also received the equipment used by Acura Team Penske during its successful, three-year run as the Acura’s prototype team in IMSA. According to Shank, some of that equipment has saved his team from “having to reinvent the wheel.” With two top teams in DPi instead of one, it also creates an environment where the two Acura teams will push each other for even more excellence. “Yes, but it’s designed to do that,” Shank said. “HPD made a tactical maneuver when Team Penske left. HPD wanted to do two separate teams and wanted some competition [between

the teams]. Wayne and I have competed against each other for 16 or 17 years. We get along very well and talk every week about various things. We both have plans to be with Honda and Acura for many years to come. “I think [the change to two teams] was designed to push the competition. Penske did a fantastic job. Each of their cars won a championship. This [two-team program] is just a different path, and I’m happy to be part of it.” It also gives Meyer Shank Racing a chance to compete for the overall victory in all of the IMSA contests instead of first in class in GTD. That completely changes much of the style and strategy that makes IMSA so unique because with various classes of competition all on the track in the same race, it’s a battle within a race. “It takes us back to where we started in GRAND-AM in prototypes, and then switched to IMSA,” Shank explained. “I don’t want to diminish GTD. It is as hard a battle as you will ever do, but my partners and I want to compete at the top level of sports car racing, whether it’s the United States or at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We are now in a position where hopefully we can talk about that soon.

“Acura and Honda call it their pinnacle-level competition – IndyCar racing and IMSA’s DPi program. That is where we want to be.” So, what are the differences between racing around Mid-Ohio in the top class compared to GTD? “You almost double the amount of time in any given race,” Shank explained. “There is a lot more strategy involved with regards to how good you are on in laps and out laps because it all matters because you are doing it a lot more. That is one major difference. “The drivers love racing prototypes. Take AJ Allmendinger, he has driven prototypes, then GTD for me and now back to prototypes. When you don’t have to drive in the mirrors and not get run over and you are the guy running over, it is much easier on the driver to have to not be constantly worried about someone passing you.” The transition from the Acura NSX GT3 to the Acura DPi has not been easy, however. Last season ended much later than normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the 2021 season began on time and opened on schedule with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The tight timeframe made it difficult for Shank’s team to close out the Acura NSX effort and properly prepare for the faster, more powerful DPi program. “If you are grading us, we are a C-plus to a B-minus,” Shank said. “I’m being very honest with that assessment. Prototypes have changed a lot since we were last in it in 2016. The intensity and the formula and the quality has all changed. It’s gotten harder. We raced [GTD] on November 15 in 2020, and one week later had to be on the track at Daytona testing the prototype. We are not yet caught up where we need to be. I think

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we have done pretty well, but we have not by any means shown our potential yet, which I think bodes well for us. “Sebring [where the team finished third] was better than Daytona, so that was a step there. We still had a couple mistakes that cost us pretty dearly that we need to be better at. We will. I would give us a C-plus, B-minus with lots of room to improve but all heading in the right direction. “Our expectations are to win IMSA races. We are doubling down on Mid-Ohio, learning where we are weak at Daytona and Sebring and addressing it, hitting it head on and we will be ready. I promise you that.” That “Can Do” spirit and attitude is what makes Shank so popular, especially to his fellow Buckeyes. When Shank walks through the MidOhio paddock out to pit lane, he hears plenty of “Atta boys” and “Go get ‘em, Mike” from the fans that flock to the popular racing facility in both IMSA and INDYCAR contests. Many of those fans look at Meyer Shank Racing as the hometown team. “It’s one of the best things about it,” Shank said. “Pre-COVID, it was a really cool thing. There are a lot of people from central Ohio, and Ohio in general, that have been going to Mid-Ohio for as long as I have. They have maybe seen me drive, spent some time with us and see what we do because we are sort of the hometown team. To me, there is nothing better and I love it. “We’ve done a lot of podcasts with various folks. People listen to that and they have a little bit of an idea what kind of person you are. When you have at-track interaction – or when you don’t due to COVID – I really missed it. The times we have been on the podium at Mid-Ohio have been very exciting.”

“We all know, whether it’s a driver or a team, we will focus on making everything better for the next race.” Shank believes it’s a tremendous honor to represent Ohio at the top racing facility in the state, a venue that features IMSA, INDYCAR, NASCAR Xfinity and other top forms of racing that makes it one of the best road courses in North America. In Shank’s mind, he is representing the state of Ohio to the Mid-Ohio fans. “But more than that, I feel like I represent all the Honda and Acura folks who work about one hour away in Marysville,” Shank admitted. “I’ve been to their facility. I’ve bought an NSX. I see how they assemble and build cars and it’s incredibly impressive. “We don’t want to be the weak link on a very high percentage winning outfit. We want to do as well as they do assembling and engineering cars and testing cars. We want to do that well on the track, and they deserve that. That is why we are here. We’re with a performance brand in Acura and we have to have that performance.” Shank’s desire for results in IMSA is an ongoing quest, but he believes he has the right drivers behind the wheel of his Acura to win races and contend for the series championship in 2021. Two of those drivers, Dan Cameron and Juna Pablo Montoya, were with Acura Team Penske last year and fully understand the racing

machine. The third driver is Oliver Pla, who was part of Meyer Shank Racing in 2016 and returns to the team in 2021. “The big revelation, working with Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya has been fantastic,” Shank said. “Dane is our full-time guy, really our anchor, our rock. Juan has been about the team for the first two races, and he just makes me happy. He’s a great guy on top of a great driver. There is a reason why he has won seven F1 races. I found him incredibly great to work with. “Olivier Pla is a guy who was incredible for MSR back in 2016 and I knew I wanted to give him an opportunity in this DPi car again. He is getting stronger and stronger. In fact, he had the highest average pace and fastest race lap of all the Acura drivers at Sebring and I’m proud of him for that. He has pushed himself hard to learn quickly. None of us had a lot of time in these cars. “We all know, whether it’s a driver or a team, we will focus on making everything better for the next race. All of [our drivers] are super team players. The #1 theme here is the people driving our cars are all people I would go to dinner and have a beer with.” When Shank began his racing career as a driver in 1989, it was essentially a family-run effort. By 1997, he saw more opportunities as a team owner and retired as a driver. After much success, first in Formula Atlantic and then in sports car racing, Shank began another challenge: Indy car racing. In 2017, Shank fielded an effort in the 101st Indianapolis 500 with Jack Harvey as the driver. The next year, Shank and Harvey competed in six races in INDYCAR. In 2019, the schedule was increased to 10 IndyCar contests and last year, Meyer Shank Racing ran the full schedule in both INDYCAR and IMSA. The team is growing at a tremendous pace, so does Shank sometimes say to himself, “Look what I’ve created” or ask himself, “What have I gotten myself into?” “I’ve done neither, all I do is put my head down,” Shank said. “I get happy, I get sad, I get mad when we don’t do well. I just keep focusing on how to grow this business. “Back in 2017, we had eight full-time people. Now, we have 45 full time, plus 10 more subcontractors that come to the race weekends. It’s a big group now, we are building a great, new 50,000-square foot shot that we are proud of, building a leadership team under me that can help run and grow this business and take it to better places than I have been able to do. That’s the key. Who can I bring in, help grow this business and take this racing team to a higher level? “I’ve focused on trying to get those people in place and I think I’ve done pretty damn good.” That’s the kind of attitude that makes Shank so popular, especially at Mid-Ohio. It’s also the competitive attitude and spirit that Honda and Acura admire the most in its longtime partnership with Meyer Shank Racing.

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WeatherTech Championship

GEARS UP FOR EXCITING ‘SPRINT’ ROUND AT MID-OHIO The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship roars into Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the third event on the 2021 schedule, the Acura Sports Car Challenge Presented by the TLX Type 5. STORY BY MARK ROBINSON • PHOTOGRAPHY BY IMSA MEDIA

ollowing a pair of iconic endurance races to kick off the campaign – the 59th Rolex 24 At Daytona and the 69th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts – this weekend’s event marks the first “sprint” race of the season with a time length of two hours, 40 minutes. The green flag is expected to wave at 2:40 p.m. Sunday. Three of the WeatherTech Championship classes will be on hand competing this weekend, including the high-tech Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars that form the top tier of sports car competition in North America. Joining the DPis on track will be the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes. LMP3 is new to the WeatherTech Championship this year, featuring prototypes that look similar to a DPi but don’t carry as much horse-

power or deliver as much downforce. LMP3 is the exclusive car used in the IMSA Prototype Challenge, a development series for aspiring prototype drivers and teams that is also on the weekend slate at Mid-Ohio. GTD cars look more like those you see on the streets and highways every day, with a healthy total of eight automobile manufacturers represented. GTD boasts some of the most competitive racing in all of IMSA. In recent years, the Mid-Ohio race has favored Acura – which may be befitting since the luxury brand of Honda is entitlement sponsor of the event and there is a Honda/Acura manufacturing plant nearby. Acura-powered cars have won the last three Mid-Ohio races overall and in the DPi class. Team Penske was the entrant for each of those winners, but it is no longer operating a

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WeatherTech Championship program so the Acura wealth has been spread among two teams this year. Wayne Taylor Racing won out of the box with its Acura at the Rolex 24 in January. Co-drivers of WTR’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05, Ricky Taylor and Renger van der Zande, will look to add another win at Mid-Ohio and pad their early points lead. The other Acura DPi team is Ohio-based Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian. The team made the switch to DPi after running a successful GTD Acura operation in recent years. Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla pilot the No. 60 Meyer Shank Acura DPi. A trio of powerful Cadillacs and one Mazda will challenge Acura for DPi superiority. The Cadillac brigade includes the No. 5 Mustang Sampling/ JDC Miller MotorSports entry that won the Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, not to mention the No. 01 entry from the powerful Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac that’s always a threat. The No. 55 Mazda Motorsports DPi lineup includes Oliver Jarvis, who set the track record in 2019 qualifying. The LMP3 class has six entries, each running either a Duqueine D08 or Ligier JS P320 chassis. Since the class is new this year, the competition

is pretty wide open. But keep an eye out for the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier driven by Jon Bennett and Colin Braun, and the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier shared by Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga. Each car has one win this season. The Lexus brand has owned GTD competition at Mid-Ohio in recent years, winning the class in 2018, ’19 and ’20. The last two of those triumphs came from the Vasser Sullivan Racing stable. Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz are back in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 to defend their 2020 victory. In addition to the season-long points battles, the Mid-Ohio round also kicks off the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup – a championship within a championship in GTD, where points are earned in the eight non-endurance races.

Hawksworth and Telitz are the reigning Sprint Cup champions as well. The WeatherTech Championship schedule calls for practices Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, ahead of qualifying at 12:20 p.m. Saturday to set the race starting grid in each class. Season points have been added for qualifying this year, making the session even more important than it was. And don’t forget the other IMSA-sanctioned series racing this weekend to deliver a full weekend of Mid-Ohio action and excitement. In addition to the premier WeatherTech Championship, you’ll also be able to see the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA Prototype Challenge and the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires.

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Michelin Pilot Challenge

PROVIDES GREAT COMPETITION, WIDE VARIETY OF CARS

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competing this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is one of the most entertaining and hotly contested IMSA series among drivers, teams and especially manufacturers. Now fewer than a dozen global automobile makers are represented in the field for Saturday’s two-hour race, the Mid-Ohio 120. STORY BY MARK ROBINSON • PHOTOGRAPHY BY IMSA MEDIA

he Michelin Pilot Challenge features two classes of racing: Grand Sport (GS) with GT4-specification cars conforming to SRO homologation standards, and Touring Car (TCR) with cars fitting WSC homologation regulations. The result is a field of evenly matched entrants that put on highly competitive races each time out. Each car has two drivers for the race. Both must take a turn behind the wheel, with a minimum drive time of 40 minutes. Many drivers competing in IMSA’s marquee series, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, also race in the Michelin Pilot Challenge to gain valuable seat time and experience on the same tracks.

For example, Bill Auberlen – the all-time wins leader in IMSA’s top-tier series with 62 – is also a longtime Michelin Pilot Challenge driver and has two wins here (2005 and ’06). A healthy field of 36 cars are entered this weekend at Mid-Ohio: 21 in the GS class and 15 in TCR. Let’s take a closer look at both:

Grand Sport (GS):

Nine manufacturers make up this loaded field, with Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Toyota pitting their technological talents against one another. As mentioned earlier, GS cars are from the GT4 spec, which look similar but are a step down in power and aerodynamics from the GT3 cars that compete in the WeatherTech Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) class. GT4 cars generate 400-450 horsepower, some 50-100 less than their GT3 counterparts. The GT4 cars also have significantly reduced wings, splitters and diffusers, resulting in lower downforce than their GT3 counterparts.

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That’s why the Michelin Pilot Challenge serves as the perfect training ground for aspiring WeatherTech Championship drivers and teams. Auberlen and Dillon Machavern, who drive the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4, lead the season standings after two races, with finishes of second at Daytona International Speedway and third at Sebring International Raceway. Besides Auberlen, there are several other past Mid-Ohio winners in the GS field this weekend. Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman, who share the No. 7 VOLT Racing with Archangel Aston Martin Vantage GT4, won the GS class at the 2019 Mid-Ohio race. Kuno Wittmer, who’ll be in the No. 13 AWA McLaren 570S GT4 with Orey Fidani, was a winner in the TCR class in 2016. Wittmer and Fidani also won the 2021 GS class season opener at Daytona and trail Auberlen and Machavern by 50 points in the standings. James Vance, co-driver of the No. 83 FastMD Racing Audi R8 GT4 with Alex Papadopulos, won in TCR in the first race of last year’s Michelin Pilot Challenge doubleheader.

Touring Car (TCR):

Four manufacturers – Alfa Romeo, Audi, Honda and Hyundai – make up the 15-car field. TCR cars generate 300-350 horsepower and speeds exceeding 140 mph, some 20 mph less than the GS cars. Audi has been the talk of the TCR paddock this year after winning the opening two races. The No. 17 Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS SEQ took class honors at Daytona, with drivers Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor looking to repeat that sensation at Mid-Ohio. Gavin Ernstone and Jon Morley, who took the No. 61 Road Shagger Racing Audi to victory at Sebring in March, have the added confidence builder of winning one of the Mid-Ohio races last year and finishing third in the other.

The current points leaders in TCR, however, are Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler of the No. 77 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Hyundai Veloster N TCR. Lewis was a TCR winner at Mid-Ohio in 2019 and Hagler finished second in the first race last year. Lewis and Hagler are just 20 points up in the standings on Ryan Eversley (No. 94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic FK7 TCR) and Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson (co-drivers of the No. 54 Michael Johnson Racing Hyundai). The Michelin Pilot Challenge schedule calls for practice sessions Friday morning and afternoon, ahead of evening qualifying starting at 5:50 p.m. The Mid-Ohio 120 is set to start at 3:35 p.m. Saturday.

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Mazda MX-5 Cup and Mid-Ohio are a

PERFECT MATCH Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will play host to the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires midseason; Rounds 7 and 8 represent the halfway point on the 14-Round calendar. There’s no better place for the Championship to kick into high gear than at a track that has been on the series calendar since its inception in 2006. PHOTOGRAPHY BY IGNITE MEDIA/MAZDA MOTORSPORTS

he Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup is known for close racing, lots of drafting and incredible finishes. The catalyst for these amazing 45-minute races is the MX-5 Cup car. It’s the same road-going Mazda Miata you can buy at a dealership, only after these leave the assembly line in Japan, they head to Flis Performance in Daytona Beach, Florida, to be converted into a true race car. Several components on the car are sealed to ensure even competition and a cost-saving platform. Since the series began, the goal has been to provide a true spec series that showcases driver talent and is cost-effective. Today, it’s still the best value in racing.

Mazda’s support for these racers cannot be overstated. Not only will the series champion earn a $250,000 career advancement scholarship, but payouts continue all the way through 10th place in the year-end points. Mid-Ohio has been a mainstay on the Mazda MX-5 Cup racing calendar. To date the series has made seven trips to the classic road course, including two different weekends for a total of four races last year courtesy of pandemic rescheduling. That was music to drivers’ ears because so many of them list Mid-Ohio as their favorite track on the schedule. Some epic MX-5 Cup battles have been waged at Mid-Ohio over the years. Last lap passes for the win are common here and have

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been a feature of the 2021 season thus far. The average margin of victory after six rounds is 0.657-second. A winner of two Mid-Ohio races last season, Michael Carter arrives at Mid-Ohio with the Championship lead in his No. 08 Carter Racing Enterprises car. Carter is the reigning Champion, but only just took the lead at the top of the points after trailing Gresham Wagner for the first four races of the year. The Georgia Tech student now has a 130-point advantage. A difficult Round Five at St. Petersburg is what has Wagner on the back foot. A mechanical DNF was a big hit to his championship hopes, but not a fatal one, since he bounced back for a runner-up finish in Round Six. The driver of the No. 5 Spark Performance machine earned his very first MX-5 Cup win at Mid-Ohio last year, so expect a confident and determined Wagner this weekend as he seeks to regain his points lead. Third in the points coming into Mid-Ohio is Selin Rollan, driver of the No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports entry. Now in his fourth season of MX-5 Cup, Rollan has been part of some wild finishes so far this season. At Sebring, Rollan, Wagner

The MX-5 Cup has seen a surge in female drivers this season due in part to Mazda’s Women’s Initiative. and Carter went three-wide, door-to-door across the finish line with Rollan taking the win by just 0.001-second over Carter. At St. Petersburg, Rollan made passes happen that shouldn’t be possible at a street circuit and after a lengthy yellow, won a one-lap sprint to the finish. The MX-5 Cup has seen a surge in female drivers this season due in part to Mazda’s Women’s Initiative. Since 2008, Mazda has hosted the MX-5 Cup Shootout for amateur Mazda drivers to win a $110,000 scholarship to race in MX-5 Cup. In the most recent Shootout, a $75,000 scholarship was added for the highest performing female driver entered. The inaugural winner

of that scholarship is Savanna Little, who drives the No. 63 Hixon Motor Sports car. Little’s teammate at Hixon Motor Sports is Loni Unser, yes, of that Unser family. She took part in a handful of MX-5 Cup races last year and has returned with hopes of completing a full season in the No. 92 Hixon Motor Sports car. The 23-year old is coming off of her best race weekend yet; finishing seventh and 10th at St. Petersburg, her first time ever on a street circuit. The current Mazda Shootout Scholarship winner is Aaron Jeansonne. The Louisiana driver began his career racing go-karts on dirt ovals at 17. Only two years later, he won the Team USA Scholarship, which funds an American driver to compete in the prestigious Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy race at Silverstone, both in England. The No. 24 Provision Motorsports driver is hoping to claim MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year honors and the $80,000 prize that goes with it. It's the runner-up in that shootout who’s leading the rookie standings, however. Chris Nunes is making the transition from off-road to road racing look easy. The driver of the No. 32 JTR Motorsport Engineering car collected his first podium at St. Petersburg and is currently fourth in the point standings. If you like what you see, you can re-watch this weekend’s MX-5 Cup races at Mid-Ohio on NBCSN, Tuesday, May 25 at 3pm ET. The second half of the Mazda MX-5 Cup schedule includes: Road America (August 6 – 8), WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (September 10 – 12) and Road Atlanta (November 10 – 12). All races are streamed live on IMSA.com and available later on IMSA’s YouTube channel.

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DAYTONA PROTOTYPE iNTERNATIONAL

MEET THE IMSA WEATHERTECH DRIVERS

DAYTONA PROTOTYPE iNTERNATIONAL 01

Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing

Mustang Sampling / JDC-Miller MotorSports

Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05

Whelen Engineering Racing

Mazda Motorsports

Cadillac DPi

Renger van der Zande

Kevin Magnussen

Tristan Vautier

Loic Duval

Ricky Taylor

Filipe Albuquerque

Felipe Nasr

Pipo Derani

Oliver Jarvis

Harry Tincknell

Cadillac DPi

Acura DPi

Cadillac DPi

Mazda DPi

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Acura DPi

Dane Cameron

Olivier Pla

Austin McCusker

TBD

Lance Willsey

Joao Barbosa

Jarrett Andretti

Oliver Askew

Rasmus Lindh

Dan Goldburg

LE MANS PROTOTYPE 3

Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian

LE MANS PROTOTYPE 3 7

Forty7 Motorsports

Sean Creech Motorsport

Andretti Autosport

Performance Tech Motorsports

Duqueine D08

Ligier JS P320

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MEET THE IMSA WEATHERTECH DRIVERS

Riley Motorsports

Jonathan Bennett

Colin Braun

Gar Robinson

Felipe Fraga

Jim Cox

Dylan Murry

Bryan Sellers

Madison Snow

Zacharie Robichon

Laurens Vanthoor

LE MANS PROTOTYPE 3

Ligier JS P320

GT DAYTONA

Core Autosport

GT DAYTONA 1

Paul Miller Racing

Pfaff Motorsports

Lamborghini Huracan GT3

Porsche 911 GT3R

ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE AT MID-OHIO PRESENTED BY TLX TYPE S

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MEET THE IMSA WEATHERTECH DRIVERS Lexus RC F GT3

GT DAYTONA

Vasser Sullivan

Heart of Racing Team

Zach Veach

Aaron Telitz

Jack Hawksworth

Ryan Hardwick

Patrick Long

Misha Goikhberg

Tim Zimmermann

Roman De Angelis

Ross Gunn

Daniel Morad

Michael de Quesada

Lexus RC F GT3

Wright Motorsports

GRT Grasser Racing Team

Frankie Montecalvo

Porsche 911 GT3R

Lamborghini Huracan GT3

Aston Martin Vantage GT3

Alegra Motorsports

Mercedes-AMG GT3

ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE AT MID-OHIO PRESENTED BY TLX TYPE S

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MEET THE IMSA WEATHERTECH DRIVERS

Magnus with Archangel

Gradient Racing

Compass Racing

Team Hardpoint EBM

Turner Motorsport

Audi R8 LMS GT3

Richard Heistand

Jeff Westphal

John Potter

Andy Lally

Till Bechtolsheimer

Marc Miller

Jeff Kingsley

Mario Farnbacher

Rob Ferriol

Katherine Legge

Bill Auberlen

Robby Foley

Acura NSX GT3

Porsche 911 GT3 R

BMW M6 GT3

ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE AT MID-OHIO PRESENTED BY TLX TYPE S

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GT DAYTONA

CarBahn with Peregrine Racing

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GRAND SPORT

MEET THE IMSA MICHELIN PILOT CHALLENGE DRIVERS

GRAND SPORT 3

Motorsports In Action

Sheena Monk

VOLT Racing with Archangel

Alan Brynjolfsson

AWA

Wright Motorsports

Ryan Hardwick

Spencer Pigot

Aston Martin Vantage GT4

Jan Heylen

Riley Motorsports

Javier Quirós

Mercedes-AMG GT GT4

Indy Dontje

McCann Racing

Andrew Davis

Kuno Wittmer

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport

Winward Racing

Russell Ward

Trent Hindman

McLaren 570S GT4

Orey Fidani

McLaren 570S GT4

Riley Motorsports

Anton Dias Perera

Audi R8 GT4

Michael McCann

Toyota Supra GT4

Alfredo Najri

Toyota Supra GT4

Scott Andrews

ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE AT MID-OHIO PRESENTED BY TLX TYPE S

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Ford Mustang GT4

James Pesek

TeamTGM

Winward Racing

Bryce Ward

Murillo Racing

Turner Motorsport

Bill Auberlen

Murillo Racing

Alec Udell

TeamTGM

Tim Probert

Rebel Rock Racing

Frank DePew

Audi R8 GT4

James Vance

Dillon Machavern

Eric Foss

Owen Trinkler

Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R

Robin Liddell

CarBahn with Peregrine

Mark Siegel

BMW M4 GT4

Nate Stacy

Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R

Ted Giovanis

Ford Mustang GT4

Mercedes-AMG GT GT4

Jeff Mosing

Mercedes-AMG GT GT4

FASTMD RACING

Alex Papadopulos

Jack Roush Jr.

Matt Plumb

Mercedes-AMG GT GT4

Brent Mosing

Chad McCumbee

Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R

Hugh Plumb

American Wheelman

GRAND SPORT

PF Racing

Audi R8 GT4

Tom Dyer

Turner Motorsport

Robby Foley

BMW M4 GT4

Vincent Barletta

ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE AT MID-OHIO PRESENTED BY TLX TYPE S

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TOURING CAR

MEET THE IMSA MICHELIN PILOT CHALLENGE DRIVERS

TOURING CAR 17

Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports

Chris Miller

Copeland Motorsports

Tyler Maxson

Copeland Motorsports

Mason Filippi

Road Shagger Racing

Gavin Ernstone

KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR

Roy Block

Audi RS3 LMS SEQ

Mikey Taylor

Hyundai Veloster N TCR

Rory van der Steur

Tyler Gonzalez

Hyundai Veloster N TCR

Jon Morley

Bryan Herta Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian

Harry Gottsacker

AJ Muss

Audi RS3 LMS SEQ

VAN DER STEUR RACING

Michael Johnson Racing

Michael Johnson

LA Honda World Racing

Mike LaMarra

Tim Lewis

Hyundai Veloster N TCR

Denis Dupont

Hyundai Elantra N TCR

Mark Wilkins

Hyundai Veloster N TCR

Stephen Simpson

Honda Civic FK7 TCR

Mat Pombo

ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE AT MID-OHIO PRESENTED BY TLX TYPE S

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Michael Lewis

Atlanta Speedwerks

Brian Henderson

Atlanta Speedwerks

Scott Smithson

Hyundai Veloster N TCR

CB Motorsports

Taylor Hagler

Honda Civic FK7 TCR

Trenton Estep

Mark Kvamme

VGMC Racing, LLC

Robert Noaker

Honda Civic FK7 TCR

Hyundai Veloster N TCR

Honda Civic FK7 TCR

Ruben Iglesias

Victor Gonzalez

Bryan Herta Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian

Ryan Eversley

TOURING CAR

Bryan Herta Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian

Hyundai Elantra N TCR

Ryan Norman

Parker Chase

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ENTRY LISTS LE MANS PROTOTYPE 3-1 (P3-1) #

Drivers / Nationality

Team

Car Type