The #95 Turner Motorsport BMW, driven by Luca Mars and Dillon Machavern, took the win today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (in what will be the final Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Laguna Seca for the foreseeable future). This result marks the team’s first victory here in Monterey since 2009.
The #95 began the race in eighth position, cutting through the field to third place behind the #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 when virtually the entire GS class pitted during a Full Course Yellow halfway through the two-hour race. With a well-timed pitstop, the BMW came out into first position, which they would defend from the #13 behind for the rest of the race.
CSM’s #2 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport finished in second position after a last-minute overtake of the #13 Ford Mustang GT4, piloted by Nate Cicero and Robert Noaker, which finished the race third overall.
The #13 started from pole and ran in the top two for most of the two-hour session, dropping to third at the last second after a challenging fuel-conserving stint from series rookie Noaker.
Mars in the #95 was also on a fuel-save strategy, but he and the Turner Motorsports squad had the benefit of experience, marking BMW’s 50th class win in GS and 92nd in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Driver Machavern commented on the clutch strategy Turner ran today that ultimately made all the difference.
“We knew there was the possibility of a one-stop race, so that’s what got the process going,” said Machavern. “We were saving fuel from the start, which ended up paying off in a huge way on pit lane. That little bit of conserving from the start allowed us to jump a couple cars, and of course, we have the best crew in the business.”
“After I got through those first couple laps with the Mustang on me, I was able to maintain that one-second gap for a while,” Mars added. “I was just saving fuel and saving those rear tyres for the end of the race. I was able to slowly build and build that gap, and in the end, stretched it to where I didn’t have to worry about the guys behind me.
“I kind of knew it was going to be a fuel race, and we were all going to be scrambling, but I was still able to turn fast laps, so huge thanks to the Turner Motorsport crew for a great car and an unbelievable pit stop.”
The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 finished fourth with Bryce Ward and Daan Arrow putting in the work after being caught up in a multi-car incident that saw their Mercedes spun around in turn ten, with the #23 Koch-Copeland Motorsports Toyota receiving damage after colliding with a different car.
In TCR, the Bryan Herta Autosport #33 and #76 finished the race 1-2 in this afternoon’s race, with a dominant showing from the #33. Although it looked free and easy for Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris, both drivers multiple race winners in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, they ran into some difficulties with the #99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Cupra in second before it sustained a puncture and dropped down the order.
The #76 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra collected second position after a gutting last-second DNF from the #77 Stallion Motorsports w/Gou Cupra promoted the Dennis Dupont and Preston Brown driver duo. Finishing out the podium was Karl Wittmer and LP Montour in the #93 MMG Honda Civic, which has looked quick all weekend.
“This track has always been really good for our Elantra N TCR cars, but this is awesome,” said California native Filippi. “It’s fun to win at Laguna Seca – definitely special. Bryson crushed it and we extended our points lead.
“It’s always a challenging battle out there, so it was about keeping focus through the restarts. And working with the other traffic class traffic is huge here. Managing that is really big, so it wasn’t as easy as it looked.”
“I knew it was a really heavy tyre deg (degradation) race, so I was just praying at the end because I know we were running for a long time,” Morris added. “But the Michelin tyres held on.”
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will be the headline series next time out at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio, set to take place 5-7 June at Mid-Ohio.
