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- Category: Road Racing
January 18, 2024
Speedway, Indiana - Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian (BHA) returns to IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) competition in 2024 with a four-car Hyundai Elantra N TCR effort.
2023 Series Champions, Harry Gottsacker and Robert Wickens return as co-drivers in 2024 to defend their title. The pair earned seven second place finishes in ten races last season, a new series record. Gottsacker enters his sixth season with BHA, he has recorded five series victories since joining the team in 2019 and holds the series record for pole positions (7). For Wickens, 2024 will be his third season racing for Hyundai. Wickens made his racing debut with hand controls driving a Hyundai in 2021, when he returned to competition after devastating injuries sustained in a 2018 IndyCar accident. It took Wickens just two years to become the first driver in North America to win a professional title driving with hand controls. He’s tallied two victories and eight podiums using his hands to control the accelerator, brakes, and transmission. Still searching for their first race victory as co-drivers, Gottsacker and Wickens will race the #33 Elantra N TCR.
Bryson Morris joins two-time series Champion, Taylor Hagler in the #77 Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Morris made his debut with the team in 2023 at the season finale at Road Atlanta, where the pair finished eighth. "I am really excited to be joining BHA for the 2024 season,” said Morris. “I saw immense potential with the one-off race I did last year at Road Atlanta, and I think we can build off that together, and have a great season. I am looking forward to really learning this car, and I am hoping to be on the podium or even get a win this year alongside Taylor." Taylor Hagler re-wrote the history books in 2021 when she became the first woman to win a TCR race in IMSA and the first woman to win the TCR title in North America, which she defended in 2022.
As announced in December, Denis Dupont and Preston Brown have joined BHA, and will make their debut at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 driving the #76 Hyundai Elantra N TCR. The pair previously raced the Audi RS 3. They welcome a third driver, Nick Looijmans at Daytona for the four-hour season opener.
Returning for their second season as teammates after an extremely successful season in 2023 that included three wins and a total of eight podium finishes, Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi will drive the #98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Wilkins is the 2019 IMPC Champion and has 11 TCR victories, having won at least once each season since joining BHA and driving for Hyundai. Mason Filippi has amassed six wins and four pole positions since his debut with the team as a rookie in 2019. Filippi has finished second in the championship twice (2019 and 2023).
Bryan Herta Autosport, the five-time IMPC champions kicks off the 2024 season at the Roar Before the Rolex 24, IMSA’s open test and media days leading into the famed ROLEX 24 Hours at Daytona event. Round one of the 2024 IMPC season kicks off with a four-hour endurance race at 1:40 pm on Friday, January 26, 2024. The races will air live on NBC’s Peacock.
Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian
Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single car Indy-Lights team into a multi-championship winning auto racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport has won races in every discipline they have entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rallycross, and championship titles in Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with driver Dan Wheldon. Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. In 2018, BHA entered the American Sports Car scene beginning its immensely successful partnership with Hyundai. Together, BHA and Hyundai have won five championships in as many seasons, including five consecutive team and driver championships, and four consecutive (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023) manufacturer's titles in IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge. For more information, visit: www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.
BHA/Hyundai Customer Support: Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and part support representative of Hyundai TCR and TCA race cars for customer teams. The BHA/Hyundai Customer Support Team offers trackside engineering support, setup and tuning advice, and part and order fulfillments for the Hyundai Veloster N TCR and TCA teams and drivers from the BHA’s headquarters in Speedway, IN. Since its North American debut in 2019, the Hyundai Veloster N TCR has scored 27 race wins, and three TCR championship titles.
Hyundai Motor America
Hyundai Motor America focuses on ‘Progress for Humanity’ and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles. Our 830 dealers sold more than 724,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2022, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com.
Canadians In BOLD
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- Category: Road Racing
January 17, 2024
Select sessions (marked with asterix) will be available on Live Stream for Canadian fans at https://www.imsa.com/tvlive/
FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2024
8:45 AM to 9:15 AM ET
Practice 1 - VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
9:30 AM to 10:45 AM ET
Session 1 - Michelin Pilot Challenge
11:00 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Session 1 - WeatherTech Championship
1:45 PM to 2:15 PM ET
Practice 2 - VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
2:30 PM to 4:00 PM ET
Session 2 - Michelin Pilot Challenge
4:15 PM to 6:00 PM ET
Session 2 - WeatherTech Championship
SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2024
8:40 AM to 9:15 AM ET
Qualifying - VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
9:30 AM to 11:00 AM ET
Session 3 - Michelin Pilot Challenge
11:15 AM to 12:45 PM ET
Session 3 - WeatherTech Championship
* 2:05 PM to 2:50 PM ET
Race 1 of 2 - VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
3:10 PM to 4:10 PM ET
Session 4 - WeatherTech Championship
4:30 PM to 5:30 PM ET
Session 4 - Michelin Pilot Challenge
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM ET
Session 5 - WeatherTech Championship
SUNDAY, JANUARY 21, 2024
10:00 AM to 11:15 AM ET
Session 5 - Michelin Pilot Challenge
*12:20 PM to 1:05 PM ET
Race 2 of 2 - VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
1:25 PM to 1:50 PM ET
Session 6 - WeatherTech Championship
* 1:55 PM to 3:00 PM ET
WeatherTech Championship Qualifying
Canadians to watch for this weekend in Daytona
Drivers
P2
John Farano - Tower Motorsports #8
GTD Pro
James Hinchcliffe - Pfaff McLaren #9
GTD
Parker Thompson - Vasser Sullivan Lexus #12
Orey Fidani - AWA Corvette #13
Anthony Mantella - AWA Corvette #17
Roman DeAngelis - Heart of Racing Aston Martin #27
Zach Robichon - Heart of Racing Aston Martin #27
Mikael Grenier - Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes #32
Scott Hargrove - Andretti Motorsports Porsche GT3R #43
Kyle Marcelli - Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #45
Daniel Morad - Winward Racing Mercedes #57
Misha Goikhberg - Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #78
Devlin DeFrancesco - Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #78
Teams
P2
Tower Motorsports #8
- John Farano
- Michael Dinan
- Scott McLaughlin
GTD Pro
Pfaff Motorsport McLaren #9
- Oliver Jarvis
- James Hinchcliffe
- Alexander Rossi
Multimatic Ford Mustang #64
- Harry Ticknell
- Mike Rockenfeller
- Christopher Mies
Multimatic Ford Mustang #65
- Joey Hand
- Dirk Mueller
- Frederic Vervisch
GTD
AWA Chev Corvette #13
- Orey Fidani CAN
- Matthew Bell GBR
- Lars Kern DEU
- Alex Lynn
AWA Chev Corvette #17
- Anthony Mantella CAN
- Nico Varrone ARG
- Thomas Merrill USA
- Charlie Eastwood
Michelin Pilot Challenge Drivers
GS
#34 Jesse Webb - JMF Motorsport - Mercedes AMG GT GT4
#38 Thomas Collingwood - BGB Motorsports - Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS
#57 Daniel Morad - Winward Racing - Mercedes AMG GT GT4
#69 Jesse Lazare - Motorsports In Action - McLaren Artura GT4
TCR
#6 LP Montour - Montreal Motorsports Group - Honda Civic FL5 TCR
#33 Robert Wickens - Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian - Hyundai Elantra N TCR
#76 Denis Dupont - Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian - Hyundai Elantra N TCR
#76 Nick Looijmans - Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian - Hyundai Elantra N TCR
#93 Karl Wittmer - Montreal Motorsports Group - Honda Civic FL5 TCR
#98 Mark Wilkins - Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian - Hyundai Elantra N TCR
Teams
GS
#34 JMF Motorsport - Mercedes AMG GT GT4
- Michai Stephens
- Jesse Webb
#69 Motorsports In Action - McLaren Artura GT4
- Michael de Quesada
- Jesse Lazare
TCR
#6 Montreal Motorsports Group - Honda Civic FL5 TCR
- LP Montour
- Bryan Ortiz
#93 Montreal Motorsports Group - Honda Civic FL5 TCR
- DAI. Yoshihara
- Karl Wittmer
VP Challenge Drivers
LMP 3
#61 George Staikos - Ave Motorsports - Ligier JS P320
#87 Marco Kacic - FastMD Racing with Remstar - Duqueine D08
Grand Sport
#21 Jesse Lazare - Motorsports in Action - McLaren Artura GT4
Teams
GT4
#21 Motorsports in Action - McLaren Artura GT4
- Jesse Lazare
Watch for our illustrated 2024 Canadians Viewers Guide coming out next week!
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
January 2, 2024
Elmira, Ontario - JMF Motorsports will kick off 2024 with a bang as they prepare to field two Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams – one in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as well as one in the SRO Pirelli GT4 America series.
Returning to the team for 2024, and making the move from SRO to IMSA, will be the ultra-talented driver pairing of Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb, driving the #34 Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the GS Class. Moving up into the SRO series will be young Canadians Demi Chalkias and Jake Cowden.
“We are proud to embark on this new chapter of our team,” says President and CEO, John Farrow. “It will be a huge challenge, however, it is just the beginning of our continued growth”.
Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb come off a successful 2023 season which saw 5 wins, 8 podiums and 12 top-5 finishes in the SRO Pirelli GT4 America Silver Class. They both have shown they have the talent and the chemistry for continued success in the 2024 season.
Demi Chalkias and Jake Cowden make the move for the first time to the SRO Pirelli GT4 America series. They both come off of individual successes in 2023, with Demi finishing 2nd in the Sports Car Championship Canada and Jake winning the Radical Cup Canada title. They will pair up in the #34 Mercedes-AMG GT4 to challenge for the 2024 season in the Silver Class.
Michai and Jesse are on deck first for the IMSA Roar Before the 24 practice sessions January 19-21, 2024. That is immediately followed by their debut race of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series at Daytona International Speedway on January 25-26, 2024.
Demi and Jake start their SRO Pirelli GT4 America season at Sonoma Raceway on April 5-7, 2024.
About JMF Motorsports
In 2020, performance driver and motorsport enthusiast John Farrow made the decision to implement a lifelong dream and start a race team. With his passion for Mercedes-AMG, and his desire to help Canadian motorsport athletes, he launched JMF Motorsports. His vision was to start a racing team that would help showcase young Canadian driver talent and assist them in advancing their racing careers.
Partnering with motorsport market leader Conquest Racing, JMF Motorsports entered the 2021 SRO GT4 America series and quickly became podium contenders, winning the last 4 races of the season. In 2022, JMF Motorsports / Conquest Racing had 2 victories and climbed to the podium 12 times. 2023 also saw a strong season with 8 podium finishes and 5 race wins. The JMF Motorsports / Conquest Racing team finished the season 2nd place in the SRO Pirelli GT4 America Silver Class.
While still maintaining ties with Indianapolis-based Conquest Racing, JMF Motorsports ventures out on its own for 2024, and has opened up its race shop headquarters in Elmira, Ontario, Canada, which will serve as the base for all future racing operations.
“We appreciate all the successes we have enjoyed because of our partnership with Eric (Bachelart) and Conquest Racing,” says John. “It is now time to execute our vision of creating a standalone Canadian motorsport team to support our Canadian athletes.”
About the Drivers
Michai Stephens, Chicago IL - Michai is a raw talent that got his start in racing via the Team USA Scholarship. Moving from open-wheel cars into GT cars, Michai has been a principal driver for JMF Motorsports in the #34 Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the SRO Pirelli GT4 America series since 2021, and finished 2nd in the championship in 2022 and 2023. He has garnered 11 victories and 27 podium finishes in the three years of his SRO GT4 career.
Jesse Webb, Mission, BC - Jesse began in karting and moved to cars, getting his start in the Nissan Sentra Cup. Jesse joined JMF Motorsports, and co-driver Michai, in 2023 for the SRO Pirelli GT4 America series, where they took 5 victories and 8 podium finishes to end the season 2nd in the championship.
Demi Chalkias, Stouffville, ON - Demi started in karting after being a competitive triathlete. She transitioned to GT cars and saw multiple podiums and championship wins. She joined JMF Motorsports in 2023, where she piloted the #34 Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the Sports Car Championship Canada, and ended the season 2nd place in the series.
Jake Cowden, Aurora, ON - Jake’s journey into motorsport started with snowmobile racing and karting. He moved into open-wheel cars, and collected multiple podiums and championship wins. He was a member of the Team Canada Scholarship in 2022, and competed in the Radical Cup Canada in 2023, where he won 3 races and took the championship title. Jake joins JMF Motorsports for the first time for the 2024 season.
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
January 15, 2024
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
December 14, 2023
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park's 2024 major event season opens with the Castrol Victoria Day SpeedFest. The NASCAR Canada Series provides the on-track action, while fireworks light up the evening sky on this unofficial start to summer and first big holiday weekend of camping. The schedule includes races in the Nissan Sentra Cup, Sports Car Championship Canada presented by Michelin, Emzone Radical Cup Canada presented by Michelin, Super Production Challenge and the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship. The featured NASCAR race runs on Sunday afternoon to kick off the '24 NASCAR Canada schedule.
The 44th annual VARAC Vintage Grand Prix returns Father's Day weekend with a colourful lineup of open and closed-wheel race cars from the past six decades of motorsports, competing on the legendary Grand Prix circuit. Presented by the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada (VARAC), the Vintage Grand Prix features three days of racing for Vintage (pre-1962), Historic (pre-1973), Classic (pre-1999), and Formula Classic (open wheel up to 1999). The featured marque will be Porsche, with a wide range of models expected from across North America, including Porsche 911s, 914s, 924s and 944s. Check back for more details soon.
The biggest sports-car race in Canada features the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for exotic prototype and GT race cars at the Chevrolet Grand Prix. A world-class field of drivers takes on CTMP's legendary Grand Prix circuit racing iconic performance brands such as Corvette, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche. In addition to the LMP2, GTD PRO and GTD classes of the WeatherTech series, IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge and VP Racing Sportscar Challenge, and the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires will compete on this jam-packed weekend of racing.
Join us for Canada's biggest motorcycle road racing weekend, the Superbike Doubleheader Weekend, featuring the Bridgestone Canadian National Superbike Championship (CSBK). The country's top riders will take on the legendary Grand Prix circuit twice (with a race on Saturday and Sunday) in a pivotal weekend in the chase for the Bridgestone Pro Superbike crown. Other pro and amateur national classes include the Pro Sportbike, Pro/AM twins, Pro/Am Ninja 400rr Cup, AM Superbike, AM Sportbike, and Pro/AM lightweight.
Closing out Canadian Tire Motorsport Park's 2024 major event schedule, this year's Labour Day Weekend Sprints marks the return of a legendary championship to the legendary Grand Prix circuit – the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. The thundering sounds of the Trans Am Series will echo across the Park for the first time in a decade, featuring the TA and the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 classes. The co-featured NASCAR Canada Series will add to the excitement with their penultimate event, the WeatherTech 200. The race schedule includes key races in the Nissan Sentra Cup, FEL Sports Car Championship Canada presented by Michelin and the Emzone Radical Cup Canada presented by Michelin. Two FIA open-wheel championships, the Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) and the Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.), round out a busy weekend of on-track action.
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