Within the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series, just three such crews return for their finale in the form of the #19 Van Der Steur car of Rory Van Der Steur and Austin McCusker as well as the two Team TGM cars of brothers Hugh and Matt Plumb within the #46 car and Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler aboard the #64 car.

Competing again amongst another mixed GT4/TCR grid of thirty-eight cars for this final two-hour round, sees the #19 Van Der Steur crew assume the lead AMR role (in P10) from the Plumb brothers (in P12) with the #64 crew in P23 all sadly in excess of 500 points or more back from the leading BMW M4 powered crew. That means all the AMR crews will only be racing for personal satisfaction but we’re sure that no crew ahead of them in the Championship can expect an easy pass around the iconic Braselton circuit as winning this round comes with its own kudos.

For this series, just three AMR entries is something of a disappointment having had eight such cars run in the season four-hour opener at Daytona way back in January at the Rolex 24 event.

Supporting the IMSA package again will be the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge for another mixed grid of this time GT4 and LMP3 cars. Having raced at Daytona, Sebring, CTMP, Lime Rock and VIR before rounding off at Road Atlanta, three further Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s are expected within that provisional entry of twenty-seven cars.

Having all entered or swapped between both sets of American GT series during some point of this season sees the #33 API AMR entry of Moisey Uretsky join the ranks with Scott Blind within his #45 Archangel prepared Ruckus Racing entry with Brady Behrman completing the trio with his Van Der Steur prepared #82 car.

Racing as solo bronze rated drivers only, these guys will get a final two races around the 2.5-mile circuit starting on Thursday. Again like the Michelin Pilot Challenge, none of these guys have any championship opportunity for this first running of this new series this year.

Despite that, GT4 racing in North America continues to be in rude healthy thanks to the efforts of those at CSJ Motorsport as far as Aston Martin Racing is concerned for taking us there!

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

Deputising for a COVID stricken Moisey Uretsky would see the former Notlad AMR racer Pat Gallagher claim the highest starting position of the six in P5 although that would be moved up to P4 before the start as the #13 Porsche was later to be found underweight after Qualifying.

That also moved everyone else up one with the #19 Van Der Steur car of Rory Van Der Steur next up two places behind with the #47 Team TGM car of Hugh Plumb rounding off the top ten in P9.

A great start was had at the front as the #44 Accelerating Performance AMR of Gallagher first went forward – then back on track, to be passed by the #19 car for position in just the opening few corners. That would quickly unravel itself however as the #44 used the #19 to slow into the first tight left hander but that caused the #19 to tap the #69 McLaren ahead into a spin where it was soon ‘collected’ by both the #09 Stoner Car Care Aston Martin of Ramin Abdolvahabi and the #83 Porsche. 

Those impacts placed all three cars into immediate retirement, placed the race into a prolonged period behind the Safety car as the clean-up operation continued and earned the #44 car a drive through penalty for their efforts.

Getting back to green with an hour forty minutes remaining, the racing was again intense but would gradually see the remaining Aston Martins ebb away from the front with Van Der Steur getting a warning of his own for blocking on track in his attempts to stay ahead. Whilst both the #46 TGM and #44 AMR’s were able to race each other, the then leading #95 BMW M4 began to stretch its lead from the Porsches and Mercedes giving a distant chase behind.

With minimum driver time being made, both the #44 and #64 Aston Martins were some of the first to pit, some cutting it very fine with their actual minimum driver time on track which allowed all the crews more professionally abled drivers to take charge with still eighty minutes remaining.

Despite his professionalism, a simple error from Billy Johnson aboard the #88 Archangel AMR that he shares with Todd Coleman saw that car run wide out of the kink to over-correct and side swipe the retaining wall upon the other side of the track, condemning them to the back of a recovery truck and the race back behind the Safety Car. That eventually allowed the remaining GS classed cars to fuel again until the end but by now the damage was already done as the #44 car was again the highest order AMR in P13 with Michael Cooper now behind the wheel with the #46 TGM car of Matt Plumb now just ahead of the #19 car of Austin McCusker in P15 and P19 respectively.

Team TGM’s ‘troubles’ at the circuit continued from Owen Trinkler’s earlier Free Practice off that caused significant damage to that chassis for the #46 car to also suffer a technical issue at the same corner that would put them out of the race with still forty minutes remaining.

That obviously left just three Aston Martins within the race and whilst none would suffer race ending trouble and strife like their peers, their results would continue to be nothing to write home about as the chassis continued with its performance incapability’s when compared to the likes of the new BMW M4 GT4.

Strangely, it would be the #64 Team TGM car of Trinkler and Ted Giovanis who would eventually finish as the highest placed Aston Martin in P14 after having started the race from the rear of the class for changing drivers. The #19 Van Der Steur would be next in P15 in class whilst the trouble hit #44 Accelerating Performance AMR would eventually finish P16.

These results compound the season long problem suffered by all of the AMR Vantage GT4 runners (that of performance – or lack of) and has seen their highest placed drivers drop to P9 in the overall driver’s championship as the series now looks to VIR later at the end of August. Again strangely and despite their very early exit, the #09 Stoner Car Care crew of Abdolvahabi and Rob Ecklin find themselves leading the GS Bronze Cup table from the sole benefit of races entered!!

Photo credits – Team / Michelin / Series

In GTD Pro, the #23 car of Alex Riberas and Ross Gunn again hit the front row for this morning’s two and a but hour race, carrying on from where they had left off at Lime Rock Park (also with pole) and hopefully they will convert that into another class win too. Their sister #27 AMR Vantage of Roman De Angelis and Marco Sorenson just missed out upon doing likewise within their own GTD class in Qualifying where we shall see that car starting P5 in today’s race.

Tidying up the pieces from our earlier posts, the #93 Andretti Autosport AMR Vantage GTD is now in attendance despite being listed in earlier entry lists.

Then concluding the race weekend will be the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series which has seen better Qualifying performances from its six Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 entries within the series twenty-four strong GS class.

One minor correction going into the weekend saw Pat Gallagher being drafted in to replace an ailing Moisey Uretsky after the Floridian contracted COVID from somewhere and whilst his car remains in great hands with both Gallagher and Michael Cooper – we wish him a speedy recovery.

All other AMR entries remained as listed and it was to be the #44 Accelerating Performance AMR that claimed top honours this time around after Gallagher placed the car P5 on the grid for this afternoon’s two-hour race with the #19 Van Der Steur car of Rory Van Der Steur and Austin McCusker close behind in P7.

Both Team TGM car fill the fifth and sixth row of the GS class with the #88 Archangel car of Todd Coleman and Billy Johnson P18 and the #09 Stoner Car Care AMR of Rob Ecklin and Ramin Abdolvahabi P20.

Whilst the main IMSA race gets underway now, the MPC race is scheduled to start at 15.55Hrs local.

Photo Credits – Team / IMSA / J Price / Michelin

Continue their fine thread of form since the enforced rebuilding of their #19 car saw the Van Der Steur crew of Rory Van Der Steur and Austin McCusker again claim a top three starting position after Van Der Steur finished second fastest after Fridays Qualifying, a row ahead of the 4th placed #46 Team TGM car of Hugh and Matt Plumb.

Running alongside both the #44 Accelerating Performance and #88 Archangel Aston Martins of both Moisey Uretsky and Todd Coleman who were both also competing within the parallel VP Sportscar Challenge Series as solo drivers as well as the dual classed MPC Series.

After a busy day of practice and Qualifying across many supporting series, the thirty-five strong MPC race finally got underway late in Saturday afternoon under cooling and greying skies with the #19 Aston Martin holding station in second as the pack behind bumped and ground for position on track.

With two front running GS cars coming into contact with one another before the #64 Team TGM Aston also encountered contact with a charging TCR class car, the race did manage to stay green as all afflicted parties managing to keep going – either completely or at least back to pit lane for emergency attendance.

Fifteen minutes in and the first Aston Martin casualty as the #44 car of Uretsky became victim to his own opportunist move with the cars ahead to damage his multi-coloured cars steering and suspension, consigning his car behind the wall and into retirement.

Reaching the minimum drive time in GS saw many of the Aston Martins pit at the first availability but both the #46 and #19 cars stayed out till the end of their fuel tanks capacities. The #88 Archangel car would see Kyle Marcelli emerge in P19 whilst the #64 would continue to circulate to the rear of the GS pack thanks to its earlier contact and visit to pit lane with the #19 eventually pitting from second and the #46 Team TGM car in P6.

Into the final hour and it was becoming clear that many GS cars could run the race on perhaps a single fuel stop but in order to do so, fuel saving would be required in the absence of any full course cautions. Doing so would see the #19 car of McCusker being passed for third by the car that would go on to ultimately take the chequered flag in first. The presence of rain around the circuit would also see others take a more conservative approach with that and fuel dropping the #46 car still further to P9.

Eventually crossing the line in P4, two post-race penalties for the #95 Turner BMW would see the #19 Van Der Steur crew elevated up to P3 in class for their first AMR powered MPC Series podium.

Supporting that series saw both the #88 Archangel and #44 AP Aston Martins also compete within the two 45-minute races of the VP Sportscar Challenge Series for only the second time since Sebring.

Whilst the first race didn’t exactly go to plan for the two GSX classed Astons, Sunday mornings second race saw Uretsky capitalise upon the misfortune of others ahead of him to come home second in class for his second P2 finishing position of that series season so far.

Next stop for the MPC Series will be from Lime Rock Park in two weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Teams / Series

Again running with the two entries from Team TGM, Van Der Steur, Archangel Motorsport and Accelerating Performance, it would be the #19 Van Der Steur car of Rory Van Der Steur who would again claim the highest Qualifying position of the five – not quite on pole like last time out at Laguna Seca but in P5 ahead of the one-hundred-minute sprint race on Saturday – that would turn into P4 after a post session penalty for another car.

Hugh and Matt Plumb were next best in P9 with Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper again pairing up aboard the #44 car to start P9, with the #88 Archangel car of Todd Coleman and Patrick Lindsey P16 and the #63 TGM car of Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler bringing up the rear of the grid – obviously not gelling with the demands of this new circuit layout.

Considering a circuit based around the grid system of any large American town or city, twenty-two GS cars thundering down into a tight 180-degree left hander didn’t bring about any waved yellows or indeed contact as all drivers showed abject discipline and control to avoid that and its ensuing and race destroying period of caution.

Van der Steur held fourth during the opening stages but a mistake from the #19 car soon dropped him back to P14 as the top 3 runners started to break away and after just twenty minutes of running, unseen contact for the #64 car had Giovanis back into pit lane with a broken tie rod and into immediate retirement as a consequence.

That left Hugh Plumb leading the AMR charge, or at least what was supposed to be but for the AMR Vantage GT4’s continued poor Balance of Performance that has seen the car loose much of its power compared to its peers for the whole season so far!

Just before the forty-minute mark and with minimum drive time already completed with the end of the race within sight of a single stint, many of the tailenders began pitting for service and driver changes. Staying out for a few more laps, the #19 Van Der Steur car soon had the so far dominating Turner BMW M4 GT4 upon its tail and going into T1 for position.

Car failure or simply driver error, what ensued next was nothing but scary as the #95 car rode up the back of the Aston Martin and then right over the top of it for both cars to come to a grinding halt within the outer tyre wall. Miraculously, both cars were still able to drive away from the scene but only as far as pit lane where both were retired.

Visibly shaken by the events, Van Der Steur was seen existing what was left of his car under his own steam to be checked over and OK’s by attending medical staff. Van Der Steur later praised the construction of his Aston Martin for protecting him so well in such an impact as that.

The resulting Safety Car neutralised the race for the next twenty minutes with the remaining cars allowed to pit for service once the immediate drama had been controlled on track. Great driving from both Uretsky and Coleman had seen them preserve their own cars in mid table positions before handing them over with little under an hour to go.

However, with what was left on the clock and the power available to them under their right foot, that again proved to be insufficient for their needs as the BMW’s and Mercedes romped away out front to leave the #44’s move into the top 10 the highlight of the event for the AMR runners. The #46 TGM car would finish P12 whilst the #88 would eventually come home P15 out of the declared seventeen strong finishers!

Next stop Watkins Glen in little over three weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

That leaves the GS class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series the opportunity to run their first street circuit layout for the first time since 2010 in their place as twenty-two similar powered and crewed cars have signed up to dop so this weekend within what will also be a slightly shortened race event to what their normally used to.

Early indications would be neutral during the two preceding Free Practice sessions as only the #44 AP car of Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper would figure within the top ten in class heading into Friday’s Qualifying.

Then from nowhere came a pole setting lap time from Austin McCusker in a rebranded Van Der Steur prepared Aston Martin GT4 having shaved something over a second off their best lap so far to claim the front row position.

Like all forms motorsport however, a single qualifying lap pace is one thing – sustaining that, alongside everything else for the race duration is another as both they and the #46 TGM car of Hugh and Matt Plumb suffered from high tyre degradation, punctures and contact that would blight their ultimate race pace.

Whilst other crews arrived with a slightly more matter of fact approach to the event in learning what the circuit had to offer (or not) the nett result was unfortunately disappointing for all concerned.

Despite starting from the head of the pack, the best the #19 VDS car could do was just outside the top ten in P11 with the #88 Archangel car of Todd Coleman and new co-driver Patrick Lindsey next best in P14.

Next best was the #44 car of Uretsky/Cooper in P15 followed by both the Team TGM cars who (for them) also had a disappointing race finishing P16 and P17 for the #64 and #46 respectively but these results kind of mirrored there performances in comparison to the class over the entire weekend with the #19 cars pole position being the brief highlight.

These race results see the Aston Martin crews tumble within the points table with the Plumb brothers again being the highest AMR crew in P8 but already nearly 200 points behind the leading Mercedes AMG GT4 crew.

Next stop – Belle Isle in Detroit for another circuit completely different to those race at so far and maybe – just maybe, one AMR crew will get a break in fortune?

Photo credits - Teams / Jamie Price / Rob Conohan / IMSA

Number of Aston Martin Racing powered entries have been fluid over the two opening rounds but this weekend sees a slight increase with five AMR Vantage GT4 crews making the commitment this time around.

The two full season Team TGM cars are again scheduled to be in attendance with both Ted Giovanis/Owen Trinkler and Hugh/Matt Plumb in their #64 and #46 cars alongside the Van Der Steur entry of Rory Van Der Steur and Austin McCusker. Being no rounds of the supporting IMSA VP Sportscar Challenge either has allowed both the #44 Accelerating Performance and #88 Archangel prepared Aston Martins to also be in attendance.

Whilst Moisey Uretsky stays with his declared co-driver of Michael Cooper, the #88 car of Todd Coleman is this time partnered with Patrick Lindsey after Conrad Grunewald did at the elongated opening round at Daytona.

Despite the numbers, the 2023 season has proved itself to be a challenge for some of the AMR powered crews after the somewhat dominance of the Volt Racing crew of last season when Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman eventually lifted the GS crown.

The highest placed AMR crew are the Plumb brothers in fourth, just thirty points behind the leading BMW crew with both Uretsky and Cooper next in seventh, still only seventy points behind that leading BMW crew as well. With up to 350 points available per round – that points differences now is minimal.

Another two hour round this Saturday sees track action begin with the first Free Practice session on Friday before Qualifying and race on Saturday starting at 19:30hrs local.

Photo credits - Teams / H Pitman / C Chapman

Dry running during the opening Free Practice Session was rudely interrupted with heavy rain during the days second, to a point where many of the runners simply didn’t go out and risk their machinery for a race that was scheduled to be dry before the GS Qualifying was interrupted so badly with track incident that nobody was able to set a time, so championship position was used instead to determine the grid.

That left the #46 TGM car of H Plump starting the first of the four Aston’s in sixth with the #44 API car of Uretsky seventh and the #19 Van Der Steur car of McCusker in eight. The #64 TGM car of Giovanis would start P13.

Despite a clean start and some great racing within the opening two laps, a serious incident involving three TCR cars led to the first FCY as the extensive debris field was cleared. Losing twenty minutes to that, further contact between this time two GS cars on the green flag lap lead to a second FCY as those cars were cleared away.

The pit lane was also opened to allow the grid to take service if they saw fit with the #46 TGM car of Hugh Plump taking both fuel and tyres, the #19 car just fuel but with the other two AMR’s staying out. Trouble hit the #19 car during that stop however when it was adjusted to have passed a pit exit red light to earn itself a stop + 60 penalty!!

Another ten minutes lost but a decent restart for Uretsky saw him finally get passed the #58 McLaren for seventh as McCusker recovered to just ahead of the #64 of now Owen Trinkler with H Plumb just behind the #44 car after their longer stop.

FCY No.3 for a TCR at the hour mark allowed all the remaining GS cars to pit for their final time with Matt Plumb taking over the #46, Michael Cooper the #44 and Rory Van Der Steur the #19. Another fifteen minutes later and it was again back to hip and shoulders racing as the GS class again tried to sort out its hierarchy at the front which for the #46 car sadly meant for a wide line whilst defending their position too drop three places to P9.

Ten minutes to go and the final FCY was called for two stranded cars as well as the #58 McLaren nosed into the tyre wall at T17. Fortunately nothing serious but it did set up for a final last lap dash to the flag for conclude this second round of the series.

Not the best of races again for the Vantage GT4 as clearly others were platforms were again faster than them, but it was still a P8 finish for the #46 car, P11 for the #44, P16 for the #64 and a disappointing P20 for the #19 after a further, third stop for them before the end.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

 

This time around, Sebring is ‘just’ a twelve-hour race as opposed to the twenty-four hour of Daytona but to come away with a class 1-2 after either is impressive enough with the #27 Heart car pipping the #44 Magnus car at the end.

Longer Endurance Cup round races of course means another driver each as David Pittard again joins up with Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas within the #23 Heart of Racing GTD Pro car with Ian James again donning his race suit to race alongside Roman de Angelis and Marco Sorenson again.

Being their last IMSA event for a couple of rounds again, the #44 Magnus Racing car will be made up of John Potter, Andy Lally and Spencer Pumpelly as they again for 2023, only compete within the Endurance rounds like Daytona.

Then within the supporting Michelin Pilot Challenge Series, this weekend’s two hour round of the Series will feature just four AMR Vantage GT4 crews as opposed to the eight that competed at Daytona.

For many of those eight, Daytona was just a great way to open their 2023 accounts wherever they might be racing but already it looks as if it’s just the two Team TGM cars, the Van Der Steur car and the API Aston Martin that will now feature as full season entries with the #88 Archangel car also missing from this week’s entry list.

It was not to be so successful within the opening four-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge Series race for the Aston Martin runners with the guesting #09 Automatic Racing car securing a top five finish in GS but two (non-returning cars) did score well in the Bronze Cup.

Free from GTD racing duties this time around sees both Hugh and Matt Plumb return to their #46 Team TGM car with team boss Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler pairing up again within their #64 Team TGM car. 

Fresh from his two Bronze Cup wins within last weekend’s VP Sportscar Challenge Series events at the circuit has Moisey Uretsky pair up again with Michael Cooper within their #44 Accelerating Performance Aston Martin with Rory Van der Steur and Austin McCusker within their blue and white Van Der Steur prepared car.

Photo credits – Teams / IMSA / social media