Whilst an Aston Martin Racing powered crew missed out upon the overall GS Drivers Championship within the final round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series from the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta earlier today, one did claim their maiden race win to make amends for what has been a tough first season for them.

Six AMR Vantage GT4 powered crews took the start to today’s final two-hour race of the season with just the #26 Heart of Racing car of Hannah’s Grisham and Greenemeir anyway near the sharp end of the battle but still sadly (we later learn) to be already out of championship contention even before the race had started.

 

Other cars and crews had been within a similar situation until the penultimate race of the year from Indianapolis Motor Speedway when an early collision with spun car saw the #66 Oore Motorsport (Car Blanche) AMR of Allen Patten and Trenton Estep taken out of the overall equation with race ending damage there. For the remaining four entries, this race was all about going out upon something of a high whilst also preparing for next year will still many seats within these teams as yet unconfirmed.

Earlier qualifying had seen the #66 Oore car secure the lead Aston in fourth but only just ahead of the #26 Heart of Racing and the #2 CSM Motorsport car of Zach Veach and Morgan Burkhard in fifth and sixth respectively. The #4 Medusa Motorsport AMR of Hunter Yeany and Athan Sterling were next quickest, rounding off the top ten with the #3 CSM car of Ayrton Houk and Ismaeel Ellahi were next quickest P19 in class and the #14 Circle H AMR of Thomas Merrill and Martin Sarukhanyan deputising for a absent David Hampton down in P23 within the GS class set of thirty one cars.

 

Another typically frenetic start saw the #66 car soon lose its track position from their good start after paying too much attention to his mirrors than where they were going to understeer off track and drop at least eight places as a result, something that lifted the #26 car of Greenemeir up to third and the #2 car of Veach into fifth whilst the other three were still somewhere relative to where they had started.

The race for the #2 car would soon go south however, as they were forced to pit after just half an hour as part of their rear defuser was noted to be dragging along the track – whilst they will refuel and re-shod the car, that strategy would prove to be wildly optimistic being two laps down to the leaders already.

 

Forty minutes in and that was the completion of the minimum drive time for whoever wanted that to apply to with the #14, #4 and #66 cars the first to do so. For the #66 car, their race would effectively end at that first stop as Trenton Estep promptly had two incidences of contact with other cars for which he earned himself a drive through penalty for each as the first Full Course Yellow came just ahead of the first hour for debris on track.

That would be another protracted affair as circuit clean-up and wave around was then undertaken – something that took another ten minutes off the race lock for those looking to fuel save till the end. During that caution, we also had the extra-ordinary scenes of having the track service trucks actually blocking the circuit at turn seven and preventing the cars from passing on what was the start of the wave around. One big race car traffic jam was the result as nobody wanted to inadvertently overtake another car under yellows.

 

By the team things went back to green, most of the driver changes had been completed with almost exactly an hour left in the season as the #26 car of Grisham had lost ground during their stop to come out fifth but saw the #14 car of now Merrills behind the wheel coming through strong in P12 at the restart. The #2 cars race would go from bad to worse as they completed their driver change under green flag running to drop even further back as Grisham put in some very determined laps.

For a time, the #26 car assumed the lead of the race and those GS cars on a two stop strategy made their final stops for fuel and maybe tyre – something that Grisham would do just a few laps later to emerge within the then multicar battle for what would eventually turn out to the battle for the lead. The #4 Medusa AMR was one of those way out front at the time, but they still owed their final stop of the afternoon which would obviously drop them down the order again.

 

With the pole setting Toyota then dropping out with damage, Grisham was fortunate not to incur damage of her own as she battled Ford Mustang after Ford Mustang for position, with the #14 Circle H AMR quietly climbing the order all the time. Trouble for Grisham would come with half an hour left to go as she suddenly slowed under the turn ten bridge (unseen for the reason why) buy enough to drop down to tenth whilst the Medusa crew would again ruin their days work with another sloppy final stop that saw Yeany pull away with the refuelling hose still attached. Nobody hurt luckily but they would be coming down pit lane again soon enough.

As the GS Championship opened up with the retirement of the #44 McLaren, that allowed Merrills up to P4 – somewhere he was obviously fast enough down the straights to start picking off the final cars ahead to eventually lead with just ten minutes remaining. The race was then effectively cut three minutes short after a GS/TCR car contact going onto the start straight saw both cars damage and stopped on track forcing the race to be neutralised with not enough time to get going for the Circle H Aston Martin Racing crew to take their maiden Michelin Pilot Challenge race win at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. An awesome achievement.

 

The #26 Heart of Racing crew would eventually finish a plucky sixth overall with the #2 CSM a surprising P8 in class. Their sister #3 car was next in P16, the #66 Oore crew finished P20 with the Medusa crew rounding things off for the year in P23.

Just another box standard IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series season again really!!

Photo credits – Teams / social media

With IMSA’s final round of the season from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta comes the final race of the year for the GS and TCR field of the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series as thirty-one GS (GT4 based) and fourteen TCR based entries will be making their way over to the Braselton area of Georgia for their own final two-hour race of the year.

One fewer Aston Martin Racing powered entry this time around compared to the last from Indianapolis Motor Speedway just two weeks ago, next weekend sees just one of those six AMR Vantage GT4 powered entries with any mathematical chance of winning the overall GS class title at the end of next Saturdays race but even that would need something of a minor miracle to affect the running of those six crews ahead of Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeir within the championship.

 

Putting it bluntly, the #26 Heart of Racing AMR would need to win plus all those drivers ahead would need to fail to score in a sliding scale of importance from top to bottom to where the two Hannahs then stand within the table after they could only finish sixth from their pole position starting position.

Going onto the last round at the IMS, there was also the hopes of the #66 crew of Trenton Estap and Allen Patten within their renamed Oore Vantage GT4 entry but early contact for Patten just after the start saw them pick up heavy front end damage that not only ended their race within the first half hour but also ended their championship dreams.

 

The remaining four AMR runners all had good run outs around the infield circuit layout of the Motor Speedway, and all will be looking to round off the 2026 campaign upon something of a high. The #4 Medusa Motorsport AMR pairing of Hunter Yeany and Athan Sterling came back strong after their recent adversities only for another drive through penalty perhaps rob them of what could have been their best finish to date as the team already looks ahead to next season and the possibilities of running two such Aston Martins.

David Hampton and Thomas Merrill also had a solid P10 finish in class last time out, mirroring their early season pace that sadly went away from them in the midst of the season with their present P12 position in class looking slightly unfair compared to their efforts.

 

Then we have the two CSM Motorsport Aston Martins as that team looks to build solid foundations before a tough 2027 campaign having swapped to the British brand only a few races ago from their more usual Porsche chassis.

 

Morgan Burkhard and Zach Veach again feature within the #2 car (having finished P11 at IMS) with teammates and lesser experienced GT4 racers Ismaeel Ellahi and Ayrton Houk behind the wheel of the #3 car ahead of the race wave off at 11:40hrs local on FRIDAY.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

Another thoroughly eventful IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series race last night around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway saw seven Aston Martin Racing powered teams show everyone their worth as one starting that penultimate round of the series from pole whilst another stood upon the top step of their class at the end.

Over recent rounds, the number of AMR powered crews had increased by two at the CSM Motorsport team had swapped from the Porsche chassis of old mid-season and had added a second car as they prepped towards next season and for this weekend, we welcomed back the (newly renamed) by familiar faced #10 entry within the bronze cup.

 

Practice one around the 2.439-mile infield circuit had seen the main GS contenders push to improve their championship position as the #66 Oore team (Car Blanche and Van der Steur before that up until then) and drivers Allen Patten and Trenton Estop hit second best in that session. Practice two saw another crew on top as the #14 Circle H Racing AMR of Thomas Merril and David Hampton came away fastest in something of a rejuvenation of the pace of earlier this season but with both the #2 CSM car of Morgan Burkhard and Zachary Veach and the #4 Medusa AMR of a returning Athan Sterling and Hunter Yeany all within the top ten.

 

Qualifying was up next, but this time it would be Hannah Greenemeir within the #26 Heart of Racing AMR that she shares alongside Hannah Grishmam who would this time come away on top as they claimed their fourth such pole position this season after previous successes at Watkins Glenn, Road America and CTMSP.

The #66 Oore car was next best placed in P5, the #4 Medusa in a season best P6, the #2 CSM P8 before the #3 CSM of Ismaeel Ellahi/Ayrton Houk finished P23 in class, the #14 Circle H AMR P25 and the returning #10 RaceWife Racing bronze cup entry of Christine Sloss and Glenn McGee rounding off the AMR powered effort in P29 out of a GS entry of thirty-one cars.

 

The race itself actual got off to something of a clean start with the #26 car maintain the race lead through the opening lap as the #66, #2 and #4 Aston Martins followed through, still within the top ten but the inevitable first Full Course Yellow came after just ten minutes with one GS car int the tyre wall. It was quickly back to green but quickly back behind the Safety Car again as a TCR car was left at the end of the start straight with suspension failure.

Caution also came just a few minutes after that restart as it appeared that the #4 Medusa AMR had had the slightest of touches with the #46 Team TGM Mustang to spin that car around only for the following #66 Oore car to make heavy quarter contact with each other. Although both cars would be able to continue to pit lane – their races were already over, and the #4 Medusa car of Yeany would get a drive through penalty for the original incident responsibility.

 

Just before the hour, Greenemeir pitted from the lead after a stellar performance with the first race start and then three more times from behind the Safety Car to hand over to Gresham but then lost some benefit of doing that when FCY number four came out for a car within the gravel. At the halfway mark, the #26 was back up to P3, the #2 CSM in fourth and the #4 Medusa car of now Sterling was having their best race of the season to date despite their early penalty.

Going into the final half hour, a number of crews (those who had pitted earliest) would need to come in again for at least fuel and whilst the top ten within the race looked healthy at the time for AMR powered runners, most of those would have to come in again but the final ‘curved ball’ came within the final ten minutes of the race when a faltered car on track brought out the fifth and final FCY.

 

That clean up left just one flying lap to the chequered flag presenting perhaps the closest and most compact finish to a GS class race to date as the #26 car came home the best of the Aston Martin powered entries in sixth, the #14 Circle H Racing effort recovering to a magnificent P10 finish with the #2 CSM entry just behind.

The # Medusa crew eventually came home P18 in class with the #10 car P22 and with the #3 CSM entry completing the six AMR finishes in P26, but for the #10 crew they would also scoop the bronze cup win for their efforts.

 

Championship wise, the #26 crew now replace the #66 crew as the lead AMR pairing but even they would need something resembling a minor miracle for them to lift the crown at the end of the season at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in just a few weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The IMSA visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend also brings along the supporting Michelin Pilot Challenge Series for what will also be their penultimate round to their season featuring another bumper forty-four car entry and another increase in Aston Martin Racing powered participation.

At a circuit well suited to modern GT4 race cars last time out, the inter AMR powered results left a little to be desired after one’s race was lost to crew and team indiscipline (resulting in repeated penalties, one was sidelined through technical difficulties and two more were involved in a ‘blue on blue’ incident that saw the victim spun around and the perpetrator penalised with a time penalty at the end of the race.

For what was looking to be another decent performance from at least the latter two entries sadly turned into nothing although the two debuting CSM Motorsport Aston Martin crews did at least finish at their first time of asking!

 

Now, all of those teams and crews are back for some more from the IMS as well as a seventh AMT Vantage GT4 from a team and crew not seen since the start of the season as Christine Sloss makes a return with her #10 car. Last time out she was supported by the Van der Steur team, but they have since been taken over by the YRB Racing Car Blanche team as she is now being listed under the RaceWife Racing banner (??) alongside co-driver Glenn McGee for their bronze cup entry.

 

The #4 Medusa Motorsport AMR team return despite their struggles on track but Athan Sterling’s name is again missing from the family run team after his concussion injury sustained at the Road America event. His place was taken at VIR by Jacob Loomis.

 

Yesterday’s eighth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series from the beautiful Virginia International Raceway must have left the #26 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Racing powered crew of Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeir thinking of just what they needed to do to earn themselves a decent points finish as again, they were left broken hearted at the end.

Twenty-nine GS (GT4) and thirteen TCR based cars would be entering this round with the AMR powered head count increased to six with the late inclusion of two such Vantage GT4 cars from the CSM Motorsport after they entered both their previous VP Racing Sportscar Challenge and then swapped their previous Porsche entry in favour of the Vantage for the remainder of the season.

 

Heavy rainfall had blighted some of the earlier sessions around the 3.27-mile circuit and for the first time in three races, the #26 Heart of Racing entry had to be contended with just a second row starting position this time around as the highest placed AMR entry again after the #66 Car Blanche entry of Allen Patten and Trenton Estep lost their fastest qualifying time by being responsible for a red flag incident on track during an earlier session. 

 

The Michelin Pilot Challenge Series visit to the Virginia International raceway next weekend will see a change within the Aston Martin Racing powered team numbers as the CSM team swap over to the AMR Vantage GT4 platform for the remainder of the season.

That takes the AMR powered entry into this eight-round event to a healthy six car field although one of the full season entries does now feature a driver confirmation following on from an accident last time out at Road America.

 

That unfortunate news relates to Athan Sterling after his sizeable impact with the concrete wall towards the end of that two-hour race at Road America, something that brought about another Safety Car intervention and then subsequent red flag as corner workers and medical staff attended to the needs of the driver.

After the event, the team confirmed his initial admission into the local hospital for checks before later confirming his release without giving any further detail. We can only assume that his absence next week is still a consequence of that incident.

 

The good news is that from the Czabok-Simpson Motorsport team as they upgrade their car of Ismaeel Ellahi from the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge to that of the Michelin Pilot Challenge alongside new co-driver Aryton Houk within their #3 car with their pairing of Morgan Burkhard and Gordon Scully swapping over from their Porsche 718 GT4 RS to the Vantage GT4 – each for the remainder of the 2026 season.

That leaves the remaining three full season entries from the Heart of Racing, Circle H Racing and Car Blanche teams as certainly the latter crew continue to chase down that coveted championship crown.

 

The #26 Heart of Racing crew of Hannah’s Grisham and Greenemeir will be looking to extend their somewhat extra-ordinary run of three pole positions BUT will be desperate to avoid all of the rotten luck that has come their way within those three races where unnecessary contact from others has seen them repeatedly spun out of decent running positions, but at least their championship hopes are not over yet.

Then there is the #14 Circle H Racing crew of David Hampton and Thomas Merrill who have seen a decent start to the season somewhat flatline in the middle to see their racing efforts over the last few races go into reverse with third party contact and accidents of their own.

 

Finally, it’s the #66 Car Blanche entry of Trenton Estep and Allen Patten who presently lay sixth overall in the Championship, just 190 points behind the leading crew with this and two further rounds of the season to go. With consistency the name of the game within any series, the crews lowly points finish at Mid-Ohio in early June may prove to be their Achilles heal with those around them averaging a higher points haul than themselves. 

It was back to winning ways in various forms for the Aston Martin Racing powered contingent within today seventh round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series from Road America.

The #26 Heart of Racing AMR of Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greeneier had got this off to a fine start as they claimed their third consecutive Pole Position within the series yesterday whilst the other three entries were spread down the order and were slower that some of the TCR cars lap times which would see them start this two-hour race between P9 and P25 in class.

 

Track conditions had also deteriorated since the fine sunny weather of early in the weekend for rain and wet tyres being the order of the day as the forty-five strong field finally got underway.

Allan Patten within the #66 Car Blanche Aston Martin had made up early ground from his P9 start as Grisham hung on to the race lead ahead as just how treacherous the track was in the rain was being found out the hard way by other runners. After ten minutes into the race, Grisham was one of those cars as heavy braking along the paint saw the #26 car start to lose the back end and the lead of the race.

 

The additional time spent by the #4 Medusa Motorsport team at the circuit in favour of attending the previous round at Canadian Tires Motorsport Park was still waiting to materialise as Hunter Yeany had taken the start down in P19 in class. The #14 Circle H Racing AMR of David Hampton was the final Aston Martin entry, and he was struggling the most out of these four cars from his P25 start.

Their woes would continue just before the end of the forty minute minimum drive time as the #14 found itself the cause of the first Full Course Yellow having beached itself in a gravel trap. They would be extracted by the safety crews and would be allowed to continue, although laps down to their peers by then.

 

Both the #26 and #66 Astons elected to pit at the first availability but we had to wait some time for the stop stops to be all completed to determine just where each of the remaining three Astons were in the order but many/most cars were now upon slick tyres.

Side by side contact for Greenemeir now in the #26 saw her lose momentum and get passed for position by a couple of cars including the #66 Car Blanche car of Trenton Estep as both continued to circulate within the top eight overall as two quick fire FCY’s for stranded cars off track quickly cooled matters down.

 

That left just over a twenty-minute run into the flag with Estep pushing hard for the race lead and with Greenemeir in ninth. Those positions lasted just for another ten minutes as the #66 muscled its way passed the #46 Mustang muscle car from Team TGM to take the lead but the #4 Medusa AMR of Athan Sterling would put hearts into mouths for the final ten minutes.

Heavy contact with the wall for Sterling was running in P16 saw the front left corner get removed with the car spinning to a halt just off track bringing out the Safety Car yet again. Looking at the needs of the driver involved and the extent of debris on track, the race would finish under the Safety Car with the #66 car taking their first race win of the season with the #26 car coming home in tenth.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

With six rounds down and still four more to go, this season’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series is still far from over with nearly as many championship points still on offer that the present table leaders have accrued so far going into next weekend’s seventh round from Road America.

This time around, we welcome back the four mainly full season Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered protagonists after only three made the trip to the other side of the Canadian border last time around.

 

Three weeks ago at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the #4 Medusa Motorsport AMR team of Athan Sterling and Hunter Yearny elected not to make the trip north, rather spending their time at Road America testing ahead of next weekend’s two-hour race. The last few rounds of the series have been more than challenging for AMR’s latest recruits within North America as they adapt to the Vantage GT4 platform over that of their original Ford Mustang as well as two untimely and race ending accidents as well. Hopefully, preparation will be their key to a better race weekend this time around.

The #14 Circle H Racing AMR of David Hampton and Thomas Merrill have also found the last few races more than challenging as they have become embroiled within other crews incidents and accidents to find their early fine start to the start slumping off unfortunately rapidly. A P8 at the Glen the only rose between a DNF blotted copybook at the events either side of that sums up their season so far but again, the championship situation would allow the crew to elevate themselves up the order with some more consistent finishing over the remaining rounds.

 

The #26 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage GT4 of both Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeir has certainly been quick – specially in qualifying for the last two rounds where each driver has managed to secure overall pole position for themselves at both Watkins Glen and CTMSP. Unfortunately, race pace and unforeseen circumstances with other cars has blighted them in both races with a P6 finish at the Glen before a very disappointing P15 finish last time out after a late black and orange flag for the crew last time out. Despite all of that, the #26 crew still stand within grasping distance of the championship lead should results go their way over the remaining four races.

Finally, the #66 Car Blanche (nee Van Der Steur racing) AMR of Trenton Estep and Allen Patten hold the best AMR powered position within the overall championship table in sixth after pushing on through some difficult races to still come away with a respectable finish and important points haul.

 

Fourth overall in Canadian and fifth overall at the Glen, and despite some significant contact for the car within both races sees the pairing laying just the equivalent of one race win away from the top of the table with visits to VIR, Indianapolis and Road Atlanta still to come.

Track action will begin next Thursday with practice before Qualifying on Friday and the start to the two-hour race at 13:50hrs local this time around.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

There will be happier faces within the Aston Martin Racing powered IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series camps this evening as the four such powered teams each delivered better performances than last at this evenings two-hour race at Watkins Glen International.

Hannah Grisham and the #26 Heart of Racing ANR Vantage that she shares with Hannah Greenemeir had yesterday stolen the racing headlines to become the first women to claim an overall pole position within the series.

The former #66 Van Der Steur AMR Vantage GT4 of Allen Patten and Trenton Estep had been grabbing the headlines earlier in the weekend after it was confirmed that the Van Der Stuer family were stepping away from the team that they had created and that would move on under the racing name of Car Blanche with YRB Racing now taking over the reins of the team.

The #14 Circle H Racing of David Hampton and Thomas Merril as well as the #4 medusa Motorsport entry of Hunter Yearny and Aaron Sterling had not endured repeated issues and accidents over the last couple of rounds so a good performance from them both was much needed by all.

 

Having had rain in earlier sessions, the race was run under perfect dry conditions as Grisham held her nerve and maintained her race lead into the opening corners whilst both the remaining GS and TCR classes battled early for position.

Pitting earlier than the halfway stage, Grisham relinquished the race lead to hand over to Greenemeir to come out in second whilst the #66 Car Blanche entry was again rounding out the top ten but as the race stayed decidedly green, the #26 car would begin to fall down the order as the race clock dropped into the final half hour.

 

Eventually blotting their copybook, the race came under the control of the first of a series of short Full Course Yellows as first a TCR car stopped on track before a drain cover become lose on track forcing the race to finish behind the Safety Car.

At the end however, the #66 Car Blanche car had pipped the #26 Heart of Racing entry for position just before the cautions began as their finished P5 overall with the all-female crew just behind in P6. The #14 Circle H entry had rallied from their new last starting position to finish P8 whilst the #4 Medusa crew this time finished in P24 having suffered from turbo issues all weekend

The Michelin Pilot Challenge Series now moves onto the Canadian Tires Motorsport Park in two weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Teams / social media