Often difficult to get confirmation of driver crews out of the WRL system, their provisional entry list does show two possible Vantage GT4/GT8R entries from the 89X Motorsport team as well as single cars apiece from both the Automatic Racing and Team Speed Syndicate teams.

We have seen all these entries before over this season and last as the #909 Automatic Racing car will again be likely to be populated by those close to their Stoner Car Care IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge entry within their older gen car.

The two 89X cars (#89 and #289) were sourced by the team from New Zealand over last winter where the team earned themselves a P3 finish last time out at Charlotte whilst the #68 Team Speed AMR entry is to the former Ari Balogh Vantage GT4.

Track action begins on Friday with a four-hour Qualifying/testing session before the first of the races which kicks off at 09:00am local on Saturday.

Photo credits – Teams / series / social media

With both the #46 Team TGM car of Paul Holton and Matt Plumb having claimed another front row start in Qualifying with the #19 Van Der Steur car of Rory Van Der Steur and Valentin Hasse-Clot close behind in fifth, even the warmup laps featured untimely accident that delayed the start after two TCR cars collided leaving one stranded in the middle of the track.

Misfortune would soon come the way of one Aston Martin Racing powered team as first the #09 Automatic Racing AMR of John Potter and Rob Ecklin ground to a halt on track forcing an early caution whilst not long later, their second AMR of Brandon Kidd and Tom Long also ground to a halt on track with their reoccurring electrical issues.

These and a race restart Drive Through Penalty for the #71 Rebel Rock AMR of Frank DePew and Robin Liddell as well as a puncture for the #19 VDS car just added the early drama.

Whilst these cars were suffering, the resulting caution periods allowed others to play with their fuel and tyre strategy as the forty minute minimum drive time requirement was still a long time away but with the GS class so equally balanced, that was the only way of turning any situation to your advantage on track.

One such early caller was the #46 Team TGM of then Paul Holton who, like the #19 VDS car of Rory Van Der Steur used these situations for early fuel top ups (and new tyres were required) whilst others would play out the more traditional long approach but again, even that came at a cost for some as the #88 Archangel AMR of Todd Coleman and Aaron Telitz would get pinged in pit lane for spinning wheels whilst on their air jack (a DTP for those guys).

Fifty minutes into the race and finally the track racing part of the equation was allowed to do its thing -or as until another incident with a TCR brought out the Safety Car again with just over an hour to go.

As the race went back to green, the #46 Team TGM was holding point at the front with the #19 VDS close behind as both cars looked to go long enough to make their fuel strategies work but with a charging BMW coming up fast. With the #46 blinking first, the #19 was able to run for another ten minutes before they were forced to pit as their team’s second #82 AMR of Brady Behrman and Scott Blind were also having something of a cracking race together within the Bronze Cup runners.

Final forty minutes and strangely, it was the #16 Skip Barber Racing School AMR of Ken Fukuda and Will Lambros holding the overall race lead by over twenty seconds on merit although they would need a final stop to make it to the end. They would make that stop with twenty minutes to go but would then undo all that good work by getting another DTP for repeated excursions across track limits.

That move by the #16 car and the similar pitting of the next two leading GS cars elevated the #46 car back into the race lead with the #19 holding seventh and the #88 car just behind. Whilst Matt Plumb held station out front, both the #19 and #88 cars slowly moved forward in the closing laps.

Securing another race win by over five seconds, the drama was not yet over as the #88 Archangel car managed to get past the #19 VDS car at the end to claim the final step of the podium (their second in succession after their race win last time out at Mid-Ohio) with the #19 car coming home in fourth.

These were also not the sole podium winning achievements of the day as the #82 VDS with Ruckus Racing AMR of Behrman and Blind powered home to finish P13 overall and P1 in Bronze Cup.

Another set of great results to complement another great Michelin Pilot Challenge race. Next stop is Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in four weeks’ time.

Photo credits – teams / series / social media

Like most races, qualifying only factors in the positions of each car as they cross the start line for the first time of asking and yesterday’s two-hour affair was no different as battles ensued and those in front tried to make their escape. Whilst the from AMR runners held station, those lower down the order had more work upon their hands as Todd Coleman in his #88 Archangel car was P14, Ramin Abdolvahabi in his #09 Automatic car was P21, Frank DePew in the new 2024 (and reliveried) Vantage GT4 was P22 whilst Ted Giovanis had TCR cars nibbling at his rear in P26.

Whilst Holton listed an early fastest lap aboard the #46 car, DePew received a warning about his start line car positioning but luckily there was no penalty to serve as the race continued into its first half hour.

Then, disaster came for Coleman and his #88 car as liquid was released, power being to fail before flames were seen to be licking the underneath of his Archangel prepared car as he dived off track in the search of track marshal intervention. Thankfully, one of the roadside mobile crews were quickly on scene with fire damage being kept to a minimum whilst the damage had already been done to Coleman’s third IMSA sanctioned race this season.

A lengthy clean up period obviously led to changes in strategies but with the forty-minute minimum drive time still to elapse, it would make for some interesting pit wall choices moving forward.

Taking their drive time length to the minimum limit, both the #71 Rebel Rock and #09 Automatic cars pitted for full service with forty-five-minute remaining but the entry angle of the #09 into their pit box meant for a time delaying push back as they swapped to Rob Ecklin for the final stint whilst Robin Liddell would get into the new version of Vantage GT4 for Rebel Rock.

Green, back to Full Course Yellow, back to green back to Safety car as cautions again bred cautions and all of that ultimately left us with a forty-minute sprint to the flag as the #71 had lifted itself up to P2 and the #19 VDS car of Hasse-Clot up to P3 by this stage.

Eighteen minutes to go and the #19 VDS car was having to fight hard to maintain its position with an eager BMW, Ford Mustang and McLaren bunching up behind him. Initially conceding T17 to the BMW, the Frenchman had other ideas as he undercut the #39 BMW to retake third and the chase to the podium.

Seven minutes to go and the chasing #44 Porsche that had been reeling in the #71 Aston up ahead suddenly pulled over (maybe fuel) giving Liddell the space that he needed to the end whilst contact behind the #19 VDS Aston saw both the charging BMW and McLaren eliminate each other from the proceedings to allow both Aston’s to finally come home unchallenged for an AMR 1-2 at the chequered flag.

Having started the race from P23 out of a GS class grid of twenty-six cars, the #71 Rebel Rock crew had worked miracles to achieve Aston Martin Racing’s first competitive race win for their new 2024 40A iteration of car in only its third race meeting whilst the Van Der Steur team also confirmed just how competitive the outgoing 17A version of the Vantage GT4 still was for some much-needed Championship points.

Further back, the #09 Automatic crew of Abdolvahabi and Ecklin secured a class win within their respective Bronze Cup whilst the #64 Team TGM Aston of Giovanis and Hugh Plumb came home P18 overall and P2 in Bronze Cup to round off a very achieving race afternoon in Florida. The #46 Team TGM Aston Martin also finished not totally out of it by coming home a warranted fourth overall whilst the #88 Archangel car was sadly another DNF.

Friday was a good day for the Aston Martin Racing powered teams – let’s see what the rest of it brings with the 12 Hours of Sebring and the three AMR Vantage GTD cars from both the Heart of Racing and Magnus racing teams.

Within a combined GS (GT4) and TCR grid of forty-five cars, Trinkler headed the seven strong Aston Martin pack out of Qualifying on Thursday to start the BMW M Endurance Challenge from the front row in second whilst the next Aston was just outside of the top 10.

Having struggled for laps during last weekend’s Roar before the 24 Test, the #09 Automatic Racing AMR of Brandon Kidd would start from P11, just ahead of the #19 Van Der Steur of Dominic Starkweather and the #88 Archangel of Todd Coleman in P13 and P14 respectively. Frank DePew would qualify their all new 2024 AMR Vantage GT4 in P25 (after those at Rebel Rock Racing also experienced limited running at the Roar due to technical issues) with Ted Giovanis rounding off the AMR Qualifiers in P26. 

The debuting #16 Skip Barber Racing AMR crew would sadly suffer from an irreparable incident on track during an earlier Free Practice session and would not be able to start their first MPC race of the season together.

Come the start of the race, it was Trinkler aboard the #46 TGM car who publicly declared his intentions first as he rounded off the opening lap of the race at the front having passed the Pole sitting BMW on the banking as they experienced issues with their cars bodywork and whilst he made some air at the front, the #09, #88 and #19 Aston Martin’s were having to argue over their own real estate on track in the midst of the GS pack.

With various TCR cars suffering varying ill effects of racing out on track, the circuit stayed green long enough for the GS leaders to start passing through what was left of the class before the first caution period came about after the pole setting BMW suffered contact out on track.

Once pit lane was opened, all Aston Martins except for the all new #71 Rebel Rock Vantage pitted for service as some were just ten minutes short of their minimum drive time. The trouble with cautions being that they tend to breed cautions nearly came about as the #19 Van Der Steur of Starkweather and the #88 Archangel car of Coleman appeared to each miss their braking point into the International Horseshoe to bump each other wide and off track – no major damage to either but both suffered a heavy drop in running position as a result.

With the #71 eventually pitting for Andrew Davis to take charge, the #46 TGM car of Trinkler was back into the lead but with still nearly three hours, the race sadly unravelled for the #88 Aston Martin of Coleman. Suffering further side to side contact and a resulting puncture, that damage, speeding within the pit lane and having too many operatives working upon the car in pit lane – well, that just added at least four to five drive through penalties to their ongoing woes which effectively ended their race there and then.

They however were not the only ones to receive penalties as Davies was soon back along the pits after the #71 car allowed its wheels to spin whilst upon their jacks at the last service. With second drivers now aboard the #19, #09 and #64, it was time to see what Rory Van Der Steur, Ramin Abdolvahabi and Kris Wilson (respectively) could do about their mid to lower GS track positions.

Passed halfway and it was soon to be another blue-on-blue contact as a charging Wilson aboard the #64 unfortunately nudged the #19 car of Van Der Steur into a spin going into turn 1 – whilst the #19 obviously lost both time and positions, Race Control did not impose any sanction onto Wilson for that incident!

More Full Course Cautions for thankfully non major incidents on track later and the race was shaping up nicely into a final hour dash to the flag. With all six remaining Aston Martins still circulating (although the #88 was by now well out of contention being 8 laps down), the #46 of Plumb was still holding robust P3 but with the #19 and #71 cars up to P10 and P11 before a small gap to the #64 and #09 in P14 and P15.

With fuel strategy now playing a significant impact on the front runners, Rebel Rocks own strategy was again compounded by a second DTP – again for wheel rotation at their last stop. Oh, what might have been had these two simple errors in pit lane had been avoided!!!

As the race entered its final ten minutes, both leading BMW’s blinked first and pitted for fuel whist Plumb, and the third leading BMW stayed out as each driver effectively played Russian roulette with their fuel numbers. Eventually and with just two lap to go Plumb pitted for that splash of fuel that would be enough for that car to secure a magnificent P3 overall at the chequered flag.

Robin Liddell brought home their new #71 AMR home in P9 whilst Valentin Hasse-Clot was unable to haul his #19 Van Der Steur car higher than P11 at the end whilst the #64 TEAM TGM came home P14 overall but also first within their own Bronze Cup class to make for a great day for the Giovanis owned team. The #09 Automatic Racing car of Rob Ecklin would eventually come home P15 in class with the #88 Archangel car of Coleman and Aaron Telitz rounding off the AMR contingent in P20.

Another epic Daytona opener for the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series that now moves onto round two from Sebring in March.

Photo credits – AMR / Teams / social media / H Pitman / D Gibson

Five test sessions across the Friday, Saturday and Sunday event will help these teams and drivers settle back into the throws of competitive motorsport after something of a brief winter break since the last round of the season at Road Atlanta in mid-October last year.

Since the provisional entry list was first published by IMSA earlier this month, there has been a few changes within a couple of the Aston Martin Racing contingent – first with the Plumb brothers splitting up within the two Team TGM entries as Matt Plumb is now partnered by Owen Trinkler within the #46 car whilst Hugh now partners team boss Ted Giovanis and Kris Wilson within the #64 car.

The second change saw Lamborghini Trofeo racer Dominic Starkweather step into the #19 Van Der Steur AMR entry alongside Rory Van Der Steur and Valentin Hasse-Clot in lieu of the published Tiger Tari.

That leaves the other AMR entries of the #88 Archangel (Todd Coleman/Aaron Telitz), #9 Automatic Racing (Ramin Abdolvahabi/Rob Ecklin/Brandon Kidd), ##71 Rebel Rock Racing (Frank DePew/Robin Liddell/Andrew Davis) and #16 Skip Barber Racing (IMSA Diverse Driver Scholarship winner Ken Fukuda/Carter Fartuch/Will Lambros) as previously advertised with the Rebel Rock crew still the only ones listed as running the new for 2024 Vantage GT4 Evo.

Today’s opening test session saw both Team TGM and Archangel AMR crews enter pace setting times of just under a second off last year’s race pace, ending the morning 2nd, 3rd, and 4th on the timing screen whilst the others were more conservative in their approach to the day.

As we already know – testing is one thing, but racing is something else completely and only championship points help to win prizes!!

Photo credits – Teams / 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

The main IMSA series sees all five classes return for this round after the GTD only round from Lime Rock Park where the two Heart of Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD’s took both overall (GTD Pro) and class wins (GTD) between them but at the cost of sadly another DNF for the returning Andretti Autosport Aston.

This weekend sees all three AMR’s return for this weekend’s two hour’s forty-minute race starting on Sunday morning (local time) with both #23 Ross Gunn/Alex Riberas and #27 Roman De Angelis/Marco Sorenson all eager as mustard to get back into the point winning ways having each maxed out in upstate New York, closing the deficit in their respective championships to those in front.

For the #94 Andretti car of Jarret Andretti and Gabby Chaves, it will be a case of third time lucky having suffered similar fates in both opening IMSA visits so far at both Lime Rock and before that at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Whilst the Michelin Pilot Challenge skipped Lime Rock Park completely two weeks ago, it returns this weekend back into its usual state with both GS and TCR classed cars competing within the scheduled forty-six car entry and with six Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered crews competing within the twenty-four strong GS class.

The usual suspects from Van der Steur (#19 Rory Van Der Steur/Austin McCusker), Team TGM with both (#46 Hugh/Matt Plumb) and (#64 Ted Giovanis/Owen Trinkler), the #44 Accelerating Performance AMR of Moisey Uretsky/Michael Cooper and the #88 Archangel Aston Martin of Todd Coleman/Billy Johnson all return for another two hour round but will this time be re-joined again by the #09 Automatic Stoner Car Care entry of Rob Ecklin and Ramin Abdolvahabi.

The Stoner crew returned to the IMSA series at Lime Rock for their first race within the VP Fuels Sportscar Challenge Series where Ecklin came away with a brace of Bronze Cup trophies for his efforts.

This series two-hour race starts later at 15.55hrs local.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / J Price

 

 

Going straight into Qualifying with a time worthy of P6 out of the twelve strong grid, the #189 sadly didn’t make much more than half distance before strife struck the car down for a DNF result.

That however was in contract to the performance of Rob Ecklin and his #09 Stoner Car Care AMR Vantage GT4 in his race debut VP Fuels Sportscar Challenge from Lime Rock Park in upstate New York at the weekend.

Having dipped in and out of the Michelin Pilot Challenge series as well as the World Racing League Series this year, this twin race event (the fourth of the season so far) was the first for Ecklin as well (as the sole AMR Vantage entrant this time around) but he did come away with two Bronze Cup trophy P2 and P1 finishes with his GSX classed entry.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / Social media