2023 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Michelin Pilot Challenge

In 2023, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) was celebrating its 54th anniversary. IMSA was founded by NASCAR's Bill France, John Bishop (a former executive director of the Sports Car Club of America) and Bishop's wife, Peggy. They succeeded in creating their vision to build a sanctioning body for professional road racing in North America. From its humble roots, IMSA currently sanctions seven different race series: IMSA WeatherTech SportCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA Prototype Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup, Mazda MX-5 Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and the Ferrari Challenge.

Introduced in 2022 was a new per-event and season-long Bronze Cup award for participants in the Grand Sport (GS) class. To be eligible, every driver in a GS car's lineup must be Bronze rated.

The Bronze Cup winners will be recognized on the podium at each event, along with recognition and a season-ending award for the highest placing Bronze Cup combination in the championship standings.

The 2023 season features eleven race weekends; each contest is two hours in length. The exceptions are Daytona and Indianapolis, which are four hours. And the standalone events at Detroit (Grand Sport) and Lime Rock Park (TCR) are one hour and forty minutes.

January 26–29 - Daytona International Speedway
March 15–18 - Sebring International Raceway
May 12–14 - WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
June 2–3 - Detroit Street Circuit - GS Only
June 23–25 - Watkins Glen International
July 7–9 - Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
July 21–22 - Lime Rock Park - TCR Only
August 4–6 - Road America
August 25–27 - Virginia International Raceway
September 15–17 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway
October 11–14 - Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Two race groups compete in the Michelin Pilot Challenge:

Grand Sport (GS): This category underwent some changes in 2017. The new rules accepted cars prepared to GT4 technical requirements. The quicker of the two groups, this class includes cars such as the Ford Mustang GT4, BMW M4 GT4, Mercedes-AMG, Audi R8 and Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Vehicles competing in this group produce between 400 - 450 horsepower and are capable of speeds over 175 mph.
Touring Car (TCR): TCR is a global touring car category that was added to the Michelin Pilot Challenge series in 2018. This category includes the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, Honda Civic TCR, Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR and Audi RS3 LMS TCR. They use a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine which will produce between 300 – 350-horsepower.

Close, competitive racing with cars that fans could relate to contributed to the series' popularity. It also provided an environment for automotive manufacturers to test and showcase their products.

Round six for the Grand Sport class and race five for the 2023 Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR category was held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Teams would compete in a two-hour contest around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The series uses a split start, with the faster Grand Sport cars receiving the green flag first. Leading the field into Canadian Tire Mosport Park’s corner one for round six of the 2023 Michelin Pilot Challenge is the No. 50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO of the pole-sitter, Parker Thompson. Immediately behind Thompson is the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 shared by Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak.

Qualifying on the pole for the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120 was the No. 50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO. Sharing the car were Billy Johnson and Parker Thompson. Thompson took control of the race during his stint. Johnson was in second place when the team had to make another stop for fuel. They crossed the finish line in second but were awarded the victory after the winning car was excluded.

Winning the pole for the TCR category was Chris Miller. He claimed the pole by a mere 0.002-second over Mat Pombo. Pombo was hoping to add his fifth-consecutive TCR pole position. Miller shared the No. 17 Unitronic / JDC Miller Motorsports Audi RS 3 LMS TCR with Mikey Taylor. Taylor drove the final stint and battled with the Hyundai of Robert Wickens. There was contact allowing Taylor to grab the lead and victory.

Sharing the No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R were Frank De Pew and Robin Liddell. De Pew was given the honour of qualifying the Camaro. Unfortunately, he was involved in an incident and, as a penalty, lost his two quickest times. They started last in the Grand Sport category. The experienced Liddell drove the final stint and finished third on track but was given second when the Turner BMW was disqualified.

The TCR start for round five of the 2023 Michelin Pilot Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Leading the eleven entries into corner one in the No. 17 Unitronic / JDC Miller Motorsports Audi RS 3 LMS TCR of the pole winner, Chris Miller. Behind Miller is the other front-row starter, Mat Pombo, driving the No. 37 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Type-R TCR.

The Grand Sport podium for round five of the 2023 Michelin Pilot Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the center are Cameron Lawerence and Robert Megennis from Turner Motorsport. The pair were later disqualified after the refueling time was less than the minimum time and the car was underweight. On the left are the winners, Billy Johnson and Parker Thompson. Finishing second are Frank De Pew and Robin Liddell.

The third fastest in the TCR qualifying session was Harry Gottsacker. Gottsacker drove the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR and was paired with Robert Wickens. The duo remained in contention. Wickens drove the final stint and was in the lead. There was contact with the Audi of Mikey Taylor with two laps remaining. He lost the position but had to pit for fuel and finished second.

Qualifying second overall and in the Grand Sport category by a margin of 0.558-seconds was Rory van der Steur. Van der Steur shared the No. 19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with Austin McCusker. A late race pass on the No. 78 Thaze Competition Mercedes-AMG GT4 gave the pair a fourth-place finish. However, the winning BMW received two penalties after the race moving van der Steur and McCusker to third.

Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb – Agajanian entered three Hyundai Elantra N TCR. The No. 98 Hyundai was driven by Mason Filippi and Mark Wilkins. Wilkins won last season’s Canadian Tire Motorsport Park event with Robert Wickens. Filippi handled the qualifying duties and was fifth fastest in TCR. The duo finished seventeenth overall and third in their category.

The round five podium for the TCR category of the 2023 Michelin Pilot challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor are in the center, claiming their first victory of the season. On the left from Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb – Agajanian are the runner-ups, Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker. Completing the rostrum and finishing third are Mason Filippi and Mark Wilkins.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GS	Johnson / Thompson	Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO	85	-
2	GS	DePew / Liddell	Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R	85	-
3	GS	van der Steur / McCusker	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	85	-
4	GS	DiMeo / Miller	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	85	-
5	GS	Dias Perera / Andrews	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	85	-
6	GS	Plumb / Plumb	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	85	-
7	GS	Murillo / Szymczak	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	85	-
8	GS	Coleman / Marcelli	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	85	-
9	GS	McAlister / Westphal	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	85	-
10	GS	Adelson / Skeer	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	85	-
11	GS	Filgueiras / McAleer	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	84	-
12	GS	Collingwood / Pumpelly	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	84	-
13	GS	Michaelian / Mars	Ford Mustang GT4	84	-
14	TCR	Miller / Taylor	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	84	-
15	TCR	Wickens / Gottsacker	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	83	-
16	GS	Quinlan / Liefooghe	BMW M4 GT4	83	-
17	TCR	Wilkins / Filippi	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	83	-
18	TCR	Tally / LaMarra	Honda Civic FL5 TCR	83	-
19	TCR	Block / Lewis	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR	83	-
20	GS	Giovanis / Trinkler	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	82	-
21	GS	Staikos / Ave	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	82	-
22	TCR	Rockwell / Dupont	Audi RS3 LMS SEQ	82	-
23	TCR	Brown / Rockwell	Audi RS3 LMS SEQ	82	-
24	GS	Lazare / Filsinger	McLaren Artura GT4	75	Did Not Finish
25	GS	Foley / Barletta	BMW M4 GT4	75	-
26	GS	McCumbee / Altzman	Ford Mustang GT4	72	-
27	GS	Ferrera / Wilson	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	63	Did Not Finish
28	TCR	Lewis / Hagler	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	62	-
29	TCR	Gonzalez / Wittmer	Honda Civic FK7 TCR	46	Did Not Finish
30	TCR	Pombo / Eversley	Honda Civic FK5 TCR	42	Did Not Finish
31	GS	Mosing / Foss	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	34	Did Not Finish
32	TCR	Ortiz / Maxson	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	16	Did Not Finish
33	GS	Uretsky / Cooper	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	11	Did Not Finish
34	GS	Ward / Morad	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	2	Did Not Finish
35	GS	Megennis / Lawrence	BMW M4 GT4	85	Excluded

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