2024 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Michelin Pilot Challenge

In 2024, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) was celebrating its 55th 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 eight different race series: IMSA WeatherTech SportCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup, Mazda MX-5 Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Ferrari Challenge and the new Mustang 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 2024 season features eleven race weekends; each contest is two hours in length. The exceptions are Daytona, Mid-Ohio and Indianapolis, which are four hours.

January 24–28 - Daytona International Speedway
March 13–16 - Sebring International Raceway
May 10–12 - WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
June 7–9 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
June 20–23 - Watkins Glen International
July 12–14 - Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
August 1–4 - Road America
August 23–25 - Virginia International Raceway
September 19–22 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway
October 9–12 - 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, Aston Martin Vantage GT4 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 Hyundai Elantra N 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 of the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge was held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park during the Chevrolet Grand Prix weekend. GS and TCR teams competed in a two-hour contest around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The start of the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120. The faster Grand Sport cars receive the green flag first, and the TCR category is waved off next. The pole winner No. 50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO, shared by Jack Hawksworth and Jaden Conwright, is leading the pack of thirty-three Michelin Pilot Challenge competitors into turn one. Following the leader is the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport.

In five races this season, the best result for the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 RS Clubsport of Stevan McAleer and Trent Hindman was a second at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. However, they don't have any other top-five finishes. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the pair started third in Grand Sport and overall. Hindman moved into the lead after a full-course caution at the race's mid-point and held on for the victory.

Last year's IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR champions Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker shared the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR. In their previous visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, they finished second. The Hyundai started on the class pole. During his stint, Gottsacker kept the car in contention. Wilkens drove the final leg, taking the lead and winning when the No. 17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi retired.

Ten Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR drivers dive into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park's corner one for the two-hour contest. At the head of the field is the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR, shared by Harry Gottsacker and Robert Wickens. Behind the leading Hyundai are their teammates in a second Bryan Herta Autosport entry and the No. 17 Audi RS3 LMS TCR, which qualified second fastest.

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge podium for Grand Sport drivers at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the center are the winners, Trent Hindman and Stevan McAleer from RS1. Their victory marked the sixth different team to win in as many events this year. Standing on the left are the runner-ups from van der Steur Racing, Rory van der Steur and Scott Andrews. Competing the top three teams are the points leaders Matt Plumb and Paul Holton.

Rory van der Steur and Scott Andrews claimed the runner-up spot at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120. The pair shared the No. 19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. They were gridded sixth for the two-hour contest. Like the winners, Trent Hindman and Stevan McAleer, the team gambled on a one-stop strategy that required them to conserve fuel. It paid off, as Andrews crossed the finish line in second place.

Karl Wittmer and Dai Yoshihara finished 0.723 seconds behind the class-winning TCR Hyundai. The duo co-drove the No. 93 Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR and were gridded sixteenth overall and sixth in class. Yoshihara moved the Honda up the order during the two-hour contest. At the final stop, Wittmer jumped in the car but was challenged by a lack of ABS. He held on to capture the runner-up spot.

The Grand Sport points leaders heading into round six at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park were Matt Plumb and Paul Holton, who won the previous round at Watkins Glen International. The No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 was fourth fastest during the qualifying session. Like the teams that finished ahead of them, they risked a single stop and relied on caution periods to keep them in contention. It worked as they finished third.

One of the four Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR entries was the No. 76 driven by Denis Dupont and Preston Brown. The pair entered round six second in the class standings. In qualifying, the car was the twenty-seventh fastest and started eighth in TCR. At the checkered flag, the duo was in twenty-second, earning them the final position on the class podium. As a result, they moved closer to Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller in the standings.

The TCR podium for round six of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. In the center are last year's class champions and winners, Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker. In three IMSA starts at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Wickens has two victories and one runner-up result. On the left are the second-place finishers, Karl Wittmer and Dai Yoshihara. Denis Dupont and Preston Brown complete the rostrum.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GS	McAleer / Hindman	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	81	-
2	GS	van der Steur / Andrew	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	81	-
3	GS	Plumb / Holton	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	81	-
4	GS	McAlister / Westphal	BMW M4 GT4	81	-
5	GS	Selldorff / Foley	BMW M4 GT4	81	-
6	GS	Hawksworth / Conwright	Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO	81	-
7	GS	Coleman / Telitz	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	81	-
8	GS	DePew / Liddell	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo	81	-
9	GS	de Quesada / Lazare	McLaren Artura GT4	81	-
10	GS	Stephens / Webb	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	81	-
11	GS	Mars / Michaelian	Ford Mustang GT4	81	-
12	GS	Machavern / Megennis	BMW M4 GT4	81	-
13	GS	Uretsky / Cooper	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	81	-
14	GS	Dickinson / McCarthy	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	81	-
15	GS	Shaeffer / Thomas	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	81	-
16	GS	Carazo / Lee	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	81	-
17	GS	Altzman / McCumbee	Ford Mustang GT4	80	-
18	GS	Blind / Davis	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	80	-
19	GS	Giovanis / Plumb	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	80	-
20	TCR	Gottsacker / Wickens	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	80	-
21	TCR	Yoshihara / Wittmer	Honda Civic FL5 TCR	80	-
22	TCR	Brown / Dupont	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	80	-
23	TCR	Hagler / Morris	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	80	-
24	TCR	Baker / Baker	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	80	-
25	GS	Quinlan / Liefooghe	Ford Mustang GT4	80	-
26	GS	Tecce / Pumpelly	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	79	-
27	TCR	Wilkins / Filippi	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	79	-
28	TCR	Montour / Brel	Honda Civic FL5 TCR	77	-
29	GS	Hill / Di Benedetto	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	75	-
30	TCR	Miller / Taylor	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	59	Did Not Finish
31	TCR	Lewis / Tally	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR	52	Did Not Finish
32	TCR	Burkhard / Gonzalez	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	38	Did Not Finish
33	GS	Ward / Morad	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	1	Did Not Finish

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