Motorsport In Action wins Road America 120
FIRST WIN FOR THE QUEBEC-BASED TEAM IN TWO YEARS SHOWS HOW STRONG THE TEAM AND CAR IS AFTER ALMOST HAVING TO SIT OUT THE 2020 SEASON DUE TO LACK OF FINANCIAL BACKING
MIA driver Sheena Monk had qualified the #3 McLaren 570S GT4 in third place for the 2-hour race. Off the start, Monk passed Tyler McQuarrie in the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 GT4 for second place. She fought hard in the first couple of laps of her stint holding off several cars. Then, by lap 6, McQuarrie passed MIA driver Monk to regain second place.
While the battle for second place was ongoing, at the front Kyle Marcelli’s teammate, Nate Stacy, was driving away with already over a six second lead by lap 5.
On lap 18, Sheena Monk came to the pits from third place for Corey Lewis to take over driving duties. The KOHR Motorsports team did the same as Kyle Marcella took over from Stacy who came in with a four second lead over Tyler McQuarrie in the #39 Audi R8.
Kyle Marcelli re-took the lead after several laps with again the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 GT4 now driven by Jeff Westphal in second as Corey Lewis was making his way back towards the front.
With 40 minutes to go, Lewis made a successful passing attempt on KohR Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Marcelli to take the lead.
From that point on, Lewis just maintained a gap to Marcelli and as the race ended under yellow, Lewis took the checkered flag for a Motorsport In Action win.
Monk/Lewis took the top step on the podium with Stacy/Marcelli second and McQuarrie/Westphal third. Scott Maxwell/Seb Priaulx ended up finishing in eight place in the Multimatic Motorsport Inc. Ford Mustang GT4.
In the TCR class, the podium was all about Bryan Herta Autosport with its Hyundai Veloster TCR.
The class win went to the duo of Gaby Chaves and Ryan Norman in their #33 Hyundai Veloster TCR followed by Parker Chase and teammate Spencer Brockman while Canadian Mark Wilkins and Harry Gotsacker took third place in their #21 Hyundai Veloster TCR.
TCR Pole sitter #23 FASTMD Racing with Speed Syndicate of James Vance/Max Faulkner finished in fifth place.
The next event for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge is scheduled for August 21-23 at Virginia International Raceway.
Images: Motorsport In Action / Wes Duenkel
