Cautions and close racing highlight Pilot Challenge’s second endurance race of the season

The Michelin Pilot Challenge is used to being the warm-up act. But on Sunday, IMSA’s second tier series was given its spotlight as the headliner. As the main event for the IMSA weekend at Mid-Ohio, the O’Reily Auto Parts 4 Hours did not disappoint. Both classes kept fans entertained with awesome racing all day capped off by an amazing finish. It was truly a day for youngsters in both GS and TCR.

GS: Turner Becomes Fourth Different Winner as Selldorff Stars

Thomas Merrill lead the field to green in his #14 AR Motorsports Porsche to begin proceedings. While he would lead the opening stages of the race, it was becoming clear The Keyhole would be a place to watch. First, Austin Krainz had a moment while trying to lap TCR traffic and collided with a Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai. Moments later, Bryce Ward went off in the tire barriers causing the first full-course yellow of the day. Out of the restart, Dillon Machavern assumed the lead but even that did not last. The #95 Turner BMW would go wide at…you guessed it, The Keyhole and lost the lead to Luca Mars in his RS1 Porsche.

A hairy moment came during the race’s second hour as Ben Sloss made contact with a TCR Audi at Turn 5. The contact brought damage to the suspension, sending the #15 Van der Steur Aston Martin Vantage in the wet grass to the tire barrier. The damage suffered was enough to put the car out of the race and slow the field down for the fourth time. After this yellow, a long green flag run ensued and the field found a rhythm. At the front, a three-way battle for the lead between Luca Mars, Dillon Machavern and Sean McAllister would keep fans entertained. The mid-race battle would lose a contender when McAllister spun at Turn 6 after losing second to Machavern.

After mid-race driver swaps, Francis Selldorff would seize the lead and open a gap as big as seven seconds over the rest of the field. With 56 minutes to go, that big lead would be undone as polesitter Thomas came to a stop in The Esses. This was first of three full-course yellows in the final hour. The second was triggered with 32 minutes remaining when debris from the #59 Kohr Motorsports Mustang fell on course. The final yellow was dispatched 23 minutes from the end thanks to some BMW friendly fire. Steven McAleer and Patrick Gallagher made contact out of Turn 11 with Gallagher getting the worst of it.

Finally, there was one last 17 minute dash to the checkered flag. Five minutes after the restart, heartbreak struck Jeff Westphal as the #39 CarBahn BMW suffered mechanical issues. The car was forced to pit from 2nd and retire. Daniel Morad started the final hour in ninth place. He extracted every ounce of the #57 Winward Mercedes to get that machine from 9th to 2nd, but came seven tenths of a second short.

Francis Selldorff did not appear under pressure, staying in the lead, keeping his nerve and not even close to flinching. Selldorff held off Jan Heylen in addition to the aforementioned Westphal and Morad to score the win. For Selldorff, it is his first win in Michelin Pilot Challenge and a win well deserved. For Turner, they become the fourth different winner this season. They join Accelerating Performance, CarBahn Racing and RS1 as teams to taste victory in 2025. This is also Turner’s first win in nearly two years in MPC dating back to Watkins Glen in June 2023.

TCR: Bryan Herta Autosport Dominance Continues

A pole position for Kuno Wittmer and the MMR Honda team on Saturday gave the team and others hope Sunday could be their day. Wittmer lead the TCR field from green, but the lead did not last long. Tyler Gonzalez in the Victor Gonzalez Racing Hyundai led the majority of the first hour until the first yellow. During the yellow, the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai with Mason Fillippi at the wheel took the lead. Right out the first yellow, Tyler Chambers in HART Civic was spun into the gravel trap and became stuck. This led to the yellow coming right back out for the second time. Simultaneously, Megan Tomlinson in the Precision Racing LA Audi had a moment at Turn 4. After going wide at 4 and rejoining the track at Turn 5, she went for a quick spin.

The most bizarre moment of the race came when Suello Almeida in the #9 Hyundai went off course and picked up some trackside sponsor signage. The sign would stay on the front of the Elantra until Almeida made it to the pits and the team took off the sign. His off-track excursion caused the race’s third yellow of the day. During the 90-minute green flag run, the race went away for the VGRT Hyundai of Tyler Gonzalez and Eric Powell. A drive-thru penalty to the #99 Hyundai after their mid-race pit stop essentially took them out of contention.

The polesitting MMR Honda suffered an early setback with a spin. But the trio of LP Montour, Dai Yoshihara and Wittmer rallied back to earn a podium finish. Once again, however, they were following home the BHA Hyundais. The late race yellows gave Denis Dupont hope to catch his teammate, but to no avail. Dupont and co-driver Preston Brown would have to settle for second. The #98 BHA Hyundai was the class of the field. Harry Gottsacker picked up where Mason Fillippi left off and drove the car home. For Gottsacker and Filippi, this is their second win of the season after inheriting the win at Sebring.

No More Long Races…

With the longer four hour races now out the way for 2025, the teams of Michelin Pilot Challenge now focus on their traditional two hour distance. The MPC paddock gets a weekend to catch before returning to action at Watkins Glen. The series will support the 6 Hour weekend with their two hour race, Round 5 of the season, on Saturday, June 21.

Photos Courtesy: LAT Images