PF Racing’s Chad McCumbee was fastest in ROAR testing Saturday (Jan. 23) at Daytona International Speedway for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge teams. McCumbee’s lap at 111.867 mph was set during the afternoon session.
Session No. 3
Friday night and early Saturday morning saw rain fall at Daytona International Speedway. As a result, speeds were down significantly from Friday. The first half of the session saw the fastest laps 10 seconds slower than Friday because the track was still drying out.
In the final 20 minutes or so, you started to see the times become more representative of what you’d expect. Murillo Racing’s Eric Foss set the fastest lap of the session at 110.581 mph right as the checkered flag came out.
Foss’ lap was a second and a quarter faster than Wright Motorsports’ Ryan Hardwick. PF Racing’s Chad McCumbee was third, then HTP Winward Motorsport’s Indy Dontje and Rebel Rock Racing’s Robin Liddell.
In TCR, Rory van der Steur was fastest in his Hyundai with a lap at 106.101 mph, which was just six-tenths of a second off of the fastest TCR lap from Friday. Van der Steur’s lap was nearly a second and a half faster than the Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Bryan Herta Autosport’s Mark Wilkins. Atlanta Speedwerks’ Ryan Eversley was third, then CB Motorsports’ Trenton Estep. Michael Johnson was fifth in his BHA-run Hyundai.
Due to the moist track conditions, only 16 of the 37 teams on-site went on track during the 60-minute session. Only 10 of the Grand Sport teams and 6 TCR cars went out. Everyone else stayed in the garage to wait for drier conditions.
IMSA MICHELIN PILOT CHALLENGE ROAR BEFORE THE 24 SESSION NO. 4 RESULTS
Session No. 4
Given that the morning session was more or less lost due to precipitation, it was a mad dash to get out there in the afternoon. McCumbee was fast early and often. His first lap at speed went to the top of the chart. The third lap of the run ended up being the fastest lap of the day.
McCumbee’s quick lap was one-seventh of a second faster than Wright Motorsports’ Jan Heylen in his Porsche. BimmerWorld Racing’s Mike Skeen was third quickest in his BMW, followed by the McLaren of Andrew Wojteczko Autosport’s Kuno Wittmer. A similar McLaren for Motorsports In Action’s Sheena Monk was fifth.
CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s Tom Dyer was sixth in their Audi, followed by the Mercedes of LAP Motorsports’ Colin Braun. Stephen Cameron Racing’s Greg Liefooghe was eighth in his BMW, while FASTMD Racing’s James Vance and HTP Winward Motorsport’s Russell Ward were ninth and 10th, respectively.
KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering’s Roy Block was fastest in TCR with a lap at 106.433 mph. Given the team’s previous results, the pace might look like a surprise, but it really isn’t. The Alfa Romeo is said to be the fastest TCR car in a straight line.
Block’s lap was nearly six-tenths of a second faster than van der Steur. LA Honda World Racing’s Mat Pombo was third in his Honda Civic Type-R TCR, followed by Estep and VGMC Racing’s Victor Gonzalez Jr.
IMSA MICHELIN PILOT CHALLENGE ROAR BEFORE THE 24 SESSION NO. 4 RESULTS
There were no major incidents during the session. Bryan Herta Autosport’s Taylor Hagler did have a spin late in the session in turn 2, but she was able to continue without issue. There was also a red flag flown due to debris in the bus stop chicane.
Michelin Pilot Challenge teams have one more test session scheduled for Sunday morning at 10:35 a.m. That session is scheduled to be 75 minutes in length.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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