BRASELTON, Ga. — Ibiza Farm Motorsports seemed to have just that little bit extra all weekend in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge action at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. They were fastest in both practice sessions and won the pole for the race.
Michael Cooper was able to run down Copeland Motorsports’ Jaxon Bell and take the lead away in turn 7 with 32 minutes to go. From there, Cooper pulled away to win the FOX Factory 120 with teammate Moisey Uretsky. It is the duo’s second straight win and third of the year.
“[Our recent form] is totally believable,” Cooper told NBC Sports’ Matt Yocum after the race. “We’ve been working really hard towards this for three years now. To finally be able to put everything together and show what we’ve got, it’s totally believable.”
Cooper and Uretsky’s margin of victory was 4.323 seconds over Bell and Ford Koch. Turner Motorsport’s Beltre Curtis and Robby Foley were third, then CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s Sean McAlister and Jeff Westphal. Cameron Shields and Nolan Siegel in the second CarBahn BMW were fifth.
Rennsport One’s Jan Heylen and Luca Mars ended up sixth. That was, enough to claim the 2025 Grand Sport championship by 70 points over McAlister and Westphal.
By virtue of a quick qualifying lap Thursday, Ibiza Farm Motorsports’ Moisey Uretsky started from the pole in his McLaren. However, his time at the front was short-lived.
McCumbee McAleer Racing’s Nate Cicero was able to use a run on the outside of turn 1 to sweep around Uretsky to take the lead by turn 3. Koch was able to follow up into second.
Over the next few laps, Koch slowly moved in on Cicero’s Mustang. 13 minutes into the race, Koch was able to make the move for the lead in turn 1.
Pit strategy was key on Friday. The Grand Sport teams were only forecast to be able to go between 44-48 minutes on a tank of fuel. It would be impossible to go the full race on one stop unless there was a lot of time spent behind the safety car.
Czabok Simpson Motorsports’ Morgan Burkhard was the first to attempt an alternate strategy. He chose to pit 29 minutes into the race for fuel. Most of the rest of the leaders pitted shortly after the minimum drive-time of 40 minutes was reached. Cicero stayed out for 52 minutes before he stopped.
Tire wear and a slower stop due to the need to add more fuel knocked McCumbee McAleer Racing out of the lead. While Uretsky had dropped to third in the opening laps, he was able to keep pace with Cicero and Koch. As a result, when Cooper got in the McLaren, he was able to exit the pits in front of the other leaders. When the sequence ended, he found himself in the overall lead.
One of the scariest moments came just after halfway when Pegram Racing’s Riley Pegram was clipped by JDC-Miller MotorSports’ Mikey Taylor at the FOX Factory bridge. Pegram spun and hit the concrete wall on the drivers’ side. She was able to walk away afterwards, but was a bit shaken up.
The Pegram crash resulted in the leaders coming into the pits for round of stops. Ibiza Farm Motorsports had a slow stop and dropped all the way back to fifth.
Bell won the race off the pit lane, but lined up behind Robert Megennis, who chose to stay out on worn tires. It did not take long for Bell to take the overall lead.
However, Cooper still had the superior pace. He was able to pick up the lost spots and run Bell down. Once there, it did not take long for Cooper to go back into the overall lead.
Once out front, Cooper pulled away from Bell and the rest of the pack. From there, Cooper held a steady pace to pick up the victory.
In TCR, Bryan Herta Autosport’s Mason Filippi started from pole in his Hyundai. Teammate Bryson Morris was able to jump Eric Powell‘s Cupra at the start to move up to second.
Morris then dropped down the order, allowing Powell’s Cupra back into second. Eventually, a spin for LAP Motorsports’ Scott Thomson sent the leaders scurrying. That allowed Powell to get into the class lead with Montreal Motorsport Group’s Louis-Philippe Montour following past.
Powell was able to hold onto the advantage until a round of stops shortly before halfway. When the stops were complete, BHA’s Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker were at the front.
This was critical given the point situation at the start of the race. Montour and Karl Wittmer had a 10-point lead over Gottsacker, while Preston Brown and Denis Dupont were close behind them. Any position change could affect the championship.
During the caution for the Pegram crash, everyone pitted to top off their fuel. Some drivers such as Gottsacker took tires, while others went with fuel only. Tyler Gonzalez was able to win the race off of pit road to get back into the lead.
For Wittmer, it was the end of the road here. His Honda died exiting the pit lane and could not be revived.
Gottsacker ended up being Gonzalez’s primary competition for a time. Wilkins ended up making two unscheduled stops and ended up retiring late in the going.
Dupont and Baker Racing’s James Vance drove up into the top-five late in the race, but no one could catch up to Gonzalez, who took his second straight win with Powell.
Gonzalez and Powell’s margin of victory was 6.207 seconds over Brown and Dupont. Vance and Sam Baker finished a season-best third. Prior to the race, Vance explained to Frontstretch that the improved form came partially as a result of a completely new baseline setup that the team brought this weekend after being very disappointed with their pace at Indianapolis.
Gottsacker and Filippi ended up fourth, while Maddie Aust and Suellio Almeida were fifth. The fourth-place finish was enough to give Gottsacker the championship by 20 points over Brown and Dupont.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge FOX Factory 120 Unofficial Results
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.