RAFA Racing Club’s Kiko Porto took the lead when McCumbee-McAleer Racing’s Nate Cicero pitted with 41 minutes to go Saturday (July 12). From there, he was able to hold on to win the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 with Varun Choksey. It is the first-ever victory in the series for Choksey, Porto and RAFA Racing Club as a whole.
“This team deserved [the win],” Porto told NBC Sports’ Amanda Busick after the race. “We’ve been very fast all season. I was able to save a little bit of fuel, which is a bit tricky with the Supra. The team told me everything that I needed to save fuel and the tires. I’m so happy. Speechless.”
Choksey and Porto won by 9.811 seconds over AutoTechnic Racing’s Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer. Cicero and Robert Noaker were third, followed by YRB Racing’s Trenton Estep and Allen Patten. TeamTGM’s Paul Holton and Matt Plumb.
The Heart of Racing’s Hannah Greenemeier qualified her Aston Martin on the overall pole, the second straight pole for the team after Hannah Grisham pulled it off at Watkins Glen.
Unlike Grisham in Watkins Glen, things didn’t go so great for Greenemeier. Holton was able to get by her in the first corner to take the lead.
At Moss Corner, the race unraveled. Greenemeier was hit by Panam Motorsport’s Caio Chaves and spun in front of the whole field. Noaker was hit by Ibiza Farm Motorsports’ Moisey Uretsky and spun as well. In a separate incident, Uretsky also spun after contact from Patten. All of this brought out the full course caution.
In addition, Turner Motorsport’s Dillon Machavern was run into by BSI Racing’s Harrison Goodman while trying to avoid the crash. That caused damage to both cars. forcing them to go behind the wall. Machavern and Luca Mars would finish 12 laps down in 34th overall (23rd in GS). Goodman and Lucas Weisenberg were out on the spot. The incident ultimately cost Machavern and Mars the Grand Sport points lead.
The officials determined that there was “shared responsibility” between Greenemeier and Chaves for the incident, which meant that there would be no penalties. That allowed Chaves to stay in second and put the pressure on Holton for the lead.
16 minutes into the race, Chaves was able to make the move to take the lead in turn 3. The Supra’s pace was such to allow Chaves to pull away.
The scariest moment of the race occurred a couple of laps later when LAP Motorsports’ Scott Thomson and Victor Gonzalez Racing’s Dr. William Tally collided in turn 4 and went hard into the tire barrier. The hit resulted in Thomson’s Mustang rolling over.
Tally was able to walk away from the crash uninjured. Thomson was able to get out as well, but ended up collapsing outside of his car. With assistance from the AMR Safety Team, Thomson sat down on a stretcher and was taken to the infield care center. According to IMSA, Thomson was later sent to a local hospital for evaluation.
The tire barriers required repairs, resulting in a long caution. The 40-minute minimum drive-time was achieved here. That resulted in IMSA converting the yellow from a short yellow to a full yellow that would allow for pit stops.
Most of the leaders chose to stop here for tires, fuel and a driver change. Koch-Copeland Motorsports’ Ford Koch, who started towards the back, stayed out and claimed the lead.
A full quarter of the race was run under yellow before the green came back out. However, that was short-lived.
In Moss Corner, TeamTGM’s Hugh Plumb spun and hit the left rear of CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s Cameron Shields. Shields spun out as a result. He tried to get going, but the contact broke the left rear suspension on Shields’ BMW. He stalled on course to bring out another yellow. The incident ultimately ended Shields’ day.
With all of the time spent behind the safety car, Koch stayed out past the halfway point before giving way to Jaxon Bell. They were in position to claim a great finish, but a mechanical black flag due to loose bodywork forced them to make an extra pit stop and dropped them down the order.
Porto was able to get himself into contention due to pit strategy. Choksey, after making up significant ground from 17th on the grid, handed over to Porto during the second caution. Porto then stopped again on the restart to top off his fuel.
The goal here was to run as far as possible until it was time to top off. Porto assumed the lead when Cicero pitted and ended up with a lap of over 40 seconds. That allowed him to pit with 15 minutes to go for a splash of fuel.
Interestingly, this was not necessarily the plan. The plan was designed so that Porto would go to the end from there. That ultimately didn’t work out, but Porto’s pace was enough that even Plan B worked out.
After that stop, Porto kept the lead over McAleer. The advantage dropped to as little as four seconds in the closing laps before the defending IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX champ pulled away to take the win.
In TCR, Montreal Motorsport Group’s Louis-Phillippe Montour started on pole in his Honda and led early. After the restart, Watkins Glen winner Rocco Pasquarella was able to get past Montour for the lead. Bryan Herta Autosport’s Bryson Morris was right there as well.
When the pits opened during the second caution, nearly everyone stopped. The exception was Victor Gonzalez Racing’s No. 99 for Steven Clemons, who assumed the lead.
Clemons’ time in the lead was very short. Mason Filippi was able to take the lead away on the restart. At the end of the lap, Clemons pitted to give way to Tyler Gonzalez.
The race ultimately came down to a duel between Filippi and Montreal Motorsport Group’s Karl Wittmer. The two drivers battled hard over the closing laps, but traffic allowed FIlippi to get the slip on Wittmer and pull away to take the victory with Morris in seventh overall.
Filippi and Morris’ margin of victory was 2.194 seconds over Montour and Wittmer. Baker Racing’s Dean Baker and Bruno Junqueira were third in the team’s home race, followed by BHA’s Lance Bergstein and Harry Gottsacker. The second Baker Racing Audi of Sam Baker and James Vance was fifth.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 Unofficial Results
Next up for Pilot Challenge teams is two hours of racing at Road America. Coverage of the Road America 120 will stream live on the IMSA Official YouTube channel and Peacock Aug. 1 at 1:50 p.m. ET
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the Frontstretch email 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 Frontstretch 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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