2020 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge
FOX Factory 120 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
October 15-16, 2020
Round: 8 of 10 in the 2020 Michelin Pilot Challenge
Racetrack: Michelin Raceway, Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA
2.54-mile road course, featuring 12 turns
Race: Friday, October 16, 2020 at 3:35 pm ET (12:35 pm PT) (2 Hours)
TV: LIVE on NBC Gold Track Pass
Live timing and scoring from each session available at www.IMSA.com
Live radio commentary for every session at www.IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com
BHA FAST FACTS:
Strength in Numbers: Five Hyundai Veloster N TCR cars are entered in the Fox Factory 120. Hyundai currently leads the manufacturers championship by nine points.
Road Atlanta Rewind: Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman, drivers of the #33 Hyundai Veloster N TCR are the defending race winners at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Harry Gottsacker is the defending pole sitter. Gottsacker earned his first IMSA pole at the Stay Frosty 240 at Road Atlanta just six weeks ago in early September. It was Chaves and Norman’s second race victory, which catapulted them to the top of the standings where they remain with a seven point lead over teammates Michael Lewis and Mason Filippi.
The Tail of the Dragon: Driving a 2020 Hyundai Veloster N paired with Michelin Pilot® Sport All-Season 4 tire, Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi are warming up for the Road Atlanta race weekend driving the famed “Tail of the Dragon.” Wilkins and Filippi will capture footage for Motor Trend’s “Pole Position: Quest for the Championship” and social media. Known as one of the world’s foremost motorcycling and sports car touring roads, the Tail of the Dragon features 318 curves over 11 miles and begins at Deals Gap on the Tennessee/North Caroline state line. Follow their journey on T: @BHA, @Hyundai or @MichelinRaceUSA. Original content is available for media use.
Record Holder: 2019 co-champion Michael Lewis holds the track record at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Lewis set the record driving the #98 Veloster N TCR in 2019, the same weekend he won the series championship with then co-driver Mark Wilkins. His record setting lap time is 1.28.830 at an average of 102.937 mph.
A New Hyundai and a Pair of Young Guns: Coming off their outstanding seasons in the TCA and TCR categories driving Hyundai Velosters in the SRO Championship, Tyler Gonzalez and newly crowned SRO TCR Champion, Tyler Maxson, will make their IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge debut this weekend in the FOX Factory 120 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Both Gonzalez and Maxson drove for the BHA/Hyundai Customer Support team Copeland Motorsports this season in SRO and will co-drive the #27 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for Copeland, adding pitstops to the mix in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent of Hyundai TCR and TCA race cars for customer teams. The BHA/Hyundai Customer Support Team offers engineering support, setup and tuning advice to customer teams, Tyler Maxson commented, “Having a BHA/Hyundai Customer Support representative at all the events that knows and understands the Hyundai product was beneficial. Using their knowledge and experience, we were able to problem solve quickly and tune the car and my driving for better performance on track. The BHA/Hyundai program is open book, and we are able to bounce ideas, share data and ask questions to any of the BHA staff at any given time.”
#29 Hyundai Veloster N TCR
Drivers: Parker Chase and Spencer Brockman
Best Start: 4th Best Finish: 2nd Championship: 7th (167 points)
Started 6th and finished 2nd in the Stay Frosty 240 in September at Road Atlanta.
Parker Chase: “We had a rough pair of races at Mid-Ohio, so Road Atlanta can’t come soon enough. I’ve been mentally running laps there in my head daily and can’t wait to lay down a few quicks laps. We had our best result of the season when we finished second there last month, I think we can do one better this weekend.”
Spencer Brockman: “I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the #29 Vertical Bridge Hyundai Veloster N TCR. Our results at Road Atlanta were not what we were looking for. We finished second last month at Road Atlanta and I am confident we can make it to the top of the podium this weekend.”
Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian:
Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single car Indy-Lights team into a championship winning auto racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport has won races in every discipline they have entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rally Cross, and championship titles in Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with driver Dan Wheldon. Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. In 2018, BHA entered the Pirelli World Challenge in partnership with Hyundai and dominated the TCR class, winning seven races with drivers #98 Michael Lewis and #99 Mark Wilkins in the Hyundai i30N TCR, securing the team and manufacturers championships in the process. In 2019, BHA and Hyundai moved to the IMSA Michelin Sports Car Challenge, and the transition was flawless. BHA swept the series driver and team championships with driver Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis finishing first in the #98 Hyundai Veloster N TCR and young guns Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi finishing second in the #21 Hyundai Veloster N TCR. For 2020, BHA continues its successful partnership with Andretti Autosport fielding the #98 U.S. Concrete Honda w/ Curb Agajanian in the IndyCar series for driver Marco Andretti and a four-car Hyundai Veloster N TCR campaign in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Michael Lewis and Mason Fillipi (#98), Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker (#21), Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman (#33) and Parker Chase and Spencer Brockman (#29). Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and parts support representative of Hyundai TCR race cars for customer teams. For more information, visit www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.
HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA
At Hyundai Motor America, we believe everyone deserves better. From the way we design and build our cars to the way we treat the people who drive them, making things better is at the heart of everything we do. Hyundai’s technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assurance—our promise to create a better experience for customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide and nearly half of those sold in the U.S. are built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea.Please visit our media website at www.HyundaiNews.com