Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Prepares for IMSA Excitement
This Sunday, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will spotlight the O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio, part of the Michelin Pilot Challenge, featuring 38 entries across various classes.
In the Grand Sport (GS) division, the #28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport, piloted by Luca Mars and Jan Heylen, currently leads the championship standings with 170 points. Their performance includes runner-up finishes at Daytona and Sebring, along with a victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. They are ahead of the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO team of Sean McAlister and Jeff Westphal, who clinched a win at Sebring.
After a challenging race at Laguna Seca, the #44 Ibiza Farm Motorsports McLaren Artura GT4 team of Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper has dropped to sixth in the standings.
This week, a notable entry is the #16 CSM Porsche, driven by Zach Veach and Harrison Goodman, competing in tribute to Hattori Motorsports founder Shigeaki Hattori, who tragically passed away in April.
Andy Lally returns to competitive racing in the #38 BGB Motorsports Porsche with co-drivers Spencer Pumpelly and Thomas Collingwood, following his retirement from full-time driving in January. Also back in action is Mikey Taylor from Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports, after a brief hiatus for family reasons.
In the Touring Car Racing (TCR) category, Bryan Herta Autosport is aiming for its fourth class win of the year, fielding four of the 15 TCR entries. The #76 Hyundai Elantra N TCR, driven by Denis Dupont and Preston Brown, leads the standings, followed closely by the #98 and #33 entries of Mason Filippi, Harry Gottsacker, and Mark Wilkins, Bryson Morris respectively. Notably absent is the #55 Team Gou Cupra Leon VZ TCR.
Additional races at Mid-Ohio include two events from the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup. Among the competitors in the VP Challenge is LMP3 Championship leader Valentino Catalano, alongside teammates Oscar Tunjo and Samantha Tan.
In the MX-5 Cup, standout driver Jesse Love will join the series for the first time since Sebring, teammate to Tyler Gonzalez, who recently swept the Barber Motorsports Park event and now sits just 40 points behind championship leader Jared Thomas.
As the teams continue to gear up for the race, the stage is set for an action-packed event at Mid-Ohio.
