Following a busy week leading up to the race event including the "Roar Before the Rolex 24" test days, and the Hyundai Drivers' Camp, the official start of the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge kicked off with the BMW M Endurance Challenge on Friday.

The four-hour season opener at Daytona International Raceway is traditionally one of the most demanding on teams and equipment of the 10-race IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge schedule. On par with tradition, the race featured plenty of action on the racetrack and in the pits, totaling 106 laps with 27 under caution.

Mason Filippi and Mark Wilkins kicked off their first season as co-drivers on the podium, finishing third after a hard-fought battle against the #73 Honda and the #61 Audi. With Bryan Herta calling strategy and Chris Finch engineering, the #98 Elantra N TCR was one of the first teams to make the driver change. Wilkins took over for Filippi with over 2.5 hours remaining. It was the final 30 minutes that counted most. Wilkins took the race lead with just under 30 minutes remaining, he paced the field on the final restart and held the lead for 15 laps. He was eventually overtaken by the winning Audi, and the second place Honda, but held on for third position for the second year in a row. It was Filippi's first podium finish at the famed speedway.

Harry Gottsacker and the #33 Elantra N TCR team moved to the front from their fifth place starting position in in the first hour. All was well with consistently quick laps by Gottsacker and perfect pit stops from the #33 team. Co-driver Robert Wickens took over before the halfway point in what was on pace to be another perfect pitstop before his pit crew identified a loose exhaust pipe. The broken exhaust hanger and its repair cost the team two laps. Wickens regained one lap and took the checkers in sixth position. It was Wickens' first time driving to the checkered flag since returning to competition using hand controls.

Kicking off the season as the defending series champions for the second year in a row, Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis finished 8th. Hagler had a solid stint, but Lewis was quickly sidelined with mechanical issues after taking over the cockpit. The #1 crew met the car in the garage and worked diligently to return the car to competition. After some quick work by the BHA team, Lewis returned to the race and was able to bring the car home in eighth position.

IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge action resumes in six weeks' time at Sebring International Raceway. The Alan Jay Automotive takes place on Thursday, March 16th. NBC's streaming app Peacock is the home to IMSA racing, carrying live, flag to flag coverage of all 10 rounds of the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. If you missed the opening round at Daytona, replays are also available on Peacock.

#1 Hyundai Elantra N TCR

2021 and 2022 Drivers/Team CHAMPIONS

Started: 11th Finished: 8th Championship Standings: 8th

Taylor Hagler: "Our title defense hasn’t started off like we expected at Daytona and our finish doesn’t show how great our #1 Hyundai Elantra N was. It has been great to be back with the team and get back into the swing of things. We finished on the podium at Sebring last year and I’m looking forward to getting after it in March."

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Michael Lewis: "Our team worked so well this week and we just had some bad luck in the race. I was so impressed with how the team got our car back on track to finish P8. They are the heroes. On to Sebring!"

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#33 Elantra N TCR

Started: 5th Finished: 6th Championship Standings: 6th

Harry Gottsacker IV: "We put up a good fight today and had great pace, but a small issue cost us a few laps. The team worked hard, and we were able to get a few laps back, but ended up stuck one lap down in P6. We have a great base to work with during the rest of the season and I’m looking forward to getting back out there and fighting at the pointy end of the grid."

Robert Wickens: "It wasn't the Daytona we had hoped for. We had a great car; Harry had a great first stint and gave me the car in the lead. It was looking like a great pit stop and then we couldn't leave the pit box because our exhaust pipe had come loose. We ended up two laps down, and managed to get one back and salvage a sixth-place finish. It was just one of those days. Hopefully, this is the worst of it for us this year. Great job by everyone at Bryan Herta Autosport throughout the ten days at Daytona."

#98 Elantra N TCR

Started: 6th Finished: 3rd Championship Standings: 3rd

Mason Filippi: "I had a great stint. Our #98 Elantra N TCR car was fast, I have to hand it to our engineer Chris Finch. I was just trying to stay out of trouble with a car that good; I knew we could finish up front if we kept it clean. As this four-hour always is...lots of attrition and Mark just killed it out there, it wasn't easy. I also want to give a shout out to the Florida N Club who joined us at Daytona, their enthusiasm is worth some horsepower for sure."

Mark Wilkins: "Mason drove a great stint. I've really enjoyed the last few weeks first with the Roar, then all the team building with the Hyundai Driver's Camp and now finishing with a podium. It was honestly tough. We just didn't have the pace and then we were struggling with a little issue at the end. I was just hoping our Elantra N TCR would make it, and it did. We had no hope of a win today, but a podium is a great result, great for points and a good way to start our season together. I feel like a podium at Daytona is like a win for us, and we'll just build from here."

Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian

Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single car Indy-Lights team into a multi-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 Rallycross, 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 American Sports Car scene beginning its immensely successful partnership with Hyundai. Together, BHA and Hyundai have won five championships in as many seasons, including four consecutive team and driver championships, and three consecutive (2020, 2021, 2022) manufacturer's titles in IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge. For more information, visit: www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.

BHA/Hyundai Customer Support: Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and part support representative of Hyundai TCR and TCA race cars for customer teams. The BHA/Hyundai Customer Support Team offers trackside engineering support, setup and tuning advice, and part and order fulfillments for the Hyundai Veloster N TCR and TCA teams and drivers from the BHA’s headquarters in Speedway, IN. Since its North American debut in 2019, the Hyundai Veloster N TCR has scored 27 race wins, and three TCR championship titles.

Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai Motor America focuses on ‘Progress for Humanity’ and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles. Our 830 dealers sold more than 724,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2022, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com.

Canadians In BOLD