On the drop of the green, Jack Hawksworth took the pole sitting Toyota to lead immediately, but it didn’t take long afterwards for contact on the opening lap to send the #57 Winward Mercedes driven by Bryce Ward (Daniel Morad) into the wall in turn 2. A coolant leak would put the car out on the spot.

 

Under the ensuing yellow, the #98 Hyundai of Mason Filippi (Mark Wilkins) was in the pits to repair a puncture, taking two tires and back out without losing a lap. 

 

In TCR Harry Gotsacker (Robert Wickens) took the lead from the Audi of Chris Miller’s Audi, with Sam Baker in 3rd.

 

Lap 9 was a tough one for the BHA Audi’s as Miller took the lead from Gotsacker and Filippi in the sister car went a lap down.

On lap 14 the #6 Honda of Jon Brel came in, looking to be without drive. Standard fueling is happening, along with some work in the cockpit and they were back out, albeit 2 laps down. 

 

At the 40 minute mark, with minimum drive times met, the pit stops began, the top three in both classes, Hawksworth, de Quesada and McAleer in GS and Miller, Gotsacker and Baker in TCR all stayed out.

 

At the 55 minute mark, the GS leaders come down pit lane, Jaden Conwright taking over the Toyota from Jack Hawsworth with Jesse Lazare getting into the McLaren in place of de Quesada, with Conwrigth coming back out in 10th, Lazare in 11th. 

 

Quickly following the GS pit stops were the TCR pitstops got under way, with Sam Baker the first of the leaders to come in, and handing the 3rd placed Audi over to his father, Dean Baker who came back out in 7th place. 

 

On lap 42, an hour in, the #33 Hyundai came in, with Gotsacker handing over to Robert Wickens. A great job in the pits got Wickens out in the lead of the TCR class.

 

The next lap saw the sister BHA Hyundai come into the pits, with Filippi handing over to Mark Wilkins.

 

On lap 44, at 1 hour and 5 minutes, the Twooth Porsche pulled off on the back straight with no drive, bringing out the full course yellow.

 

A couple of GS cars chose to pit  under the yellow, with the Motorsports In Action McLaren getting past the Conwright Toyota, while Trent Hindman kept the Porsche 718 on track to take the lead of the race. The top 8 runners all stayed out, leaving Lazare in 9th and Conwritght in 10th. This would be the turning point in the race as neither the McLaren nor the Toyota would be able to get back to the front.

 

The Twooth Porsche that brought out the yellow got a fresh set of tires and a full tank of gas, got back out, 5 laps down. 

 

On lap 50, the Audi got back around Robert Wickens, coming out of 3 and into 4 to take the lead with just over 40 minutes to go. Karl Wittmer and Dean Baker remain 3rd and 4th. 

 

With just 27 minutes to go, TCR leader Mikely Taylor pulled the Audi off in turn 5, handing the lead to Robert Wickens, followed by Karl Wittmer and Dean Baker. 

 

The final half hour didn’t change much, the length of the yellows helped ensure that the GS cars that didn’t stop for a splash would be able to run to the end, and that Motorsports In Action McLaren and Hattori Motorsports Toyota would be mired in the mid-pack, hoping the leader would need a spalsh before the end. Lazare would end up the top Canadian in 9th, followed by the JMF Mercedes of Jesse Webb in 10th, Justin di Benedetto and Travis Hill, after running out of fuel came home in 22nd in GS. 

 

At the checkered flag, Trent Hindman gave him and Steven McAleer the win, never having to pit, while Robert Wickens maintained the lead he took after the Audi pulled off to grab his first win of the season. Karl Wittmer followed Wickens home, keeping him honest to the checkered flag, into second place, while Dean Baker brought the Baker Racing Audi home in 5th, with Mark Wilkins fighting from a lap down to 6th, with the Brel/Montour Honda coming home 7th. It was a great day for Candian drivers, standing on the top two steps of the podium, and taking 3 of the top 5 places. 

 

The Michelin Pilot Cup is back in action next at Road America, Aug 1-4.