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Category: Road Racing

Bowmanville, Ontario – Tyler Maxson made an impressive debut today at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park with his pole winning lap of 1:24.318 seconds. The lap was the eighth quickest overall, and faster than 11 GS qualifiers. It was Maxson's second pole of the season and fourth this year for the #77 Elantra N TCR. Maxson's co-driver Mason Filippi scored the pole at Sebring and Watkins Glen.

On the subject of impressive debuts, Canadians Robert and Karli Wickens welcomed their first child, Wesley Joseph Wickens on this Canada Day!

Robert announced the news this afternoon on his social media accounts (see below). Wickens will travel back to Canada tomorrow, to race alongside his fellow-Canadian co-driver Mark Wilkins in front of their enthusiastic home crowd in the #33 Elantra N TCR.

It has been quite a week for Robert Wickens, he and teammate Wilkins scored their first victory of the season last weekend at Watkins Glen International. The win was Wickens' first victory racing with hand controls, a discipline that took just five races for Wickens to conquer.

The green flag falls for the 2-hour Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120 at 4:10pm ET and will be televised live on NBC's Peacock TV and on REV TV in Canada. Live radio coverage in addition to live timing and scoring will be available at IMSA.com.

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120
Bryan Herta Autosport Starting Line-Up
P.1 Tyler Maxson and Mason Filippi #77 Elantra N TCR
P.3 Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker #98 Elantra N TCR
P.5 AJ Muss and Ryan Norman #2 Elantra N TCR
P.6 Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis #1 Elantra N TCR
P.7 Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson #54 Universal Coating Elantra N TCR
P.13 Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins #33 Elantra N TCR

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 four championships in as many seasons, including three consecutive team and driver championships, and two consecutive (2020, 2021) 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 820 dealers sold more than 738,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2021, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com.

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Category: Road Racing

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120
Round 6 of the 2022 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge
July 1-2, 2022

Racetrack: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
2.459-mile road course, features 10 turns
Race: Saturday, July 2, 2022, at 4:10pm EST
TV: Live on NBC’s PEACOCK: www.peacock.tv
Listen: Live radio commentary for every session at www.IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com
Live timing and scoring from each session available at www.IMSA.com. Live updates are available throughout the weekend on BHA social media and www.bryanhertaautosport.com

FAST FACTS

Team Canada: Coming off their first victory as teammates, Canadians Mark Wilkins and Robert Wickens return home to race at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP) this weekend. Wilkins hails from Hamilton and Wickens from Guelph, and both grew up racing and watching their heroes at this very track. Their win last weekend at Watkins Glen represented Wickens' first victory since he began racing with hand controls just five races ago. It was Wilkins sixth IMSA victory. The #33 Elantra N TCR has a special look to commemorate Team Canada, the rear-view mirrors are wrapped in the Canadian flag featuring the maple leaf.

Mid-Season Milestones: Harry Gottsacker set a record for the IMSA TCR category, scoring more pole positions than any other driver, with six poles won. Gottsacker and his teammate, Parker Chase rotate duties for qualifying and finishing the race. The duo, who are longtime friends and both hail from towns near San Antonio, Texas scored their first win as teammates at Mid-Ohio. It was also the first win of the 2022 season for BHA and Hyundai. AJ Muss enjoyed a career milestone last weekend at Watkins Glen, he and his new for 2022 teammate, Ryan Norman finished third and scored Muss's first IMSA podium finish.

The duo have been quick since race one at Daytona when Muss qualified on the front row. Mason Filippi and his 17-year-old teammate, Tyler Maxson have consistently been the quickest qualifiers in 2022. Maxson kicked off his relationship with BHA on a high note by winning the pole position at Daytona. Filippi followed it up with poles at Sebring and Watkins Glen. They are three for five heading into the second half of the season. Michael Johnson has also had a strong season of qualifying, having started inside the top seven in four of five events. By comparison, at this point last season, Johnson's average starting position was 10th. Johnson and his co-driver Stephen Simpson are the only BHA drivers to have finished every race inside the top-ten.

In the Points: Defending back-to-back titles in the Manufacturers championship, Hyundai currently has a 60-point lead over Alfa Romeo. 2021 TCR Champions Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis have three second place finishes this season, they are in second place in the standings, just 30 points out of the series lead with 1370 points. Harry Gottsacker, Parker Chase and the #98 Elantra N TCR team are ranked third with 1300 points.

There have been a few bumps in the road for the BHA team in the first half of the season, the TCR category is ultra-competitive, and the racing has been intense. Contact and misfortunes have struck several of the BHA entries, leaving just two of six Elantra N TCR cars inside the top-five in the series standings at the halfway point. With podiums, wins, and poles under their belts this year, the #2, #33, #54 and #77 are set for a stronger second half. Their current team rankings are 6th (#33 Wickens and Wilkins), 8th (#54 Johnson and Simpson) 9th (#2 Muss and Norman) and 13th (Filippi and Maxson).

#1 Hyundai Elantra N TCR

2021 Drivers/Team CHAMPIONS

2022: Best Start: 5th Best Finish: 2nd Ranked: 2nd 1370 pts.

Taylor Hagler: "It is my first time to CTMP and I’m looking forward to spending the week there with Hyundai Canada. I will have a lot to learn and will be leaning on Michael Lewis to help me pick up the track as quickly as possible. We didn’t get quite the result we were looking for at Watkins Glen, so we need to bounce back quickly to try and regain the points lead."

Michael Lewis: "I love this track! We raced at CTMP in 2019, and I was looking forward to competing here every year, but obviously the course of history changed. But now we're back I can't wait to take our BHA Hyundai Elantra N TCR around this fast and flowing track. The competition is great and that's what makes this series fun. See you at the track!"

#2 Elantra N TCR

2022: Best Start: 2nd Best Finish: 3rd Ranked: 10th 1110 pts.

Ryan Norman: “First time for me to drive at CTMP and it's one I've always wanted to race there. It's been a while since I've been on a new track, and I love the challenge learning a new track. I've spent many, many hours preparing, so I feel confident going into this challenge. The #2 team is on point and together, we're going for the win!"

AJ Muss: "The #2 Elantra N TCR feels really good, and the team is really vibing coming off a really strong finish at Waktins Glen. It feels great to get my first IMSA podium under my belt. The team is putting in a lot of hard work and we're really looking forward to back-to-back weekends and fighting for the top step again!"

#33 Elantra N TCR

2022: Best Start: 2nd Best Finish: 3rd Ranked: 6th 1250 pts.

Mark Wilkins: “After an incredible weekend at Watkins Glen, I’m fired up and ready for more at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park this weekend! It’s the week dreams are made of… starting with two evening events with Hyundai Canada in the Elantra N and Kona N and from there, straight into our race event! Robert and I are excited to see so many passionate and enthusiastic Canadian race fans this weekend, and we are equally as excited to welcome Hyundai Canada executives to our N lounge for an adrenaline packed Canada Day weekend! If you’re a Hyundai owner, don’t forget to swing by our tent, show your key and check out some behind the scenes action from the N Lounge. It’s going to be a fantastic weekend."

Robert Wickens: “It's always special racing in front of your hometown crowd, and this is one I've been waiting for. Coming off our win last weekend makes it even better. The last time I raced in Canada was at the Toronto Indy in 2018 and that was probably the highlight of my season that year. I have a lot of great memories at CTMP, both racing and as a kid watching my heroes. It's a personal favorite for Mark and I, we appreciate the support from the fans and it's going to be a great weekend."

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#54 Universal Coating Elantra N TCR

2022: Best Start: 3rd Best Finish: 1st Ranked: 8th 1220 pts.

Michael Johnson: "Coming back to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is always a nice feeling because I spent so much time racing in Canada growing up. Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is a thrill of a track due to its high speed and elevation but also for a couple of slow corners that make it super unique. I'm excited to get back there and use our momentum from Watkins Glen and go for that podium or win. Everyone has been working extremely hard this season I feel ready to go!"

Stephen Simpson: "We're getting into the nitty gritty point of the season where we really need to maximize our points opportunities. Michael has done a great job all season with his qualifying and turning a solid car over. I think the race this weekend, on such a true racing drivers track is going to be an exciting one."

#77 Elantra N TCR

2022: Best Start: 1st Best Finish: 7th Ranked: 13th 1020 pts.

Mason Filippi: "Back at CTMP! Most definitely one of my very favorite tracks in North America. The Elantra N TCR should be wicked around this high-speed, flowing track. Our pole positions show Tyler and I have had the pace all year, we're ready for Lady Luck to shine on us during the race and take the checkers for the win!"

Tyler Maxson: “Disappointed with this past weekend's result but hopeful of turning that around this weekend in Canada. Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is a track that I think really suits my driving style and if that is the case, hopefully we will be able to add to our pole position total this season. With three poles in five races, we have proven to have the speed, but now it is time to win!”

#98 Elantra N TCR

2022: Best Start: 1st Best Finish: 1st Ranked: 2nd 1300 pts.

Harry Gottsacker IV: "We are looking forward to going back to Canada for the first time since my rookie season with BHA. It is a proper track with a bunch of real racing fans who come out to see us once a year. It reminds me a bit of Road America! I hope we can put on a good show for them and get back up on the podium."

Parker Chase: "We made it across the border into Canada and I ready to get rolling this weekend. Watkins Glen didn’t go as planned after getting stuck out on a full course yellow which ruined our strategy, but fortunately, we still managed to close the championship gap. Hoping for a win here to tighten the gap even further!"

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 four championships in as many seasons, including three consecutive team and driver championships, and two consecutive (2020, 2021) 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 820 dealers sold more than 620,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2020, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com.

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Category: Road Racing

Bowmanville, Ontario – Having two drivers in two distinctly different Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars tying for fastest time of the day around Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to the thousandth of a second is enough to leave anyone speechless.

For Sebastien Bourdais and Tom Blomqvist – each clocking laps timed at 1 minute, 5.712 seconds (134.715 mph) around the legendary 10-turn road course commonly called Mosport – the track itself did the job.

Blomqvist, Bourdais and their respective co-drivers looked spent after completing 90 minutes of practice in warm, humid conditions Friday in preparation for the Chevrolet Grand Prix (3 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC).

For Bourdais, sharing the No. 01 Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R with Renger van der Zande, it’s his first time at a track that hosted the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and countless major sports car races since the 1960s.

“Honestly, I’m just trying to find my way around,” Bourdais admitted. “It’s a tricky place. I think I would really like it if it was smooth. But these cars are ride-height sensitive and they’re heavy, and when you hit those bumps – man, oh, man – it’s dodgy out there. And there’s no room for error. You feel like you’re on oval-type corners 50 or 60 percent of the time, but bumpy as can be. If you make a mistake, you’re gonna pay, and fast.”

Blomqvist and teammate Oliver Jarvis, driving the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-05, are embroiled in a fierce DPi championship battle with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura driven by Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor. Albuquerque was fifth fastest on Friday at 1:06.013 (134.100 mph).

“It’s a pretty crazy track,” Blomqvist observed. “Super-fast, and it’s a lot more bumpy than I remember. I know they resurfaced some areas, but it seems like the bumps are pretty intense.

“Our car seems pretty fast, but we definitely need to tune it up a little bit,” he added. “It’s not easy out there. I think it’s going to be a difficult weekend for everyone and super close. We’re hanging on for dear life. I was scared out there, I’m not going to lie.”

Garett Grist was fastest in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class, recording a lap of 1:12.245 (122.533 mph) in the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 to edge four-time CTMP class winner Colin Braun in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier (1:12.284/122.466 mph).

The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Daniel Juncadella paced the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class, circulating in 1:16.520 (115.687 mph). The fastest GT Daytona (GTD) entry was the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 manned by Frankie Montecalvo at 1:16.927 (115.075 mph).

WeatherTech Championship action resumes Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with another 90-minute practice session at 8 a.m. ET prior to Motul Pole Award qualifying that streams live at 12:40 p.m. on IMSA.com/TVLive.

Globetrotting Kobayashi Excited for GTD PRO Opportunity

Call Kamui Kobayashi the ultimate corporate man.

The versatile 35-year-old racer was named team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) effort in December 2021, while continuing as a Toyota works driver. This year, he has combined that dual role while also serving as an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver for the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.

Kobayashi was at Watkins Glen International seven days ago with the No. 48 team when Andy Graves, Toyota Racing Development’s technical director, asked if he could co-drive Vasser Sullivan’s GTD PRO Lexus RC F GT3 with Ben Barnicoat in this weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP. Regular driver Jack Hawksworth is missing a third consecutive race as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in a motocross accident.

Kobayashi was facing a busy schedule that required him to fly to Europe immediately after the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen for important Toyota WEC meetings and a session in the Toyota simulator in Germany in preparation for the six-hour WEC race at Monza, Italy, on July 10.

But how could he say no – as a racer or a good corporate man?

Kobayashi arrived in Canada on schedule Thursday night – following a side trip to Charlotte to log time in the TRD simulator there to familiarize himself with the GTD PRO Lexus – but he had never seen CTMP prior to Friday morning and joked about not even knowing the track’s name.

“I got everything done and I’m pretty happy being here,” Kobayashi said. “I think the biggest challenge will be adapting from the simulator to the real car and the real track. It could be different, but I’ll try to do my best. It’s short notice, but there’s good support from the team, Toyota and Lexus.”

Kobayashi has previous experience in Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG cars built to the international GT3 formula that serves as the platform for IMSA’s GTD and GTD PRO classes. He has also compiled extensive seat time in the unique GT300 and GT500 cars that compete in Japan’s popular Super GT championship.

Perhaps most importantly, Kobayashi is playing a key role as Toyota Gazoo Racing develops its next-generation GT3 platform that will serve as the basis for future Toyota and Lexus racing cars. He called it “a huge project in Japan.”

“To have this experience racing the Lexus will be very important and helpful,” he said. “We are collaborating more with TRD USA to make sure in the future to work well for the next stage of the GT3 program.”

Kobayashi logged 26 laps in Friday’s practice with a best lap of 1:17.516 (114.200 mph) that was just two-tenths of a second behind co-driver Ben Barnicoat.

M&Ms, Murillo and Maxson, on Poles for Michelin Pilot Challenge Race

Qualifying Results

Kenny Murillo and Tyler Maxson set the fastest laps in their respective classes to win the Motul Pole Awards in qualifying for the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120. The race streams live on Peacock starting at 4:10 p.m. ET Saturday.

Murillo was fastest in the Grand Sport (GS) class with a best lap of 1:22.735 in the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 that he shares with Christian Szymczak. Murillo was but 0.074 seconds quicker than Damian Fineschi in the No. 14 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4.

Maxson put the No. 77 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR on the Touring Car (TCR) class pole with a lap of 1:24.318. Maxson’s co-driver is Mason Filippi. Chris Miller qualified second in TCR in the No. 17 Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS SEQ (1:24.436).

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Category: Road Racing

Caledon, Ontario – Ontario-based team AWA is heading to the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the Chevrolet Grand Prix this coming weekend. Orey Fidani will be paired with Ontario-native Kyle Marcelli for the 2-hour 40 minutes endurance race starting at 3:05 PM ET on Sunday, July 3rd.

Driver Quotes

Orey Fidani, driver of the No. 13 Orlando Duqueine D08 LMP3

“Canadian Tire Motorsport Park holds a special place in my heart as it is my home track. I know this track like the back of my hand, having raced here countless times. I couldn’t be happier to celebrate Canada Day at CTMP with Kyle Marcelli and our crew. Speaking of the crew, I want to thank them for their outstanding work after our accident at Watkins Glen. They pushed hard ahead of CTMP to fix the car.”

Kyle Marcelli, driver of the No. 13 Orlando Duqueine D08 LMP3

“ I'm looking forward to racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It's been two years since IMSA has been there. I always have a bit of extra confidence and motivation to do well at my home track, especially in front of our local fans. I'm looking forward to racing the LMP3.

It's been six years since I've raced a prototype! From 2010 to 2016, I was in the American Le Mans Series in the LMPC class, but since 2016 it has been only GT cars, so it will take a little bit of a refresh. I think I'll be competitive, but I don't expect it to be easy against guys like Colin Braun or Garett Grist, who have spent a lot of time in those cars in the past years. Nonetheless, AWA is a great team; they are attentive to details, and they have great engineering this year. We did a test at CTMP a few weeks ago that was quite good. We are as ready as we can be.

Orey and I are both looking forward to the weekend and putting on a good show in front of our home crowd. The team has yet to celebrate a first podium this year, so this is definitely the goal this weekend.”