derBayerische November December 2022 - 14

T H E M I C H E L I N G T C H A L L E N G E A T V I R A U G U S T 2 6 - 2 8
balanced way, power and weight need to be checked and adjusted. We are not
always happy with the BoP, but it is a necessary evil. IMSA manages the BoP
with the use of performance data collected from the cars. They insist that
sandbagging cannot take place, since they would see it in the data. As the
season has progressed, there have been adjustments to the BoP, but for the
VIR event all the cars were left unchanged from the previous race.
The Michelin Pilot Challenge is a race for GT4, TCR cars. GT4 is a less
advanced version of some of the same cars in the GT3 GT Challenge race,
while TCR is a Touring Car classification. In GT4 or GS as it's called by IMSA,
we have the M4 GT4, Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS, Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, Ford
Mustang GT4 and the Mercedes-AMG GT GT4. TCR is primarily Hyundai,
Honda, and the Audi RS3.
With the Michelin Pilot
Challenge, Turner Motorsports
and Stephen Cameron Racing field
BMWs, both using the M4 GT4.
Turner has two cars-the #95 for
Robby Foley and Vincent Barletta
and the #96 for Bill Auberlen
and Dillon Machavern. Stephen
Cameron Racing has a single car
for Greg Liefooghe and Sean
Quinlan. Auberlen and Foley are
very good and usually do well at
VIR. Liefooghe and Quinlan were
coming off a best-ever second
place at the previous race at Road
America, so there was optimism
for the two-hour VIR race.
Last year, Dillon Machavern put the #96 BMW M4 on the pole at VIR and drove
a very good race to give the car to Bill who put on a great show to finish in
third. This year Machavern qualified the car in third - also a very good effort.
The Stephen Cameron M4 would start in tenth. At the start, Machavern moved
into second place for a few laps and then settled into third. He held that
position until the driver change at lap 22 when Bill Auberlen took over.
Machavern did a very solid job getting the car to Bill in a good position.
This is the primary task for the second driver-successfully get the car to the
Pro driver in good condition on the lead lap, so as to race for the win.
With a full course yellow (FCY) at the driver change, Bill was able to
move into first place on the restart at lap 30. At the same time, Greg Liefooghe
in the Cameron M4 worked his way into second place, holding the position
until lap 41, looking very strong. He was being chased by Billy Johnson in
the Kohr Motorsports Mustang. In turn one on lap 41, Liefooghe got by a
slower car and Johnson tried to avoid getting hung up there. In the process of
diving inside the slower car, Johnson punted the BMW into a spin, forcing a
pitstop. Coming off such a good finish in the previous event and looking so
competitive, it was a very cruel result. It was a very aggressive move and it
got Johnson a drive-through penalty, but that doesn't do anything to help the
Cameron BMW. Auberlen remained in first, being pursued by Christian
Szymczak in the Murillo Racing
Mercedes-AMG GT.
There was much discussion
■ The Turner M4 GT4 #96 GS Entry in the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
about the need for all the front runners
to do a fuel stop to make it to
the end unless there was another
FCY. Having been about the first
to stop earlier, Auberlen completed
this latest pit stop, falling to
eleventh, but expecting everyone
else to also need fuel.
Unfortunately, there was another
FCY. Others made their stops and
Bill moved up to eighth or ninth,
ending up behind Robby Foley in
the other Turner M4. They were
running out of time though.
Watching them continuing under
the FCY, the laps running out, there wasn't going to be enough time for either
BMW to move up to the front. In the scramble at the end, Joey Hand in the #40
PF Racing Mustang slipped through into the lead, winning the race. This was
Joey's second race with the team, returning to the IMSA series. Joey hadn't
been much above the top five until the last few laps and then showed his talent
by taking the win on the very last lap.
Having driven for BMW for many years, Joey Hand is a fan favorite. It was
good to see him back in the series again. The Turner cars ended up with Foley
in fifth and Auberlen in sixth. Greg Liefooghe ended up in ninth after getting
■ (From the Left) John Edwards and Connor De Phillippi during the RLL Paddock Visit. Bill Auberlen makes a point during the Turner Paddock Visit as
Will Turner and Robby Foley look on.
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derBayerische November December 2022

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