derBayerische November December 2022 - 15

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
punted and needing pit stops. He certainly deserved better. Many of us thought
Auberlen was positioned to get the win. The fuel stop near the end with the FCY
left both Turner cars driving around in the line, not racing, losing the opportunity
to compete for the win. Robby Foley felt that they had a great fuel strategy
and good pit work got them to fourth. Going into the final race, Petit LeMans,
Foley, and Barletta are in third place in the championship point driver
standings.
The main event of the weekend was the two-hour-and-40-minute
WeatherTech Sportscar Championship race. The BMW M Team RLL M4
qualified fourth in GTD Pro, driven by Connor De Phillippi. Madison Snow
qualified the Paul Miller Racing M4 GT3 in third in GTD, and the Turner M4
qualified in seventh with Robby
Foley. The field was rather small
without the prototypes, comprising
just eighteen cars.
IMSA has maintained the
tradition of allowing the fans to
come onto the grid before the race
to get an up-close look at the cars
and sometimes the drivers. You
can wish the teams and your
favorite driver good luck just
before they go to the grid. The
race got off to a straightforward
start. De Phillippi in the #25 M4
GT3 held his position in fourth
place but fell back to fifth and
stayed there for twenty-five laps.
He closed the gap a bit at the end
of his stint but said later that the balance in the car was not right. It had
improved and then degraded. During pit stops he cycled through the lead and
back to fifth again. The #1 Paul Miller Racing car, with Brian Sellers behind
the wheel, moved up to lead the race overall. The #96 Turner car led GTD until
a FCY and pit stops, then cycled into fourth place overall for about twenty laps.
Robby Foley felt that the FCY cost them a much better finish and kept them off
the podium. They led before the FCY and then never got back to the front.
There was lots of good racing with our favorites at the front from
time to time. You can see from the photos how close the racing was.
■ Turner M4 GT3 leading GTD exiting the Oak Tree corner.
Unfortunately, it appeared that the #25 car fell out of contention as the race
came to an end. John Edwards (#25) said later that they didn't have enough
pace over the entire stint. They were very competitive, but it was a wheel nut
issue that finally took them out of contention. Paul Miller Racing with Brian
Sellers driving led for a while then needed to do a pitstop for fuel, but also took
left side tires only. Sellers then reentered the race and proceeded to move
through the field passing the #16 Porsche and the #12 Lexus RC F to move
into third place in GTD and grab a podium position. Some great pit crew work
got them back on the track in minimum time and allowed them to get to a
podium position. If we watch the TV broadcast of the last five minutes of the
race, we can see that the Paul Miller BMW looks to be stronger than the
Porsche and the Lexus. All three
cars are nose-to-tail, so this
would give the BMW a chance to
pass them both. After following
the Porsche and Lexus for a few
laps, Sellers gets a tighter line
exiting what's known as the Oak
Tree corner leading onto the back
straight. If you are familiar with
VIR, you will know this section of
the track. Sellers got by the
Porsche going into the Roller
Coaster with some fair driving
from Jan Heylen in the #16
Porsche, who recognized that he
didn't have the speed to fight back.
Although we don't see
Sellers pass the #12 Lexus of
Aaron Telitz on TV, he was able to do so and head off in pursuit of the second
place Aston Martin. The team completed a quick pit stop and provided Sellers
with a fast car to complete the race, making all the right decisions. Later, Brian
Sellers was quoted saying that it felt like there was more there for them to
achieve, maybe even the win. He felt they did everything right and should have
gotten more. No doubt they had a great race. Sellers said, " We got a podium.
We got the Sprint Cup championship for ourselves and for BMW M
Motorsport. And we had a good race! " Coming to the end of the race looking
at the car positions, I was prepared for off-the-podium finishes for all the
■ (From the Left) Brian Sellers and Madison Snow during the Paul Miller Racing Paddock Visit. BMW M Team RLL in second place ahead of
the Corvette.
November I December
15

derBayerische November December 2022

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