GS Rollercoaster Season Heads to The Brickyard

Photo: Sam Cobb/BMW

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS rollercoaster season continued at Virginia International Raceway’s flowing, technical 3.27-mile layout. The GS championship lead changed hands for the fourth time this year, while the run of poor results for the GS race winner in their next race continued.

Heading into this week’s penultimate round of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Turner Motorsport regained the lead for the first time since Watkins Glen courtesy of a third-place finish for Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars in their No. 95 BMW M4 GT4 EVO.

The No. 95 car has sat fourth, second or first through all eight races this year.

It has led the standings by as much as 200 points (leaving Round 4 at Mid-Ohio) and trailed by as many as 140 points (in fourth, leaving Round 6 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park).

They’re now at the head of a BMW 1-2, with the ever-consistent Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer 80 points behind in the No. 27 AutoTechnic Racing BMW with six top-10s in eight races.

Previous leader Robert Noaker, who entered VIR 100 points ahead, now sits 100 points back in third in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 after being on the receiving end of late-race contact at VIR that dropped him and new co-driver Finn Wiebelhaus to a season-worst 21st-place finish.

While four other cars and drivers – Bryce Ward’s No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4, Caio Chaves’ No. 54 Panam Motorsport Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky’s No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 and Allen Patten and Trenton Estep’s No. 66 OORE (formerly YRB Racing) Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo – remain within 300 points, they’re all going to need a banner Indianapolis race and issues for the top three cars to cut into the deficit.

Cooper and Uretsky led a McLaren 1-2 in Indianapolis a year ago.

The unfortunate “2026 GS winner curse” hit Patten and Estep, who followed up their Road America win with 22nd at VIR.

It’s the third straight result of 21st or worse for the GS winner in their next race, after 21st and 28th place finishes for the No. 57 car at CTMP and No. 12 RAFA Racing Toyota at Road America.

Stephen Cameron Racing’s No. 19 Ford Mustang GT4 with Greg Liefooghe and Sean Quinlan, now up to 12th in points, will hope to buck that trend in Indianapolis.

TCR, meanwhile, could see Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris wrap the title a race early in their No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR.

With a 260-point lead over teammates Denis Dupont and Preston Brown in the No. 76 Herta Hyundai, Filippi and Morris need to gain 90 points to reach the 350-point threshold that could put the title out of reach pending tiebreakers.

They’ve delivered seven podiums in eight races, including two wins, and benefited as most of their competition had tough races at VIR.

The 44-car grid features several changes.

In the 31-car GS field, Christine Sloss returns for the first time since Sebring in the rebranded No. 10 RaceWife Racing Aston Martin she’ll share with Glenn McGee.

CarBahn with Peregrine Racing’s rebuilt No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVO returns to action after Jeff Westphal and Sean McAlister missed VIR.

As scheduled, the No. 43 Andretti Performance Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport of Jarett Andretti and Gabby Chaves is back for its second start of the year.

Jenson Brickley’s arrival in the No. 77 Stallion Motorsports with GOU CUPRA Leon VZ TCR alongside Celso Neto is one of two driver changes in the 13-car TCR grid, with Bruno Junqueira back once again in the No. 56 Baker Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR.

BHA’s No. 18 Hyundai of Harry Gottsacker and Lance Bergstein is due to resume after an incident in qualifying sidelined them pre-race at VIR. The No. 55 Gou Racing with Stallion Audi RS 3 LMS TCR is also back in action after missing VIR.

Pilot Challenge competitors have two practice sessions Friday. They qualify Saturday morning before racing at 2:30 p.m. EST.

Live flag-to-flag coverage airs on Peacock starting at 2:25 p.m. EST and also streams live, ad-free courtesy of Michelin, on IMSA’s official YouTube channel.

Source: Sports Car 365