Filippi-Gottsacker take the points lead with victory at Lime Rock

Mat Pombo’s and Ryan Eversley’s dream to claim the maiden IMSA victory for the new Honda Civic Type R FL5 vanished twelve minutes before the end of the TCR-only 100-minute race of the Michelin Pilot Challenge at Lime Rock Park. The LA Honda World Racing cars led most of the race until Mason Filippi passed Eversley who later dropped to third behind Harry Gottsacker. 

The victory meant that the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N that Filippi shared with Michael Wilkins has moved into the lead of the standings, ten points over the sister #33 car of Gottsacker and Robert Wickens.

Pombo started from pole and led the field from Wilkins, Bryan Ortiz and Michael Lewis, while Preston Brown’s Rockwell Autosport Audi spun off at turn 1 and rejoined. During the first few laps, Pombo rejected the attempts from Wilkins and then began to pull away. 

After 23 minutes, Jacob Deily’s Hyundai Elantra lost the front left wheel and pulled up over the grass, while the other Elantra cars of Ortiz, Wickens and Lewis were battling for P3. The leading pair of Pombo and Wilkins struggled to take a lap to a group of backmarkers, and this helped Pombo to stretch his lead to three seconds. In lap 37, Wickens passed Lewis for P3, just before the JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi of Chris Miller – the winning car in the previous event at Bowmanville – opened the pit-stop waltz. At the 40-minute mark, Wilkins had wiped out Pombo’s advantage, and the lapping of Victor González’ Civic FK7 offered Wilkins the opportunity to take the lead; moments later Pombo lost the second place to Wickens and then pitted, handing the car to Eversley. The three Bryan Herta Autosport cars were the last one to pit, with Wilkins and Wickens entering together with 50 minutes to go, being replaced by Filippi and Gottsacker; Michael Lewis followed one lap later and Taylor Hagler stepped in.

When 45 minutes were left on the clock, Eversley was leading, with Filippi second and Gottsacker third, with gaps of nine and 11 seconds; however, both Hyundai drivers began to eat into the leader’s advantage, while Mikey Taylor’s Audi passed Tyler Maxson’s Elantra for P4 and Tim Lewis’ Alfa Romeo overtook Hagler’s Hyundai for P6. In lap 79, with 25 minutes to go, Filippi’s Hyundai was on the tail of Eversley’s Honda, but, despite he was trying to save tyres and fuel, the leader was not giving up easily and for another 15 laps managed to keep Filippi behind, until the latter eventually got past at the beginning of lap 94, with only 12 minutes left. Soon afterwards, the fourth-placed Taylor returned to the pits, which promoted Maxson’s Hyundai and Tim Lewis’ Alfa Romeo to fourth and fifth.

Filippi drove the #98 Hyundai to its second win in the season, beating his teammate Gottsacker who passed Eversley for second with five minutes to go. Hagler provided the last change as she passed Tim Lewis for P5, but finally she spun after making contact with Rory van der Steur’s Hyundai Veloster. 

The series’ next event will take place at Road America on August 4/5.

Lime Rock – Race

1. M. Wilkins/M. Filippi (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 107 laps

2. R. Wickens/H. Gottsacker (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 20.587

3. M. Pombo/R. Eversley (LA Honda World Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 29.531

Championship points

1. M. Wilkins/M. Filippi, 1800 pts; 2. R. Wickens/H. Gottsacker, 1790; 3. C. Miller/M. Taylor, 1690

Picture: IMSA/LAT Images