Miller and Taylor make two IMSA wins out of two at Sebring

Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor drove the #17 JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS 3 LMS to a convincing victory in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Friday at Sebring.

Miller engaged in a spirited battle with pole sitter Harry Gottsacker in the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N in the first 40 minutes of the two-hour race, but after the various strategies played out over the course of several mid-race cautions, Taylor emerged in the lead.

“It was a smooth weekend from start to finish,” said Taylor. “That’s what we wanted, and the team gave us that. I’m just happy the car ran well. The crew put in a lot of work after Daytona, and here we are. It was a tough race, nevertheless. It might have looked easy, but we were saving as much fuel as possible while just giving it our all there.”

It was the second consecutive win for the duo, who had triumphed in the season opening at Daytona International Speedway in late January.

Taking the chequered flag in second place was the #80 Victor González Racing Team Hyundai shared by Morgan Burkhard and Chase Jones, but the car did not meet minimum ground clearance in post-race technical inspection and was moved to the back of the class. This promoted the new-comer #12 StarCom Racing Hyundai of Andy Lally and Nick Tucker to second, and the #89 HART Honda Civic FK 7 driven by Chad Gilsinger and Steve Eich to third. However, the Honda too was dropped to the back for a ground clearance infringement and so reigning champion Gottsacker and Robert Wickens inherited third place.

The Michelin Pilot Challenge returns to action March 11 at Laguna Seca Raceway.

Sebring – Race

1. C. Miller/M. Taylor (JDC-Miller MotorSports, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 47 laps

2. A. Lally/N. Tucker (StarCom Racing, Hyundai Elantra N), 7.163

3. H. Gottsacker/R. Wickens (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 8.061

Championship points

1. C. Miller/M. Taylor, 700 pts; 2. D. Dupont/P. Brown, 600; 3. M. Filippi/M. Wilkins 550

Picture: IMSA/LAT Images