On Wednesday, July 22, 2020, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) finished the Advent Health 120 race in 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 11th places at the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Sebring Raceway with four Hyundai Veloster N TCR touring cars.
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Despite a thunderstorm which threatened to shut it down, the two-hour race saw drivers Harry Gottsacker and Mark Wilkins behind the wheel of the #21 car, which qualified 2nd and finished in 1st place. Mason Filippi and Michael Lewis piloted the #98 Veloster N TCR to a 2nd place finish after qualifying 3rd. Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman qualified 1st overall in the #33 car, and placed 7th at the finish line. Finally, Parker Chase and Spencer Brockman finished 11th in the #29 Veloster N TCR after qualifying 5th.
This was the first 1-2 IMSA win for BHA, as well as the team’s first win of the season. This outcome cements Hyundai’s competitive edge in this racing class, which also includes the Civic Type-R TCR, Audi RS3 LMS TCR, and Golf GTI TCR.
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Mark Wilkins, the pole position driver as his car passed the finish line, said “Our Veloster N TCR was on rails.” Another BHA driver, Gabby Chaves, echoes this, saying “Our BHA Hyundai Veloster N was beyond fast this weekend. We dominated every pace in every session.”
Chaves’ co-driver, Ryan Norman, said “I couldn’t have asked for a better car – our Hyundai Veloster N TCR was perfect in changing conditions.” Chaves and Norman’s #33 car suffered a jammed seatbelt which lost them over a minute in the pits, but still managed to set the fastest lap of the race at 2:15.029 and finish 7th overall.
The next race for this series takes place at Road America from July 31 to August 2, 2020.
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