| September 1, 2020 Staff Report IMSA Wire Service |
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s been a busy summer for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as the 10-race season reaches its halfway point at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on September 4-6.
Similar to VIRginia International Raceway, Pilot Challenge closes out the Michelin Endurance Challenge weekend on Sunday, Sept. 6 with the four-hour VP Racing Stay Frosty 240. Thirty-three cars are entered between the GS and TCR classes for the VP Racing Stay Frosty 240, which is the series’ second and final endurance race of the season. The race goes green on Sunday at 12:10 p.m. ET. and can be streamed live, flag-to-flag on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.
Here’s a closer look at the entry list:
- After competing in the season-opening round at Daytona International Speedway in January, M1 Racing is back on the grid with a driver lineup consisting of female racer Ashley Freiberg and African American driver Ryan Nash behind the wheel of the No. 20 McLaren 570S GT4, a new machine to both drivers. This marks Freiberg’s first series start since contesting one race in 2018 and Ryan’s first start in GS since running nine TCR races in 2019 as a rookie. Freiberg has good history at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta also, scoring the overall race victory in the 2015 season finale alongside co-driver Trent Hindman.
- Can another team finally loosen Riley Motorsports’ grip on Pilot Challenge endurance races? The No. 35 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of full-time drivers Dylan Murry and Jim Cox have won the last two four-hour Pilot Challenge races dating back to Watkins Glen International in July 2019. In those races, they were joined by Jeroen Bleekemolen while at Michelin Raceway, they’ll partner with Colin Braun.
- Following a harrowing incident at VIR, BimmerWorld is working hard to get the No. 80 BMW M4 GT4 back on track at Michelin Raceway. James Clay is currently listed as the only driver on the entry list with a second driver to be named at a later date. As their teammate, Devin Jones, continues to recover in the hospital with non-critical injuries, the No. 82 BMW of Nick Galante and Dillon Machavern is still on target for Sunday’s race as well.
- It was last year at Michelin Raceway in the season finale that Seb Priaulx not only made his debut in Pilot Challenge, but also won in the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 alongside Austin Cindric. For the VP Racing Stay Frosty 240, Priaulx returns behind the wheel of Multimatic’s No. 22 Ford with series veteran Scott Maxwell.
- It’ll be a hometown race for a handful of drivers in Pilot Challenge. From Atlanta are Team Hardpoint’s Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 31 Audi R8 GT4 and Ryan Eversley in the No. 77 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic TCR; Fellow LA Honda World teammate, Mat Pombo in the No. 73, calls Johns Creek home; Andrew Davis in the No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R hails from Athens; while Riley Motorsports’ Dylan Murry is from Cumming, Ga.
