Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG Team Executes Strategy at Watkins Glen for First IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Win

 June 29, 2019
Staff Report
IMSA Wire Service

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – The Riley Motorsports crew rode a roller
coaster of emotions during Saturday’s four-hour IMSA Michelin
Pilot Challenge race at Watkins Glen International which ultimately
ended with the best emotion of all, joy, at the end of the Tioga
Downs Casino Resort 240.
The race didn’t initially start off according to plan for the No. 35
Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 as the car was collected
in multiple incidents, but the team continuously bounced back
to remain in the hunt for the Grand Sport (GS) win.
Running second with just over 40 minutes left, Dylan Murry
brought the car to pit lane for its final stop behind leader Devin
Jones in the No. 82 BimmerWorld Racing BMW M4 GT4. The
Riley Motorsports team executed a flawless pit stop that swapped
the two cars’ positions.
The deciding factor would be rain, which began to fall around
the circuit just prior to the final pit stops. Both cars opted to stay
on slick Michelin tires, while much of the rest of the field didn’t
and switched to Michelin’s rain tires. 
Following a restart with 15 minutes remaining, cars with rain
tires quickly moved up the running order, gaining multiple
positions on the first lap over cars with slicks. A few minutes
later, however, the rain stopped and the track dried quickly.
In an incredible show of strategic driving, racecars searched
for the lines on track that suited their specific tires.
For Murry and Riley Motorsports, the car plummeted down the
field after the restart but slowly made up ground as the track
dried. Murry battled through the field, ultimately passing the
No. 69 Motorsports In Action McLaren GT4 of Corey Fergus –
which was running on rain tires – with five minutes to go and
sailed away for the team’s first Pilot Challenge win.
It is also the first series win for all three drivers – Murry, James
Cox and Jeroen Bleekemolen – and Team Owner Bill Riley.
“It was really stressful at the beginning,” said Murry, whose
father, David, is a two-time winner at Watkins Glen. “We went
in and that first pit stop that I made while I was driving the car,
we put on two new left side Michelin tires. I was like, ‘Okay,
maybe it’s the right choice, maybe it’s not’ as we got a little over
half an hour to go. But it turns out there was a caution in the
rain and we didn’t put on rain tires. It was definitely the right
choice. And, and I’m blown away by Riley Motorsports, Jeroen,
Jim and everybody. This is special for me. To be racing in my
dad’s footsteps is even more special.”
“It’s great racing here in the Pilot Challenge,” said Bleekemolen,
who also drives for Riley Motorsports in the IMSA WeatherTech
SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class. “There’s a lot
of cars this year, so it’s a big competition. Jim and I were really
struggling to watch at the end.
“But yeah, Dylan did an amazing drive at the end and you just
know how hard it is for a driver to stay out of trouble knowing
that the people on wets are going to be quicker for a few laps.
And it might come your way, or it might not. There’s a lot of
uncertainty there. You just don’t know what’s going to happen
and you’ve got to stay on track and pick the moments when to
pass and all of that. So, it was really tough to watch, but he did it.”
BimmerWorld’s Jones – and co-driver James Clay, who left after
his stint to go to Colorado Springs, Colorado to compete in
tomorrow’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb – wound up
second after leading the most laps on the day at 49.
Jeff Westphal held on in the No. 39 Carbahn Motorsports
Audi R8 GT4 for a third-place finish with co-driver Tyler
McQuarrie, the third consecutive podium for the team.
Pombo Recovers After Late Caution to Power to TCR Win
with L.A. Honda World
With 35 minutes left in the Tioga Downs Casino Resort 240, it
was hard to imagine the No. 73 L.A. Honda World Honda Civic
TCR would salvage a finish in the TCR class at Watkins Glen
International.
Mat Pombo proved otherwise.
Pombo’s Honda Civic TCR – which he co-drives with Mike
LaMarra – became a victim of the rain on slick tires, skating
into the Turn 11 barriers alongside a GS car to bring out a full
course yellow. Running second at the time, Pombo was able to
hold the position and continue on before restarting with around
15 minutes left.
Not having changed tires, the No. 73 Honda suffered early on
the restart and Pombo watched the No. 98 Bryan Herta
Autosport Hyundai Veloster N TCR driven by Mark Wilkins
pull away on wets. But the track dried, and conditions came
back to favor L.A. Honda World.
After trailing the Hyundai by more than five seconds at one
point, the No. 73 captured the lead and sped off to an
impressive 21-second victory.
“I actually wrecked today and still won, you know somebody’s
looking out for you when that happens,” said Pombo. “It caught
me off guard on that last turn, it was just a lot of rain. I saw it
in front of me and slowed down way more than I had before,
but there just wasn’t any grip. The hardest part wasn’t the hit,
it was actually trying to find reverse. Once I got going and we
didn’t lose a lap, I knew we’d been in good shape. Today was
more about everyone else than it was about me to be honest.”
This is the third consecutive year that a Pombo has been on top
of the podium at Watkins Glen International. Mat also won in
2017 with MINI JCW Team in the ST class, while his brother,
Mark, took the same victory one year later.
Wilkins and co-driver Michael Lewis – the polesitter for Saturday’s
race – finished second just one race after collecting Hyundai’s
and Bryan Herta Autosport’s first Pilot Challenge victory at
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in May.
Sneaking in to earn their second straight podium finish was the
No. 61 Roadshagger Racing by eEuroparts.com Audi RS3 LMS TCR
of Gavin Ernstone and Jonathan Morley.
The NBCSN television broadcast of the Tioga Downs Casino
Resort 240 will air on Thursday, July 11 at 6 p.m. ET.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge has a quick turnaround for
its upcoming race, held next weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport
Park on July 5-7. The Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 goes
green on Saturday, July 6 at 1:55 p.m. ET. The race can be streamed
live on IMSA.tv with IMSA Radio commentary.
For news and updates on Pilot Challenge, please visit IMSA.com or
join the conversation on social media using the hashtags #IMPC or #IMSA.