McAleer, Hindman Become First Two-Time GS Winners of 2024
Stevan McAleer took the lead of the Road America 120 with more than an hour remaining in the two-hour race.
When the dust settled, he was still leading, but the details of how he got there were a blur.
McAleer and co-driver Trent Hindman won the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race Saturday at Road America following McAleer’s tense duel with Aaron Telitz, who chased McAleer after a restart with 11 minutes remaining but couldn’t make the pass.
The final three laps were a master class in pursuit and defense from the two veterans of the Grand Sport (GS) class. With the mirrors of McAleer’s No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport full of Telitz’s bright green No. 88 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, McAleer maintained position and reached the finish line 0.394 seconds ahead.
“People always say, ‘Look how red your face is,’” McAleer joked after the exhausting effort. “My face is this color after one lap. It doesn’t really change too much.”
The victory, their second in consecutive races, made McAleer, Hindman and the No. 28 the first repeat winners in the seventh race of the season. It also pushed the No. 28 team into second place in the GS standings, 200 behind the No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 co-driven by Matt Plumb and Paul Holton that finished 11th on Saturday.
“Every race we went into, we knew we were a contender,” Hindman said. “We knew the car had the performance. It was just a matter of execution on our side. We’ve had some things in and out of our control that haven’t gone our way, but I think finally a couple of weeks ago (at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park), it all came together.”
It all came together Saturday in a rather busy way. When a yellow flag waved 42 minutes into the two-hour race, Jesse Lazare, who had led from the start in his No. 69 Motorsports In Action McLaren Artura GT4, stayed on track while the rest of the GS field pitted. Hindman was third in the No. 28 Porsche, but McAleer emerged after the driver change second behind Lazare.
On the ensuing restart, McAleer used fresh tires to his advantage, passing Lazare in Turn 3. Jack Hawksworth soon followed in the No. 50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO.
Daniel Morad inherited the lead in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 when McAleer made RS1’s second and final pit stop. NASCAR Sprint Cup regular Ross Chastain followed Morad into second place in the No. 16 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
Lurking in third place was Sebastian Carazo in the No. 67 Czabok-Simpson Motorsport Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS, which had already made its final stop of the race and was poised to take the lead when Morad and Chastain pitted.
But with 21 minutes remaining, Carazo’s left rear tire went flat, forcing him to limp to the pits just as Morad made his last stop. That gave the lead to Chastain, but only briefly.
With 15 minutes left, Chastain pitted moments before Hawksworth spun off course at Turn 13, putting McAleer back in the lead and Telitz behind him, with only a restart and a few laps remaining. Telitz chased McAleer hard after the restart, but to no avail.
“I wouldn’t have said I was concerned,” McAleer said. “Our car had strengths compared to his. Where he was a little better was through the Kink (Turn 11). The previous lap before the white, he was maybe close enough to do something silly, so I just made sure that on the next lap that I had a big move through the Kink so he didn’t get close enough and see an opportunity.”
The win encouraged the RS1 duo to carry the momentum into the next race, the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix on Aug. 24 at VIRginia International Raceway.
“We’re just happy to be in a position to take advantage of that and to show that the capability is there between both of us and the whole team,” Hindman said. “It’s a really good time to be coming alive with three rounds to go.”
Lewis, No. 5 Alfa Romeo TCR Win Fourth Straight at Road America
The combination of Tim Lewis and the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce is seemingly unbeatable in the Michelin Pilot Challenge Touring Car (TCR) class at Road America.
Lewis teamed with William Tally to earn his fourth consecutive TCR victory at the scenic Wisconsin road course on Saturday, assuming the lead of the two-hour contest when Denis Dupont (No. 76 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR) appeared to run out of fuel approaching the white flag. About three minutes later, Lewis completed the final 4.048-mile lap to win by 1.033 seconds over Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi in the No. 98 Bryan Herta Hyundai.
Dupont and co-driver Preston Brown, along with the No. 12 StarCom Racing Hyundai shared by co-drivers Andy Lally and Nick Tucker, attempted to complete the race with a single pit stop but both entries fell marginally short.
That handed Lewis his first Michelin Pilot Challenge win of the 2024 season and eighth of his career, while Tally claimed his second victory in the series. But it’s not like they backed into the victory.
Lewis fought hard to stay ahead of the Hyundais of Robert Wickens and Wilkins following the No. 5 car’s second and final pit stop, then had to regain the position as they dueled late in the race.
“Our team got our first win here in ’21, and I think every time we come here, everyone brings their ‘A’ game,” Lewis said. “Obviously the track suits our car, but honestly today, the team fired on all cylinders. It wasn’t looking good there with a few minutes to go, but we got it done.
“I’m really impressed with Will,” Lewis added about his co-driver. “He’s been digging and digging all year. We’ve had some unfortunate races, been close and put some good stuff together, but we never completed the whole package until today.”
Tally, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia, qualified the No. 5 Alfa in seventh place and moved up to fifth prior to handing the car over to Lewis.
“It took the whole team,” Tally said. “Duncan (Burke, team engineer) called great strategy, the team nailed both pit stops and Tim put it together at the end. Everybody did their job, they’re a fantastic team, and we showed it today.”
Motul Pole Award winner Dai Yoshihara and co-driver Kumo Wittmer rallied to take third place in the No. 93 Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR, while TCR class points leaders Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller (No. 17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS TCR) finished a solid fourth after qualifying 11th.
