Second-Highest Car Count of Season Set for Second-Last Race of 2025
By Tony DiZinno
Entry List (Click Here)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge heads back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with only two races left and the two class championship battles at opposite ends of the spectrum.
RS1 turned in a potential title-winning effort at VIRginia International Raceway with its class-leading third Grand Sport (GS) win of the season with Jan Heylen and Luca Mars aboard the team’s No. 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS. After falling behind early, Mars recovered up the order with Heylen then pursuing and passing the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO for the win in the final stanza of the race.
Coupled with mechanical gremlins that ailed the polesitting No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with Aerosport Ford Mustang GT4 on its one pit stop, the Heylen/Mars pairing went from leading by 90 points entering the race, trailing the No. 13 Ford within the race, and then expanding the lead to a 240-point gap at the checkered flag with the win and Jenson Altzman and Nate Cicero ending a hard-luck 11th. Despite the No. 13 car’s troubles, Ford still got two cars on the GS podium courtesy of KOHR Motorsports.
The Touring Car (TCR) battle, however, shrunk to its tightest bit yet among three cars with just 30 points separating the top three in the championship after each of the contenders fought through adversity at various stages at VIR.
The No. 76 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Preston Brown and Denis Dupont rallied from an early-race penalty for incident responsibility to finish seventh and come out 20 points clear of teammate Harry Gottsacker in the No. 98 Hyundai. Gottsacker and Mason Filippi ended 11th after an incident that dropped them down the order from second. BHA’s run of podium finishes at VIR continued though with its No. 33 car of Bryson Morris and Mark Wilkins in second, marking the team’s seventh straight year with at least one VIR podium finish achieved.
The No. 93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda FL5 TCR, meanwhile, also was assessed a penalty for incident responsibility but like others on the weekend, rebounded to fourth, albeit losing a podium position on the final lap. Karl Wittmer and LP Montour sit third in points, only 30 behind Brown and Dupont, with a run of five straight top-four finishes and six top-four finishes in the last seven races.
TCR’s other two manufacturers, Audi and Cupra, had season-best results at VIR. The RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate team of Jaden Conwright and Luke Rumberg brought their No. 31 Audi RS3 LMS TCR to Audi’s first win of the season. Cupra scored its first IMSA podium with Gou Racing’s Eddie and Eduardo Gou steering its No. 55 Cupra Leon VZ TCR to third place.
The Indianapolis grid for Michelin Pilot Challenge is at 41 cars, split 25 in GS and 16 in TCR, for the second highest car count of the season.
Past GS winning team Motorsports In Action is set for its first series start of the year with its No. 21 McLaren Artura GT4, with Jesse Lazare its first named driver. There’s another new pair in KOHR Motorsports’ No. 60 Ford Mustang GT4 in Robert Noaker and Cameron McLeod, two young Ford Racing prodigies who’ve starred this season in their respective series – Noaker in Mustang Challenge and McLeod in Super2, an Australian touring car series. Jake Walker is also set for his series debut aboard the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO he’ll share with Patrick Gallagher. The 16-car TCR grid, however, sees the VIR-winning RVA Audi absent and the No. 89 HART Honda Civic FL5 TCR back in action.
Michelin Pilot Challenge teams have two one-hour practice sessions on Friday before qualifying Saturday morning and racing at 12:40 p.m. ET, live on Peacock and globally on IMSA’s Official YouTube channel, ad-free courtesy of Michelin.
Fast Facts
Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120
Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Indiana
Sept. 19-20, 2025
Race Day/Time: Saturday, Sept. 20, 12:40 p.m. ET
Live Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 12:35 p.m., Peacock in the U.S., globally on IMSA’s official YouTube channel ad-free courtesy of Michelin
Circuit Type: 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course
Classes Competing: Grand Sport (GS), Touring Car (TCR)
Race Length: Two hours
Michelin Pilot Challenge Track Records
- GS: Jesse Lazare, McLaren Artura GT4, 1:28.490 / 99.224 mph, September 2023 (qualifying)
- TCR: Chris Miller, Audi RS3 LMS TCR, 1:31.076 / 96.407 mph, September 2023 (qualifying)
2024 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 Winners
- GS: Jeff Westphal/Sean McAlister, No. 39 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 (G82)
- TCR: Mason Filippi/Mark Wilkins, No. 98 Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR
Storylines
- RS1 Closes on GS Crown: A huge win for the No. 28 RS1 Porsche at VIR extended their lead from 90 points entering VIR to 240 leaving it. If the No. 28 car gets to more than 350 points ahead of their closest two rivals (No. 13 MMR Ford and No. 39 CarBahn BMW), they could clinch at IMS.
- TCR Triple Title Fight: The battle between the two Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars and the surging No. 93 MMG Honda sees just 30 points cover them in TCR.
Who’s Hot?
- No. 13 MMR Ford: Despite the 11th-place at VIR, this car had three top-fives before that and is still riding a streak of four straight GS poles, one by Jenson Altzman and three by Nate Cicero.
- No. 93 MMG Honda: Five straight top-four finishes, with fourth at VIR their worst result, has brought the No. 93 Honda into TCR title contention.
Who’s Good Here?
- Winward Racing: The team’s No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 won the four-hour race overall and in GS at Indianapolis in 2023 with Bryce Ward and Daniel Morad, with Ward and Philip Ellis finishing second here last year.
- Nos. 33 and 98 Herta Hyundai Elantra N TCRs: Two of Bryan Herta Autosport’s Hyundais have made the IMS podium their home in the last two years. The No. 33 car has finished second each of the last two years while the No. 98 car was third in 2023 and won last year.