Round 5 of the 2023 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge
July 7-8, 2023
Racetrack: Watkins Glen International Raceway
2.459-mile road course, features 10 turns
Race: Saturday, July 8, 2023, at 4:00 - 6:00 pm EST
TV: Live on NBC’s PEACOCK: www.peacock.tv

FAST FACTS

Oh Canada: Canadians Mark Wilkins and Robert Wickens celebrated their victory as teammates with a spectacular race win from the back of the grid at home at CTMP one year ago. This year they return, tied for the Championship lead at the series half-way mark with one significant difference, they are racing against each other! This season Mark Wilkins is paired with Mason Filippi in the #98 Elantra N TCR and Wickens remains in the #33 Elantra N TCR co-driving with Harry Gottsacker. Wilkins and Filippi have a victory and two 3rd place finishes.... Wickens and Gottsacker are knocking on the door for their first win of the season with two 2nd place finishes. The heat is on!

BHA and Wilkins Set for Toronto Indy: Bryan Herta Autosport will enter the #98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR in the Sports Car Championship Canada Presented by Michelin at the Toronto Indy. Popular Canadian Mark Wilkins will contest three rounds of the Championship over the Indy weekend July 14th - 16th.

Win-Baby-Win: A look back at one of motorsports' best stories of 2022 from the IMSA wire:

Return to CTMP Brings Back Emotional, Winning Memories for Wickens

The Chase is ON: Just 50 points separate Hyundai, Honda, Audi and Alfa Romeo in the manufacturer’s standings. Hyundai leads with 1270 points.

SWEEP Repeat: It was an all-BHA podium at CTMP in 2022, BHA has had at least one podium sweep each season since 2020.

#1 Hyundai Elantra N TCR
2021 and 2022 Drivers/Team CHAMPIONS
2023 Stats: Best Start: 7th Best Finish: 6th Rank: 7th 960 pts

Taylor Hagler: "We didn’t have quite the weekend that we hoped at Watkins Glen and I am hoping we turn a bad string of races around in Canada. It is a fun track with a unique layout and is relatively high speed. Our Hyundai Elantra N TCR should perform well here, and it would be great to celebrate on the podium."

Michael Lewis: "Let's go racing at such a cool track! Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is so fast, and many turns are over crests. You are always balancing the car as you are continuously in fast turns back-to-back. This place is really old school, and it provides great racing as well. I can't wait to get on track!"

#33 Elantra N TCR
2023 Stats: Best Start: 3rd Best Finish: 2nd Rank: 1st 1150 pts

Harry Gottsacker IV: "Robert and I both finished on the podium last year at CTMP, but we were competing against each other. It will be good to try and continue a podium level effort together in 2023! We have had a good car all season and we just need to tighten up things a bit and have everything go our way to grab a win. The team is hungry for it, and it would be great to celebrate at Robert’s home track."

Robert Wickens: “I’m really looking forward to CTMP! Last year we got the win in front of the hometown crowd, and it was a podium sweep for Hyundai and BHA! The 33 team is working hard and that first win of the season is getting close. It would be amazing to get it done at home in front of lots of friends and family."

#98 Elantra N TCR
2023 Stats: Best Start: 2nd Best Finish: 1st Rank: 1st - 1150 pts

Mason Filippi: "Back to CTMP! Last year we had a lot of speed and I’m excited to be teamed up with Mark Wilkins this year at his home track. We are locked in after Watkins Glen and can’t wait to push our Elantra N TCR car to the limits at one of the highest speed circuits on the calendar."

Mark Wilkins: “CTMP was a huge highlight of the 2022 season for me and I’m excited to try and repeat that performance next weekend with Mason! I spend many days at CTMP coaching and I’m always in awe at how awesome and intense it is around there. After a disappointing weekend at Watkins Glen, we are looking to be back on form and back up front. We have great fan support for our Canadian race and that is definitely one of the highlights of this event every year. I love that we are in the busy part of our race season with so much seat time; CTMP will be the start of a 5-weekend stretch in the Elantra N TCR! It can’t get any better!”

Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian
Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single car Indy-Lights team into a multi-championship winning auto racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport has won races in every discipline they have entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rallycross, and championship titles in Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with driver Dan Wheldon.

Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. In 2018, BHA entered the American Sports Car scene beginning its immensely successful partnership with Hyundai. Together, BHA and Hyundai have won five championships in as many seasons, including four consecutive team and driver championships, and three consecutive (2020, 2021, 2022) manufacturer's titles in IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge. For more information, visit: www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.

BHA/Hyundai Customer Support: Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and part support representative of Hyundai TCR and TCA race cars for customer teams. The BHA/Hyundai Customer Support Team offers trackside engineering support, setup and tuning advice, and part and order fulfillments for the Hyundai Veloster N TCR and TCA teams and drivers from the BHA’s headquarters in Speedway, IN. Since its North American debut in 2019, the Hyundai Veloster N TCR has scored 27 race wins, and three TCR championship titles.

Bryan Herta Autosport drivers completed a Hyundai podium sweep at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120 on July 2, 2022. L-R: Second place finishers Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler, race winners Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins and third place finishers Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker.

Hyundai Motor America
Hyundai Motor America focuses on ‘Progress for Humanity’ and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles. Our 830 dealers sold more than 724,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2022, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com.