It’s Championship Week in Georgia, BHA in Contention for Fourth IMSA Series Title

Round 10 of 10 in the 2022 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge

September 28-30, 2022

Racetrack: Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Braselton, GA

2.54-mile road course, features 12 turns

Race: Friday, September 30, 2022, at 1:10pm EST

TV: Live on NBC’s PEACOCK: www.peacock.tv

Listen: Live radio commentary for every session at www.IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com Live timing and scoring from each session available at www.IMSA.com. Live updates are available throughout the weekend on BHA social media and www.bryanhertaautosport.com

Repeat? 2021 Champs Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis hold a 100- point advantage over the #5 Alfa Romeo. Should they secure the title, Michael Lewis will be the first IMSA’s first 3x TCR Champion. The duo are coming off their first win of the season last month at VIR. Their success this season has been highlighted by consistency, the duo have finished 3rd or better in six races and in the top five in eight of the nine races completed this season.

3-Peat: It’s a three-peat for Hyundai! Hyundai locked up the 2022 Manufacturers’ title with the #1 Elantra N TCR’s victory at VIR.

Fôrpēt: That’s what BHA is racing for this weekend, their fourth straight IMSA Michelin Pilot TCR Team and Drivers Title: 2019 – Michael Lewis and Mark Wilkins, 2020 Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman, 2021 Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis.

WINS:

Mid-Ohio: Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker #98 Elantra N TCR

Watkins Glen: Mark Wilkins and Robert Wickens #33 Elantra N TCR

CTMP: Mark Wilkins and Robert Wickens #33 Elantra N TCR

VIR: Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis #1 Elantra N TCR

Podiums: 16 – Every car has finished on the podium at least once

Daytona: Tyler Maxson

Sebring: Mason Filippi

Laguna Seca: Harry Gottsacker

Watkins Glen: Mason Filippi

CTMP: Tyler Maxson

Lime Rock Park: Robert Wickens

*Harry Gottsacker broke the series record for pole positions.

Elantra Success: The Elantra N TCR made its racing debut in North America at Daytona in 2021. Since its debut, the Elantra has scored six victories and 22 top-three finishes. Should Hagler and Lewis win the title this weekend, it will be the first TCR title for the Hyundai Elantra in North America. Worldwide, Elantra N TCR drivers won the Drivers title in Italy in 2022 and the European Teams title in 2021. The car also has the back-to-back class wins in the Nürburgring  24 Hours (2021 and 2022).

Next Level: “Back In The Drivers Seat,” the latest edition of Hyundai’s web video series focusing on their North American racing program was recently released. The episode takes a detailed look at Michael Johnson and Robert Wickens’ life-changing racing incidents and the resulting transition to racing with hand controls. Watch here: (464) Back In The Driver’s Seat | Next Level Ep. 7 | Hyundai – YouTube. Previous episodes are available on Hyundai’s YouTube channel.

2021 Drivers/Team CHAMPIONS

2022: Best Start: 5th Best Finish: 1st Ranked: 1st 2620 pts.

Taylor Hagler: “Our championship has been a bit up and down this year and we’ve had to fight back hard in the second half of the season. Getting the win at VIR was huge. Fighting for wins is what everyone on this Hyundai program is focused on, and it was obviously a huge step forward for us with the championship. So it is good to have a little bit of a gap, but IMSA is so competitive, and we know we’ll have to deliver another strong result to bring this championship home and that’s exactly what we plan to do!”

Michael Lewis: “The team has worked so hard this season to give us great race cars and great chances to run up front each weekend. A big ‘Thank you’ goes to all of the men and women who make our success possible. We have one more race and it’s exciting to work with everyone once again to go for it. Let’s get another great result for Bryan Herta Autosport and Hyundai!”

2022: Best Start: 2nd Best Finish: 3rd Ranked: 11th 1980 pts.

2022: Best Start: 2nd Best Finish: 3rd Ranked: 5th 2320 pts.

*Mark was unable to compete at Mid-Ohio, there for, he is currently ranked 8th with 2120 pts.

Mark Wilkins: “Here we are at the final round of the 2022 season and what a wild one it has been. A season of incredible highs and tough lows has left us focused on pushing hard for a third win to close out the season on the top step of the podium. The highs of the year all took place in one week! The Watkins Glen and CTMP race wins were incredible! That whole week was surreal with Robert and Karli welcoming Wesley between the two races and Robert showing up for the race, starting at the back and driving to the front. Unfortunately, the way the season played out: we lacked the consistency we needed to be in the championship hunt. Road Atlanta is an incredible circuit; I love closing out the season at this track; It has been good to us over the years, and I expect more of the same next week! Most importantly, thanks to the collective efforts of our team cars, we’ve locked in another manufactuers championship for Hyundai! FANTASTIC!

Robert Wickens: “It’s been a lot of highs and a few too many lows for the 33 car this year but we are looking to finish the season off with a strong result. Third is still possible for me in the drivers’ championship so that will be the goal. Like most the tracks, I haven’t been to Road Atlanta since 2005, so I’m really looking forward to driving our Hyundai Elantra N TCR car on such a legendary track.”

2022: Best Start: 3rd Best Finish: 2nd Ranked: 3rd 2330 pts.

Stephen Simpson: “It’s great to be fighting for the top three in the season finale. We’ve had a good year racing the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, and a great year for Hyundai overall. I’m proud of the success Michael and I have had over the last half of the season and look forward to more of that at Atlanta.”

2022: Best Start: 1st Best Finish: 3rd Ranked: 9th 2110 pts.

2022: Best Start: 1st Best Finish: 1st Ranked: 3rd 2330 pts. (tied for 3rd with car 54)

Harry Gottsacker IV: “It’s hard to believe that the 2022 season is already coming to a close. We’ve had some great races like Mid-Ohio and it was super neat to personally earn the most pole positions in Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR history. We all know how important it is for Hyundai to win the manufacturer championship and we have that locked up already! The #98 Elantra is going to give it one more good battle at Atlanta and see if we can’t stack another one in the win column. It will help Parker and I to secure a good points finish and end up in the banquet in Friday!”

Parker Chase: “It’s shaping up to be an interesting race with the pending weather. My thoughts are with everyone in the path of this hurricane and their safety. I personally love racing in the rain and look forward to using it to our advantage to secure third in the Championship.”