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Johnson, Simpson Shine at Lime Rock Park
Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson, drivers of the #54 Universal Coating/Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport capped off their best race weekend of 2022 with a podium finish at the Lime Rock Park 120. Michael Johnson started third, his best of the year and held strong inside the top five on Lime Rock’s infamous “Bull Ring” to turn the car over to Simpson in contention the podium. The tight, 1.5-mile circuit produced lap times less than a minute in length and with 34 cars on track, it was a brawl. Simpson held on for third, earning the pairs’ first podium since finishing second at VIR in 2021. Mason Filippi and Tyler Maxson were fourth, their best finish of the season, followed by Championship Leaders, Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis in fifth, Pole Sitter Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins sixth, Harry Gottsacker and Parker Chase seventh and AJ Muss and Ryan Norman 12th. Next up: The second four-hour challenge of the season, the Road America 240 on August 6th.
Of Note:
· Harry Gottsacker set a new track record for fastest race lap at 54.547 seconds.
· Robert Wickens started from the pole position, his first IMSA pole.
· Michael Johnson, Stephen Simpson and the #54 team were awarded the “Michelin Pilot Challenge Moment of the Race” by IMSA Radio for Michael Johnson’s drive in the opening stint of the Lime Rock 120.
· Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis extended their championship points lead to 1950 points, 70 points ahead of second place.
· Hyundai’s racing web series “Next Level” launched the first episode of 2022 capturing a behind the scenes look at the excitement, challenges, and accomplishments of the first three races of the season. Watch here:
(525) Drive To Three-Peat | Next Level Ep. 6 | Hyundai – YouTube
Bryan Herta Autosport Results
3rd: #54 Elantra N TCR – Michael Johnson (started) and Stephen Simpson(finished)
4th: #77 Elantra N TCR – Mason Filippi (started) and Tyler Maxson (finished)
5th: #1 Elantra N TCR – Taylor Hagler (started) and Michael Lewis (finished)
6th: #33 Veloster N TCR – Robert Wickens (started) and Markl Wilkins (finished)
7th: #98 Elantra N TCR – Harry Gottsacker (started) and Parker Chase (finished)
12th: #2 Elantra N TCR – AJ Muss (started) and Ryan Norman (finished)
For images, standings and more, visit www.bryanhertaautosport.com
Michael Johnson: ” It was a really, really complete weekend for us overall. I had great qualifying, which is very important at Lime Rock. Lime Rock has always been a a good track for us, we had our first win there in 2019, it’s a tough track, but so much fun. My driving was good, Stephen was awesome in his stint, we had shot for the win, but the cautions just didn’t work in our favor. I can’t thank everyone at BHA and MJR enough for their hard work. We’ve been wokring toward this all year and It’s great to see it come together. I expect more of the same at Road America in a coupld of weeks.”
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Stephen SImpson: “I’m very proud to be back on the podium at Lime Rock Park. Michael did a great job in the race and especially in qualifying. I am very proud of him, he never stops improving. Our crew on the #54 car did a great job as well, our pistops were quick. Our engineer Chris (Finch) gave us a great car and strategy. Big thank you to the team and Hyundai and I am looking forward to taking this momentum to Road America.”
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