All TCR titles claimed in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
Bryan Herta Autosport pairing Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis clinched the TCR class drivers’ title in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as they finished fifth at the series finale at Road Atlanta in the Veloster N TCR. The result allowed them to secure the teams’ honour, while we were also confirmed as manufacturers’ champions for the second consecutive year.
“Winning any title in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge is a huge achievement because the series is so competitive,” said our Customer Racing Manager Andrew. “Now Hyundai Motorsport customers have won all three TCR class championships two years in a row.”
Worthy winners
The championship win is a second at the wheel of a Hyundai for Michael, but a first for Taylor in her first season as part of the America-supported team. The title also makes her the first female champion of the series.
The pair were consistent across the 10-event season, amassing six podiums and finishing outside of the top five just once during the campaign. They also claimed a single victory at Lime Rock Park. Their stellar performance throughout the year meant they only needed to start the two-hour finale to take the drivers’ crown.
While the team’s title for Bryan Herta Autosport was also won with relative ease, the destination of the manufacturers’ crown was only decided in the final corners of the final race of the season. The collection of Hyundai customer racers entered the weekend with a slender lead over the closest rivals, but a third-place finish from our Customer Racing Junior Drivers Tyler Gonzalez and Tyler Maxson was enough to increase the advantage in the final standings.
Vital vehicles
In the debut season of the Elantra N TCR, Parker Chase and Ryan Norman scored the model’s first win in IMSA competition at Mid-Ohio before Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker led a 1-2-3 for the team at Laguna Seca. Over the year, the two race cars scored six podiums and accounted for four pole positions – the most of any model on the grid.
The 2021 season brought the largest number of our customers onto the track so far in IMSA competition. Away from the trio of Bryan Herta Autosport entries, four other teams successfully fielded our Veloster N TCR during the year.
“The results from all our customers have be strong all season,” commented Andrew. “It shows the great performance of the cars, but also the strength of the teams and the importance of the support from Hyundai America.”
