BHA Hyundai squad sweeps TCR podium at Laguna Seca
Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian and its trio of Hyundai Elantra N cars made a podium sweep in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Challenge’s third round at Laguna Seca.
The team’s #33 of Mark Wilkins qualified on pole and handed off to Bryson Morris, as the duo sought its first win of the season. They led the field on lap 58 before a restart ahead of the #7 Precision Racing Audi RS 3 LMS of Ryan Eversley, the #98 BHA Hyundai of Mason Filippi, the #52 Baker Racing Audi of James Vance and the #76 BHA Hyundai of Denis Dupont. Then it all changed on one wild restart into T11.
Eversley got a great launch to take the lead in the Aud, but his move was too good, and he was assessed a drive-through penalty for a jumped restart.
Dupont leapt into second from fifth place in the #76 Elantra, with Vance up to third, Morris down to fourth and Filippi down to fifth. Dupont took over the lead a lap later.
From there, Dupont held off his surging teammates, as Filippi and Morris drove back to second and third, finishing three and sixth tenths behind the winner respectively.
It was Dupont and Preston Brown’s second win this season after Daytona, and the pair leads the standings by 40 points over Filippi and Harry Gottsacker.
Vance and Dean Baker in a season-best fourth place denied the BHA team a sweep of the top four positions, as Suellio Almeida and Maddie Aust finished fifth in the #9 car.
The next round will be at Mid-Ohio on 7/8 June.
Race
- P. Brown/D. Dupont (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 70 laps
- H. Gottsacker/M. Filippi (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 0.325
- B. Morris/M. Wilkins (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 0.687
Championship points
- D. Dupont/P. Brown, 940 pts; 2. H. Gottsacker/M. Filippi 900; 3. B. Morris/M. Wilkins, 780
Picture: IMSA/Perry Nelson
