Tim Lewis and Alfa Romeo take fourth straight win at Road America
The combination of Tim Lewis and the #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce is seemingly unbeatable in the Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class at Road America.
Lewis teamed with William Tally to earn his fourth consecutive victory at the scenic Wisconsin road course on Saturday, assuming the lead of the two-hour race when Denis Dupont’s #76 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N ran out of fuel approaching the white flag. About three minutes later, Lewis completed the final lap to win by 1.033 seconds over Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi in the #98 Bryan Herta Hyundai. Dupont and co-driver Preston Brown, along with the #12 StarCom Racing Hyundai shared by Andy Lally and Nick Tucker, attempted to complete the race with a single pit stop but both teams fell marginally short. That handed Lewis his first win of the season and eighth of his career, while Tally claimed his second victory in the series.
Lewis fought hard to stay ahead of the Hyundai cars of Robert Wickens and Wilkins following his second and final pit stop, then had to regain the position as they duelled late in the race.
“Our team got our first win here in 2021, and I think every time we come here, everyone brings their ‘A’ game,” Lewis said. “Obviously the track suits our car, but honestly today, the team fired on all cylinders. It wasn’t looking good there with a few minutes to go, but we got it done. We’ve had some unfortunate races, been close and put some good stuff together, but we never completed the whole package until today.”
Tally, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia, qualified the Alfa in seventh place and moved up to fifth prior to handing the car over to Lewis.
“It took the whole team,” Tally said. “Duncan Burke, our engineer, called great strategy, the team nailed both pit stops, and Tim put it together at the end. Everybody did their job, they’re a fantastic team, and we showed it today.”
Pole winner Daijiro Yoshihara and co-driver Kumo Wittmer rallied to take third place in the #93 Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5, while Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller (#17 JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS) finished a solid fourth and extended their points lead to 220 points over Dupont and Brown.
The next event of the series will be at Virginia International raceway on August 24/25.
Road America – Race
- W. Tally/T. Lewis (KMW Motorsports, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce), 48 laps
- M. Wilkins/M. Filippi (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 1.033
- K. Wittmer/D. Yoshihara (Montreal Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 1.359
Championship points
- C. Miller/M. Taylor, 2210 pts; 2. D. Dupont/P. Brown, 1990; 3. R. Wickens/H. Gottsacker, 1980
Picture: IMSA/LAT Images
