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Michelin Pilot Challenge

Dickinson Charges to Road Atlanta Win; Plumb Takes Title

Dickinson’s late charge secures win at Road Atlanta; Plumb wraps up GS drivers’ title…

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Riley Dickinson and Michael McCarthy won the Fox Factory 120 for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta after the Texan climbed up the order in the closing stages, while Matt Plumb secured the GS class drivers championship with his second-place finish.

Dickinson was on a late charge in the closing stages behind the wheel of the No. 91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, quickly passing the No. 39 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 of Jeff Westphal and Matt Plumb’s No. 46 Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

The Kellymoss with Riley driver officially took the lead once TGM’s Hugh Plumb made his final pit stop in the No. 64 Vantage but had to fend off pressure from the No. 46 behind to take the checkered flag 1.849 seconds clear of Matt Plumb, whose runner-up finish was enough to wrap up the drivers’ title.

After starting the race in seventh, the Kellymoss with Riley crew utilized quick work on pit lane and strong pace in the second half of the race to climb its way through the order throughout the two-hour contest with Dickinson’s late-race charge ultimately securing the win.

Westphal finished in the final podium position alongside Sean McAlister, with the No. 19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin coming home in fourth.

Todd Coleman and Aaron Telitz finished fifth in the No. 88 Archangel Motorsports Vantage to make it three Aston Martins in the top-five.

Paul Holton led the GS field to green in his No. 46 Aston Martin, despite being briefly jumped by Sam Paley’s No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4, which pulled off track slowly at Turn 4 with an apparent mechanical failure, handing the lead back to TGM.

Hattori Motorsports’ Zach Veach controlled the race in the opening stages aboard the No. 50 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO after making up significant ground from eighth on the grid, including a double-overtake for the lead on Stevan McAleer and Holton into the Turn 10 complex before a slow pit stop relegated the Hattori crew to tenth in class, taking them out of contention.

Wilkins, Filippi Win in TCR; Unitronic/JDC-Miller Motorsports Crowned Champions

Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi led a Bryan Herta Autosport 1-2, securing a fifth consecutive TCR class manufacturers title for Hyundai after the leading No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR dove into the pits for fuel on the last lap.

With the drop of the green flag, Unitronic/JDC-Miller Motorsports clinched the TCR teams and drivers’ title from seventh on the grid with Chris Miller at the wheel of the No. 17 Audi RS 3 LMS TCR he shares with Mikey Taylor.

Denis Dupont and Preston Brown finished runners-up for BHA, with the No. 93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR completing the class podium.

While BHA led the opening stages of the race, a quick pit stop from VGRT saw Tyler Gonzalez file in just behind Sam Baker and eventually assume the class lead after Baker’s No. 52 Baker Racing Audi suffered a puncture attempting to maintain the lead on old tires after opting not to come in under yellow.

Debris from Baker’s puncture and resulting bodywork damage on the No. 52 Audi brought out the race’s third yellow, with the crew collecting a pair of penalties for pit lane infractions during their emergency service shortly thereafter.

TCR cars appeared to be in contention for the overall win inside the final hour, after the touring car class front-runners opted to only make a single pit stop under yellow, with the bulk of the GS class having to complete race on two stops.

Nevertheless, GS class contenders managed to reclaim the overall lead with under 20 minutes remaining, resetting the typical class split, with the winning No. 98 BHA Hyundai coming home 11th overall.

The race was interrupted by three first-hour full course cautions but ran green in the second half.

RESULTS: Fox Factory 120

Jonathan Grace is the host of Sportscar365's Double Stint Podcast and a contributor to the web site's IMSA-sanctioned race coverage.

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