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CTSC CTMP Weekend Notebook

Sportscar365’s weekend notebook from Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge at CTMP…

Photo: Compass Racing

***Team TGM has returned to full strength this weekend following the purchase of Robinson Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT4 to replace its No. 4 car that was severely damaged from an accident in qualifying at Watkins Glen. The Ted Giovanis and Guy Cosmo-driven entry is still in Robinson’s colors due to the tight turnaround from The Glen.

***Giovanis returns to the site of his season-ending accident last year, which put the team owner on the sidelines due to a ruptured achilles tendon.

***While TGM is back to a two-car operation, Winward Racing is down to only a single Mercedes GT4, following Bryce Ward’s heavy accident in last weekend’s race. Ward, who sustained a concussion in the race-ending shunt, was not scheduled to drive this weekend due to a conflicting commitment.

***It’s resulted in a 22-car GS starting field, down from the 24 entries that took part at The Glen, with all three of Automatic Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage GT4s not making the trip North of the Border.

***The No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4, which is on the entry list with Justin Marks listed as the team’s single driver, took part in the practice sessions only for filming purposes for the upcoming “Art of Racing in the Rain” movie that’s being shot here this weekend.

***Turner has yet to make a Continental Tire Challenge start this season although its BMW, as well as Continental Tire, will be heavily featured in the Patrick Dempsey-produced film, along with entries from Compass Racing and Winward (pictured above), which were utilized for closed-circuit filming on Thursday.

***Local team Shining Star Motorsport by Atlantic Racing Team makes it GS class debut with its Mercedes GT4 for Canadians Phil Holtrust and Danny Kok.

***Other changes to the entry list since last weekend include the return of Chase Briscoe to the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, Joey Atterbury back in the No. 59 Roush Performance/KohR Motorsports Mustang GT4 and Jayson Clunie in the No. 26 Classic BMW M4 GT4.

***The TCR class features an all-Audi affair, with the Rumcastle Volkswagen Gold GTI TCR not here this weekend. The second eEuroparts Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR, meanwhile, only turned laps in the promoter test day on Thursday.

***The GS class has seen several Balance of Performance adjustments, with the Audi R8 LMS GT4 getting a 20kg increase in minimum weight and 15kg weight breaks for both the McLaren 570S GT4 and Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MRs.

***Watch the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 at 2:55 p.m. EDT live on IMSA.tv. The race will air on FS1 on July 15 at 10:30 a.m. ET.

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

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