McAleer, Hindman Take Second Straight Win for RS1

Stevan McAleer took the lead of the Road America 120 with more than an hour remaining in the two-hour race. When the dust settled, he was still leading, but the details of how he got there were a blur.

McAleer and co-driver Trent Hindman won the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race Saturday at Road America following McAleer’s tense duel with Aaron Telitz, who chased McAleer after a restart with 11 minutes remaining but couldn’t make the pass.

The final three laps were a master class in pursuit and defense from the two veterans of the GS class. With the mirrors of McAleer’s No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport full of Telitz’s bright green No. 88 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, McAleer maintained position and reached the finish line 0.394 seconds ahead.

The victory, their second in consecutive races, made McAleer, Hindman and the No. 28 the first repeat winners in the seventh race of the season. It also pushed the No. 28 team into second place in the GS standings, 200 behind the No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 co-driven by Matt Plumb and Paul Holton that finished 11th on Saturday.

It all came together Saturday in a rather busy way. When a yellow flag waved 42 minutes into the two-hour race, Jesse Lazare, who had led from the start in his No. 69 Motorsports In Action McLaren Artura GT4, stayed on track while the rest of the GS field pitted. Hindman was third in the No. 28 Porsche, but McAleer emerged after the driver change second behind Lazare.

On the ensuing restart, McAleer used fresh tires to his advantage, passing Lazare in Turn 3. Jack Hawksworth soon followed in the No. 50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO.

Daniel Morad inherited the lead in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 when McAleer made RS1’s second and final pit stop.

NASCAR Sprint Cup regular Ross Chastain followed Morad into second place in the No. 16 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

Lurking in third place was Sebastian Carazo in the No. 67 Czabok-Simpson Motorsport Porsche, which had already made its final stop of the race and was poised to take the lead when Morad and Chastain pitted.

But with 21 minutes remaining, Carazo’s left rear tire went flat, forcing him to limp to the pits just as Morad made his last stop. That gave the lead to Chastain, but only briefly.

With 15 minutes left, Chastain pitted moments before Hawksworth spun off course at Turn 13, putting McAleer back in the lead and Telitz behind him, with only a restart and a few laps remaining. Telitz chased McAleer hard after the restart, but to no avail.

Lewis, No. 5 Alfa Romeo TCR Win Fourth Straight at Road America

The combination of Tim Lewis and the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce is seemingly unbeatable in the Pilot Challenge TCR class at Road America.

Lewis teamed with William Tally to earn his fourth consecutive TCR victory at the scenic Wisconsin road course on Saturday, assuming the lead of the two-hour contest when Denis Dupont (No. 76 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR) appeared to run out of fuel approaching the white flag.

About three minutes later, Lewis completed the final 4.048-mile lap to win by 1.033 seconds over Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi in the No. 98 BHA Hyundai.

Dupont and co-driver Preston Brown, along with the No. 12 StarCom Racing Hyundai shared by co-drivers Andy Lally and Nick Tucker, attempted to complete the race with a single pit stop but both entries fell marginally short.

That handed Lewis his first Michelin Pilot Challenge win of the 2024 season and eighth of his career, while Tally claimed his second victory in the series. But it’s not like they backed into the victory.

Lewis fought hard to stay ahead of the Hyundais of Robert Wickens and Wilkins following the No. 5 car’s second and final pit stop, then had to regain the position as they dueled late in the race.

Tally, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia, qualified the No. 5 Alfa in seventh place and moved up to fifth prior to handing the car over to Lewis.

Motul Pole Award winner Dai Yoshihara and co-driver Kumo Wittmer rallied to take third place in the No. 93 Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR, while TCR class points leaders Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller (No. 17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS TCR) finished fourth after qualifying 11th.

RESULTS: Road America 120