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The fifth stop of the 2023 Michelin Pilot Challenge season brought the Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports Team north of the border where the streak of impressive results continued throughout the weekend, ultimately taking home the win in Saturday’s 2-hour Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120.
Following the P2 finish at Watkins Glen just two weeks prior, the team was excited to carry that momentum to CTMP for yet another strong performance. Unsurprisingly, the #17 Audi rolled off the trailer in top form and our drivers Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor were amongst the quickest in Friday’s practice sessions on the high-commitment Canadian Tire Motorsports Park circuit.
Saturday’s early qualifying session kicked off with Chris Miller behind the wheel, who gave the Michelin tires a couple laps to warm up before quickly turning up the pace. Miller set a blistering lap time of 1:23.256 edging out the nearest competitor by only 0.002 seconds.
The afternoon race kicked off at 4PM under gray skies with the eleven car TCR field chasing Chris Miller. Lap after lap the #17 Audi was challenged but ultimately kept its lead throughout the first half of the race while conserving fuel. With one hour to go, Chris brought the car in for a full service stop.
The JDC-Miller Motorsports crew led by Cole Scrogham carefully calculated fuel consumption throughout the first stint and ensured Mikey Taylor would have just enough to close out the final hour of the race, which so far, had been very clean and very fast with no incidents on the track to slow anyone down.
Mikey Taylor took over driving duties in the #17 Unitronic JDC-Miller Audi in P2, some 20-seconds behind the #33 Hyundai piloted by Harry Gottsacker who had already made an earlier pit stop. Taylor, who is not unfamiliar with comebacks, quickly went to work chipping away at the Hyundai’s lead and at times besting its lap times by as much as 1.5 seconds. Finally with 10 minutes to go, Mikey Taylor eventually caught up to the #33 car to set up a nail biting finish.
On the penultimate lap, Mikey Taylor would dive hard into turn 5 and eventually saw daylight past the leading Hyundai. He quickly exited Moss Corner and left Harry Gottsacker behind to take the win with just one lap to go.
“What a race! So happy for everyone on the team including our local partners that joined us for the race weekend in Ontario! A very stressful and calculated race with the fuel mileage as well as saving tires while still having to close down the gap to the Hyundai. All credit to the team for a great strategy and giving me all the tools needed to get the job done! We’ve got the momentum and we’re excited to keep pushing for the next few rounds coming up.” said the native South African.
This P1 finish adds even more critical points for the Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports team who currently sit in P3 in the championship title with five races still to go.
RACE RESULTS: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: Michelin Pilot Challenge 2023
“This win was extra special since we got to share it with the team on the Unitronic side, family, and friends at home in Canada — it has definitely buoyed everyone’s attitude. But we’re all hyper focused on the end goal of winning the TCR championship and are looking ahead to the TCR-only battle at Lime Rock.” said John Staffi, Technical Director at Unitronic
The next race of this North-East leg of the season brings the team back down to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT on July 21-22nd where they hope to repeat their victory from the 2022 season.
Stay up to date on all our activities, learn more about the team, our pro drivers, the #17 RS 3 LMS TCR race car, our tremendous sponsors and shop for team merch on getunitronic.com/motorsports! Tune into the UNITRONIC social media channels or IMSA.TV for race coverage of all ten championship events!
About UNITRONIC®
UNITRONIC® engineers industry-leading aftermarket performance enhancing software and hardware for Audi®, Volkswagen®, Seat®, and Skoda® cars worldwide. Best known for its performance software engine and transmission calibrations, Unitronic enhances vehicle performance while maintaining complete OEM-like reliability and drivability. Unitronic’s UniCONNECT+ Programming and Diagnostic Interface empowers Unitronic Clients to safely reprogram their engine and transmission control modules from the comfort of home, anywhere in the world. Learn more about Unitronic's competitive advantage at www.getunitronic.com
About JDC-MILLER MOTORSPORTS
JDC-MILLER MOTORSPORTS is a world-class multiple championship winning sportscar racing team, with a total of 18 championships, 60 wins, 57 pole positions, and 195 podiums, most of which coming by way of their Prototype class programs running in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. Highlights include an Overall Win at the Six Hours at Watkins Glen in 2018, 2017 Winner Extreme Spirit Award, and 2017 Winner Jim Trueman Award, providing the team an automatic entry into the 2018 24 Hours of LeMans. Learn more at www.jdcmotorsport.com
About LIQUI MOLY USA – Canada
LIQUI MOLY USA – Canada is a subsidiary of LIQUI MOLY GmbH, a global motor oil and additive company based in Germany selling products in more than 150 countries. LIQUI MOLY offers more than 4,000 items globally covering automotive, powersports, commercial vehicles, boats and watercraft and more. LIQUI MOLY USA - Canada is actively involved in motorsports in numerous capacities highlighted by teams in IMSA USA and IMSA Canada, TC America and Trans AM. Learn more at www.liqui-moly.com
About OUT THERE BRANDS
Out There Brands was founded by professional racing driver Mikey Taylor. He saw a need for a company that offers extreme personalization and customer service in the branding industry and founded OTB in order to fill it. Producing custom-made displays and apparel to bring attention to our customers. Using his experience in the motorsport industry, Mikey focused on working with suppliers and forming partnerships to utilize only the best materials and products from around the world to deliver durable, cost-effective and stand out products! Learn more at www.OutThereBrands.com
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