Bryan Herta Autosport | Round 1 of the 2021 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge | January 27 - 29, 2021

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

Racetrack: Daytona International Speedway 3.56-mile “Roval”, features 12 turns
Race: Friday, January 29, 2021 at 1:35pm ET
TV: Live on NBC Gold “TrackPass” https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/trackpass
Listen: Live on IMSA Radio at www.IMSA.com
Live updates are available throughout the weekend on BHA social media and www.bryanhertaautosport.com

FAST FACTS:

Car of The Year: The racecar version of the Hyundai Elantra, the 2021 North American Car of The Year™, made its North American debut at the Roar Before the 24 open test last weekend at Daytona.  Having completed a substantial test plan through its development in Europe, the Elantra N TCR car will race for the first time this weekend on Daytona’s “roval.”  Featuring twelve turns and Daytona’s notorious thirty-one degrees of banking, the Elantra N TCR will be put through its paces over four hours of intense competition. #racing the all new Elantra N TCR are drivers Ryan Norman and Parker Chase in the #98, and Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker driving the #33 Elantra N TCR.

Strategizing Daytona: The 2020 IMPC season opener at #daytonainternationalspeedway featured 51 cars, 110 laps and a total of 391 miles completed in four-hours.  There were three caution periods totaling 15 laps and 51 minutes.  Looking ahead to the four-hour challenge this year, BHA engineers are predicting four pit stops, burning 80 gallons of VP #racing fuel and having six sets of Michelin tires available.

Defending Champions: BHA Enters their third season of IMSA competition as back-to-back champions.  In 2020, Hyundai’s won 7 of 10 races, sweeping the top three positions in the standings and the manufacturers title for Hyundai.

Electric Showcase: Hyundai Motorsport will introduce the all-new Veloster N ETCR car with a demonstration lap with Augusto Farfus driving prior to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Daytona. Designed to deliver a peak power output of 670hp, the Veloster N ETCR is the first electric race car built by Hyundai Motorsport. Work on the project started in late 2018, and testing began on-track in September 2019 with a prototype design before the final specification e-kit comprised of battery pack, motors, DC-DC inverter and gearbox were installed last year. The milestone run at Daytona continues the progress of the project, following the announcement of Hyundai Motorsport’s commitment to PURE ETCR.

Welcomed Addition: In addition to Hyundai’s introduction of the Elantra N TCR to IMSA #racing, BHA welcomes Taylor Hagler to the team.  Taylor and her teammate, Michael Lewis will race the #77 Veloster N TCR car for BHA in 2021.

Growth:  The IMPC season opener at Daytona features an expanded field of Hyundai entries. Coming off the heels of immense success over the last two seasons, the Hyundai Veloster has proven to be the racecar of choice, with six Veloster’s entered this season. BHA/Hyundai Track Support welcomes Michael Johnson #racing and the #54 Universal Coating Veloster N TCR, with noted drivers Stephen Simpson and Michael Johnson.  Copeland Motorsports returns with the 16-year-old standouts, Tyler Gonzalez and Tyler Maxson.  The “Tylers” stormed on the IMSA scene last year scoring their first podium in their IMSA debut when they finished second at Atlanta.  Also at Copeland, is BHA veteran and Hyundai Pro Mason Filippi.  Filippi is paired with Olympic snowboarder AJ Muss.  CB Motosports joins the IMSA ranks entering the #81 Veloster N TCR with Trenton Estep, Mark Kvamme and Caleb Bacon.  Coming off their first IMPC race at last year’s season finale at Sebring, Van der Steur #racing has announced a full-season entry for the #2021imsamichelinpilotchallenge season, with drivers Rory Van der Steur and Denis Dupont in the No. 19 Hyundai Veloster N TCR in the Touring Car (TCR) class.

Bryan Herta: “Following a successful test at the ROAR for the Veloster N TCR as well as the official global debut for the Elantra N TCR, we are ready to attack the first race of the Michelin Pilot Challenge.  All of our teams and drivers have done a great job preparing themselves, and we are eager to see the first green flag of the 2021 season.”

Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian:
Founded in 2009, #bryanhertaautosport has grown from a single car Indy-Lights team into a championship winning #auto #racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star #bryanherta, #bryanhertaautosport has won races in every discipline they have entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rally Cross, and championship titles in Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of #racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with driver Dan Wheldon. Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. In 2018, BHA entered the Pirelli World Challenge in partnership with Hyundai and dominated the TCR class, winning seven races with drivers #98 Michael Lewis and #99 Mark Wilkins in the Hyundai i30N TCR, securing the team and manufacturers championships in the process. In 2019, BHA and Hyundai moved to the IMSA Michelin Sports Car Challenge, and the transition was flawless. BHA swept the series driver and team championships with driver Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis finishing first in the #98 Hyundai Veloster N TCR and young guns Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi finishing second in the #21 Hyundai Veloster N TCR. For 2020, BHA continues its successful partnership with Andretti Autosport fielding the #98 U.S. Concrete Honda w/ Curb Agajanian in the IndyCar series for driver Marco Andretti and a four-car Hyundai Veloster N TCR campaign in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Michael Lewis and Mason Fillipi (#98), Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker (#21), Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman (#33) and Parker Chase and Spencer Brockman (#29). Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and parts support representative of Hyundai TCR race cars for customer teams. For more information, visit www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.