Stevan McAleer, Eric Filgueiras on top; Robert Wickens makes the TCR Class podium in triumphant return
Jake Galstad
There was rain in the forecast and frigid weather on the way, but both held off long enough for Stevan McAleer to pass and hold off Owen Trinkler in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season opener, the four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway on Friday.
Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian’s Mark Wilkins, Robert Wickens celebrate their podium finishes in TCR.
Richard Dole
McAleer, co-driving with Eric Filgueiras in the RS1 Porsche 714 GT4, and Trinkler, paired with Ted Giovanis in the Team TGM Porsche 718, had a back-and-forth GS-class battle in the waning moments, with Bill Auberlen, co-driving with Dillon Machavern in the Turner BMW M4 GT4, looking on with interest, thinking that if the battle up front became more physical, third might not be a bad place to be.
But the two Porsches raced clean and McAleer came home 4.6 seconds ahead of Trinkler in the race that featured a 47-car field.
In TCR, the Alfa-Romeo Giulietta Veloce embarrassed the rest of the field, with the Tim Lewis/Roy Block KMW Motorsports car, the lone Alfa in the race, finishing a whopping 9.5 seconds ahead of the Hyundai Elantra N of Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler, the 2021 season champions.
Third was Robert Wickens, the paraplegic driver and former IndyCar star who operates the car with hand controls, and teammate Mark Wilkins in another Hyundai Elantra N.
“The car was fantastic,” said McAleer. “I had an absolute blast out there. We didn’t put a foot wrong today.”
The TCR winning KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce with drivers Roy Block and Tim Lewis.
Brett Farmer
Keyword: McAleer Gives Porsche the Win; IMSA Michelin Challenge Pilot Results From Daytona