Christine Sloss, racing alongside her husband Ben Sloss, enjoyed an excellent debut in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge by claiming second position in the Bronze Cup at Daytona International Speedway.
Christine Sloss enjoyed an excellent debut in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge by claiming second position in the Bronze Cup at Daytona International Speedway.
Racing alongside husband Ben Sloss for Van der Steur Racing, the pair drove maturely on their series debut to maximise the performance of their Aston Martin AMR GT4 Evo. Ben Sloss ran as high as fourth overall, second in class, during a mid-race pit cycle, before a strong stint from Christine ensured the team finished on the podium at the World Center of Racing.
Arriving at Daytona International Speedway with little competitive racing experience, Christine Sloss and her husband Ben were targeting a strong debut weekend in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Teaming up with leading squad Van der Steur Racing in an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo machine, the duo were aiming to make progress throughout the event. Christine and Ben were also entered into the Bronze Cup, along with seven other teams, therefore racing competitively within this sub-category was a realistic target.
The Van der Steur Racing duo banked vital experience as they competed in a series of test session as part of the ROAR Before the 24. Completing 137 laps across the five sessions, Christine and Ben were showed promise in a highly competitive field of GS class machinery. This experience was to be vital heading into the competitive running which began on Wednesday afternoon.
In the first official session of the race weekend, Christine drove for the majority of the session and came close to beating her fastest time set during testing. Setting the 25th fastest time within the GS class, the Van der Steur Racing machine was seventh quickest among the Bronze Cup entries. In session two on Thursday morning, improved to sixth in the Bronze Cup, while clocking the 24th fastest time in the GS field.
Ben Sloss got behind the wheel for qualifying which was held on Thursday afternoon. It was an encouraging session for the newcomer who set the 21st fastest time in the GS class, while being the fourth fastest Bronze Cup driver. This ensured the Van der Steur Racing duo remained in contention for a top-5 result in the Bronze Cup on their debut outing.
The four-hour race got underway on Friday afternoon with Ben Sloss taking the start. It was a measured opening lap from Sloss who drove smartly to avoid collecting any damage with a number of faster cars behind.
At the end of lap one, the Van der Steur Racing machine sat 27th in GS, eighth in the Bronze Cup. Ben was quickly finding his feet despite the high level of competition and on lap two, he moved ahead of Ted Giovanis and Scott Thomson after the latter had a spin.
Sloss was now faster than the next six drivers ahead and at the first full course yellow period on lap six, he was up to 24th in GS, sixth in the Bronze Cup. A second full course yellow quickly followed and with a fast pit stop from the Van der Steur Racing crew, Ben was now inside the top-20 overall. By lap 15, Sloss had cracked the top-5 of the Bronze Cup class and was making solid improvements during his first appearance in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Choosing to remain on the track for as long as possible during this second stint, Sloss was able to move up to fourth position overall, while taking over the runner-up position in the Bronze Cup. Consistency was the key to the team’s progress forward with Ben handing over the car to Christine in a very strong position.
Shortly after Christine rejoined the circuit, a third full course yellow period was called for when Andrew Davis lost a wheel on his Rebel Rock Racing machine. This allowed Christine to comfortably get up to speed behind the safety car, while also taking the wave-by to remain on the lead lap. When the race resumed, green flag conditions were displayed for less than half a lap with a three-car incident in the TCR class bringing the race back under neutralised conditions.
On the next restart, three of Christine’s Bronze Cup rivals were handed severe penalties for an improper wave-by procedure and this was good fortune for the Van der Steur Racing duo. As a result, Sloss was holding second position within the Bronze Cup and with only the RAFA Racing machine of Kevin Conway on the same lap behind her, a consistent drive would give Christine a good chance of standing on the podium.
As her stint progressed. Christine continued to gain confidence and came close to beating her own personal best time of the event to date. Although Conway found a way through to drop her to 19th overall, third in the Bronze Cup, she was managing traffic well and keeping the car clean. On lap 69, her stint concluded as she handed over to Ben Sloss for the final run to the checkered flag.
Another good stop from the Van der Steur Racing team saw Ben remain inside a provisional podium position in the Bronze Cup class. A late full course yellow period after a spin for Slade Stewart led to a restart which was again well-managed by Sloss. A strong final stint saw Ben take the checkered flag in 19th position within GS, third in the Bronze Cup.
A post-race penalty was then assessed to RAFA Racing after Rafael Martinez failed to complete the minimum drive time. As a result, Ben and Christine were promoted to an excellent second position to round-off a superb debut outing.
Despite their inexperience in this level of competition, Ben and Christine Sloss completed the four-hour race without incident and stood on the Bronze Cup podium. Both drivers raced smartly and coupled with a strong strategy from Van der Steur Racing, they piloted their Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo to an 18th place GS class finish.
This debut race will give the pair encouragement that they can compete competitively in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as they target further outings in the series.
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