Making her IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge debut at Daytona, Christina Lam and her Rockwell Autosport Development teammates overcame technical setbacks to steadily improve their pace, completing a clean race and securing a top-ten finish in the TCR class with the #10 Helium Mobile Audi.
Christina Lam made her debut in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with a top-ten finish in the TCR class at Daytona International Speedway, steadily improving throughout the race weekend while piloting the #10 Helium Mobile Audi RS3 LMS TCR, operated by Rockwell Autosport Development.
Sharing the car with Alex and Eric Rockwell, Lam qualified the car and tackled the first part of the four-hour race, moving up into the top ten in the TCR class.
The team had faced technical issues throughout the pre-event test and during practice, limiting Lam's track time and learning opportunities; however, the team worked tirelessly to resolve the issues, resulting in a promising race that saw significant progress.
A two-time finalist for the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship, Christina Lam has several years of experience in North American grassroots touring car series, such as the SCCA National Championship, the SCCA Hoosier Super Tour, American Endurance Racing, and more recently, the World Racing League.
Lam was a finalist for the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship in both 2025 and 2026 and has driven TC, TCA, GT4, and GT3 race cars. She therefore aims to continue her development as a racing driver in the highly competitive IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, a series that serves as a springboard for talents climbing the ranks of North American sports car racing.
Teams and drivers had the opportunity to test at the ROAR Before the 24 collective test days leading up to the season opener. However, the Rockwell Autosport Development Audi encountered technical issues that limited the team's track time.
The issues continued into practice, but Lam and her teammates ran in 13th position in the first session and found over a second of improvement in the second practice. Despite this progress, they still needed to find more time to break into the top ten.
On Thursday afternoon, Christina tackled her first qualifying of her IMSA career: she took the wheel of the #10 Rockwell Autosport Development Audi RS3 LMS TCR for the 15-minute session and, after her first representative lap, she was in P16. She improved to a 2:04.125 but remained in 16th when the chequered flag fell, concluding her first IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying session.
The 2025 BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona, one of the flagship events of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, got underway with all qualifying drivers starting the race: Christina Lam took the green flag from P16 in the TCR class.
Lam held her position at the start, taking a cautious approach to avoid trouble while gaining valuable experience. She gradually found her rhythm, improving her pace with each lap.
A crash between William Tally and Ted Giovanis brought out the first safety car of the race as Tally’s #5 KMW Motorsports Honda caught fire. The driver escaped unscathed, but the car sustained heavy damage. Under caution, Lam had gained a position and moved up to P15 in TCR, catching up to the pack. With no teams opting to pit under yellow, the race resumed.
Shortly after, a spin for the #39 BMW M4 GT4 of McAlister, following contact with the #46 Aston Martin of Holton, left debris on track and triggered another safety car. When the pits opened for TCR, Lam this time opted to pit, rejoining in 14th place while other teams split strategies, with some staying out.
Several drivers were handed drive-through penalties after the round of pit stops. Lam, who had kept it clean and benefitted from a solid stop by the Rockwell Autosport team, climbed into the top ten for the first time when the race resumed.
Now gaining speed and confidence, she set her personal best lap while hanging on to the pack. Though she briefly lost a spot to the #89 HART Honda, she regained her top-ten position when front-runner Harry Gottsacker suffered a puncture and was forced to bring his Hyundai behind the wall with further issues.
At this stage of the race, Lam was fully in rhythm and making significant progress, lapping several seconds quicker than at the start and consistently running in the 2:03s.
Unfortunately, a spin at the exit of Turn 1 sent the #10 Audi around, making minor contact with the barrier but she was able to continue without needing to pit for damage assessment. Her pace remained unaffected, and Christina quickly resumed her consistent lap times.
During the next round of pit stops, however, the #10 Helium Mobile Audi lost time due to an issue in the pits, dropping the team to P14 and losing a few laps. Lam completed her first-ever IMSA stint before handing the car over to Alex Rockwell.
As the race progressed, more drama unfolded when the Rebel Rock Aston Martin of Andrew Davis lost a wheel, triggering another full-course yellow. During the caution, the Rockwell Autosport Development Audi ran in P14.
When the race restarted, a multi-car incident involved Alex Garcia’s #31 Audi, the #55 Gou Racing Cupra, and the #72 Pegram Racing Hyundai, which had been running a strong race up to that point.
Approaching the halfway mark, Alex Rockwell climbed back to 12th despite the team's earlier setbacks. More trouble struck in TCR when class leader Eric Powell in the #99 VGR Hyundai slowed down.
On lap 61, Rockwell pitted for the team’s third stop, handing the car over to Eric Rockwell for the final stint. He gained a position when Tyler Gonzalez’s VGR Hyundai suffered mechanical issues and retired with an hour to go, moving the #10 Audi back into the top ten.
A late caution came when the #43 MDK Motorsports Porsche of Slade Stewart crashed into the barriers at pit exit, bringing out another full-course yellow with just over 30 minutes remaining. This created an opportunity for the TCR front-runners to battle for the victory.
Rockwell pitted under yellow for the team’s final stop and remained in the car as the green flag waved with 22 minutes to go.
In a thrilling battle for the TCR class win, the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai teammates Dupont and Wilkins fought wheel-to-wheel until the checkered flag, with Dupont taking victory by just 0.067 seconds.
Meanwhile, Rockwell brought the #10 Rockwell Autosport Audi home safely in P10 in TCR, running trouble-free in the final stages to secure a solid top-ten finish.
"I'm super proud to have put this TCR program together to race in IMSA this year", Lam commented. "Turning my first laps at Daytona in our Helium Mobile RS3 validated all of my hard work to get to this point."
"I felt pretty emotional standing for the national anthem on grid with my team and best friends", she continued, recalling her first experience of the IMSA series. "It takes alot of work from everyone involved to put a car on grid, and a good bit of luck to put all of the other pieces together."
Christina Lam’s IMSA debut was marked by a clean race and steady improvement, culminating in a personal best lap of 2:02.803—significantly faster than her pace at the start of the weekend. Her average lap time also dipped below 2:04, matching her teammates’ performance.
"I have a great team with Rockwell Auto Development this year. We faced teething issues with the car during the Roar weekend. Going into the race weekend with limited laps was daunting but part of the job."
"Through FP1, FP2, and qualifying we were still battling power issues with the car. The team worked hard and we had it sorted for the race! Qualifying P16, we had a lot of work cut out for us. My teammates Eric and Alex Rockwell and I drove clean and consistent stints putting us up to a P10 finish! I can't imagine a better way to wrap up my IMSA debut!"
"I'm so grateful for our partners Helium Mobile, OG Racing, Sparco, Center for Women's Innovations, and Shift Up Now."
This is just the beginning for Lam, as her 2025 racing schedule includes more rounds in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. She will return to the Helium Mobile Audi, aiming to build on this promising debut.
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