“We decided to take the risk and push hard" - Competing alongside her father Ron, Megan Tomlinson narrowly missed out on another strong result in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge second round, as the uninterrupted two-hour race at Sebring resulted in late fuel drama.
Competing alongside her father Ron, Megan Tomlinson narrowly missed out on another strong result in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, as the uninterrupted two-hour race at Sebring International Raceway resulted in late fuel drama.
Tomlinson made her series debut at the season opener in Daytona, where she delivered a strong performance, finishing seventh in the #37 Precision Racing LA Audi RS 3 LMS. After recovering from an early penalty, the duo climbed back into the top ten, with Megan setting competitive lap times in her second stint and ultimately securing seventh place.
Megan and Ron Tomlinson aimed to build on that momentum at Sebring, the second round of the season, on a notoriously demanding circuit where strategy plays a crucial role.
Their weekend started off promisingly with a top-ten in the opening practice session. They then focused on refining the car setup ahead of Thursday’s qualifying session, where Megan would take driving duties.
Tomlinson posted a 2:19 on her first timed lap, initially placing 14th, but improved to a 2:16.0, returning to the top ten with five minutes remaining. Despite late improvements from other drivers, her final time of 2:16.075 secured P13 in the TCR class—in what was a solid step forward before Friday’s two-hour race.
With Megan Tomlinson starting the race, the green flag waved, and the pack got through cleanly in both the GS and TCR classes. The Precision Racing LA Audi had a brilliant start, gaining three positions on the first lap to move into P10 in class.
Tomlinson quickly built a small gap to the VGR Elantra of Lance Bergstein and set her sights on closing in on Preston Brown’s Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai. However, Bergstein fought back, reclaiming P10 on lap seven.
Megan then expertly avoided the spinning #60 Ford Mustang, using the opportunity to pass Mauro and Brown, moving up to eighth. Despite multiple incidents in TCR, including contact between Bergstein and Mauro, the race remained green. Tomlinson battled hard, fluctuating between eighth and ninth but maintaining a safe gap ahead of the Gou Racing Cupra.
As the pit window approached, Megan held P9 and came under pressure from Riley Pegram but remained composed and stayed ahead. She continued to battle with Pegram before pitting on lap 25 from sixth in class as TCR teams began their pit stops.
Ron Tomlinson rejoined in P10 and started his stint with strong lap times. However, a small mistake on lap 30 allowed Denis Dupont in the #76 Hyundai to pass, dropping Ron to 11th.
Despite the off-track moment, Ron maintained solid pace and held an advantage of 17 seconds over the Gou Racing Cupra.
Over the next 15 minutes, Gou began to close the gap; however, Gou ultimately pitted for fuel with under 10 minutes remaining, and more TCR drivers followed suit, including Ryan Eversley.
With no caution periods throughout the race, fuel strategy became critical. Several TCR drivers had to pit in the final two minutes, while Ron Tomlinson, running 11th, closed in on Pegram but remained over 10 seconds behind with only a few laps left.
The team had gambled on fuel, hoping for a caution that unfortunately never came. On the final lap, Tomlinson’s car slowed and ultimately ran out of fuel, preventing him from crossing the finish line. He was classified P11 in class, one lap down. Following the post-race disqualification of the winning #33 Hyundai, Megan and Ron Tomlinson were promoted to tenth place.
It was an unlucky race, as the team clearly had the potential for another strong result. Megan had a stellar start and a positive first stint but the team was ultimately unable to fully capitalize due to bad luck from the unprecedented uninterrupted run.
“Unfortunately, we ran out of fuel on the final lap, but it was a decision we made as a team,” Tomlinson commented. “We decided to take the risk and push hard, hoping to gain positions as others fell back. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. The team did a tremendous job improving the car from qualifying to the race, especially for the challenging Sebring circuit.”
“We were in a good position, especially after a challenging qualifying session. We had a solid race going and were in a great spot to improve further,” Tomlinson continued. “It’s disappointing to come so close, but I’m grateful to the team for their hard work and dedication all weekend. They gave it their all to get the car dialed in, and the performance improved as the race went on. We’ll take the lessons we’ve learned here and apply them to the next event.”
Despite the tough ending, the team showed strong potential and will aim to come back stronger at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on May 8-10. They currently sit tenth in the TCR class championship standings with 450 points.
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