"We have had positive momentum the last two races and we hope to keep that going into Road America” - Taylor Hagler enjoyed her best showing of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season to date, finishing fourth at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Taylor Hagler and teammate Bryson Morris enjoyed their best showing of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season to date as they finished fourth at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Driving for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian in the TCR class, the pair contended for the race victory and ended the two-hour race just six seconds away from the winning pair of Harry Gottsacker and Robert Wickens. After scoring back-to-back top-5 finishes, Hagler and Morris will feel confident of scoring their first podium finish as the second half of the season progresses.
Hagler arrived at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park looking to continue the momentum built up from Watkins Glen where she and teammate Bryson Morris scored their first top-5 finish of the season. The Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian consistently ran at the front of the TCR class and were contending for a podium result before a dramatic ending saw multiple cars run out of fuel in the closing stages.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Taylor commented "We are halfway through the 2024 IMPC season and the second half of the season has been where things have come together for me in the past couple of years. Watkins Glen was a good reset for Bryson and I. We were able to combine for a solid result and drive a clean race. That is what we will focus on carrying through to this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It is always fun to see and meet the Canadian sports car community while we are here and we hope to put on a good, clean show."
The first on-track action of the event took place on Friday morning with the first of two free practice sessions. Both Hagler and Morris got a number of laps under their belt with the pair completing 27 tours of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the first session, placing ninth in TCR. Improvements were made in the second session of the day where the duo set the sixth fastest time in TCR, just three tenths of a second away from the fastest Hyundai Elantra N TCR.
Qualifying took place early on Saturday morning with Taylor behind the wheel of the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian machine. An early red flag caused by the Gou Racing Audi RS3 TCR led to a shortened session, with Hagler also serving a drive-through after a pit lane protocol penalty. Nonetheless, Hagler produced a good lap time which saw her qualify seventh in TCR, less than a second away from pacesetter Harry Gottsacker.
After her solid qualifying performance, Hagler took the start with the Full Course Yellow displayed as the TCR cars took the green flag following a spin for GS class competitor Bryce Ward. When the race resumed on lap three, a puncture for a leading TCR class runner led to significant separation within the class, while William Tally moved ahead of Hagler.
Now in eighth position, Hagler was challenging Tally and Preston Brown with the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian machine looking faster at this stage. However, overtaking was difficult at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and she was unable to make a pass in the early stages of the race.
Catching the slower GS class cars on lap eight, this provided a further opportunity to close in on her rivals. On lap 14, Hagler set a personal best time before moving into seventh place five laps later as Morgan Burkhard pitted with an issue.
Hagler was still running directly behind Tally and Brown, with just three seconds separating the trio of TCR class cars. Remaining in seventh position during the middle portion of her stint, Taylor was managing tyre wear and high track temperatures well and this saw her set a number of personal best times to close out her stint.
Hagler ran as high as second prior to her pitstop, with the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian team leaving her out on track until the last possible opportunity. Pitting on lap 42 along with teammate Harry Gottsacker, Hagler handed the car over to teammate Bryson Morris in a strong position.
The team completed a fast stop which allowed Morris to rejoin in seventh position with a second Full Course Yellow period displayed on Bryson’s out lap. This was a fortunate break for the team as it allowed Morris to catch the leaders with no flying laps completed on his new set of tyres. When the race restarted on lap 49, Morris made an excellent restart and immediately passed Tim Lewis for sixth position while then coming within four hundredths of a second away from setting the fastest lap of the race in TCR.
Bryson was showing great pace early in his stint with the top-6 drivers in the TCR class covered by just two seconds. Morris continued to apply pressure to his rivals and after a technical issue for Mikey Taylor, he was inside the top-5.
The leaders in the TCR class continued to run in close proximity with a podium still a realistic possibility in the closing stages. On the penultimate lap of the two-hour race, a superb pass on Dean Baker saw Morris move into fourth place and he took the checkered flag just six seconds away from the race victory, missing out on a podium result by less than two seconds.
“Today was a physically challenging race for me", Hagler commented. "The heat was difficult and with a full green flag stint, there was no ease. I am happy with our result today and we were able to combine for our best result of the season."
It was an excellent finish for Hagler and Morris who secured their season’s best result at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Contending for the race victory right up until the checkered flag, the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian duo have shown frontrunning pace in the last two events with a podium surely on the horizon.
"We have had positive momentum the last two races and we hope to keep that going into Road America,” she concluded.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge returns on the weekend of August 3rd/4th when the drivers tackle the formidable Road America circuit.
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