"The year has challenged me as a driver and pushed me to grow in new ways." - After leading the first half of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge finale at Road Atlanta, Taylor Hagler was unfortunate not to challenge for a podium finish with fuel strategy working against the BHA duo.
Taylor Hagler closed out her season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with a ninth-place finish in the TCR class at Road Atlanta. Driving alongside teammate Bryson Morris, the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian pair showed excellent speed throughout the event with the result not reflecting the pace of their Hyundai Elantra N.
Morris claimed pole position by over half a second, while setting the TCR class track record, before leading every lap of his opening stint. It was a challenging second half of the race for Hagler with fuel strategy working against them, however Taylor came within four tenths of a second of the fastest lap of the race.
The second half of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season has seen Hagler and teammate Bryson Morris enjoy consistent progress in their Hyundai Elantra N TCR. The Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian pair have finished inside the top-6 in the previous three races and were looking to end the season on a high at Road Atlanta. Hagler was aiming to replicate the podium finish she achieved at the circuit two years ago and was looking to draw on her past experience to challenge towards the front of the field.
At Road Atlanta, the Texan had in fact claimed the final points to secure her 2021 and 2022 titles - becoming the first ever IMSA TCR champion.
"This year has been a year of growth and learning," said Hagler before the race meeting. "With Bryson [Morris] on the team, I transitioned into the veteran driver in my car posing a new leadership opportunity."
"I have learned so much from my former teammates so being able to help a young, promising driver like Bryson gain experience in the Hyundai platform has been a great experience. While we haven'd had the results we have wanted, we have progressed as a team and improved with each race weekend. I am looking forward to returning to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and taking the checkered flag on the 2024 season on a positive note."
On-track action began on Wednesday with the first of two free practice sessions at Road Atlanta. Completing 26 laps in the free practice one, Hagler and Morris set the fourth fastest time and were the leading car run by the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian team.
Session two was held on Thursday morning with the duo clocking the eighth fastest time, just half a second away from the quickest lap in the TCR class, while Morris set the fastest middle sector of any driver.
After strong performances in both practice sessions, Morris qualified the Hyundai Elantra N and was aiming to gain the team track position ahead of the two-hour race. Despite a red flag period early in the session, Morris set a sensational lap time of a 1:26.692 to claim the TCR class pole position and the class lap record in the process.
The Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian driver had set the fifth fastest lap time in the entire session, beaten only by four GS class machines, while his middle sector time was almost a quarter of a second faster than any other driver in either class.
With the classes split for the start of the race, Morris lined up on pole position within TCR while the full GS field was ahead. It was an excellent start from Morris who immediately opened out a lead of several car lengths through the opening sector.
By the end of lap one, he was over a second clear of his nearest rival and demonstrating the speed which had seen him set the TCR class track record in qualifying. As the race began settling into a rhythm, the chasing pack of drivers closed in with the powerful slipstream effect preventing Morris from opening out a substantial lead.
The frontrunners in the TCR class then traded the fastest lap of the race, with Morris setting a new benchmark on lap five. One lap later, the race was brought under full course yellow conditions with Bob Michaelian off course at turn seven. When the race resumed, Morris was on the tail of some of the slower GS class machines and he was able to successfully put a number of these between himself and the next cars in the TCR class. This enabled him to build a gap behind and he could therefore focus forward and set the fastest lap of the race on both laps 15 and 17.
As the one-third mark of the race passed, the lead Morris had built over his nearest rival was five seconds with a gap of over 10 seconds between him and third place driver Robert Wickens.
On lap 26, a second full course yellow period was required when Jim Jonsin hit the barrier in his Goldcrest Motorsport Porsche 718 GT4 RS machine. This erased the lead which Morris had built up, however he assumed the overall lead of the race as the GS cars stopped first under the full course yellow.
When the pits opened for the TCR competitors, Morris brought the car to the attention of the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian crew with Hagler getting behind the wheel. With the majority of the TCR class machines pitting at the same time, it was a tight pit lane and Hagler lost out to several of her rivals. As a result, she restarted from fifth position with the Baker Racing machine of Sam Baker yet to stop.
Just over an hour of the season finale remained when the green flag was displayed and although falling behind Kuno Wittmer at the restart, Hagler was able to negotiate the off-strategy car of Baker. One lap later, a third full course yellow period of the race was required when Baker’s Audi RS3 TCR blew a tyre and left significant debris on the track.
Restarting in fifth position, Hagler’s pace was excellent as she set a lap time faster than Morris had earlier managed and missed out on the fastest lap of the race in the TCR class by less than half a second.
After a spell of running in the leading pack, Hagler then started to come under pressure from champion-elect Mikey Taylor with his Audi RS3 TCR moving ahead on lap 42. This led to a challenging spell for Hagler as she lost out to both Denis Dupont and Tim Lewis, before regaining her rhythm in eighth position.
With half an hour of the race remaining, Hagler’s pace was once again strong as she began to close down on Lewis. Due to differing strategies among the classes, the GS machines were now working their way through the TCR class traffic and with the TCR field close on fuel, the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian team decided to bring Hagler to the pit lane.
This was a strategy play where the team were hoping for a full course yellow period in order to cycle to the front of the field, while ensuring there were not any late-race fuel concerns.
A number of close calls in the final stages of the race gave the team hope that a full course yellow period would occur, however the race remained green.
After Mikey Taylor also stopped, he was able to pass Hagler and this resulted in a ninth place finish as only one other team decided to take on fuel. It was an unfortunate end to the race where both drivers had displayed strong pace and the final result was not reflective of this.
“A disappointing end to the season, but that is just how racing goes sometimes", Hagler commented. "The year has challenged me as a driver and pushed me to grow in new ways. Thank you to Hyundai and Bryan Herta Autosport for their work and dedication all year. I am looking forward to what is to come!”
Despite a challenging end to the season, both Hagler and Morris enjoyed one of their best showings of the season at Road Atlanta. After leading the first half of the race, the pair had established a strong position in the TCR class and were unfortunate not to challenge for a podium finish.
Hagler will now return to Europe for the final round of ADAC GT Masters where she will look to build upon an excellent previous round of the season at the Red Bull Ring. Hockenheim in Germany will host the season finale in one week’s time with Taylor targeting another trip to the Pro-Am podium.
