Riley Pegram shows promise on debut season in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge

Having made her circuit racing debut in 2023, Riley Pegram made impressive strides during the 2024 season by debuting in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge alongside her father, and achieved a best result of sixth in class at Indianapolis while continuing to adapt to TCR machinery. Here's our season review.

Riley Pegram took the next step in her racing career during the 2024 season by making her debut in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. The young American racer made her circuit racing debut in 2023 as she competed in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, before switching to TCR machinery for the most recent campaign.

After making her TCR debut in the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour at Mid-Ohio, Pegram then completed a partial season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, alongside her father Larry, with the pair achieving a best result of sixth in class coming at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Twenty-year-old Riley made her full-season circuit racing debut at the beginning of 2023 after making the move to Porsche Sprint Challenge North America from karting. This was a significant step up for Pegram as she adapted to a new style of racing, while learning some of the most challenging circuits in the country alongside experience team MDK Motorsports.

Nonetheless, she adapted well and the season of development saw Pegram finish an excellent fourth in the Cayman Pro/Am standings, while completing the campaign as the second highest Junior class driver.

Making her debut at Sebring International Raceway, this was a formidable challenge for the circuit racing rookie in her Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. After qualifying ninth in Cayman Pro/Am, Pegram finished race one seventh in class while improving upon her previous best lap time by one second. In the second race of the event, Riley matched her earlier result to bank good championship points.

The second round of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America was held at Barber Motorsports Park and Pegram’s improvements were evident in qualifying. The MDK Motorsports driver set the seventh fastest time in class and was in contention with the midfield runners ahead, while setting a lap time faster than class rival Nathaniel Martin.

In race one, she was able to enjoy close battles throughout the race for positions within the overall top-5. At the end of the contest, Riley had secured a best result of sixth in Cayman Pro/Am and was looking ahead to more battles in race two. Setting a new best time of the weekend by almost one second, Pegram once again finished sixth and was consistently challenging for top-5 results.

At Virigina International Raceway for round three of the championship, it was another consistent meeting for Riley. Again setting her best lap in the final race of the weekend, she left the event with another equal-best result of sixth in the Cayman Pro/Am class. Similar results were achieved at Road America with Pegram again finishing both races without incident and gaining valuable experience and keeping herself in contention for a strong championship finish.

In the final two rounds of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America season, Pegram competed at Circuit of the Americas and Indianapolis Motor Speedway respectively. Consistency was the key to Riley’s progress who finished three out of the four races at these circuits in seventh position in class. As a result, she had achieved a perfect finishing record across her debut campaign and secured a superb fourth place result in the Cayman/Pro standings.

For 2024, Pegram made the switch to front-wheel-drive machinery as she raced a family-run Audi RS3 LMS TCR. This was an older generation of TCR car compared to her rivals in both programmes she competed in and therefore Riley was often at a performance disadvantage. Nonetheless, she was able to learn from her more experienced rivals and improve steadily throughout the campaign.

Her debut in TCR machinery came at the highest level possible as Pegram entered the American round of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour which took place at Mid-Ohio in June. Racing alongside some of the modern stars of touring car racing such as Norbert Michelisz and Esteban Guerreri, Riley competed admirably. In qualifying, Pegram set the 15th fastest time and was within one second of fellow female racing driver Megan Tomlinson in her second-generation Audi RS3 LMS TCR machine.

Although Pegram suffered an unfortunate retirement in race one, she was still able to complete 10 laps to gain experience before the second race of the event. In race two, Riley took the checkered flag in 12th position, while also scoring her first ever points in the series on her debut weekend.

For the remainder of the 2024 season, Pegram entered the three of the final four events in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge alongside her father Larry. Continuing to drive an Audi RS3 LMS TCR, the pair rose to the challenge of endurance racing as they battled against established teams including Bryan Herta Autosport.

Making their debut at Road America, it was a weekend of learning for the Pegram Racing duo. Riley benefited from visiting a circuit for the second time following her appearance in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and this enabled her to get up to speed. Riley completed 19 laps across the free practice sessions before improving upon her best time in qualifying by three seconds.

In the two-hour race, Riley battled some issues in her opening stint but was able to gain experience of multi-class endurance racing. Her father Larry took over for the second half of the contest and following two late pit stops, the duo ended their first race in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 12th place within the TCR class.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted the next round of the championship and it proved to be a highlight of Riley’s season. Pegram Racing took a step forward in on-track performance from the first session of the weekend and this laid the foundation for a successful event. In a disrupted qualifying session, Riley set the eighth fastest time in the TCR class to secure a fourth row starting spot.

In the opening stint, Riley was able to compete well against her rivals and also beat her best previous lap which was set in practice. This enabled her to run as high as sixth at the conclusion of her stint before handing over to her father.

A bold strategy play by the Pegram Racing team saw Larry stretch the fuel mileage in his stint with the duo running in a provisional podium position in the final laps. Pegram fell just short of executing a sensational strategy, however he brought the car home in an excellent sixth position at the Brickyard.

The formidable Road Atlanta circuit played host to the final round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and was a new track for Riley to learn. As a result, it was challenging for her to get up to speed at a circuit with significant elevation change. However, qualifying saw her improve her best time by over two seconds ahead of the final two-hour contest of the season.

As the duo continued to find their feet in this high level of competition, this was reflected in the results. It was a smooth race for the father-daughter duo with Riley improving upon her fastest time by a further second. Both drivers competed admirably and this saw them secure their second top-10 finish of the season with a ninth place result.

Riley showed excellent improvements in her first season driving TCR machinery despite the vastly different driving style required. Moving into endurance racing has allowed her to develop a wider skillset with her traffic management skills in particular improving with each race.

Pegram will be aiming to continue her motorsport journey in 2025 after beginning a good partnership with her father as they embarked on a campaign at the highest-level of touring car racing.