IMSA MICHELIN
Pilot Challenge
Brings Momentum
to Sebring
International Raceway
for the Alan Jay
Automotive Network 120
S U P E R S E B R I N G 2 0 1 9
121
For the sixth consecutive year, the
IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge
returns to iconic Sebring International
Raceway for the Alan Jay
Automotive Network 120 – one
of the toughest and physically demanding
races of the year.
From the showroom to the track,
the Pilot Challenge is IMSA’s
showcase for the latest in American
made and imported high-performance
sports cars, coupes,
hatchbacks and sedans. This
series is home to the same cars
seen on streets and highways
around the world.
Racing is broken up into two classes
– Grand Sport (GS) and TCR,
both of which are globally homologated
– competing on track at the
same time. Cars in the GS categories
can be recognized by the blue
Michelin banner across the top of
the windshield, while the corresponding
banner on TCR cars is
yellow. This is also the rst season
that the series is implementing
the leader light system, which features
an LED panel on the side of
each car identifying the car’s position
in class.
The two-hour race at Sebring marks the second of 10 race
weekends for the MICHELIN Pilot Challenge, which runs
throughout the season in conjunction with the IMSA’s flagship
series, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The rst race came six weeks ago at another prestigious
circuit – Daytona International Speedway.
Following a four-hour battle on the banks of Daytona
– which saw nine of the series’ 13 manufacturers take
turns atop the leaderboard between the two classes – it
was the Compass Racing McLaren GT4 of Paul Holton
and Kuno Wittmer taking the overall win, while a Honda
Civic won in TCR with L.A. Honda World Racing’s Tom
O’Gorman and Shelby Blackstock.