Congratulations to the following drivers who made the podium today at Virginia International Racetrack:
Roman DeAngelis 2nd in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA
Kyle Marcelli 1st in Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class
James Vance 1st in Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class
The rest of the Canadian field finished as follows:
Kuno Wittmer 9th GS
Jesse Lazare 10th GS
Mark Wilkins 4th TCR
Orey Fidani/Chris Green 25th GS ( Car retired due to crash on Lap 4 )
Jeff Kingsley 17th Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA ( Platinum Class )
October 7, 2017.- This weekend, on the Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia, the 2017 season of the North American Endurance IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge came to an end. A season that the Quebec Motorsports In Action (MIA) Team and its Montreal drivers Jesse Lazare and Chris Green fully contested, from March until October, and ended on a high note by claiming a magnificent victory yesterday, crowning the efforts of the entire team. At the end of the two-hour race, the #69 McLaren 570S driven by Chris Green and Jesse Lazare finished in first place, after having led the majority of the laps.
The tenth and last race of the season, this two-hour event held as part of the twentieth anniversary of the popular “Petit Le Mans” at the Road Atlanta circuit, was highlighted by the heat, spectacular battles at the front of the pack, and a dominant effort by the MIA team for a good portion of the event, right through the finish line.
The #69 Pfaff McLaren and Garaga McLaren, driven by Jesse Lazare and Chris Green, progressed up the leaderboard throughout the duration of the weekend, despite a crash during the test session on Wednesday: Jesse had a catastrophic front left tire failure which delaminated moments before impact. When he put the tire under load in the last corner at 192 kph there was no turning the car. Tire has been sent to the lab by Continental Tire for further investigation.
Seventh during the first practice session, and first in the third session, the team, with Chris Green at the wheel, qualified on the first line.
Right from the start of the race, Green maintained his second place, before taking advantage of the first neutralization to refuel. This tactic was perfectly executed by the MIA team mechanics, enabling Chris to take the lead once the racing restarted.
The following laps gave the spectators a great battle for top spot between three cars and just as the mid-way point of the race took place, in conjunction with a second neutralization, Green and the MIA McLaren were once again in the lead.
When it was time to switch drivers, refuel once again, and change the tires, the MIA team did another remarkable job and Jesse Lazare took to the track still in first place.
Having to deal with race traffic on the tricky Road Atlanta circuit, Lazare saw his lead vary by a few seconds each lap, throughout the second half of the race. However, the young Montreal driver was flawless in his driving and was able to resist the pressure from his closest adversaries. “Honestly, when I got in the car I knew it was the perfect opportunity, it was the perfect sprint stint” said Lazare. “I had the car to go to the end – the fuel, the tires. The team did a perfect job. Chris did an outstanding job bringing me the car completely straight, like brand new. I was keeping every tire on out there and I was maintaining my gap and this is just a taste of what Motorsports In Action can do.”
This exceptional victory rewarded the MIA team for all their hard work all season, despite barely missing out on success earlier this season, for the #69 McLaren. At Road Atlanta, everything came together. “This is an extremely emotional victory for not only me, but the whole team that put all their love and effort throughout the whole season. I want to personally thank Carl Hermez that put this super star team together and achieved so much for a new team! Can’t wait for next year!” indicated Eric Kerub, team owner.
This success concludes the 2017 season for the MIA team, Jesse Lazare and Chris Green finished in sixth place in the Grand Sports final standings. More details regarding the 2018 plans of the team and their drivers will be
September 24, 2017.- This weekend, Quebec’s Motorsports In Action (MIA) team and its Montreal drivers Jesse Lazare and Chris Green contested the penultimate round of North America’s Endurance series, the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, at the Laguna Seca circuit in California. A four-hour race, twice as long as the other races held this summer, saw the McLaren 570S GT4 #69 in the lead longer than any other competitor or team, before Chris Green was sent spinning with only two laps left, while he was in second place.
The weekend had a rough start for the MIA team, as was the case for the other competing McLaren GT4, which were significantly off the pace at the tricky Laguna Seca track. « We worked very hard and opted for “aggressive” changes during the free practice, which turned out to be beneficial. With help from Ian Willis, the respected owner of the AIM team, they finished by getting the right qualifying and race setups, enabling Jesse Lazare to make his way to the front starting line », confided team owner Eric Kerub.
The Pfaff McLaren/Garaga endorsed #69, driven by Jesse Lazare, found itself in second position during the first few minutes of the race, but by the time one hour was completed, Lazare and Green were leading the event. Their position barely changed and by mid-point of the race and the start of the last hour, the MIA team’s McLaren was still at the top of the leaderboard.
After executing a perfect race strategy and flawless pit stops, the MIA team, with Chris Green at the wheel, found themselves in a podium position with only minutes remaining. As he was completing the second to last lap, Green fell victim of a rear end hit from an over ambitious competitor that misjudged his braking, causing a spin, and eliminated any potential podium that the team worked so hard for in 3 hours and 57 minutes of this 4 hour enduro. The Lazare/Green duo eventually finished the event in eighth spot, which turned into seventh place in the official race results when the competitor that sent Chris Green in a spin was penalized by the officials at the finish.
The MIA team and its drivers completed excellent work throughout the entire weekend in California. Despite the disappointing result, all team members want to finish the season on a positive note, as explained by team owner Eric Kerub ” we were one second slower than the other manufacturers during the free practice but got everything right when it counted and lead for more than half of the race”, he confided prior to continuing ” Chris had a broken rear diffuser early in his stint which certainly caused some performance loss with an hour to go. This, with combination of the extremely strong Aston Martin’s over the weekend made a victory impossible, but losing second place that way really hurts. The entire team did a perfect job this weekend and that’s the major positive point to retain “.
The next round of the 2017 championship of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series will take place in two weeks at the Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia. This will be the final race of the season, contested as part of the prestigious “Petit Le Mans”, on October 6th.
