IMSA: AO Racing's 'Spike' scores first series win at CTMP

The No. 99 AO Racing entry claimed its first LMP2 victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron started from pole position and controlled most of the race until a strategy call from the No. 43 Inter Europol entry moved ‘Spike’ to second. A crash involving the No. 43 in the closing minutes of the race put the No. 99 back in front, ultimately winning under yellow.

“It feels amazing,” said Hyett. “I think other wins have obviously been very, very special but to win in IMSA, where I started, it’s just an amazing feeling.”

A downpour before the race left drivers and teams uncertain about how the track would evolve, but by the start, the surface was dry, setting the stage for a mostly green-flag race with just three full-course cautions.

“The huge deluge before the race, we weren’t really sure what we were getting ourselves into,” said Hyett. “We weren’t sure if it was all going to dry out, but it did dry out, so for us with the Michelins, it worked perfect.”
 

Chevrolet Grand Prix Results:

LMP2: No. 99 AO Racing, PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron

GTD PRO: No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari, Albert Costa, Giacomo Altoè

GTD: No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini, Danny Formal, Trent Hindman

Congratulations to the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW for winning the midyear Michelin Efficient Performance Award—given in each WeatherTech class for completing the most laps using the fewest Michelin slicks.

Michelin Tire Tech Minute: Same Gibson engine. Same Oreca chassis. For LMP2 at challenging CTMP, it’s all about driver skill, strategy, setup and how well teams harness the Michelin tire. Watch here.

Up Next:

All four classes in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship head to Road America next for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend. Catch the action on Peacock, Sunday, August 3, from 2–5 p.m. ET.