Top Three Set Unofficial Laps Faster than GS Track Record
By Tony DiZinno
LEXINGTON, Ohio – After a day-long wait, the times were as hot as the conditions in the first IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge practice for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio.
Within the first 15 minutes of the one-hour session, three Grand Sport (GS) entries lapped quicker than the GS track record of 1 minute, 26.262 seconds (94.233 mph) set in qualifying in June 2024. Practice times are unofficial so any new record would be set in qualifying or the race.
Nonetheless, last year’s Mid-Ohio GS polesitter Thomas Merrill set the early and ultimate pace in the No. 14 Circle H Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo he’ll share with David Hampton and Martin Sarukhanyan at 1 minute, 25.846 seconds (94.690 mph).
Merrill won the Motul Pole Award last year when he and Hampton were with another team (AR Motorsports) and manufacturer (Porsche). But their switch to the Archangel Motorsports-operated team and Aston Martin has proven fruitful to start 2026 with a runner-up finish in the year’s first four-hour race of the season at Daytona International Speedway in January. An Archangel-run Aston Martin won the first four-hour Mid-Ohio race in 2024.
Sebring winner Michael Cooper in the No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 and Cameron Shields in the No. 37 CarBahn with Peregrine racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO also got into the 1:25 bracket under sunny skies with ambient temperatures in the mid-80s Fahrenheit with Mid-Ohio’s 2.258-mile circuit featuring 110-plus track temperatures.
Aston Martin, McLaren, BMW, Toyota and Mercedes-AMG all featured in the top 10 in GS.
In Touring Car (TCR), Victor Gonzalez Racing set the early weekend pace with its repaired No. 21 Cupra Leon VZ TCR with Steven Clemons and team newcomer and series returnee Caleb Bacon this weekend. Clemons won an IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Grand Sport X (GSX) race at Mid-Ohio in 2025 and parlayed his track knowledge into a strong opening practice with a best time of 1 minute, 27.208 seconds (93.211 mph).
Clemons led a Cupra 1-2 ahead of Celso Neto in the No. 77 Stallion Motorsports w/Gou entry, with Honda Civic FL5 TCR cars third, fourth and fifth in their home race with the No. 93 MMG, No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering and No. 72 Pegram Racing Hondas next up.
In GS, Medusa Motorsports has added Jacob Loomis to the No. 4 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo, alongside Athan Sterling and Hunter Yeany. The seat was originally earmarked for Sebastian Saavedra, who remains on-site this weekend in a coaching capacity. Meanwhile 2025 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin champion Jeremy Fletcher joins the No. 23 Koch-Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 alongside Jaxon Bell and Ford Koch.
In TCR, Jon Miller returns to the No. 18 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR alongside Harry Gottsacker and Lance Bergstein.
Michelin Pilot Challenge teams have a second one-hour practice Saturday at 10:45 a.m. ET and local time, with qualifying due to follow Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET.