TCR World and life

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WORLD AND LIFE
TCR 2018 ENDURANCE
Wittmer-Sales
take the advantage
The Compass Racing pairing of Rodrigo
Sales and Kuno Wittmer took the
advantage in the standings of the IMSA
Continental Tire Challenge’s TCR class.
With just two rounds left, they lead by
four points ahead of their teammates
Tom Long and Britt Casey Jr (257
points to 253).
In the two latest events of the series –
the Road America 120 at Elkhart Lake
and the Biscuitville Grand Prix at
Virginia International Raceway – Sales
and Wittmer claimed a victory (their
third in the season) and a second place
at the wheel of the #74 Audi RS3 LMS.
At Elkhart Lake they headed into the
lead after the mid-race pit stops and
stayed there until the chequered flag.
However, it wasn’t without a dose of
drama at the end, as teammate Casey
Jr. in the #77 Audi closed the gap and
pulled alongside Wittmer in the final
laps, but he was never quite able to
move ahead and so settled for second.
Finishing on the podium for the fourth
consecutive race were Michael Johnson
and Stephen Simpson in third place
behind the wheel of the #54 JDC-Miller
Motorsports Audi.
It was a black day for the
Racing team that had
both its Audi cars – including the #12
of Tom O’Gorman-Kenton Koch that
started from pole position – eliminated
in the early minutes of the race, as
they were caught in a pile-up caused
by cars of the GS class.
Two weeks later O’Gorman and Koch
took their revenge and scored the first
victory for the team, though it was
anything but a lights-to-flag win.
O’Gorman started from pole and made
a trip into the tyre barrier during an
early race rainstorm; he managed to
get the Audi back on course and he
and Koch methodically worked their
way back to the front.
Eventually Koch claimed the lead from
Long’s Audi with only 15 laps
remaining; Koch and O’Gorman went
on to win by a lap over the #74 of
Wittmer and Sales, while Long and
Casey came home third.