MONTEREY, Calif. – Volt Racing parlayed smart pit-stop strategy and a fast Aston Martin Vantage GT4 into victory for drivers Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120, round three of the 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Brynjolfsson guided the No. 7 Aston from ninth to second during his race-opening stint Saturday before making a timely pit stop to hand the car off to Hindman just prior to the second of four full-course cautions that punctuated the two-hour contest at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
When the majority of the Grand Sport (GS) class pitted during the caution, Hindman emerged in a lead he would not relinquish. He pulled away to a four-second lead in the closing laps before easing up to cross the line 2.513 seconds ahead of the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport shared by Alexandre Premat and Steven McAleer.
“The guys up on the pit box put us in position to get it done today. Our job behind the wheel was just not to screw it up,” said Hindman. “It was a great call to stay out for the first yellow, and an even better call to come in for the second.
“That’s what got us out front in clean air. I think it would have been difficult if we had to race from the back – I don’t know if we had the pace. But in clean air, we certainly did.”
Brynjolfsson did an excellent job moving through the field during his stint, capitalizing when several competitors – including the RS1 Porsche and pole winner/early leader Kenton Koch in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 – elected to pit during the first caution and commit to a two-stop strategy.
“It was a great strategy to leave me out and do a one-stop fuel stint,” Brynjolfsson said. “That helped out a lot. It’s such an aggressive track on tires, so the key was not sliding the car and trying to be patient. I felt like there were times in the race where I could have tried to make a move forward, but I didn’t want to slide the tires.”
The differing strategy dropped the No. 28 RS1 Porsche to 11th place when Premat handed over to McAleer, who unleashed a furious comeback drive.
The 37-year-old Scotsman revealed he suffered from food poisoning on Friday night and called Saturday’s race one of the hardest events he could remember.
“Alex was flying, we were sitting in second in a good spot, but based on where we were at on the racetrack, we missed the opportunity to come in under a green flag,” McAleer said. “That really shuffled the order quite a bit.
“What a hard fight – I love this GT4 racing in the Pilot Challenge,” he added. “There wasn’t a single car I caught that was easy (to pass) and everyone played a different game. We might have gotten a shot at Trent if we’d got another caution, but congratulations to the Volt guys.”
Alfredo Najri and Thiago Camilo finished third to claim the first podium result for Riley Motorsports’ No. 14 Toyota Supra GT4.
With the victory, Brynjolfsson and Hindman broke a tie for the GS standings lead with Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler, who finished 23rd in the No. 64 Team TGM Porsche after dropping out early. The No. 7 Volt Aston Martin now unofficially leads McAleer and the No. 28 RS1 Porsche by 90 points.