Modern Endurance Challenge and HSR Prototype Challenge conclude HSR The Mitty weekend

The 48th HSR The Mitty presented by Hagerty wrapped up its four-day meeting under sun-splashed skies at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta highlighted by a pair of hour-long Endurance Challenge races on Sunday.

The final day of activity included nearly five hours of on-track action, with the afternoon session kicked off by the SascoSports International/American Challenge presented by Hoosier for “small bore” cars.

Greg Ira made an aggressive move as the green flag flew from third on the grid to take an overall lead he would not relinquish in the 1972 No. 2 RevTec Datsun 240Z. Ira built a cushion as large as 7.4 seconds before easing off to take the checkers 5.178 seconds ahead of Jean Goutal in the No. 254 GMT Racing 1962 Lotus 7 – Goutal’s second podium finish at this year’s The Mitty.

The International Class podium was completed by another pristine 1972 Datsun 240Z – the No. 85 prepared by CMJ Racing and driven by Linwood Staub.

The Porsche class also produced a flag-to-flag triumph as the ever-enthusiastic Ramsey Potts dominated in the No. 58 DAS Sport 1987 Porsche 944 featuring a throwback Brumos Racing livery.

Roy Saunders represented the air-cooled Porsche set by claiming second in the 1966 Porsche 911 No. 317 fielded by Saunders Motorsports, while Perry Tennell flew the flag for an even earlier generation of the German marque in third place in the No. 55A Tennell Racing 1961 Porsche 356.

The late-afternoon stretch of endurance racing began with the B.R.M Modern Endurance Challenge that settled into a measured rhythm after the green flag, with early battles gradually taking shape.

Cliff Berry, aboard the No. 51 KMW Motorsports & TMR Engineering 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR, made the first decisive move 13 minutes in, overtaking teammate Ryan Harrold in the sister 2022 No. 105 Alfa Romeo Giulietta entry to take control of the GT Modern (GTM) lead.

As the race unfolded, strategy became the defining factor. Mandatory pit stops ultimately reshuffled the running order, setting the stage for a family duel at the front of the field. Mark Stratford, driving the No. 43 More Motorsports 2006 Elan DP02 emerged ahead following the pit cycle, edging out his father, Phil Stratford, who shared the No. 95 More Motorsports entry with Scott Smith. The younger Stratford secured both the overall victory, and the Modern Sports Prototype (MSP) class win over his father, while Mark Clark completed the MSP podium in third aboard the No. 15 GMT Racing 1990 Swift DB5.

In GTM, Harrold reclaimed the lead following his pit stop to capture the class victory. Rich DeFrancisco finished second in the European Autogarage-prepared 2020 BMW M2 CS, with Zack Mortimer rounding out the podium in the 1994 No. 369 BMW 325i fielded by Chattanooga Tourenwagen.

The final hour-long race of the weekend – the HSR Prototype Endurance Challenge presented by Michelin – once again saw strategy come to the forefront, as mandatory pit stops proved decisive in shaping the outcome. The duo of Paul Arnold and Sean Rayhall, driving the PTC Motorsports-prepared 2021 No. 14 Ligier JS P320, capitalized on the pit cycle and misfortune for Chip Romer in the 2018 No. 5 One Motorsports Ligier JS P315. The combination built a more than one-minute advantage for Arnold and Rayhall to deny Romer a clean sweep of the weekend and secure top overall and P3 honors.

Although not claiming the overall victory, Romer finished atop the P2 podium and second overall. Joel Quadracci rounded out the P2 podium with a second-place class finish and third overall in the No. 48 2013 ORECA 03 LMP2.

Completing the P3 podium, Paul LaHaye secured second in class with a consistent run in the second One Motorsports entry of the race, the 2006 No. 86 One Motorsports Ligier JS P315, while Jeffery Jones and Casey Carden capped off the category’s finishing order in the No. 07 2020 Ligier JS P320 out of the Denton Carden Racing shop.

The second round of Grand Prix Classics races of the meeting capped Sunday’s action at The Mitty, with Tom Fraehlic reprising his Saturday Group 4B victory in the No. 10 Wayne Brown Racing 1979 March Super Vee. Bruce Hamilton in the No. 76 Wulver Racing 1970 Brabham BT36 again finished second overall and claimed the Group 4 A laurels.

The No. 91 Streamline Motorsports 1990 Reynard 90SF FC driven by Dustin Sizemore took second place in Group 4B, while Marc Giroux notched another Group A second-place finish in the No. 59 GMT Racing 1969 Brabham BT29. Dennis Lane earned a podium finish for third in Group A in the No. 115 Left Lane Vintage Motorsports 1974 Lola T342.

Youth was showcased in the fastest cars on site at Road Atlanta for The Mitty’s finale, as 24-year-old Nolan Allaer drove the No. 70 RM Motorsports 2007 Panoz DP01/09 to a 5.459-second win over 22-year-old Giano Taurino in the No. 01 Taurino Racing 2008 Ferrari A1/GP. Allaer led all 10 laps for a sweep of the weekend’s pair of races, with Taurino again taking second place. Second generation racer Alex Berg, 19, completed the podium in the No. 21 GMT Racing 1997 Lola T97/20.

Historic SportsCar Racing’s next event is the HSR Watkins Glen Classic 6 Hour presented by Mission Foods at Watkins Glen International, June 11-14.