Brichacek bounces back in VP Racing Challenge Race 2 at CTMP

Wyatt Brichacek bounced back in a big way in the second of two IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge 45-minute sprint races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

From pole position, Brichacek – driving the No. 95 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325 – led the field of LMP3 cars from the green. Unlike in Saturday’s first race of the weekend, he kept his position in column alignment past the starting line and proceeded to build a more than five-second lead until a full course caution occurred mid-race for an incident by the No. 77 car exiting Turn 1.

Once the race restarted, Brichacek was able to build a gap again to Oscar Tunjo, in his No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. Duqueine D09. He won by 5.993s.

The win is Brichacek’s third in an IMSA LMP3 sprint race in 2026 (he swept Circuit of The Americas two-race sprint in February in Toney’s No. 30 car), and fourth overall (won the two-hour IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge at COTA in May in the No. 95 car).

“The TDD Ligier is amazing and it's always on point,” Brichacek said. “It's a bit unfortunate yesterday with what happened. We had the pace yesterday, but I'm glad we could show again that this is where we belong on top and it all worked out.”

Brichacek has had a busy season racing both domestically and internationally in various sports car series. While not a direct championship challenger to Tunjo as he hasn’t raced all rounds, he’s certainly made his presence felt when he has been in the IMSA paddock.

Tunjo was second, extending his championship lead. Bijoy Garg, the 2023 VP Racing Challenge LMP3 champion, finished third in the No. 30 Toney Ligier JS P325.

Travis Hill won the LMP3 Bronze Cup in his No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325 for the second consecutive day, finishing fifth overall. It capped off a special weekend on home soil where he won both LMP3 Bronze races, closed that class championship gap to 10 points behind Brian Thienes, and raced with his brother Trevor in Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race in their No. 22 Shopify Racing Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

“We’ve got a good championship chase going with Brian, and I’m really happy we’re able to do so,” Hill said. “In Pilot, we wanted to finish off the run with the Porsche here for me to hand it off to my brother. We were in a good spot but got a puncture late. But I’m so happy with this weekend and our shortest travel; I’m ecstatic finishing it off!”

GSX: Ellahi holds off Crone as Workman’s win streak ends

Westin Workman’s pursuit of a perfect season in Grand Sport X came undone early with an apparent loss of drive in his No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, as he slowed on the front straight just three laps into the race.

With both his own seven-race win streak and Toyota’s 20-race streak in class dating to the 2024 GSX season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta both over, it opened the door for a great battle between three of his season-long challengers from three other brands.

Ismaeel Ellahi, a sim racer who’s building his road racing experience, executed a race-long defense in his No. 25 CSM Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO against Courtney Crone in her No. 35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 EVO.

Despite Crone’s best efforts and consistently being within one to three tenths of a second, the 2023 IMSA 3D Scholarship recipient was unable to make a passing attempt.

Ellahi held on by 0.289s for his first win, with Crone second for her third podium of the season. Justin Di Benedetto finished third in his No. 4 Di Benedetto Racing Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for his fifth podium in six races this year.

Ellahi was overjoyed at the outcome. He noted his own progress working on a simulator, thanked his coach Morgan Burkhard, and hailed CSM’s rapid prep work of its new Aston Martin, which arrived only just before this race.

“I think the greatest part about this whole thing is that we got this Aston Martin in our shop two weeks ago,” Ellahi said. “That was after the crew did two weeks of overtime. Then they came back and worked on our car. We guessed on a setup here. We really had no idea what we were doing, and we just winged it every single time. I'm super happy and I'm super thankful to them for opportunities that they've given me.”

All three Canadians in this race made the podium, as beyond Hill and Di Benedetto, Montreal’s Jon Brel secured his first GSX Bronze Cup win of the season in his No. 81 Kingpin Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.

LMP3 competitors race their next event at Road America for the fourth and final IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge two-hour race, Aug. 14-16. The GSX field is back in action a week later, Aug. 21-23, at VIRginia International Raceway, for its next race.

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