Porter, Choksey and RAFA Toyota take Pilot Challenge CTMP GS win

IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge races often provide chaotic yet fun twists and turns, which puts a premium on pit stop strategy and timing. RAFA Racing played it to perfection Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park ad Kiko Porto and Varun Choksey scored the overall and Grand Sport (GS) class victory in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120.

They drove the No. 12 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 to a 9.811s margin of victory over Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer in the No. 27 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO, with Nate Cicero and Robert Noaker claiming third place another four seconds back in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4.

The key to RAFA’s victory was the decision to make another pit stop when the third full course caution of the two-hour race occurred just two green flag laps after they had pitted during the second. As other competitors made their second stops, Porto assumed the lead with around 40 minutes remaining and built a big enough cushion to make a third and final stop for fuel with 17 minutes to go.

Porto emerged with a four-second advantage and stretched it out to the checkered flag as McAleer and Cicero backed off in the closing laps to ensure their two-stop strategy would carry them to the finish.

It was a day of firsts, as Porto, Choksey and RAFA Racing scored their initial triumphs in Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class competition. Toyota earned its second GS class win, both coming at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Parker Thompson and Billy Johnson in 2023). Toyota is the fifth of seven participating manufacturers to claim a GS class victory in 2026.

“This is definitely a relief,” Porto remarked. “I wasn’t expecting this win. But we got it. We knew we’d been close the whole season, just haven’t been able to capitalize.

“The car and team did amazing, and it was tough,” he continued. “At one point the team told me to save fuel and I did my absolute best, but it’s such a high-speed circuit. But I built the gap enough. Next is Road America in two weeks; we can keep getting points for this championship.”

Choksey admitted that watching the second half of the race from pit lane was a nerve-wracking affair, but he had confidence in Porto.

“I almost expect the brilliance from Kiko at this point; it’s full credit to him,” he said. “I didn’t know how our strategy call would play out. The first few laps I wasn’t sure, then I wondered if we were in the lead, and then we were in the great position.”

Cicero and Noaker have unofficially taken over the championship lead in the GS class by 30 points over Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper, who finished sixth Saturday in the No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4. Krainz and McAleer are another 10 points back.

Incoming points leaders Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars (No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO) had a rough day in Canada, pitting for mechanical repairs after the first lap and ultimately finishing 11 laps down in 23rd place to drop them to fourth, 140 points from the top spot.

TCR: Another Hyundai/BHA Masterclass

Bryson Morris and Mason Filippi extended their championship lead in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge’s Touring Car (TCR) class with a tactical victory in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 at the track of the same name.

One lengthy and one brief full-course caution opened the possibility for TCR competitors to complete the two-hour race with a single pit stop, but the last 64 minutes were run under green flag conditions, creating drama whether a late splash-and-go would be required.

Morris was running third 41 minutes into the race when he pulled the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR in for what would turn out to be its only pit stop. In fact, almost the entire TCR field pitted simultaneously, but fast pit work by the BHA team and a perfectly executed driver change allowed Filippi to exit the pits with a lead he would not relinquish.

But Karl Wittmer didn’t make it easy. He and the No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR he shared with fellow Canadian LP Montour were rarely far from Filippi’s rear bumper, before finally dropping 2.194 seconds back at the checkered flag. Local driver Dean Baker of Bowmanville and ex-Indy car star Bruno Junqueira, a late addition to the lineup this weekend, took third place in the No. 56 Baker Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR.

The tense battle gave Morris butterflies as he watched from the pit lane.

“Very nervous watching,” he admitted. “We tried to run our own race, but track position is so important. The No. 93 (Wittmer) was coming fast after they got by Harry (Gottsacker, who finished fourth in the No. 18 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR he shared with Lance Bergstein) and we watched closely. But Mason did a great job hitting the number.”

Filippi, who shared the No. 98 car with 2025 Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR champion Gottsacker in all but one race before moving to the No. 33 this year, revealed he and the team worked on their fuel-saving techniques during practice in case those skills would come handy in the race.

BHA is the dominant team in the TCR class, with 32 wins and six championships since 2019. Filippi has been part of 11 of those wins.

“I didn’t know if we could do it; it was long,” Filippi said. “We did some practice in FP2, so we hit those numbers. Once we knew we could get it, we tried to save the track position.”

Filippi and Morris have opened up a gap nearing 200 points on Denis Dupont and Preston Brown, who finished eighth at CTMP in the No. 76 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Unofficially, third through sixth in the standings – which includes the Nos. 18, 98, 5 and 93 cars – are separated by just 20 points.

The next round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge comes July 30-Aug. 2 at Road America.