Sebastian Priaulx fought his way to a top ten finish alongside Scott Maxwell in their Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang during a challenging third meeting of the 2020 Michelin Pilot Challenge season at Road America (31st July / 1st August).
Two weeks on from the season resuming at Sebring following the COVID-19 enforced break, the Guernseyman headed to Wisconsin in positive spirits as he prepared to race at the iconic Road America circuit for the first time in his blossoming career.
Benefiting from a wealth of experience from Multimatic Motorsports and Scott Maxwell, Priaulx quickly got to grips with the circuit during two free practice sessions on Friday and was confident of a competitive showing the next day.
Maxwell took the reins for qualifying and a great lap put them fifth on the grid. He went on to start behind the wheel for the two hour race, but soon after moving up to fourth place a downshift issue locked up the rears and sent him tumbling down the order to 16th position.
The Canadian recovered well though and once he’d handed over the car, Priaulx emerged in 11th position. Determined to mount a fightback he gained a couple of places in his first 15 minutes, before producing some consistent, fast laps as he maintained his top ten standing.
A final trip to the pitlane moved him back two positions again, but the 19 year old continued his impressive performance as he battled his way through to eighth place again prior to the chequered flag.
Sebastian Priaulx: “Road America is an awesome circuit and one I’d love to come and race at again soon. It's a really fast track and one that can punish you hugely for even the smallest of mistakes. Therefore I was having to maximise every lap I had to learn more about the track.
“We headed into the race knowing our car wasn’t the outright quickest, but the potential was there to challenge for a top five finish. Unfortunately the race didn't go our way, but I'm happy with the pace I showed once I got behind the wheel.
“I was pleased to be able to claw back some positions and reach the finish in eighth. These are the weekend’s you need to learn and move on from, and I’m so grateful to Multimatic and Ford Performance for giving me these opportunities to continue developing as a driver.”
There’s now a three week break until the next round of the 2020 Michelin Pilot Challenge season at Virginia International Raceway on 21-23 August.
Image from IMSA.