The Road Shagger Racing Audi RS 3 LMS driven by Gavin Ernstone and Jonathan Morley clinches victory in the TCR class at the end of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenger opener at Daytona.

While the 4-hour race ended under caution, the thrill and excitement from Ernstone was as palpable as ever as he watched the #61 car come to the chequered flag. Watching his co-driver, Morley, cross the finish line first among the TCR class cars, Ernstone stood jubilant on the pit wall.

While they’ve experienced victory once before (at Laguna Seca last year) during the team’s inaugural season, it’s clear this one will be long remembered.

“It was extremely emotional for me,” said Ernstone. “Daytona is legendary all around the world. We can say we won at Daytona. I was sobbing like a baby. I couldn’t watch the last 45 minutes of the race. It was emotional for me, I’m sure for Jon too, it was huge and one of the biggest days of my life for sure.”

The #61 Audi started 11th on the grid, but slowly worked its way through the field. During the final pit stop of the race, Morley came within inches of the # 32 Speed Syndicate Motorsports Audi of Mikey Taylor and a clutch pit stop kept the Road Shagger machine a fraction ahead of Taylor as the two cars left pit lane nose-to-tail, but Morley kept Taylor’s Audi at bay.

Taylor and co-driver William Tally finished second, while Stephen Simpson and Michael Johnson in the #54 JDC-Miller Motorsports car finished third, making it an all-Audi podium.

“I settled in following three other Audis all with incredible drivers in them,” said Morley. “We were helping each other, drafting, I could hang with them, I’d catch them every once and awhile. It didn’t feel like I had a distinct advantage on them, but there was a lot of time left. If I stuck with them, I knew my crew would get me by them and they did."

The second round of the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge takes place at Sebring International Raceway on March 19th.

Race

1. Road Shagger Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS (Ernstone/Morley)), 107 laps

2. Speed Syndicate Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS (Taylor/Tally), 0.796

3. JDC-Miller Motorsports, Audi RS 3 LMS (Simpson/Johnson), 2.811

4. Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Veloster N (Lewis/Filippi), 3.386

5. Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Veloster N (Chaves/Norman), 6.812

Championship points

1. Ernstone/Morley, 35 pts; 2. Taylor/Tally, 32; 3. Simpson/Johnson, 30

Picture: IMSA/LAT Images