Québec’s Motorsport In Action (MIA) team is proud to announce its driver line-up for the 2018 North America’s Endurance series, the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSC).
MIA will once again field #69 as a Premier Entrant with the return of driver Jesse Lazare and newcomer Corey Fergus. Jesse is no stranger to the McLaren 570S GT4 as he competed in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge last year, scoring his maiden victory at Road Atlanta last year with 8 top 10’s out of 10 races including 3 podiums.
MIA is delighted to welcome Corey Fergus to the team for the 2018 season. Fergus comes from a motorsports family and is now a well-established talent. He was crowned champion in the 2012 SCCA National Championship Runoffs, before winning the TC class in the Pirelli World Challenge in 2015. Last year, Corey finished 2nd in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA.
“We are very excited to have Corey join us for 2018. His racing resume and pedigree speaks for itself!” exclaimed team owner, Eric Kerub. “We tried our hardest to have Green return to pair up with Jesse again, but Chris’s important and expanding role at the Pfaff Automotive Group made it impossible for 2018.” Kerub also noted the Pfaff Group’s partnership is very important and really came through for MIA again for 2018 even though they were unable to fit Green into our racing schedule.
The team is also thrilled to welcome a new partner for the 2018 season. US LED is a global leader in LED lighting serving major markets including commercial and industrial lighting, convenience stores and petrol stations, office spaces, schools, multi-site retail, hospitals, museums and high-tech industries. US LED continues to produce the most efficient, high-quality products through its manufacturing partners in the U.S., Brasil, Europe, Mexico and Asia.
The 2018 season will be MIA’s second year in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. Having set the pace during many races in their maiden season, the team proved that their drivers were competitive and eager to win. It is with the intent to win the Championship that MIA returns for a full season in the Endurance series.
DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MOTORSPORTS IN ACTION IN DAYTONA
MIA’s effort falls short the Daytona International Speedway after a disappointing 17th place finish for the first 4-hour endurance of the season.
DAYTONA, January 27, 2018- The season opener took place under perfect weather condition at the Daytona International Speedway. The BMW Endurance Challenge in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge was supporting the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Motorsports In Action relied on a different approach than the rest of the field to secure a place in the Top 10. As Daytona International Speedway is not their strongest event, the team’s strategy was to focus on track time rather than pit stops.
Corey Fergus drove the McLaren 570s GT4 flawlessly for his first event in the CTSC series. Even though the race was stopped a few times because of accidents, Corey remained unfazed and drove his hole stint consistently. Jesse Lazare took over from Fergus with 50 minutes remaining to the race. While coming back on the track, he fell in the leader’s pack which put him in an excellent position for the remainder of the race, if it was not for the last caution flag which prevented the team from completing their strategy, which until then proved to be perfect.
The team ran into minor issues during the 4-hour endurance, but nothing stopped the #69 machine from performing to its full capacity. However, with the new Balance of Performance (BoP), the McLaren struggled with the added weight. The team hopes this issue will be resolved for the next event.
This year’s calendar includes 10 action-packed events throughout North America, with one stop at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) in July, the only Canadian racetrack visited by the series. The season started this Friday, January 26th at the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona for the first 4-hour Endurance race of the season. All events will be broadcast on IMSA.tv.
The event will be broadcast on FS1 on February 10 at 8 a.m.
Driver Quotes:
Corey Fergus, driver of car #69: “The race obviously didn’t go as planned today. We realized that we have a car issue and we need to figure that out for Sebring, but we have six weeks to work on it. I have confidence that these guys will get it done and I think we will come back to Sebring ready to go. Hopefully, it will go better next time. The McLaren is amazing; it is very fun to drive. Today was also my first stint over three hours, that was exciting as well, just knowing that I can stay in the car for three hours and still be productive that was good.”
Jesse Lazare, driver of car #69: “We started off on a strategy different than anybody else. We were trying to get to the front of the pack through a different approach because we were not able to do it on speed. It was working out fine if we didn’t have that final caution on the final stint. Then we would have definitively had a shot at the Top 5, for sure the Top 10. But we learned a lot, the car came back in one piece, we finished, we take the points, and we move on to the next one.”
Eric Kerub, Team owner: “I am terribly disappointed in this weekend. When you build a championship effort team you never want to hear about 17th place. We need a bit of help from IMSA strictly for the Balance of Performance issue, but not withstanding that we have our own problems to study. Clearly the competitors at Compass 360 found a solution to a similar problem we each had at the Roar. Now it is our time to investigate, but whatever problem they found, even with their fantastic drivers, they were still a second off the pace from the leaders.”
2018 Calendar
| Event | Date | Results |
| Rolex 24 at Daytona | January 25 to January 28 | 17th |
| Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring | March 14 to March 17 | |
| Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | May 4 to May 6 | |
| Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen | June 28 to July 1st | |
| Canadian Tire Motorsport Park | July 6 to July 8 | |
| Lime Rock Park, Northeast Grand Prix | July 20 to July 21 | |
| Road America, Continental Tire Road Race Showcase | August 3 to August 5 | |
| Michelin GT Challenge at VIR | August 17 to August 19 | |
| Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix | September 7 to September 9 | |
| Road Atlanta, Motul Petit Le Mans | October 10 to October 13 |
About Motorsports In Action
Since 2002, Motorsports In Action has been building race cars for various local and international series, acquiring a wealth of knowledge and resources along the way. Our race shop is well known for high-end mechanics, exotic automotive maintenance, complete race car building and design, prestige paint, and meticulous detailing. www.motorsportsinaction.com
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