Hyundai is poised to defend its IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) championship title beginning this weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA. This season’s action kicks off with a four-hour endurance race on Jan. 27, 2023—one of two endurance events on the 2023 IMPC calendar. The 2023 Hyundai stable includes five Elantra N TCR entries between Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) and Deily Motorsports.
Daytona International Speedway: 3.56-mile, 12-turn oval road course
The Lineup
- Championship duo Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis will return to pilot the No. 1 Elantra N TCR with BHA
- Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker will drive the BHA No. 33 Elantra N TCR
- The No. 98 Elantra N TCR for BHA will see Mason Filippi and Mark Wilkins as co-drivers
- Deily Motorsports’ Jacob Deily and Tyler Maxson will drive the No. 70 Elantra N TCR
- IMPC newcomers Cabot Bigham and Matt Jaskol will co-drive the Deily Motorsports No. 74 Elantra N TCR
New Pairings, Same Goal
Familiar faces return to represent the Hyundai banner including reigning IMPC champions Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis. Remaining in the BHA family, Gottsacker will move to the No. 33 Elantra N TCR entry with teammate Wickens. A first-time pairing of Wilkins and Filippi will co-drive the No. 98 Elantra N TCR. Deily Motorsports is pairing Maxson alongside Jacob Deily, and adding Cabot Bigham and Matt Jaskol as an all-rookie pairing. As all five entries will pilot the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, the mission is to collect a fourth-consecutive manufacturers’ championship.
Year of Champions
Among this year’s Hyundai IMPC lineup, four drivers are former Hyundai champions: Hagler, Lewis, Wilkins and Maxson. Lewis has won the IMPC TCR title three years in a row, the most recent pair with Hagler as his teammate. They enter their third year of competition as co-drivers and look to continue making championship history. Maxson earned his own chapter in the Hyundai record books when the Georgia-born driver earned title honors in the SRO TCR Championship in 2020. Wilkins won the IMPC championship in 2019 with BHA and returns with the team for a sixth season.
Wickens Returns to Competition with Hyundai Hand Controls
Following a successful first season of IMPC competition, highlighted by two victories, Wickens will return to co-pilot the No. 33 Elantra N TCR with BHA teammate, Gottsacker. With assistance from hand controls developed by BHA, Wickens is able to drive the Elantra N TCR with special levers on the steering wheel while Gottsacker reutrns to standard driving controls following driver changes. As a refreshed teammate pairing, Wickens and Gottsacker are ready for a new season and focused to start the year off right with this weekend’s four-hour race.
