Rebel Rock Racing produced a stirring fightback drive to score a top-10 finish in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 and remain in the thick of the fight for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge title.
Frank DePew and Robin Liddell started the two-hour race at the legendary Canadian circuit – formerly known as Mosport – in 21st position, but a superbly-judged performance resulted in an eighth-place finish in their Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
The circuit, which was the scene of Rebel Rock Racing’s first IMPC victory in 2019, was bathed in sunshine all weekend and produced consistent track conditions for the team from Deland, FL, and its drivers, who were last year’s series runners-up.
After turning in solid laps in practice, DePew qualified 21st, but turned on the style in the race. He drove consistently through the first 40 minutes and setting a fastest lap just 1.8 seconds slower than factory Toyota driver Jack Hawksworth.
His speed meant that Liddell was able to take over the #71 Aston Martin – in which the pair won at Sebring earlier in the year – in 17th spot and the Scotsman set about making further inroads.
A Full-Course Caution just past half-distance not only bunched the field together but also gave a small window for Liddell to pit for a splash of fuel to ensure he would reach the end of the race without any risk of running out.
Getting the green flag in 16th with 45 minutes remaining, a typically dogged charge by the 2017 series champion netted the second-fastest lap of the race and resulted in place after place being made up.
Reaching the top 10 with just three minutes left, he made his final move on the penultimate lap to steal eighth spot; a result that keeps him and DePew sixth in the Drivers’ standings and Rebel Rock fifth in the Teams’ points.
CTMP also hosted the fourth round of the VP Racing Challenge; DePew driving the #72 Zebra-liveried Aston Martin – affectionately dubbed ‘Aston Marty’ after the character in the movie ‘Madagascar’ – in a pair of 45-minute solo races.
A tenth-place result on Saturday was followed by P9 on Sunday, putting DePew 10th in the standings with two rounds remaining.
Robin Liddell said: “We ran a pretty good race all things considered and there are a lot of positives to take. The Aston Martin was a pretty good car for the track, but was a bit loose when I got in so I had to make a couple of adjustments to calm things down. From the middle of the stint onwards the pace was good and we could make up some ground. Unfortunately, we lost about eight seconds at the second pitstop when a recovery vehicle parked at pit entry and blocked the way in, but as a team we did a good job. It was our best weekend from start to finish since the win at Sebring and we got good points, so we’re pretty happy.”
Frank DePew said: “The Aston Martin was quite good around here and in the IMPC race we had some good pace. After an early yellow I had quite a bad vibration from a tyre so I slowed down a bit and lost a few positions, but then things straightened out so I could push again. Robin drove a great stint; our strategy calls were right-on and eighth is a good result given the circumstances.”