Rebel Rock Racing remain in the hunt for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge crown despite a challenging trip to Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca last weekend.
Drivers Frank DePew and Robin Liddell caused a sensation at Sebring in March when they gave the new-for-2024 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 its first win anywhere in the world in what was only its fourth start.
As a result, they arrived in California second in the Drivers’ and Teams’ points, but with expectations sensibly kept in check at a circuit at which the DeLand, FL, team had never truly thrived previously.
Top-10 pace in practice and a 12th-row result in Saturday morning qualifying meant a straightforward strategic plan for the two-hour race at the narrow and undulating circuit later the same day.
Avoiding several incidents, DePew, who partnered Liddell to the runner-up spot in last year’s Drivers’ points, climbed six spots to 18th place during his 40-minute starting stint.
With Liddell aboard following the first pitstop, instant progress followed; the experienced Scotsman – the IMPC champion in 2015 – quickly set the Aston Martin’s best laps of the race and climbed to 14th position.
But during Liddell’s final fuel stop with 50 minutes remaining, the car was worked on while sitting fractionally outside of its pit box; triggering an automatic drive-through penalty that dropped the #71 machine to 21st.
A determined charge over the final half-hour – including two strong passing moves in the final five minutes – brought Liddell to 12th spot at the checkered flag, 12 places higher than the car started.
While DePew and Liddell have lost ground to the series leaders, they sit a promising fifth in the standings, just 70 points from the top stop with 350 available from each of the remaining rounds.
The next race takes place at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course, OH, on June 7-9.
QUOTES
Frank DePew: While we did not perform at our best at Laguna, I am thankful we left with a 12th place finish given the circumstances. Looking forward to the four-hour at Mid-Ohio when Andrew Davis will join us as the third driver.
Robin Liddell: We were pretty disappointed with the way the race played out to be honest. The drive-through penalty was frustrating but in the end it barely had any impact on the result. Ultimately we just seemed to lack the pace and overall performance we needed to fight with the leaders. We ran as hard as we could for the whole race, without any regard for fuel savings. We do have another test planned before the long race at Mid-Ohio, so hopefully we can have another strong showing there. It’s a long season so right now we are just focussed on maximising our results at every round as we head into the meat of the schedule this Summer.