LEXINGTON, Ohio (15 May 2021) – An early spin made for a long day for Rebel Rock Racing Saturday in the Mid-Ohio 120, Round 3 of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Coming off a victory in the most recent race at Sebring International Raceway in March, Frank DePew and Robin Liddell finished 14th in the No. 71 Urban Grid Chevrolet Camaro GT4 on Saturday.
Looking to make a pass on a slower GS class competitor, DePew’s attempt to go around the outside didn’t pan out as he slid wide and off track in turn 11 on the fifth lap, falling to the back of the field although he was able to continue.
“I got into the slippery stuff,” he told his team on the radio. “It was a shame to have that off earlier in the race, and then we lost more ground with the pit stop penalty,” DePew said afterwards. “This wasn’t what we wanted for the weekend, but hopefully we can get back on a good note at Watkins Glen next month”
As a result of the spin DePew pitted one lap down from the leader, with Liddell rejoining just ahead of the leader again under green flag conditions. Unfortunately IMSA penalized the team for a pit infraction and the resulting drive through penalty put the Rebel Rock Camaro down a further lap. This was a result of being boxed in during the pit stop by another car and in the ensuing scramble unfortunately one too many crew members pushed the car back to allow Robin to pull around the parked car ahead.
Liddell drove the final one-hour, 19-minutes, and managed to pick up five positions to finish 14th – five places better than the season-opening event at Daytona.
“My goal coming into this weekend was simply to stay consistent and minimize our errors; unfortunately we did not execute well today as we made too many mistakes and were therefore unable to capitalize on some of our competitors incidents and maximise our points haul,” Liddell said. “It’s frustrating but hopefully we can bounce back in the next two races when we go back to the Glen.”
Entering the race sixth in the GS standings, Rebel Rock Racing is now tied for sixth, 280 points behind the class leader with the revised IMSA point structure.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge returns to endurance mode for its next event, the four-hour Tioga Downs Casino Resort 240 – the first of back-to-back weekends competing at historic Watkins Glen International.
