Aurora Straus secures first top-ten finish of IMSA Pilot Challenge season with clean run in Mid-Ohio
- RACERS
- Jun 8
- 4 min read
Aurora Straus and Kenny Murillo converted their pace into a deserved result at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, securing their first top-ten finish of the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season with an eighth-place result in the GS class.
Aurora Straus and Kenny Murillo converted their pace into a deserved result at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, securing their first top-ten finish of the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season with an eighth-place result in the GS class.
After a string of races where setbacks and misfortune prevented the Murillo Racing duo from maximizing their potential, the fourth round of the championship delivered the breakthrough they had been working toward all season.
The Mid-Ohio event marked the second four-hour endurance race of the year following the Daytona season opener and represented another important opportunity for Straus and Murillo to showcase the pace they had repeatedly demonstrated despite difficult circumstances.
Straus entered the 2026 campaign with a proven résumé in North American sports car racing. The New Jersey native returned to IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for the first time since 2023, rejoining Murillo Racing alongside her husband Kenny Murillo in the #24 Mercedes-AMG GT4 for a full-season GS class effort.
The season had begun with a challenging but determined performance at Daytona, where repeated setbacks limited the crew to a hard-fought 14th-place finish. Another solid run followed at Laguna Seca, where the pair finished 19th after once again showing more potential than their final result reflected. Through the opening rounds, strong pace had often been overshadowed by circumstances outside their control, leaving the team eager for a clean race in which they could finally capitalize on their speed.
Mid-Ohio presented an additional challenge for Straus, who had not been testing at the circuit before and therefore faced a learning curve. The weekend furthermore featured mixed weather conditions throughout practice, with rain affecting Friday's running and limiting track time.
In the opening practice session, the Murillo Racing Mercedes showed encouraging signs, with Murillo posting a best lap of 1:27.277 as the team were 20th overall. Straus was 25th in the second session, though the running was heavily disrupted by rain.
Qualifying duties fell to Straus, who continued building experience at a circuit. She recorded a best lap of 1:27.825, placing the #24 Mercedes-AMG GT4 24th on the GS class grid for the four-hour contest.
Straus took the start and immediately found herself facing an early incident in the middle fo the pack.
Shortly after the green flag, there was in fact chaos when Chris Miller was spun at the crest of the hill. Several unsighted drivers arrived at speed and were unable to avoid the incident, triggering a major accident that heavily damaged multiple cars, including the #4 Aston Martin, which lost a wheel in the collision. The Full Course Yellow was immediately deployed.
Straus had successfully avoided the incident and escaped without damage, preserving the team's chances. When the race resumed after approximately ten minutes under caution, Straus ran 19th and immediately began making progress.
As the opening stint developed, she steadily increased her pace and began setting her quickest laps of the weekend. Her progress continued with a successful move on the Kingpin Racing Toyota driven by Carnevale, allowing her to climb to 18th position.
The first cycle of pit stops began at the one-hour mark. Straus remained on track for an extra lap compared to many competitors and briefly climbed as high as ninth before bringing the Mercedes into the pits on lap 36.
The team executed a clean driver change, handing the car over to Kenny Murillo for the second part of the race. Murillo immediately began moving forward and climbed to 17th position after the pit cycle. As the race settled into a long green-flag run, he continued making steady gains and advanced to 16th.
Approaching the halfway point, the second round of pit stops began to unfold. Murillo continued to extract strong pace from the Mercedes and emerged 13th after the second sequence of stops.
With one hour and 36 minutes remaining, the #2 CSM Porsche driven by Burkhard suffered a major accident while attempting to pass a Mustang on the main straight. Forced wide onto the wet grass, the Porsche spun into the wall and sustained heavy damage, prompting the first full-course yellow since the opening lap incident. At the time of the caution, Murillo had worked his way up to 12th position.
When the race returned to green with one hour and 22 minutes remaining, Murillo stayed out and advanced into the top ten, with now gaps neutralized allowing for a potential breakthrough result.
The final round of pit stops arrived with approximately 50 minutes remaining. Murillo brought the #24 Mercedes into the pits on lap 124 with 48 minutes left on the clock, running eighth and tucked in just behind the #38 BMW of Bill Auberlen.
Shortly afterward, another caution was triggered when the #14 Circle H Racing Aston Martin became stranded on track, setting up a tense final sprint to the finish.
The race restarted with 30 minutes remaining. Murillo immediately went on the attack and successfully found a way past Hannah Grisham's #26 Aston Martin, further strengthening the team's position inside the top ten. From there, the Murillo Racing crew focused on maintaining their pace and avoiding issues during the closing stages.
After the first few rounds filled with near-misses and races where circumstances prevented them from capitalizing on their potential, Straus and Murillo finally put together the clean execution they had been seeking and reached the checkered flag in eighth position, securing their first top-ten finish of the year and one of their strongest performances together in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Following four rounds, Straus and Murillo sit 13th in the GS championship standings with 580 points.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season now moves to Watkins Glen, where the fifth round of the championship will take place on 25–28 June, providing another opportunity for the Murillo Racing duo to build on their first top ten.
