Christine Sloss returns to IMSA Pilot Challenge with Bronze-class victory at Indianapolis
Christine Sloss made a successful return to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Indianapolis, securing a Bronze class victory in the ninth round of the 2026 season as she resumed her campaign with a new racing operation.
Christine Sloss made a successful return to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Indianapolis, securing a Bronze class victory in the ninth round of the 2026 season as she resumed her campaign with a new racing operation.
After missing the most recent rounds following the discontinuation of Van Der Steur Racing's racing program, Sloss returned to the championship with her new entity RaceWife Racing, sharing the #10 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with Glenn McGee and immediately returning to the top step of the Bronze class.
Sloss had made an impression in her rookie Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign last year and then followed up with a Bronze-class podium at Daytona in 2026 alongside her husband Ben Sloss before returning to Laguna Seca and securing another second-place finish in class. Her campaign was subsequently paused, but the RaceWife Racing project provided an opportunity to return to the series at Indianapolis, where she and McGee made steady progress throughout the practice sessions before heading into qualifying.
Sloss took responsibility for qualifying duties aboard the #10 Aston Martin and placed 29th overall in the GS field, while securing second among the Bronze entries with a lap of 1:32.787. That result put her in a solid position to begin the two-hour contest, with the objective of managing the early traffic and keeping the car within striking distance of the Bronze class lead.
Starting 29th overall and second in Bronze, Sloss held position through the opening lap before moving forward as the race began to settle. She was 28th overall after Thomson went deep into the grass, while Sloss maintained second place in the Bronze class behind Ammann's VRC Motorsport Porsche. The early stages were interrupted, however, when Gabby Chaves spun his Toyota Supra into the barriers at Turn 7 approximately ten minutes into the race, bringing out the first full-course yellow.
The restart allowed Sloss to make further progress, moving up to 26th overall while continuing to run second in Bronze. The green-flag running was again short-lived, however, as the #77 Stallion Motorsports Cupra suffered a front-suspension failure at Turn 1, bringing out another caution. Sloss negotiated the second restart successfully in the RaceWife Aston Martin, retaining 26th overall and second in the Bronze category as the field continued to be repeatedly disrupted by incidents.
Further chaos followed when the #66 Aston Martin and #46 Team TGM Mustang were among several cars involved in another crash, with additional competitors forced to take evasive action, prompting yet another full-course yellow. At the third restart, Sloss continued to hold second in Bronze, with Ted Giovanis now directly behind her in the class battle, although his challenge was cut short when he encountered trouble and was forced to pit.
As the race progressed, Sloss was also required to manage increasingly heavy traffic from the TCR cars, which complicated her battle within the GS field and caused her to lose some contact with the GS cars ahead as well as with Bronze-class leader Ammann. Nevertheless, she maintained a disciplined opening stint and brought the #10 Aston Martin to the pits at around the 40-minute mark, handing the car over to McGee from 20th overall. At that stage, the RaceWife entry was the only Bronze-class car remaining on the lead lap, putting the pairing in a strong position to fight for the class victory during the second half of the race.
McGee immediately built on Sloss' work, moving past Sterling at around the one-hour mark to climb to 19th overall while maintaining a comfortable advantage in the Bronze classification. As further cars ahead made their pit stops, the Aston Martin continued to climb through the overall order, with McGee eventually reaching 15th before breaking into the overall top ten.
The RaceWife driver then went on the attack against the #4 Medusa Motorsports Aston Martin, completing the pass on lap 41 to move into ninth overall. McGee maintained impressive pace in the closing stages of his first stint, consistently recording laps in the 1:32s and climbing as high as sixth overall as the second sequence of pit stops unfolded. Having run at the sharp end of the overall order, McGee eventually brought the #10 Aston Martin into the pits on lap 51 from sixth overall, rejoining in 20th but still comfortably clear at the head of the Bronze class.
The closing stages then produced another dramatic twist. Chaves, who had been leading the overall race without yet making his final pit stop, slowed dramatically and eventually ran out of fuel, parking the Toyota on track and triggering another full-course yellow with only five minutes remaining. Rain was also spotted around the circuit, adding another variable to an already chaotic final phase.
The restart produced a frantic final lap as the field battled through the changing conditions, but McGee and Sloss successfully brought the #10 Aston Martin to the chequered flag in 22nd overall and, more importantly, secured the Bronze class victory.
The result provided a particularly significant return for Sloss, who not only immediately returned to the top step of the Bronze podium after her absence, but also celebrated her comeback with RaceWife Racing project with her first class win of the season.
The Michelin Pilot Challenge season will conclude at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta from October 1-3.
