IMPC: Maddie Aust and Megan Tomlinson score top tens at Mosport, Riley Pegram denied by late misfortune
- RACERS
- Jul 15
- 4 min read
Maddie Aust and Megan Tomlinson secured top-ten finishes in a dramatic IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Mosport, while Riley Pegram showed strong pace before late misfortune dropped her just outside the top ten.
Three female drivers were on the grid for the sixth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with Maddie Aust, Megan Tomlinson, and Riley Pegram competing in the TCR class. Both Aust and Tomlinson secured top-ten finishes at the end of a tightly fought race, while Pegram narrowly missed out due to a combination of misfortune and late-race incidents.
The iconic Canadian Tire Motorsport Park—commonly referred to as Mosport—hosted round six of the season. Known as one of the fastest and most technical circuits on the IMSA calendar, it poses a unique challenge for multiclass racing.
In her first season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Maddie Aust has proven to be a remarkably consistent competitor. Sharing the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai with rookie teammate Suellio Almeida, the pair opened the season with a P4 at Daytona and continued to run in the top ten throughout the year, with another top-five at Laguna Seca, sixth at Mid-Ohio, and a top ten at Watkins Glen.
Canadian duo Megan and Ron Tomlinson of Precision Racing LA were racing at their home round and looking to maintain their streak of top-ten finishes. With P7 finishes at both Daytona and Mid-Ohio, they have established themselves as reliable top-ten contenders.
Meanwhile, Riley and Larry Pegram have shown speed and progress throughout the season after returning for a partial campaign in 2024. Despite some bad luck along the way, Riley has been particularly consistent, showing noticeable improvements every weekend.
In free practice, Aust and Almeida were eighth fastest in FP1, just under a second off the class leaders in TCR. Megan and Ron Tomlinson also made the top ten, while the Pegrams continued building speed on a track they had never raced on before. The Tomlinsons stayed in the top ten in FP2 as they prepared for qualifying.
Maddie Aust took the wheel for qualifying and improved her time to a 1:25.280 on her final run, putting her P12 in TCR. Megan Tomlinson posted a strong 1:24.692 for P10 and held that position despite not improving on her last lap. Riley Pegram clocked a 1:25.861 after finding nearly a second on her final lap and slotted into P14.
In the Saturday afternoon race, Megan Tomlinson got off to a great start, climbing from P10 to P8 in the opening corners. A spin for William Tally in the #5 KMW Honda Civic following contact with the #99 Hyundai of Powell helped Tomlinson settle into ninth.
Aust retained P11 and held position just ahead of Pegram in the early stages. Running quicker than Eric Rockwell’s #1 Audi ahead, Aust was pushing for a place in the top ten and opened up a three-second gap to Pegram behind. Meanwhile, Tomlinson lost a spot to the #10 Rockwell Audi of Colombo and settled into a tight midfield battle.
Rockwell later spun, promoting Tomlinson, Aust, and Pegram each one position. With the race staying green through the opening hour and pit stops starting for the GS class, TCR strategies came into play.
Aust climbed up to P8 as the pit cycle began and brought the car in on lap 40, handing over to Almeida, who rejoined in P10. Pegram also completed a clean and consistent stint, having run as high as P9 before pitting on the same lap. Larry Pegram took over the #72 Hyundai and rejoined in P11.
Soon after the pit stops, a major incident involving the #52 Audi of Vance and the #33 Hyundai of Wilkins in Turn 7 brought out a full-course yellow. The contact collected the #95 BMW of Selldorff, which then collided with the Rebel Rock Aston Martin of Robert Liddell. One car nearly flipped over the barriers, leaving significant damage and debris across the track.
By the time the caution was deployed, Almeida had moved up to P7, Larry Pegram was P9, and Ron Tomlinson was P11.
After a lengthy clean-up, the race went back to green with 16 minutes remaining. Both Almeida and Pegram pushed hard from P7 and P8, respectively, in the final sprint.
However, Larry Pegram’s bad luck continued: he was hit by a GS-class car shortly after the restart and was forced to pit with damage. A pit lane speeding penalty compounded the setback and dropped the Pegrams out of the top ten.
Almeida, meanwhile, gained another place when the sister BHA car of Filippi encountered trouble, moving him into sixth. Ron Tomlinson held P11, closely battling the #5 Honda of Lewis.
In the closing laps, Almeida dropped to seventh after being passed by Colombo’s #10 Rockwell Audi, but continued pushing and improved his lap times in pursuit of Dupont's #76 Hyundai. Despite the effort, Almeida couldn’t reclaim sixth and crossed the line in P7—a solid result that now places the Aust/Almeida duo eighth in the championship standings with 1,450 points.
Ron Tomlinson gained a position on the final lap, passing Lewis to finish P9—another top-ten result for the Precision Racing LA father-daughter team. They now sit tenth in the championship with 1,350 points.
After a very strong opening stint, Riley and Larry Pegram were unfortunate to miss out on a top-ten finish, crossing the line in P11. Despite showing good pace throughout the race, a mix of contact and a penalty ultimately denied them the result they deserved. They are currently 13th in the TCR standings.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge now heads to Road America for round seven on August 1–2, where female racers will aim to build on their performances from Mosport.
