IMPC: Megan Tomlinson secures P9 with strong run at Laguna Seca
- RACERS
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Megan Tomlinson secured her second top-ten finish of the season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with a clean and consistent drive at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, bringing the Precision Racing LA Audi home in ninth place in the TCR class.
Megan Tomlinson, sharing the #37 Precision Racing LA Audi RS3 LMS TCR with her father Ron, secured her second top-ten finish of the season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with a clean and consistent drive at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, bringing the car home in ninth place in the TCR class.
Ron Tomlinson started the race, while Megan took over for the second stint, navigating multiple cautions with composure and made up positions in a tightly contested TCR field, bouncing back from a disappointing outing at Sebring caused by late-race fuel issues that ended another promising run.
Tomlinson has made a strong impression in her debut IMSA season at the Daytona season opener, where she recovered from an early penalty and delivered a competitive second stint to help the team finish seventh. At Sebring, she was again showing strong pace before misfortune denied them a second consecutive top-ten finish.
In preparation for the Laguna Seca third round, the duo made notable progress between practice and qualifying, shaving off over two seconds from their early lap times. In a strategic change from previous rounds, Ron took on qualifying duties and clocked a 1:32.370 to place the #37 Audi P12 in class on the starting grid.
Race day brought the third round of the season: a two-hour contest at the iconic California venue. Ron Tomlinson took the start from P12 and had a clean getaway. Though briefly shuffled to P14, he regained ground, overtaking the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi and battling the #31 Audi of Galante to move back into P12.
He eventually climbed to P11, gaining a position from the #10 Rockwell Autosport Audi, which suffered contact with a GS-class Mercedes but continued.
With an hour remaining, the race’s first full course yellow was triggered by a tyre carcass lost from the #99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Hyundai. The GS field took the opportunity to pit, followed by the TCR field soon after. Megan Tomlinson then took over the #37 Audi and rejoined the race in tenth place.
A quick green flag period was halted again when the #14 AR Motorsports Porsche of Thomas Merrill ended up beached in the gravel. After the restart, further drama unfolded as the #93 MMG Honda of Wittmer went off with suspension damage, promoting Megan to ninth in class.
On the next restart, Megan briefly dropped to tenth after a battle with the #61 Road Shagger Audi in a tightly packed TCR group but kept her cool in the chaos. As the race resumed for the final 14 minutes following a major crash involving the #44 McLaren in the GS class, Megan avoided trouble in a hectic multi-car restart and maintained her position.
She brought the car home safely in P9 after a clean stint, earning a valuable result for the Precision Racing LA team and further consolidating her solid rookie campaign.
“It was a positive weekend overall. Laguna Seca is an iconic circuit, with its challenging elevation changes and storied history,” said Megan Tomlinson. “We adjusted our driver strategy this weekend, with Ron starting and moving us into a strong position early. I was pleased to maintain that through to the finish despite the restarts. It was a true team effort, and I’m proud of what we accomplished.”
“Both Precision Racing LA entries showed strong pace, even if luck didn’t always fall our way", she added. "Fortunately, we have a quick turnaround before the next event, and I’m eager to get back on track.”
Following the Laguna Seca round, Megan and Ron Tomlinson now sit eighth in the TCR championship standings with 670 points. Next up will be the four-hour endurance race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, scheduled for June 6–8.