Late contact denies Aurora Straus potential top-ten finish at CTMP
- RACERS
- 3 minutes ago
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Aurora Straus contested a superb opening stint to climb into the top ten before Kenny Murillo continued the charge, only for late contact to end a promising run that looked set to reward Murillo Racing with another IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge top-ten finish.
Heading to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the sixth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, Aurora Straus and Kenny Murillo once again demonstrated the pace that has increasingly defined their first full campaign together, despite ultimately leaving Canada without the result they deserved.
Returning to the championship for a full season after previous one-off appearances over the years, Straus is partnering with husband Kenny Murillo aboard the #24 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 and had steadily shown improving competitiveness despite a string of setbacks throughout the opening rounds.
After finally breaking through with a well-earned eighth-place finish at Mid-Ohio, their first top-ten result of the season, the duo continued to display resilience at Watkins Glen, recovering to 19th after another race affected by technical issues. Arriving at the fast and flowing Mosport circuit, they aimed to translate their pace into another top ten finish.
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, one of North America's fastest and most demanding permanent road courses and a former Formula 1 venue, presents drivers with a combination of high-speed corners, elevation changes and limited overtaking opportunities, making qualifying position and race execution particularly important.
The Murillo Racing Mercedes steadily built speed throughout practice; Straus and Murillo recorded the 27th-fastest overall time in the opening session with a lap of 1:23.861 before improving slightly in FP2, where Murillo posted a 1:23.897 to finish 25th overall, giving the team a platform heading into qualifying.
Straus took qualifying duties for the #24 Mercedes in the 15-minute GS session. However, the session was interrupted early on by a red flag following an incident involving Koch's Toyota, leaving drivers with very limited time to complete representative laps. Before the interruption, Straus had managed just a single lap of 1:26.8, placing 11th in class.
With only three minutes remaining after the restart, every team had one final opportunity. Straus improved significantly on her final flying lap, recording a 1:24.359 to secure 17th position in the GS field.
Despite starting in the midfield, Straus immediately produced one of the strongest opening laps of her season to date. As the race began, chaos unfolded almost instantly when Chaves' Toyota Supra made contact with the pole-sitting Aston Martin of Hannah Greenemeier, spinning the Heart of Racing machine and forcing much of the field to take avoiding action. Straus reacted superbly, threading the Mercedes safely through while capitalizing to gain seven positions and climb into tenth place before the Full Course Yellow was deployed.
When racing resumed at the end of lap two, Straus produced another solid restart to consolidate her position inside the top ten. Koch eventually worked his way past, but the Murillo Racing driver remained not far off and continued to run competitively.
As the opening stint settled down, Straus briefly slipped to 12th before benefiting when Bob Michaelian's Ford Mustang encountered problems and dropped down the order, promoting her back into the top ten by lap 10.
The race's second caution arrived shortly afterwards following a major accident involving Scott Thomson and a TCR machine at Turn 4, resulting in a lengthy neutralization while barriers were repaired and debris cleared.
When pit lane opened on lap 21, Murillo Racing executed their scheduled stop under caution, bringing Straus in for fuel and tyres before handing the Mercedes over to Kenny Murillo for the second half of the race.
Following the sequence of pit stops, Murillo rejoined in 16th place before another caution was quickly required after the #37 CarBahn BMW became stranded on circuit.
Once green-flag racing resumed with just over an hour remaining, Murillo immediately began another determined recovery.
He climbed to 15th before launching an aggressive charge through the midfield. As Dan Arrow's Winward Mercedes suffered front-end damage and later received a mechanical black flag, Murillo capitalized to move further forward, climbing to 11th while showing good pace.
Avoiding another incident when Evan Slater spun at the final corner, Murillo advanced again into 9th place, and as pit strategies cycled through he briefly found himself running as high as third overall before making his final scheduled fuel stop on lap 37.
Rejoining in P13, Murillo continued lapping consistently in the 1:24 range; he steadily worked his way back toward the top ten and joined a tight battle involving several cars separated by only a handful of seconds. Murillo enjoyed an intense fight with John Megennis' Random Vandals BMW before also battling Burkhard's CSM Porsche as the group traded positions during the closing stages.
Unfortunately, with just ten minutes remaining, disaster struck. While battling through Turn 10, Murillo was hit by Bill Auberlen's BMW, sending the Murillo Racing Mercedes into the wall before spinning back across the circuit. Although Murillo managed to continue, the contact caused significant front-end damage and dropped him to 18th position. Race officials subsequently issued Auberlen a drive-through penalty for causing the collision.
The damaged Mercedes continued for some more laps, but with the front-end damage, Murillo was eventually forced to bring the car back to the pits in the closing moments, retiring the entry. Straus and Murillo were ultimately classified 22nd.
Straus had delivered a very strong opening stint, gaining seven places on the opening lap alone and placing the car in a good position for her teammate; Murillo then continued the charge, at one stage looking on course for another top-ten finish before late contact ended their hopes.
Following six rounds, Straus and Murillo sit 18th in the GS championship standings with 790 points. Their next opportunity to convert that pace into a representative result comes at another classic North American venue, Road America, where the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge returns on 1–2 August.