Bryan Herta Autosport has confirmed plans to expand to running six cars in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge next season, whilst Road Shagger Racing will also return with an Audi RS3 LMS TCR.
Bryan Herta Autosport débuted the new Hyundai Elantra N TCR last year, running two cars for Harry Gottsacker / Mark Wilkins and Parker Chase / Ryan Norman, alongside a Hyundai Veloster for Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis.
Hagler and Lewis ended up clinching the drivers’ title, thanks to one win and six podium visits in the ten-race campaign – in a season in which only two driver pairings picked up more than one win.
Hagler and Lewis will defend their title in an Elantra N this year, whilst Norman also remains with the team in the #2 Elantra, with AJ Muss pairing up with him for Norman’s third season with the team.
Mark Wilkins will stay with the team for a fifth season with a yet-to-be-revealed team-mate. He partnered with Gottsacker last year, who will now team up with Chase in the #98 Elantra.
Joining the team in the #54 Elantra are Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson, who had raced a Hyundai last year for Johnson’s outfit. Johnson is partially paralysed and races using hand controls.
Johnson and Simpson are two of the most experienced TCR racers in the field, having amassed 35 race starts over the past four seasons.
Mason Filippi and Tyler Maxson move from racing Copeland Motorsport-run Hyundai Velosters to a BHA-prepared Elantra N.
“The competition continues to rise in TCR and having our entire 2021 line-up return, while welcoming four new drivers shows we are not taking defending the championship title lightly,” said Bryan Herta, president of Bryan Herta Autosport.
“Thanks to the men and women of BHA who worked so hard through the holidays and a short off season to make sure we are ready to start 2022 stronger than ever.”
Elsewhere, Road Shagger Racing’s Gavin Ernstone and Jonathan Morley will continue to race an Audi RS3.
Ernstone and Morley won early on in the 2021 campaign at Sebring, but ultimately ended the year in ninth in the standings after failing to sustain podium-challenging performances.
The 2022 season gets underway at the Daytona International Speedway with a four-hour race as part of the Daytona 24 Hours on 28 January 2022.