Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Teams Secure a Pair of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Podiums, Additional Top-Five Finishes and Bronze Cup Class Victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition and Team Korthoff Motorsports combined for a pair of podium finishes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday. Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella finished third in the GT Daytona (GTD) Pro division in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 while Mikael Grenier and Mike Skeen broke through for their first visit to victory lane this season with a third-place finish in the GTD class in the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The WeatherTech Championship podium showings highlighted a solid run of additional visits to victory lane and top-five showings for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams across three IMSA racing series this weekend on the 2.459-mile Canadian circuit.

WeatherTech Racing visited victory lane for the third time this season following victories at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The result keeps Gounon, Juncadella and the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing team provisionally second in the GTD Pro championship standings and narrowly closes the gap on the class leading team and drivers with five races remaining for the 2023 season.

Team Korthoff earned its first WeatherTech Championship sprint race podium after debuting in the series halfway through the 2021 season two years ago. The team first appeared in victory lane with a third-place finish in last year's Rolex 24 and a career-best second one race later at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Other top Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer team performers this weekend included IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship leaders Murillo Racing, Lone Star Racing, the first year Thaze Competition by MC Squared team and Ave Motorsports, which made its Mercedes-AMG GT4 debut in Canada.

Murillo provisionally built its lead in the Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) driver and team championship standings as one of three Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams to finish in the top seven in Saturday's two-hour race.

Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak finished seventh in the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 and leave Canada with a 170-point lead on the nearest competitors, 1,540 – 1,370.

With two victories and no race finishing lower than fourth in the first six races of the season, Mercedes-AMG continues to provisionally lead the GS manufacturer championship standings by 110 points over the nearest competitor, 1,900 – 1,790.

Thaze and Lone Star finished in the top five in the Pilot Challenge race with Marc Miller and Michael Di Meo continuing the No. 78 Thaze Competition by MC Squared Mercedes-AMG GT4 team's remarkable series debut with a fourth-place finish. The result followed a third place showing for Thaze in its first career IMSA race last month at the Detroit Grand Prix.

Lone Star shook off a frustrating run of races since finishing fourth at Sebring in March to hit the top-five in Canada. Anton Dias Perera and Scott Andrews co-drove the No. 27 Lone Star Racing/Bluff City Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 to a fifth-place finish.

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport competitors also picked up a pair of Bronze Cup class wins in Pilot Challenge and IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge competition.

The Bronze Cup provides "sportsman" or "Am" drivers the opportunity to compete against each other in a sub-championship within the overall structure of both the Pilot Challenge and VP Racing series.

The debuting No. 4 Ave Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 of George Staikos and team owner and driver Tony Ave scored the Bronze Cup victory in the Pilot Challenge race. Staikos, a Canadian native from nearby Trenton, Ontario, earned the Bronze in his first professional GT4 race on his home track.

Earlier on Saturday veteran Murillo Racing driver Tim Probert picked up the VP Challenge race's Bronze Cup honor while finishing a solid fifth overall in the No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing competitors in IMSA competition is the WeatherTech Championship and VP Challenge weekend at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, July 21 - 22.

Jules Gounon, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: "The team did a great job. To get a podium is our maximum, and it is good points for the championship. At the start it was a bit sketchy with an LMP3 that spun and then ended up in the middle of the GTD Pro field. We were trying to do maximum fuel save because it was looking like we were not on pace. We were able to finish P3 with Dani doing a good stint to the end. It's an amazing track. Super-fast and you need a big heart to go fast around here and over the crest blind and in fifth gear. I really enjoy the track. We had a good result even though we wanted more, but today we will be happy with P3. The team did a good job all weekend and hopefully we can get back on top at Lime Rock."

Mike Skeen, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: "It was a really tough weekend. When we started here, we were dead last on the time sheets, but the Team Korthoff guys really turned it around. They did an awesome job, our Mercedes-AMG GT3 was great, and they executed flawlessly today. It's the team's first podium on a sprint-race weekend and our first podium since Sebring last year. It is pretty huge to get back up front where we need to be. We have had the performance the last few races and now we just need to keep executing like we did today."

Kenny Murillo, Driver – No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: "The Mercedes-AMG GT4 was great. We optimized the car well through the efforts of the entire crew. They are doing a really great job of giving us some race-winning scenarios. We overcame some little things that put us out of contention to win but we are thinking championship points with every decision that we make, every single pass, every single on-track position we are thinking championship. We feel pretty good, it's not the result that we want, but we did better than the cars that are fighting us for points. We're going to be happy with that, not get too greedy and move on to the next one."

Michael Di Meo, Driver – No. 78 Thaze Competition by MC Squared Mercedes-AMG GT4: "Overall we have to hold our heads high. We came into this weekend with some new crew, it was our first time with this car on this track, and we did perform at a pretty high level. Our Mercedes-AMG GT4 felt awesome the entire time I was in it, well balanced and consistent and it was great my entire race stint and all weekend. Now it is on to the next one. We are going to review everything, find where we need to improve, tweak where we need to and keep moving up to get the results we want."

Anton Dias Perera, Driver – No. 27 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: "I think it is a great result for the team. All of the members of the team in every department executed perfectly. I could have always driven faster but I built some space toward the end of my stint, so we were in a good position. It was a good result, and it was good for the team to execute perfectly. I think we can even look forward to better racing at a circuit more favorable to us. Our Mercedes-AMG GT4 was great. I didn't make the best start, but once I got going, I could keep getting faster and faster. No complaints, the car did everything we asked it to. We came here somewhat handicapped, and the biggest handicap was me! I had never been here, so I had to get up to pace quick. I think we accomplished that and overall, it was a very good result for us."

George Staikos, Driver – No. 4 Ave Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4: "I am so excited. This was my first ever IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race, my home event, and I haven't raced this Mercedes-AMG GT4 in about three years. It's an amazing car, an amazing feeling to be here, and it is certainly my forever car in terms of a race car. I am really happy to be driving a Mercedes-AMG here."

Tim Probert, Driver – No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: "It was really wonderful to come back here and restart the series. It was quite a long break, about three months since Sebring, so I was honestly concerned about jumping back in the car after that length of time, but the car was great right away. Murillo Racing does a great job setting up the Mercedes-AMG GT4 and I was very confident going into Saturday's race. It's a high-speed, very tricky track and you have to have confidence in the car. Murillo Racing always does that for us and the Mercedes-AMG GT4 is just a wonderful platform for this type of environment."

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