Stories from the most amazing weeks at Daytona.
Good morning from the Roar before the 24 at Daytona, Race Fans!
Now we find Team Burkhard in wholly new territory - even it if it is still in Florida. Today, Morgan takes his first laps in a Pro series during the “Roar Before the 24.” This is the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge (MPC) and we are at Daytona International Speedway for this weekend and the next. Several racing series are part of this 10-day event which culminates in the Rolex 24-Hour race Jan. 27-28.
The Victor Gonzalez Race Team (VGRT) has three cars in the TCR class in the upcoming event - two Hyundai Elantra N and one Honda Civic Type R. Morgan will share the #80 Hyundai with Julian Santero. The car is white on the sides and rear, with a red hood and mirrors.
This weekend at the Roar is all practice for MPC, with 5 sessions spread over 3 days. Being an IMSA event, there are lots of other classes practicing , qualifying, and racing as well and a whole host of big names in racing are here.
No practice sessions are broadcast, but you can follow live timing in the IMSA app. Those classes not racing this weekend will do so next weekend. The 4-hour MPC race is next weekend on the afternoon of Friday, January 26. The race will air on Peacock TV.
This is the “deep end” but the VGRT team will guide us well! Here’s looking forward to an amazing experience!
ROAR FRIDAY NOTES:
Practice 1 Result: The first session is in the books. It took a while to get the three team cars out onto the track. They had some adjustments to make to the electronics and every time that’s done, IMSA has to review the changes. Once they got to the pit lane, all was good.
Morgan’s teammate, Julian, had several laps before handing over the wheel to Morgan. He did a 1:58 lap time. Morgan only had a couple flying laps but was only 2 seconds off that pace. That’s pretty amazing for his shortened debut. Together they were P2 in the TCR class.
Morgan’s session ended a bit early with a blown right front tire in Turn 1 at the start of his fourth lap. He pulled off onto a safe spot and got a tow back to the garage at the end of the session. Fortunately, the tire was the only damage done!
Next session goes at 2:30 for 90 minutes.
Practice 2 Result: Both Hyundai’s got more laps in this afternoon. Conditions have been quite pleasant - 70’s and increasing clouds. Lovely!
Again, Julian went out first to get things all warmed up. Morgan’s job is to get used to the car and the track. He’s still within a couple seconds and they are still at the top of the TCR field.
The session ended a little earlier than the target time again - for the same reason. Morgan ran 12 laps before the right front tire blew joining into Turn 1. Morgan pulled off right away, still no other damage to the car. The team is working hard on the car to prevent a recurrence. We are confident that it will go the distance tomorrow.
ROAR SATURDAY NOTES:
Practice 3: Lots of changes were made from yesterday to improve tire life. Morgan went in second and had about 10 laps. With the job done for this session, the #80 has returned to the paddock. Both drivers hit their targets perfectly.
Morgan is very happy with the car, the handling and braking, and has adapted quickly to having turbo power. He’s integrating easily with the team. All in all, it’s a good fit and a great experience so far.
Practice 4: In the afternoon practice, Morgan went out first in this session. He got a good feel for how the car handles on cold tires. He laid down some nicely consistent times during his 10 laps and is happy with the behavior of the car. It all looks good for tomorrow!
Loving living the dream!!
ROAR SUNDAY NOTES:
Practice 5: Maybe you noticed that Morgan and his teammate did not go out in today’s practice session. Not to worry. It is merely because all the test objectives for this weekend have been met. Their pace is right where they’d like to see it so there was no need to go out today.
Morgan is enjoying this whole experience and he is liking Daytona as a track too. Obviously, this is different from the sim but the practice there helped him get acclimated quickly.
You can find all the results from the TCR class and all the others from this weekend here.
WHAT’S NEXT AFTER THE ROAR?
We stay in Daytona for another week. Morgan has a lot to process during the few days before track time comes around again. There are several activities, meetings, and training sessions scheduled for him early in the week. We will be back in the garage with the cars on Wednesday, January 24. More to come from Daytona!
Hello, Race Fans from Week 2 at Daytona!
Our Michelin Pilot Challenge event is a support race for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. It's officially called the BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona. This is a 4-hour race and you can see the replay of the Peacock TV broadcast with the NBC announcers or the one on YouTube with the IMSA announcers. You'll catch glimpses of our car - VGRT #80 Hyundai Elantra N - and the team car (#99). Morgan's time in the car is in hours 2-4 of the race (his teammate had the first hour). Read on for the paddock/garage view of events.
WEDNESDAY NOTES - DAYTONA 24 OPENING DAY
Last week during the Roar was all about practice. Learn the car. Learn the track. Learn the other drivers.
This week is the real business. Today, Wednesday, it’s still early. The intensity hasn’t ramped up just yet. The garages are weirdly empty and full of activity simultaneously. Some teams have departed, but those still here from last week are busy bees.
Lots of sounds make up the music of the paddock.
The pop of an air chuck disconnecting from the tank.
The high soft hiss of air being released from tires.
The loud screeching hiss of air jacks being lowered.
The whir of the impact wrench and the brrraaatttt of the socket against the lug nuts.
The ringing clang of a wrench set down on concrete.
Best of all, the sing song tones of air streaming through the vent on the fuel jug.
The lyrics of this song rise above the melody in rapid fire Spanish.
It’s magnificent!
Let’s go, Team VGRT!!
Practice 1: The queueing for first practice has begun. The team is ready! They go out at 3:05.
Is it time yet????
Everyone on the pit lane is ready and anxious to get going. Air powered impact guns in hands with itchy fingers echo off the stands. The ‘zing zing zings’ bounce around and seem to call and and answer each other up and down the lane.
Wheeeeee!!
New challenge in practice today. Rain sprinkles. Not too much rain, didn’t really have much effect. They practiced pit stops too. The first one was kinda slow so they worked on the choreography in the garage. They have it down to a reasonable time now. They’ll practice more tomorrow.
That’s another good day in the books and another fun one coming up tomorrow. We go out for practice again at 8:45 for an hour and again at 1:15 for a 15 minute qualifying session. We hope everyone gets a good night’s rest!
DAYTONA THURSDAY NOTES:
Practice 2 and Qualifying Result: Only one post about track sessions today as both Practice 2 and Qualifying are finished now. Morgan’s teammate, Julian, took the car out for both sessions. The team feels that they have the car very well prepared for tomorrow’s race. And everybody is happy.
The provisional qualifying position for the #80 VGRT Hyundai Elantra N is 4th. That is an excellent place to start a long race. There will be one last practice session in the morning and the four-hour endurance race starts tomorrow afternoon at 1:45.
Also, members of Morgan’s fan club stopped by to visit. It was very cool to see so many friendly, supportive, encouraging, and happy faces here to cheer him on! Here’s hoping they get a great race tomorrow!
DAYTONA FRIDAY NOTES:
Race Day Wake Up: Good morning, Race Fans and welcome to Race Day!
We are here early today and the garages are still peaceful and quiet. As the minutes tick by, the activity and energy are gradually rising as our team and those around us make final preparations. Engines are warming up, lug nuts tightened, tire pressures set, and quiet strategy conversations held in all the bays.
It is going to be a wonderful day indeed! We expect temperatures similar to yesterday, maybe a few more clouds or a little less wind.
The final practice session begins at 9:25 am for 30 minutes. After that, there are the pit lane festivities at 12:45 PM, including a fan walk. Cars go out on the track at 1:35 pm and the green flag flies at 1:45 pm. Four hours later, the checkered flag will fall.
The team, the car, the driver - all are ready. Now we just run the laps.
Wish us luck and watch along on Peacock TV, stream it on IMSA TV, watch the video or live timing on the IMSA app.
Pre-Race: We are under an hour now to the grid walk. The last bit of polishing is nearly done so the car will look fresh and sparkly for the fans and the start.
It’s busy in the garage, but calm and methodical. Costumes will be donned soon and the circus will move to the grid area. We are “squatters” in a Weathertech team box, so most of the chairs and screens are theirs, but we get to use them. It’s a great place to experience on track sessions.
Fans have been coming by all day to chat and take pictures and wish luck to the team. It’s pretty incredible!!
Pace Laps Imminent and Race Underway: The fan walk. O.M.G.
Morgan has so many supporters here in person. They came from all over to the 24, yes, but to see Morgan race is a wonderful bonus. The flaggers came down from DC. The sim teams came to see real world racing. And so many more are watching at home.
This nearly defies description. The energy here is flowing from the fans and the team. It’s a constant stream of handshakes, hugs, photos, and autographs.
They clear the grid. Drivers and teams line up by their cars. The prayer is a solemn wish for a clean and safe race for all. The anthem rings out through the air and I have tears in my eyes. That’s our amazing, wonderful son out here. Finally, we clear the grid and leave Julian strapped into the car to gather his thoughts for the start of the race.
Breath is held by all as the field approaches the green flag… Get a good start but be sensible, everyone.
They are all away and we can all breathe again. Settle into the rhythm and find your pace and partners. Study the competition over the next laps. Make the smart moves and take care of the car. It’s a long way to the finish.
Julian has done well at the start. When he pits, Morgan will jump in. Until then, we wait, and we watch.
Mid Race: Racing is very hard. Sometimes stuff doesn’t go to plan. Today that roller coaster drop came to us. The #80 suffered an axle issue and went behind the wall for repairs.
Once they effected repairs, Morgan gets on the pavement!!! We hope he goes the distance and all holds together.
Daytona Finish: The #80 Hyundai Elantra N with Morgan Burkhard at the wheel finished the race in P11. Congratulations to VGRT!!
Racing is a roller coaster ride. Daytona threw so many surprises at the team today. Daytona ate tires and axles and all kinds of stuff, not just for us but for so many other teams as well. Throw in some fuel issues and you have a taste of the challenges on the day.
At the end of it all, the team is very pleased with Morgan’s performance. He drove extremely well under some difficult conditions. With 2 hours and 13 minutes in the car, Morgan brought the car home whole. He’ll keep that up and even better results will come.
The full 4-hour race from Daytona is now available and you'll find it here.
Thank you for staying with me for this incredible experience. It has been fantastic to share it with you! Keep watching!
JANUARY WRAP AND WHAT’S NEXT?
After this whirlwind that was January, with an entire month spent in Florida, and four events back-to-back, we finally head home to reset ourselves. It has been a lot for sure.
You’ve been with us from the trials with the SRF3 during the first week in Homestead. Even that was a positive because we found and fixed all the problems before the next weekend. That was the race at Sebring that mattered for the SRF3 points run. Morgan came away with a 5th and a very exciting 2nd from that one. Breaking in an essentially new SRF3 and getting it to run at the top of the field took a lot of effort and we are grateful for Mike Amy, Dog Gone Racing and Apple Motorsports to make it all happen.
Daytona added to that, learning an entirely new racing program with IMSA, Michelin Pilot Challenge, and the Victor Gonzalez Racing Team, and learning an entirely new car with the Hyundai Elantra N has been a tremendous amount to absorb. With lots of practice during the first half, Morgan figured out the new track, the new car, and the new team extremely quickly. He made a great showing there. During the second weekend, the intensity blossomed, but Morgan stayed Frosty. There were new mechanical challenges for the team to solve, but in the end Morgan had 2 hours and 13 minutes in the car to find his flow. With all he’s learned this month, he’ll be even better in the races to come.
We get February to assimilate all the new information and prepare for the next push of events coming in March. The lead off race will be the second SCCA Hoosier Super Tour event, this one at Road Atlanta. That is immediately followed by a return to Sebring, this time with IMSA MPC. See you there!