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ALTON, VA (October 10, 2021) - Sunday’s pair of races for the VOLT Racing with Archangel team really brought the action to VIRginia International Raceway. Drivers Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman earned a hard-fought fourth place in the IMSA Prototype Challenge’s three-hour endurance race. It was followed with a second place finish - the first podium of the year - for the No. 7 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge round.
— IMSA Prototype Challenge —
After qualifying the No. 7 Ligier JSP320 in fourth position, Brynjolfsson had a great start amid chaos in his rear view mirrors. Despite a pair of offs himself, he was able to hold his ground within the mix of ever changing LMP3 machines. 45-minutes was elapsed on the clock when a caution was deployed and he brought the No. 7 in for Trent in ninth position.
At this point, the action had only just begun. Hindman quickly pushed his way to fifth, where he found himself in a five car battle for the lead. He was able to maneuver his way as high as third place through three additional yellow flags. 20-minutes remained at the final restart, when the VOLT Lighting sponsored car’s unfortunate lack of pace on short runs began to come into play. Without turning a wheel wrong, Hindman was able to secure a fourth place finish for the VOLT Racing with Archangel Team.
“I think the team performed really well,” said Archangel Motorsports Team Principal, Mike Johnson. “We had a good car in practice and qualifying after some test days here. I though we were going to perform a bit better, but we chose a setup that probably wasn’t ideal for the conditions and setup for long runs rather than short. In that last yellow we just couldn’t get going quick enough. We had good pitstops and everything else was good, so I’m confident going to Atlanta where we just had two days of testing.”
— IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge —
A shortened qualifying session saw Brynjolfsson make out nicely, earning the VOLT Lighting sponsored Aston Martin Vantage GT4 a third place starting slot in Sunday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race. A great setup by Brynjolfsson allowed him to keep the car within the top four up until he handed it off to Hindman, just before a lengthy yellow flag was deployed.
Throwing a wildcard on strategy, Archangel Motorsports Principal, Mike Johnson, brought the No. 7 back into the pits under caution for four tires and fuel to take it to end of the race. Once back to green, Hindman battled his way up from eleventh to sixth before another full course caution was declared with 30-minutes remaining.
Hindman took the green flag resetting the fastest race lap in hot pursuit of the top five. The final 10-minutes saw the New Jersey native chasing second while defending the final podium position from a hungry Bill Auberlen. The No. 7 was in third place when it crossed the line, only to gain a position following a post race technical infraction for the second place car.
“Wow, that was a pretty amazing race, one of the best GS races I’ve seen in a long time,” said Johnson. “Obviously for us it was great to see a podium again. We should be hitting four or five podiums a year, so one just doesn’t feel like enough, but I’m really happy with the team. From our standpoint we executed great pitstops, Alan was within two seconds of the leaders at the end of his stint and Trent’s drive through the field was incredible. We’ve been really strong at Road Atlanta in the past and I’m looking forward to ending the year on a high note.”
The VOLT Racing with Archangel team will return to action at Road Atlanta November 11-14. The weekend will both the final rounds of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA Prototype Challenge.
Driver Comments:
Alan Brynjolfsson, Driver, No. 7 — “It was a great weekend finishing P2 and P4. Everyone did their part and I’m just very happy. Thanks to the team. ”
Trent Hindman, Driver, No. 7 — “It was just a really great weekend for Alan, for VOLT Lighting and for the Archangel Motorsports team. In IPC we just missed out on a podium, lacking a little bit of speed in that race. The GS car was super quick all weekend. The strategy could’ve gone a hundred different ways, but we chose one that landed us on the podium. Awesome job by the whole team and by Alan.”
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