It’s been a hectic start to the weekend for New Zealand’s Ryan Yardley, who has made a dash to Wisconsin to compete in this weekend’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge round at Road America.
Yardley will debut in the series for Murillo Racing across three races, sharing the No. 56 Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Eric Foss. The cameo comes after full-time driver Jeff Mosing was declared unavailable after a high-speed crash in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America at Road America last weekend.
“Unfortunately, [Jeff] had an incident that is going to keep him out of the car,” Foss told sportscar365. “Going into this weekend, it has been a little bit of a challenge trying to find a replacement driver that would do a good job, and we would be comfortable with, but we have gotten to know Ryan Yardley a little bit this season as Jeff’s teammate in the other series.
“We are really excited to bring him in and give him an opportunity. He is a young New Zealander that has been in the U.S. for the last few years but has had a pretty good run of success back home and in Australia in production-based racing.
“We are really looking forward to getting him in the car and seeing what he is capable of doing.”
Yardley is thrilled at the opportunity and spoke to Velocity News while en route to the circuit.
“It all happened very quick,” he said. “I got a phone call on Sunday night asking if I was available this weekend. It’s a fantastic opportunity, that’s for sure.
“It’s a great team; they’re sitting fifth in the driver’s championship right now, so I’m getting a competitive car. I’m not sure what to expect, but I know the BMWs will be quick at Road America, a straight-line track.
“I don’t have too many expectations,” he continues. “I’m going to do as good a job as possible for the team, have a good stint and do the best I can.
“It’s an excellent series; with all the GT4s, there’s a lot of manufacturers involved. It’s where I want to be, and just getting the phone call to see if I was available and then that eventually leading to me getting the drive was incredible. It’s nice to be gaining some traction here in America, and people knowing who I am is a promising sign.
“I’m really excited to get in the car on Saturday morning and have a bit of practice.”
Yardley will have some Kiwi company in the paddock as teenager Bailey Cruse makes his MX5 Cup debut at the same venue.
Qualifying takes place at 10.00 am on Sunday, with the two-hour race beginning at 7.55 am on Monday. Qualifying and the race will be streamed live on IMSA’s streaming platform.
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