Jake Walker had a fantastic end to a fantastic season at Road Atlanta this past weekend, winning both VP SportsCar Challenge races in his #6 Turner Motorsport M4 GT3 at Road Atlanta. Walker delivered nine wins in twelve races in the GTDX class for GT3-spec cars and finished on the podium in another, but he still ended up second in the championship to Wright Motorsport Porsche driver Adam Adelson.
Walker’s runner-up standing in the championship goes back to the first race weekend of the season at Daytona, where he didn’t score any points due to an issue with his car. It was a weekend that would end up haunting him. Adelson won both races at Daytona and was consistent for the rest of the season, winning one race at Mid-Ohio and finishing second to Walker in most of the others. Since VP Challenge is a series that rewards consistency, that’s all it took to win the championship.

Jake Walker (middle) celebrates a VP Challenge win at Road Atlanta. Samantha Tan (right) won the Bronze class championship.
The racing between Walker and Adelson was a highlight of the VP Challenge season. They set a great example of how to respect each other and race cleanly in an IMSA season (which includes the Michelin Pilot Challenge and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) that forced the stewards to crack down on overly aggressive driving. Walker and Adelson raced close and hard but rarely had contact and never forced each other off the track.
Walker started from pole in both races at Road Atlanta, but was passed in both by Adelson on the first lap. Walker fought back and got by Adelson to score his eighth and ninth wins of the season. Walker was not the only BMW on the track; Samantha Tan was also entered in her #38 ST Racing M4 GT3. She finished both races in third and won the Bronze Class drivers’ championship, which awards points to FIA Bronze-rated drivers. In the GTDX class, Allen Patten finished second and fourth in the two races in his Thunder Bunny Racing M4 GT4 EVO.

Samantha Tan finished third in both VP Challenge races at Road Atlanta.
The Michelin Pilot Challenge series also had its finale at Road Atlanta, with several M4 GT4 EVOs entered. Coming into the race, the Carbahn by Peregrine Racing duo of Jeff Westphal and Sean McAlister still had a slim shot at the championship. They finished fourth, but a sixth-place finish for leaders Jan Heylen and Luca Mars in their RS1 Porsche was enough to give them the championship. Turner Motorsport drivers Robby Foley and Beltre Curtis finished on the podium in third at Road Atlanta.

CarBahn with Peregrine Racing finished second in the Michelin Challenge championship with Sean McAlister and Jeff Westphal.
BMW teams had eight podiums in the Michelin Pilot Challenge season, including wins at Sebring, Mid-Ohio and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the manufacturers’ championship, BMW ended up tied with Porsche. The 2026 Michelin Pilot Challenge season begins on January 22nd-26th at Daytona International Speedway. The VP Racing SportsCar Challenge series opens a little earlier, with their first two races taking place during the “Roar Before the 24” testing on the weekend of January 17th-19th.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy LAT Images]