Misha Goikhberg Explained

Mikhail "Misha" Goikhberg (born 24 November 1986), is a Russian-born Canadian race car driver who is best known for competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Early career

Goikhberg's first foray into driving happened in 2003 at the Russian track of Nevskoye Kolzo (The Neva Ring) with a Lada Cup Car under guidance of experienced Russian race car driver Aleksandr Lvov. Goikhberg completed several seasons of regional karting in Canada, followed by enrollment into Skip Barber Racing School in 2008.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Open Wheel competition

2009 saw Goikhberg competing with Brian Graham Racing in Ontario Formula Ford, where he finished 5th and 2nd amongst rookies.^[4] In 2010 Goikhberg signed with his current team JDC MotorSports, with which started a multi-year relationship.^[5] He competed in USF2000 claiming 3rd spot at the end of the year having won at Laguna Seca.^[6] In 2011 he drove a limited campaign in the Star Mazda Championship. Due to lack of sponsorship he only ran the rounds in Mosport and Sonoma. In 2019, he ran the SCCA June Sprints with Rice Race Prep in both a Formula Ford and Formula Continental. He won two races in the Formula Continental and one in the Formula F.^[7]

Sportscar Racing competition

In 2012 Goikhberg and JDC MotorSports decided to move into sportscar racing teaming up for a full season in the IMSA Prototype Lites Championship. The Russian driver won 2 rounds and finished 2nd overall in 2012, followed by a 3rd overall finish in 2013, and finally claimed the championship in 2014 in a commanding fashion winning 9 rounds including 6 pole positions.^[8] Goikhberg won the $100000 Mazda Road to the 24 scholarship and moved up to the Tudor United SportsCar Championship with JDC-Miller MotorSports in 2015.^{[9] [10]} 2015 was a challenging rookie year for Goikhberg, who finished 4th overall in the driver championship claiming 3 podiums at Daytona, Detroit and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

In 2016 Goikhberg teamed up with Stephen Simpson as his full season teammate. Driving again for JDC-Miller MotorSports in the Prototype Challenge category of the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, the pair has scored two victories, winning the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona^{[11] [12]} and the Long Beach Grand Prix.^{[13] [14]} Goikhberg finished the 2016 season in 3rd position in the driver standings^[15] and has moved up to Prototype class for 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.^[16]

In 2018, Goikhberg and co-driver Simpson would swap rides, piloting the return of the No. 99 "Red Dragon" with sponsorship from GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing as JDC-Miller expanded to a second Oreca 07.^[17] and would win that year's 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, the first Prototype victory for JDC-Miller MotorSports.^[18]

In 2019 Goikhberg returned to the familiar # 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports entry with new teammate Tristan Vautier as the team moved for the first year to a Cadillac DPi-V.R. The Cadillac DPi-V.R is a prototype racing car which started competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America in 2017. With the switch to the IMSA DPi class Goikhberg will compete in the highest form of prototype sportscar racing in North America.

For 2020 Goikhberg will team up with Álvaro Parente in a full-season effort in the GT Daytona category. They will pilot the No. 57 Acura NSX GT3 Evo for Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank. They will be joined for all four of the Michelin Endurance Cup races by Trent Hindman. A. J. Allmendinger will also join the lineup for the 24 Hours of Daytona.^[19]

Career statistics

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12		Pts	Ref
2014	JDC-Miller MotorSports	PC	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8	DAY	SEB	LGA	KAN	WGL	IND	ELK	VIR	COA	PET			39th	26	[20]
2015	JDC-Miller MotorSports	PC	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8	DAY	SEB	LGA	DET	WGL	MOS	LIM	ELK	COA	PET			4th	285	[21]
2016	JDC-Miller MotorSports	PC	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8	DAY	SEB	LBH	LGA	DET	WGL	MOS	LIM	ELK	COA	PET		3rd	317	[22]
2017	JDC-Miller MotorSports	P		Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY	SEB	LBH	AUS	DET	WGL	MOS	ELK	LGA	PET			4th	277	[23]
2018	JDC-Miller MotorSports	P		Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY	SEB	LBH	MDO	DET	WGL	MOS	ELK	LGA	PET			4th	252	[24]
2019	JDC-Miller MotorSports	DPi	Cadillac DPi-V.R	Cadillac 5.5L V8	DAY	SEB	LBH	MDO	DET	WGL	MOS	RA	LGA	PET			11th	230	[25]
2020	Heinricher Racing with MSR	GTD	Acura NSX GT3 Evo	Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6	DAY	DAY	SEB	ELK	RA	MO	CHA	PET	LGA	SEB			7th	250	[26]
2022	T3 Motorsport North America	GTD	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo	Lamborghini 5.2 L V10	DAY	SEB	LBH	LGA	MDO	DET	WGL	MOS	LIM	ELK	VIR	PET	57th	239	[27]
2023	US RaceTronics	GTD	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	Lamborghini 5.2 L V10	DAY	SEB	LBH	MON	WGL	MOS	LIM	ELK	VIR 14	IMS 2	PET 1		5th	2921	[28]
2024	Forte Racing	GTD	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	Lamborghini 5.2 L V10	DAY 16	SEB 5	LBH 11	LGA 8	WGL 14	MOS 9	ELK 14	VIR 2	IMS 4	PET 2					[29]

• Season still in progress.

External links

• JDC-Miller Motorsports

Notes and References

1. Web site: Altemus. Jim. Letters from Homestead. skipbarber.com. 3 February 2009 . Skip Barber Racing School. 3 February 2009.
2. Web site: Altemus. Jim. Mont Tremblant Race weekend. skipbarber.com. 12 August 2009 . Skip Barber Racing School. 12 August 2009.
3. Web site: Altemus. Jim. Homecoming weekend at Sebring. Skipbarber.com. 18 February 2009 . Skip Barber Racing School. 18 February 2009.
4. Web site: Ontario Formula Ford 2009 Standings. driverdb.com. Driver Database. 31 December 2009.
5. Web site: JDC Motorsports enters USF2000 National Championship with three-car line-up. Flagworld.com. Flagworld. 18 March 2010. 15 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150915094049/http://www.flagworld.com/news/2010/03/18/jdc-motorsports-enters-suf2000-national-championship-with-three-car-line-up/. dead.
6. Web site: Championship class driver Goikhberg wins second USF2000 non-points race Sunday. Flagworld.com. Flagworld. 24 May 2010. 15 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150915080922/http://www.flagworld.com/news/2010/05/24/championship-class-driver-goikhberg-wins-second-usf2000-non-points-race-sunday/. dead.
7. Web site: Celebrating RiceRace Success!. riceraceprep.com. RiceRacePrep. 6 July 2020. 6 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200706215100/http://www.riceraceprep.com/2019/11/12/celebrating-ricerace-success/. dead.
8. Web site: Goikhberg takes Prototype Lites championship. Motorsport.com. 4 October 2014 . 4 October 2014.
9. Web site: Next generation of young talent to begin quest for title this week at Sebring. motorsport.com. 16 March 2015 . 16 March 2015.
10. Web site: Goikhberg Earns Entry Into 2015 TUDOR Championship. Racer.com. Racer. 1 December 2014.
11. Web site: Kelly. Paul. GOIKHBERG, KOCH STAND ATOP ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA PODIUM. InsideTrackNews.com. 3 February 2016 . Inside Track News. 3 February 2016.
12. Web site: Kats. Rachel. JDC-Miller MotorSports scores breakthrough win at Daytona International Speedway. swnewsmedia.com. 13 February 2016 . Savage Pacer. 13 February 2016.
13. Web site: Embury. Matt. IMSA: Taylor, JDC, Porsche North America Win At Long Beach. onpitroad.com. OnPitRoad. 16 April 2016.
14. Web site: Taylor brothers and Chevrolet go back-to-back in IMSA SportsCar race at Long Beach. Autoweek.com. autoweek. 17 April 2016.
15. Web site: IMSA Driver Standings 2016. imsa.com. IMSA. 5 October 2016.
16. Web site: Dagys. John. Goikhberg Confirmed for Season. sportscar365.com. 27 December 2016 . Sportscar 365. 27 December 2016.
17. Web site: Pruett. Marshall. GAINSCO Returns with JDC-Miller Motorsports. Racer.com. 18 December 2017 . Racer Media & Marketing, inc.. 11 July 2018.
18. Web site: Pruett. Marshall. JDC-Miller earns first overall IMSA win at The Glen; Ganassi, Turner earn class victories. Racer.com. July 2018 . Racer Media & Marketing, inc.. 11 July 2018.
19. Web site: Heinricher to Continue with MSR in New Driver Lineup – Sportscar365. Dagys. John. sportscar365.com. 9 December 2019 . en-US. 2019-12-09.
20. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
21. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
22. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2016 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
23. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2017 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
24. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2018 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
25. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2019 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
26. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2020 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
27. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2022 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
28. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2023 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
29. Web site: Misha Goikhberg – 2024 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results . 21 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.