Misha Goikhberg

Mikhail "Misha" Goikhberg (born 24 November 1986), is a Russian-born Canadian race car driver, currently signed to compete in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian.

Misha Goikhberg
Goikhberg signing autographs
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1986-11-24) November 24, 1986
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship career
Debut season	2012 IMSA Prototype Challenge
Current team	Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian
Car number	57
Engine	Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
Co-driver	Álvaro Parente
Starts	48
Wins	3
Best finish	1st in 2016 24 Hours of Daytona

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	Pos.	Pts
2014	JDC-Miller MotorSports	PC	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8	DAY	SEB	LGA	KAN	WGL	IMS	ELK	VIR	COA	PET 6		?	?
2015	JDC-Miller MotorSports	PC	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8	DAY 3	SEB 4	LGA 4	DET 2	WGL 5	MOS 3	LIM 6	ELK 7	COA 5	PET 5		4th	285
2016	JDC-Miller MotorSports	PC	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8	DAY 1	SEB 4	LBH 1	LGA 5	DET 7	WGL 4	MOS 5	LIM 6	ELK 7	COA 6	PET 3	3rd	317
2017	JDC-Miller MotorSports	P	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 5	SEB 4	LBH 4	MDO 4	DET 6	WGL 2	MOS 2	ELK 8	LGA 4	PET 6		4th	277
2018	JDC-Miller MotorSports	P	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 7	SEB 7	LBH 8	MDO 7	DET 11	WGL 1	MOS 7	ELK 2	LGA 6	PET 10		4th	252
2019	JDC-Miller MotorSports	DPi	Cadillac DPi-V.R	Cadillac 5.5L V8	DAY 5	SEB 7	LBH 9	MDO 10	DET 5	WGL 10	MOS 9	RA 8	LGA 8	PET 9		11th	230
2020	Heinricher Racing with MSR	GTD	Acura NSX GT3 Evo	Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6	DAY 8	DAY 4	SEB	RA	VIR	WGL	MOS	MO	ROA	LGA	SEB	8th*	23*

^* Season still in progress.

References

1. Altemus, Jim. "Letters from Homestead". skipbarber.com. Skip Barber Racing School. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
2. Altemus, Jim. "Mont Tremblant Race weekend". skipbarber.com. Skip Barber Racing School. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
3. Altemus, Jim. "Homecoming weekend at Sebring". Skipbarber.com. Skip Barber Racing School. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
4. "Ontario Formula Ford 2009 Standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
5. "JDC Motorsports enters USF2000 National Championship with three-car line-up". Flagworld.com. Flagworld. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
6. "Championship class driver Goikhberg wins second USF2000 non-points race Sunday". Flagworld.com. Flagworld. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
7. "Celebrating RiceRace Success!". riceraceprep.com. RiceRacePrep. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
8. "Goikhberg takes Prototype Lites championship". Motorsport.com. motorsport.com. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
9. "Next generation of young talent to begin quest for title this week at Sebring". motorsport.com. motorsport.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
10. "Goikhberg Earns Entry Into 2015 TUDOR Championship". Racer.com. Racer. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
11. Kelly, Paul. "GOIKHBERG, KOCH STAND ATOP ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA PODIUM". InsideTrackNews.com. Inside Track News. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
12. Kats, Rachel. "JDC-Miller MotorSports scores breakthrough win at Daytona International Speedway". swnewsmedia.com. Savage Pacer. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
13. Embury, Matt. "IMSA: Taylor, JDC, Porsche North America Win At Long Beach". onpitroad.com. OnPitRoad. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
14. "Taylor brothers and Chevrolet go back-to-back in IMSA SportsCar race at Long Beach". Autoweek.com. autoweek. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
15. "IMSA Driver Standings 2016". imsa.com. IMSA. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
16. Dagys, John. "Goikhberg Confirmed for Season". sportscar365.com. Sportscar 365. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
17. Pruett, Marshall. "GAINSCO Returns with JDC-Miller Motorsports". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, inc. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
18. Pruett, Marshall. "JDC-Miller earns first overall IMSA win at The Glen; Ganassi, Turner earn class victories". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, inc. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
19. Dagys, John. "Heinricher to Continue with MSR in New Driver Lineup – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2019-12-09.

External links

• JDC-Miller Motorsports
• Racing-Reference Misha Goikhberg
• Driver Database Mikhail Goikhberg