GTP; The Konica Minolta Acura Secures Pole
The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura Arx-06 secure a crucial pole position in a winner takes all weekend in Atlanta. With the top 6 GTP cars all in contention for the 2023 championship. The Konica Minolta Acura got the job done in qualifying to secure the front spot for tomorrow’s 10 hours race. Currently the No. 10 Acura sits atop the GTP class championship standings after securing 35 points for finishing P1 in qualifying taking advantage of the formerly first place No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac who finishes P19 overall and 8th in class.
Qualifying threw most of the teams a curve ball as surprise rain started at the very beginning of the session. Konica Minolta now holds a 9 point lead over Whelen Engineering. The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 and the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 are still within striking range. The gap is now 45 points for the Team RLL No. 25 and 11 points for the Porsche Penske No. 06.
LMP2
In LMP2 the weekend started off with a the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 leading the championship by 20 points. However, due to qualifying P2 that lead was cut to 17 points. PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports claim in class pole. Ben Keating secured pole with a lap of 1:13.859 (123.803 mph). He stated the follwoing to IMSA after the session, “I had nothing to lose,” said Keating. “I took a ton of risk and completely sent it across (Turns) 10A and 10B and pulled it off. It was pretty magical to get it in that way. Now I hope the championship comes down to that qualifying.”
The LMP2 championship is still up for grabs and the actions in tomorrow’s 10 hour races will dictate who leaves Petit Le Mans a winner and who will be left asking what happened. Action gets started at 11:40am EST.
LMP3
The No. 74 Riley P3 car will clinch the championship title by starting the race tomorrow. Knowing this the team did not participate in qualifying to avoid any risk of damaging the car before hand. They will start from the back in P51 but by starting the race they will secure the LMP3 championship. That aside, Andretti Autosports No. 36 Ligier JS P32 secured pole. The effort put the team in line to possibly repeat last years result starting from pole. Andretti will attempt to win for the second time in a row tomorrow when the green flag flies.
GTD Pro/GTD
Paul Miller Racing has already secured the GTD title. However, the No. 27 Heart of Racing received the Motul Pole Award. While the title is already decided, the No. 27 car will attempt to bring home another win to close out the season.
In GTD Pro the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus looks to close out the championship after missing the opportunity in GTD. By making it through qualifying all the No. 14 car needs to do is start the race to clinch the title. It is yet to be determined if the No. 14 car will participate in the morning warm up.
Full Qualifying Results are Below
The final weekend of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship has finally arrived. With all three practice sessions complete the 5 championship classes will participate in qualifying late afternoon on Friday to set the grid for Saturday’s 10 hour race. Championships are on the line for the season finale. In the GTP class all 4 manufacturers sit poised for championship contention. The field is separated by just 64 points from top to bottom. No one could have predicated that it would come down to the final round to decide a champion. However, in the ultimate spirit of racing fans are being provided with a treat. Its anyone’s championship at this point which leaves no room for error tomorrow when the green flag flies.
Who Will Take the GTP Crown?
At the top of the table Whelen Engineering sit just 14 points behind the Konica Minolta WTR Acura ARX-06. After early season success at Sebring the Whelen Engineering side has not one a race since. The teams had had a handful of podiums this year. A year that many would consider very up and down with many highs and lows. In a must win scenario the cars will be put to the ultimate test in the 10 hour long race come tomorrow but before we go racing we need to determine the starting order. Qualifying starts at 3:20pm EST at Road Atlanta.
In LMP2 three cars are in the discussion regarding the 2023 championship title. The No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07, tops the LMP2 class with 1,680 points. Just 20 points back is the No. 52 ORECA driven by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. The No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR machine car is 100 points behind the championship leaders. Similarly to the GTP, this is a winner takes all situation.
The LMP3, GTD Pro and GTD championships were all essentially wrapped up before the start of the race week in Atlanta. We will report if this changes but currently the No. 74 Riley LMP3 car will be crowned champion, Paul Miller Racing won the GTD class and the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan GTD Pro car is poised to take the championship.
2023 Petit Le Mans Spotters Guide
Motul Petit Le Mans
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia
October 11-14, 2023
Race Day/Time: Saturday, October 14 – 11:40 a.m. ET
Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 11:35 a.m. (outside the U.S. on IMSA.com/TVLive)
USA Network Coverage: LIVE – 6:30-10 p.m.
Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, October 13 – 3:15-4:30 p.m. ET on Peacock and IMSA.com/TVLive
This article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From Pfaff Motorsports..
Toronto, ON – Pfaff Motorsports has announced it will continue its efforts in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a single-car McLaren entry in 2024. The team will be a McLaren Manufacturer-nominated entrant into the GTD Pro class, and will field a 720S GT3 Evo as it chases a third championship in the series. The driver lineup has yet to be finalized.
The move signifies McLaren’s first full season in the WeatherTech Championship GTD Pro class, with activations planned at future events to increase the brand’s exposure and reaffirm its commitment to the IMSA platform.
Pfaff has a long history with the McLaren brand. Pfaff Automotive Partners is the official importer for McLaren in Canada, and owns and operates McLaren retail locations in Toronto and Vancouver. The company has co-created two special-edition vehicles for Canada with McLaren Special Operations and has also won the McLaren Retailer of the Year award.
Lithia Motors Inc., the parent company of the Pfaff dealerships and title partner Driveway.com, also has a global footprint with the brand, and owns several McLaren retail points in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
On the competition side, Pfaff and McLaren are no strangers to on-track success. McLaren Toronto General Manager Chris Green has driven a 570S GT4 in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series, and Pfaff Motorsports also leveraged the 570S GT4 to win the 2022 FEL Sports Car Championship Canada GT4 Class in 2022 with Zachary Vanier.
“Pfaff has been proud to represent McLaren in Canada since 2012; our partnership with the brand has spanned road and track for many years,” said Chris Pfaff, Pfaff Automotive Partners President and CEO. “Adopting the 720S GT3 Evo platform for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship demonstrates our confidence in McLaren as a business, a racing partner, and retail partner. We’re excited about the future of the McLaren brand, and excited to be part of building that future with them.”
“We are delighted to have Pfaff Motorsports onboard as one of our racing partners,” said Ian Morgan, Director of Motorsport, McLaren Automotive. “The IMSA series is one of the highest-profile GT championships in the world, and to be working with a team with whom we have a strong and established history, both on and off the race track, is fantastic news. We look forward to supporting the team with their GTD Pro campaign and building on the strong relationship, as well as the McLaren brand in North America.”
“Pfaff Motorsports is proud to partner with McLaren in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starting in 2024 ¬– and we want to make the latest chapter in McLaren’s iconic racing history an exciting one,” said Pfaff Motorsports General Manager Steve Bortolotti. “We look forward to building an increased presence at IMSA events with them next season, and sharing the thrill of sportscar racing with their passionate road car customers at the track and at their retail stores.”
Pfaff’s move to McLaren follows a successful five-year run in the WeatherTech Championship with Porsche, which resulted in season-long titles in the 2021 GTD and 2022 GTD Pro classes, plus a total of 12 race victories. The team’s goal at this weekend’s season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is to finish second in the championship.
About Pfaff Motorsports
Pfaff Motorsports has established itself as one of the most successful sportscar racing programs in North America over the past decade. A professional team in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), it has established long-term partnerships with premium brands such as Lithia & Driveway, Motul, the Automotive Owned Brands of Canadian Tire Corporation, and Hagerty.
Pfaff Motorsports’ competition résumé includes historic victories and championships across multiple series. Since joining the top-tier IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2019, the team has won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona and twice at the 12 Hours of Sebring, in addition to being crowned the 2022 WeatherTech Championship GTD Pro class and 2021 GTD class champions. It has also won the 2018 GT World Challenge America championship and is a three-time Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada champion. For more information, please visit www.pfaffmotorsports.com.
The Heart of Racing team has announced that Aston Martin will enter a Le Mans Hypercar into the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans via the Aston Martin Valkyrie Program. Additionally, Aston martin will also participate in select endurance races in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTP class. The prototype Valkyrie will participate in three of the most prestigious events; Le Mans, the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda stated “Performance is the lifeblood of everything that we do at Aston Martin, and motorsport is the ultimate expression of this pursuit of excellence.
We have been present at Le Mans since the earliest days, and through those glorious endeavors we succeeded in winning Le Mans in 1959 and our class 19 times over the past 95 years. Now we return to the scene of those first triumphs aiming to write new history with a racing prototype inspired by the fastest production car Aston Martin has ever built.
Aston Martin Builds off of its F1 Legacy
Stroll continued his thoughts on expansion beyond Formula 1. “In addition to our presence in the FIA Formula 1® World Championship, Aston Martin’s return to the pinnacle of endurance racing will allow us to build a deeper connection with our customers and community, many of whom found their passion for the brand through our past success at Le Mans. And of course, the complex knowledge-base we are building through our F1® team is data that Aston Martin Performance Technologies can harness to further enhance the capabilities of the Valkyrie racecar at Le Mans, in WEC and IMSA.
Just as the learnings we gain through endurance competition will feed directly into our road car programs, further improving the ultimate performance of our products. I would like to thank Gabe Newell and Heart of Racing for partnering with Aston Martin on this program, and I look forward to working with him and the team as we aim for success in the greatest endurance race of them all.”
Ian James, Team Principal of Heart of Racing, said: “It’s a privilege to be able to bring Aston Martin back to the top of endurance racing with the Heart of Racing.
“Our team has grown exponentially since we began racing with those famous wings at Daytona in 2020. We understand and are aligned with the ethos of the brand and we have developed our own systems and technologies to extract the maximum performance of the cars we compete with. Our understanding of Valkyrie is strong and we have worked closely with it through our customer activation programs for two years now.”
Today Meyer Shank Racing announced that they will bringing their GTP car program to a halt in order to focus primarily on their IndyCar program in 2024. The decision is somewhat surprising given the team won the Rolex 24 this year and continues to remain competitive in the field. MSR Owners Mike Shank and Jim Meyer plan to keep their GTP program staff on-board in preparation for the teams’ return to IMSA in 2025.
Mike Shank had the Following Words
“Making the decision to take a year away from IMSA was not an easy one by any means,” said Shank. “Our guys live and breathe this team, and have committed most of their lives to working on these cars and traveling to races – and many of them have been with us for nearly 20 years. For Jim (Meyer) and I, our main focus was getting our guys set and making sure they were all going to be OK, which we were able to do.
There are a lot of projects that we have going at the shop, and of course some of the guys will be helping with our growing INDYCAR program. The third Indianapolis 500 entry for Helio is a very big deal and I’m glad to have the right people in place to help us be as ready as possible for him to go get that fifth one. And then when we need to prepare for the IMSA program, we’ll still have this great group together and ready to go. I have so many people to thank who have had such an impact on me and how this team has grown – Jim France has been a supporter of us since we joined the series in 2004 and he’s someone that I cannot thank enough. Jon Ikeda, David Salters and everyone at Honda, HPD, and Acura, gave MSR a shot and trusted us to run this program for the last few years and we have accomplished some pretty awesome things since running together.”
Porsche Penske secured a 1-2 finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend at the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Battle on the Bricks. The lead up to the race was a thriller with multiple on track incidents and periodic worries regarding rain on the forecast. However, one thing that didn’t change was the Porsche Penske Motorsports dominance over the weekend.
The team lead all practice sessions as well as qualifying so it was not surprise to see them at the front of the race. The No. 06 car driven by Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet claimed the victory in the 2-hour 40-minute race. The sister No. 07 Porsche 963 driven by Felipe Nasr and Matt Campbell finished second ahead of the third place finishing RLL Racing No. 25 BMW M. The result brought the top 5 teams in the GTP class all within championship winning position heading into the season finale at Le Man Petit in Atlanta in one month’s time.
Trouble in the Pits
The Porsche had a small mishap during a pitstop under caution where the sister Porsche cars did not leave enough space for the No. 31 Whelen Engineering car to exit their. The result was race control award the lead of the race to the No. 31 car. There were mixed feelings on the decision amongst fans but ultimately both of the Porsches got past and the decision by race control didn’t matter. Tandy stated to IMSA.com, “I said before the weekend that we really needed to win here to have a decent shot going into Atlanta. It’s given us a chance at the end of the day. The teamwork that’s gone into giving the people that work in this team a chance to win in Atlanta is amazing.”
The No. 24 RLL Racing BMW was the only GTP car to not finish on the lead lap.
LMP2
TDS Racing bounce back after falling short in qualifying to secure the LMP2 win. The win meant the No. 11 car holds a 28 point lead ahead of second place No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA. The No. 52 car finished fourth on grid after start on in class pole. The No. 11 car finished just over 19 seconds ahead of the No. 08 Tower Motorsports car. Crowdstrike Racing took third 2 seconds behind Tower Motorsports. The LMP2 lead lap was 3 laps behind the GTP class with the top finishers completed 110 laps for LMP2.
LMP3
AWA Racing secured their second win of the year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The win broke the 4 win streak by the No. 74 Riley motorsports car which has been dominating the class. The team currently holds a massive 244 point lead over second place. While anything can happen at Le Mans Petit, Riley appear to have the championship locked down. They have not yet clinched so we will see if their championship winning standing will hold.
GTD Pro/GTD
The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 secured their third win of the season. In second was the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin that finished 4.394 seconds behind. Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat finished third in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. The finish extended their GTD PRO championship lead to 188 points over the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C8.R GTD. The championship is essentially decided but nothing is official until Petit.
Mercedes secured a double win in GTD and GTD Pro as a manufacturer with No. 57 Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 winning. The win however was futile for the championship race. The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 clinched the GTD title by finishing in 3rd place. In addition The No. 1 BMW was also crowned winner of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup sub-championship.
The next and final round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Motul Petit Le Mans. The event takes place October 11-14 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Full Race Results are Below
The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 led a Porsche 1-2 in qualifying to secure pole position for the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Matt Campbell led the way for the No. 07 car and Mathieu Jaminet set the fastest time for the No. 08 car. The No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura finished in third just under 2 tenths behind the lead car.
After the session Campbell said, “We want to perform well at home and put on a good show. Obviously at such an event, with Roger owning the circuit, we have a lot of supporters and sponsors along as well. We’re not necessarily shining in one (sector) at the moment. I think we can just really put together a lap quite well, whereas with everyone else we’ve seen a lot of mistakes in practice with brake-locking and running off track. We have as well, but I feel like a lot less as some of the other competitors.”
LMP2
In LMP2 the No. 52 driven by Ben Keating secured in class pole for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. Keating led the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing car by 4 tenths in the session. In third was the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07.
Keating seemed to have mixed feelings on the session, “We made a bunch of big changes and are delighted to start up front and get those extra bonus points,” said Keating. “Something I’ve been working hard on this whole year is to bring my tires up to temperature as quickly as I can. The fastest laps usually come at the very end because it takes so long to get your tires up to temperature.”
LMP3
After a late red flag due to the championship leading No. 74 Riley car crashing. Bijoy Garg took advantage of the mistake by setting a 1m20.513 lap in the No. 29 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320. The team secure a 1-2 finish in class with the No. 30 Ligier JS P320 car running second fastest ahead of the No. 13 AWA Racing Duquenine 808. A relaxed Garg stated the following after the session, “It felt pretty easy, but it was a real team effort. After practice, we had that speed and it allowed me to be relaxed and deliver the lap. That was really helpful. The car was amazing, probably the best P3s I’ve ever had.”
GTD/GTD Pro
In GTD Paul Miller racing continued their dominance in the class securing pole position again setting a fastest lap of 1m23.075 seconds. Mikael Grenier was the second fastest GTD in the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Patrick Gallagher was third in GTD in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW.
Pfaff Motorsports secured GTD Pro pole position as the team attempts to cut into the champion leaders point advantages this weekend. The finish meant that Pfaff cut 5 points off of their deficit. The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 currently holds a 245 points lead ahead of Pfaff and the No. 3 Corvette racing car sits in second in the championship standings. Anything can happen in the main race so we will see how the points get shaken up come tomorrow afternoon.
Live coverage for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks starts at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC and IMSA Radio.
Full Qualifying Results Are Below
The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship head into the penultimate round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. The series will feature all 5 WeatherTech classes on track accounting for 48 cars. The pre event entry list is below.
The event this weekend will be the first time IMSA has returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2014. The weekend kicked off with the Fan Festival last night September 14th 2023. The Fan Festival is a family friendly event where new comers can interact with some of the cars on grid up close. There were Q&A sessions, pit stop demonstrations and meet and greets with some of the series drivers. Here the details for this weekends race event.
IMSA WeatherTech drivers prepare for the Fan Festival autograph session. Photo by Ramon Jones/ Chroma Visual
TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks Fast Facts
Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Indiana
Sept. 15-17, 2023
- Race Day/Time: Sunday, Sept. 17, 1:10 p.m. ET
- NBC Network Coverage: LIVE – 1-4 p.m.
- Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 1:05 p.m. (available outside the U.S. on IMSA.com/TVLive)
- Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, Sept. 16 – 12:55 p.m. on Peacock (in the U.S.) and IMSA.com
- IMSA Radio: Select sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. (XM 207, Web/App 992)
- Circuit Type: 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course
- Classes Competing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)
- Race Length: 2 hours, 40 minutes
IMSA WeatherTech Championship Practice 1 begins at 2:40 pm EST September 15th 2023.
The article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
Press Release from IMSA…
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – IMSA officials today announced the new event date for the 2024 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen – June 20-23, 2024 – to eliminate a date clash with the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
The new date moves the Sahlen’s Six Hours up one week from its originally scheduled weekend when the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule was announced last month. The new WeatherTech Championship race day – which also represents the third round of a five-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup season in 2024 – will be Sunday, June 23.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge now will race on Saturday, June 22. Additional IMSA-sanctioned events for the new Ford Mustang Challenge and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America also are slated for the event weekend on the 3.4-mile road course in New York’s picturesque Finger Lakes region.
“IMSA has elected to make this adjustment to our 2024 schedule for the benefit of many of our global automotive partners and drivers who not only compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but also in many other prestigious 24-hour races,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “We were able to accommodate this change through a spirit of collaboration with our partners at NBC Sports and Watkins Glen International, and we are grateful to all involved for their cooperation. IMSA expects to return to its traditional and longstanding date on the last weekend of June in 2025 and beyond.”
The 2024 season opens with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 27-28, 2024.
This article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From Andretti Autosport now Andretti Global…
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 5, 2023) – Andretti Autosport, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, today announced a major rebranding initiative that will see the international organization adopt the branding of Andretti Global, the identity previously named as the parent company to the U.S.-based race team.
As a brand that is built on a foundation of racing excellence, the new Andretti Global name will unite all aspects of the organization under a single identity, more closely aligning with the team’s already-established legacy. Andretti Global currently operates in eight motorsports platforms racing across six continents with an appetite to expand its worldwide footprint into other major motorsports series.
Along with the name change, the current Andretti Autosport shield will be replaced with the Andretti Global logo. As each of the 2024 racing seasons get underway, fans can look forward to a new digital experience from the most trusted name in motorsports with the rebrand additionally bringing a new structure to the team’s social media presence.
Andretti Formula E will be the first of the Andretti Global teams to take on the new branding as the reigning Drivers’ World Championship team kicks off Season 10 with testing in October.
MICHAEL ANDRETTI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, ANDRETTI GLOBAL
“I’m proud of what Andretti Autosport has accomplished over the years, and all the memories that have come with so many special moments. Just as proud as I am of our past, I’m equally excited about our future. As we continue to expand and build a global racing institution, our goal is to be engrained in the culture of our fans, teams and partners. This rebrand is a major milestone in our team’s journey, but we are only getting started. We are determined to achieve success and confident that there are big things in store for Andretti Global.”
DAN TOWRISS, PARTNER, ANDRETTI GLOBAL
“The words Andretti and motorsports are synonymous, and I’m impressed and excited by the worldwide fanbase and reach of the Andretti name. I’m proud to be working with Michael and his team to build that name and legacy into an even stronger brand that reflects our ambitions and values. We are committed to excellence, and I believe our work will benefit our fans and partners around the globe.”