The Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 was fastest on day one of practice. Rival Acura side Wayne Taylor Racing’s Konica Minolta ARX-07 ran third fastest setting a best time just under 8 tenths behind Meyers Shank. The Konica Minolta car ran 12 more laps in practice. Whelen Engineering ran second fastest and led the other Cadillac on grid who finished fourth fastest. The No. 24 RLL Racing BMW M was fifth fastest ahead of the No. 25 sister car that won the 6 Hours of Glen. Porsche continues to struggle with pace with all three cars (2 from Porsche Penske and 1 JDC) finishing outside of the top 5. Today will will see the cars approach race pace in practice 2.
Colin Braun of Meyer Shank Racing stated the following to IMSA.com, “We were just kind of in our race plan. We had made some changes to the car and just wanted to see what it was going to do. I had only done a couple laps in the car before the red flag, and I was just getting up to speed and figuring it out. It felt good, obviously. I just ended up getting a clear lap and I felt good about it.”
The No. 30 Jr III Racing LMP3 took pole ahead of the No. 74 Rile Motorsports Ligier JS P320 in second and the No. 13 AWA Racing Duqueine D08 in third. All of the LMP3 cars finished ahead of the GTD and GTD Pro class cars. Vasser Sullivan topped the GTD table. The Vasser Sullivan GTD Pro car finished second fastest in class behind the championship leading No. 3 Corvette.
Full Practice session results are available below.
Live coverage is available on Peacock and IMSA.com/TVLive. Sunday’s race airs live at noon EST on NBC.
The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship lands at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park this weekend for the Chevrolet Grand Prix. 4 classes (GTP, LMP3, GTD and GTD Pro) will race in the main competition. The full entry list can be found below. The Michelin Pilot Challenge and the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge will act support classes this weekend.
Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is a 4.529 mile road course that features 10 turns spread out over a number of elevation changes. The Chevrolet Grand Prix is a 2 hour and 40 minute sprint race. Action gets started at 9:15am EST July 7th 2023. For broadcast details in the United States click here: USA Broadcast Information. The first group up is the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge.
IMSA has released a Tourist Guide for those traveling to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The Sahlen’s 6 Hours of Glen weekend at Watkins Glen International was an event full of drama and chaos. The most pertinent being the race winners that crossed the finish line not being crowned the winners actual winners. During the post race inspection the IMSA stewards found that the No. 06 Porsche Penske GTP car had a skid block that measured at less than the permitted thickness per the technical regulations. The No. 06 Porsche subsequently got demoted to the bottom of the grid. The No. 25 RLL Racing assumed the position of race winner. Porsche Penske intend to appeal this decision after they carry out an internal investigation. The team released the following statement on their twitter account.
Whether the team has a case is yet to be determined. The race conditions were variable so we are not sure if this was taken into account in the penalty decision. The No. 24 RLL Racing sister car spun out and crashed on the opening lap of the race.
LMP2/LMP3
With qualifying abandoned shortly after the LMP2/LMP3 session began. The race was the first opportunity fans got to see the cars at full race pace. The No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 and Era Motorsport dueled at various points in the race by the Crowdstrike car got the better of Era Motorsports as the 6 hour came to a pass. In third was the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07. All three drivers finished on the lead lap. In LMP3, Felipe Fraga in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports – WeatherTech Racing Ligier JS P320 topped the class ahead of the No. 30 Jr III RacingLigier JS P320 in second and the No. 17 AWA Duqueine D08 in third.
GTD/GTD Pro
Vasser Sullivan won in both the GTD and GTD Pro classes. Both cars completed 183 laps in the race. In GTD, the No. 01 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 finished second. Behind in third was the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). In GTD Pro the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 finished second. The No. 03 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD rounded out third place.
The No. 12 GTD and No. 15 GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 cars during the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of Glen. Photo by Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images/LAT ImagesFor more coverage of the race visit IMSA.
The Sahlen’s 6 Hours of Glen Qualifying session has been abandoned due to concerns surrounding weather. The rain has been on and off all weekend at Watkins Glen and this morning it fell in heavy fashion just after FP2. At the beginning of qualifying there was a large pile up involving multiple LMP2/LMP3 cars. The crashes resulted in the GTP qualifying session being abandoned. By rule the grid order was set by the current team championship standing. By default the Porsche Penske No. 06 car will assume pole position for the GTP class. In P2 sits the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac. Third on grid is the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 GTP car which ran 7th fastest in FP2.
LMP2/LMP3
Similarly to the GTP class the grid will be by championship standing. The No. 11 TDS Racing car will start from pole. Behind our pole sitter was No. 52 PR1 car. The Team will be busy becasue the car requires some work to get it race ready. The No. 08 Tower Motorsports car will start third. In LMP3 is the No. 74 Riley car will start from pole ahead of the #13 AWA machine. Third on the grid is the No. 85 JDC Motorsports P2 car.
The rain was the heaviest at the beginning of the session for LMP2/LMP3. A few cars came out on full wet tires but shortly after starting the session hydroplaned off of the track. The slide out led to a pile-up that ended the qualifying session. All drivers involved in the crash walked away uninjured in the incident.
GTD/GTD Pro
The GTD/GTD Pro classes are the only WeatherTech Sportscar Championship classes that were able to complete qualifying. In GTD, the No. 78 US RaceTronics Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 is on pole. The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 finished in second. In third was the No. 83 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. In GTD Pro the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 secured pole ahead of the No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2. The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 finished third fastest in class.
Racing begins at 07:00am tomorrow June 25th. For more information visit IMSA
This weekend the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship heads to Watkins Glen International for the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of Glen. This weekend’s endurance race will feature all 5 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar classes in the last endurance race of the season before the season finale, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October. Earlier this month IMSA released the Balance of Performance guidelines for the race. You can find them below.
The 6 Hours of Glen will be the first time since the 12 hours of Sebring that all 5 WeatherTech Championship car classes will share the track. The full entry list has been posted. 57 cars have entered the competition. Action for the support series’ kicks off on Thursday with the MX-5 Cup.
Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, New York Broadcast Details
June 22-25, 2023
- Race Day/Time: Sunday, June 25 – 10:40 a.m. ET
- USA Network Coverage: LIVE – 2-5 p.m.
- Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Peacock (in the U.S.) and IMSA.com/TVLive (outside the U.S.)
- IMSA.com/TVLive Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, June 24 – 1:15 p.m.
- IMSA Radio: Select weekend sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Sunday, June 25 at 10:30 a.m. ET (XM 207, Web/App 992)
- Circuit Type: 3.4-mile, 11-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: 6 hours
Today Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) announced that they will be expanding their GTP program adding a second Acura in the GTP class of IMSA’s WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. The decision to add a second Acura was due to the partnering teams larger goals for expansion. The teams want to be prepared for a win at the Le Mans 24 Hours against World Endurance Championship. “It has always been our plan to go to a two-car program,” said Wayne Taylor, Team Owner, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport. There are so many advantages in being a two-car team and now, going up against all the other factory backed two-car efforts, it is vital.
Taylor continued
“HPD and ORECA have built an amazing race car. When you look back at the season so far, we’ve proved to be quickest almost wherever we go and I believe we now have the car to beat. With the combination of HPD, ORECA, Andretti Autosport and all our corporate partners, we have a really strong organization.”
Michael Andretti, Chairman & CEO, Andretti Autosport stated
“Expanding to a two-car program displays the progression and success of not only the WTRAndretti team, but our Acura and HPD relationship in the new GTP era. Our focus at Andretti Autosport, bringing our experience and reach, is to support WTRAndretti in finding the right people and providing the right resources to continue on our winning path.”
Wayne Taylor Racing will go head to head with the already established 2 car manufacturer teams Cadillac, Porsche, Puegeot and BMW w RLL Racing in 2024. Also on the grid is a third Acura with the Meyer Shank Racing team. Effectively Acura will have three cars on the grid.
For more information visit Wayne Taylor Racing for the complete press release.
The IMSA WeatherTech Championship finishing the Course de Monterey race today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Morning warmups were delayed due to heavy fog in the area. However, the race started just 10 minutes late and the race started in dramatic fashion. Qualifying saw the No. 07 Penske Porsche 963 on pole with sister No.06 car starting from P2.
GTP
On the opening lap both Penske Porsche 963s locked up into the turn 2 hairpin. The incident resulted in the lead being lost on the first lap. The RLL Racing also moved up the pecking order and the No. 07 Porsche ran wide off track. The car rejoined the race in P7. Later in the race there was an incident with the No. 07 Porsche and the No. 94 Andretti Autosports GTD car. The No. 94 was nudged wide as it took the inside line for the upcoming left hand final turn. Unfortunately, for the No. 94 there wasn’t enough room to complete the move. The car ended up making contact with the back of the Porsche sending it crashing into the pit lane entry. The race was yellow flagged.
Chip Ganassi Cadillac Racing put on a thrilling performance to capture the over all win. In the GTP class Cadillac as a manufacturer secured two podium positions with the No. 01 car winning the race and the Whelen Engineering team car taking 3rd place. The No. 01 was involved in a crash earlier in the weekend but the team was poised to get the car turned around.
LMP2
With about 1 hours and 43 minutes to go, John Farano (Tower Motorsports) crashed his LMP2 car at Turn 5, bringing out the safety car and packing the field back up. Farano was alert when he was extracted from the car. Tower Motorsports released the following tweet regarding his status.
TDS Racing took the win for LMP2. The team entered two cars in the competition with the second placing P4 in the class. The No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports car had lead the race early but could not find the pace to beat the TDS Racing car to the checkered flag. Era Motorsports LMP2 car was the only one in class to finish behind the lead lap logging 100 laps compared to the 102 of the class winners.
GTDPro/GTD
GTD and GTDPro were jumbled across the grid. GTD Pro only had 5 entries for the race so the class grid was thin. The No.79 WeatherTech GTDPro Mercedes AMG GT3 secured another win on the season. The GTD cars seemed to outpace the GTDPro class at Laguna Seca with 7 cars finishing ahead of the GTDPro winner. The No. 91 Kellymoss w/Riley Porsche 911 GT3-R won the GTD class race. The No. 92 sister care took P3 behind the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3.
Full Race Results are Below
For more exclusive coverage check out IMSA.com
The No. 06 and No.07 Penske Porsche GTP cars led qualifying at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the MOTUL Course de Monterey. The No.07 took pole position by 0.09s ahead of its sister car. The No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 ran third fastest in qualifying. All 9 GTP cars were clustered at the top of the qualifying results. The JDC Miller Porsche appears to be making progress with the car. The team has had minimal time to gather data and test so it is an accomplishment to be in the main pack.
In LMP2, the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing car topped the LMP2 class. The Crowdstrike car edged out a 0.1s lead ahead of the PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. The TDS Racing sister cars came behind in P3 and P4. GTD Pro was led by the Pfaff Porsche 911 GT3-R. GTD was led by the Kellymoss Porsche which is a major improvement over their performance in the last round at the Long Beach Grand Prix. The Heart of Racing team ran second fastest in GTD and GTD Pro with their two car entry at Laguna.
Race Start and Watching Options
When: Sunday, 3:10 p.m. ET
Race Distance: Two hours, 40 minutes on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course
Forecast: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 60 degrees with a 4% chance of rain at the green flag.
Starting Lineup: Click here for where everyone is starting at Laguna Seca
Entry List: Click here to see the 38-car field over four divisions for the Motul Course de Monterey at Laguna Seca.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, the NBC Sports App, and NBCSports.com will have streaming coverage of the event from flag to flag. Dave Burns is the announcer with analyst Calvin Fish and pit reporters Dillon Welch and Matt Yocum.
IMSA RADIO: All sessions are live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage will begin Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (XM 207, Internet/App 992).
Full Qualifying Results are Below
The WeatherTech Sportscar Championship started off the weekend with Practice 1 today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. There was much anticipation for the session as it marked the first time the new GTP class would take the track in Monterey, CA. 9 GTP cars entered the class this weekend as well as, 8 LMP2 cars, 5 GTD Pro and 16 GTD cars. IMSA is also hosting the Michelin Pilot Challenge, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship and MX-5 Cup.
Driver Campbell Power (Penske Porsche) secured the fastest lap in practice setting a 1:16.703 for the Penske Porsche side. Campbell spoke to IMSA.com in a post session interview and stated, “I only drove the last 20 minutes of the session. Felipe did a lot at the beginning and then I just jumped in. I just got some mileage at the end, so feeling comfortable and that’s the main thing heading into tomorrow. For me, the first time here in a prototype so very different obviously to what I’m used to, but very enjoyable. Now we’ve got a lot to go through tonight – the session was very late today – to get ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow’s a big day with final practice and qualifying.”
Highlighted Incidents
There was only one incident involving the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R crashing into the barrier at turn at less than 20 minutes after the start of the session. Sebastien Bourdais (Cadillac Racing) ran wide coming out of turn 5 and lost control of the car. The car slid into the tire barrier but did not appear to have major structural upon first views. Bourdais walked away from the crash and the No. 01 car retired from the session.
The class leaders in practice 1 were: Louis Deletraz in Le Mans Prototype 2, 1:17.897 (103.428 mph) in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07; Frankie Montecalvo in GT Daytona (GTD), 1:24.796 (95.013 mph) in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3; and Ben Barnicoat in GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), 1:25.020 (94.763 mph) in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.
Full Practice Results are Below
Be sure to check out IMSA TV for more coverage of the races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend.
It’s IMSA race week and this round we are headed to the most iconic race track on the West Coast (USA), WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca! The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship heads to Monterey , CA this weekend for Round 4 of the 2023 IMSA season. This year marks the 25th consecutive year that IMSA has hosted a race at Laguna. In celebratory fashion IMSA reports that ticket sales have increase by 35% from last year. This is fitting because this weekend also will be the first appearance of the new GTP class cars at Laguna Seca. The new GTP class has struck a chord that has resonated with racing fans all over the country; drawing new fans to the sport.
This the GTP class will race with the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes during the 2 hour and 40 mins sprint race. Laguna Seca is a 2,238 mile road course that features 11 turns that include the famous “Corkscrew” at Turns 8 and 8A,and 300+ ft of elevation change. Below you will find the event details from IMSA.com.
Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, California
May 12-14, 2023
Race Day/Time: Sunday, May 14 – 3:10 p.m. ET
NBC Network Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 3 p.m. (also streaming in the U.S. on Peacock, outside the U.S. on IMSA.com/TVLive)
IMSA.com/TVLive Qualifying Stream: Saturday, May 13 – 3:50 p.m. ET
IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Sunday, May 14 at 2:30 p.m. (XM 207, Web/App 992)
Circuit Type: 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course
Race Length: Two hours, 40 minutes
Classes Competing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), GT Daytona (GTD)
Track Social Media:
Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #MotulCoursedeMonterey