Recoveries, Status Quos and Ladder Climbers
May 16, 2023
By Jeff Olson
IMSA Wire Service
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What do a team that had been struggling, a team that defines consistency, and a team and driver moving up the IMSA ladder have in common?They’re the three takeaways from Sunday’s Motul Course de Monterey Powered By Hyundai N at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Righting the ship
After starting the season with nothing but disappointment, Cadillac Racing turned it all around in 160 minutes.
Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais brought the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.
R home ahead of the rest in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) field Sunday, ending the team’s frustration of the first three races of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season and recovering from Bourdais crashing in practice on Friday and van der Zande nearly doing the same on Saturday.
“With all the effort they are putting in, it’s days and nights of work,” van der Zande said of the team. “They aren’t sleeping much, so it’s amazing to pay it off with a win like this.”
Model of consistency
It wasn’t the lead story of the weekend, but it was significant in its own right.
Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth battled back for yet another podium finish in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, finishing second in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) behind Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
That marked the eighth consecutive podium finish for Vasser Sullivan, which maintained its class points lead.
“It was probably the wildest race that I’ve seen at Laguna Seca,” said Hawksworth, who was pushed off course early in the race. “It was crazy from start to finish.”
Movin’ on up
The Kellymoss team and driver Alan Metni had both built a winning reputation climbing through the Porsche ladder system, first in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA and most recently in Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America. On Sunday, they planted their flag in the WeatherTech Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) class.Partnering with legendary Riley Motorsports to enter two GTD cars this season, Kellymoss put two cars on the podium at WeatherTech Raceway. Metni and Kay van Berlo teamed to win in the No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), while the No. 92 Porsche co-driven by class polesitter Alec Udell and co-driver Julien Andlauer finished third.“I am so proud of the team,” said van Berlo, who anchored the No. 91 car’s victory. “It hasn’t been the easiest couple of weeks, but to come away with a win is just incredible.” It was an especially monumental moment for Metni, a late starter to racing who won three straight Masters class titles in Porsche GT3 Cup (2018-20) and the 2022 Pro-Am crown in Carrera Cup before moving up to the WeatherTech Championship this season and becoming a winner in his fourth race of the season.
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