Blending of GT Classes Has Drivers Really Mixing It UpIdentical GT3 Spec Cars Create Close Racing, Extra Strategy in GTD PRO and GTDMay 4, 2023By John OreoviczIMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – GT racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship underwent a significant philosophical change in 2022.As part of an overall streamlining and consolidation of GT3 specification cars in worldwide sports car racing, IMSA created a new class called GTD PRO that allowed for an all-pro driver lineup (rated Platinum or Gold by the current FIA Driver Categorization) for cars otherwise equivalent to those competing in the pre-existing GT Daytona (GTD) class, where at least one Silver- or Bronze-rated driver is mandatory. GTD PRO replaced a class called GT Le Mans (GTLM), which featured cars built to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) GTE technical regulations with pro drivers, a greater level of factory support and tires individually developed for each manufacturer.These GTLM cars were generally at least 2-3 seconds a lap faster than GTD cars, so the switch to GTD PRO – with the identical GT3 cars and same stock Michelin tires used in GTD – created some concern that there would not be enough separation between the two classes.In addition, the overall GT field would not be split after qualifying; faster GTD entries in qualifying are gridded ahead of GTD PRO cars. And starting in 2023, any GTD driver is allowed to qualify and start the race, instead of the previously stipulated Bronze or Silver driver.So how has it all shaken out, after a year and a bit? With surprisingly little drama.Through 13 races where the classes have raced together, a GTD entry has been the overall fastest GT qualifier twice (the 2023 Rolex 24 At Daytona and 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach) and finished first among all GT cars three times (the 2022 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, which was weather and penalty influenced; the 2022 Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and the ’23 Rolex 24).It’s difficult to pinpoint an example of how the amalgamation of GTD and GTD PRO may have adversely affected the racing in either class. In fact, the intra-class mix can sometimes offer drivers an additional tool in their race craft toolbox.“Last year, we thought this was going to be a major nightmare because all of the same cars would be racing at the same speed. How am I going to get out of the way, or get myself by?” wondered Bill Auberlen, IMSA’s most successful driver with 65 race wins in the top-tier series.“But for the most part, it’s actually worked out way better than I thought it was going to work out,” added the longtime BMW driver. “If we’re about the same speed, we’ve now learned to interact pretty well and use the cars in the other class a little bit as a buffer.”Cooperation among Classes Works … SometimesAuberlen is uniquely qualified to discuss the topic, as he is racing in the GTD PRO class for endurance races and the GTD class for the sprints. He said that if he is in a GTD car, not under direct threat from behind from another GTD competitor, he will let a GTD PRO car past if it will help the GTD PRO entry to compete in its own class race.But it’s generally rare to see a GTD competitor extend a courtesy like that to the GTD PRO ranks.Madison Snow teamed with Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 to win the GTD class in the last two WeatherTech Championship races at Sebring and Long Beach. Snow called the level of cooperation between the GT classes “just driver dependent.”“A lot of times it depends on the driver you’re around,” Snow said. “Sometimes if you come up against a multiclass car, they’ll let you around because you’re not in their race or you’ll let them by. But other times, because we’re both GT cars with the same Balance of Performance, another class car might not block you but also not make it easy to get around, which costs you something.“It certainly goes up and down,” he added. “Sometimes it helps, sometimes it hurts. It is nice because you can see that, yes, the GTD PRO teams are good, they’re run great, but the GTD class can still hold our own pace-wise, and it’s fun racing against the experienced pro cars out there.”Jordan Taylor and the No. 3 Corvette Racing team experienced the downside of intra-class integration this year at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. They lost a comfortable lead in the GTD PRO class to a mechanical problem before a clash with a GTD entry put the final kibosh on a late-race rally.“We got hit by a GTD car going into Turn 7 on the last restart and put us out of contention,” Taylor related. “It’s difficult when you put everyone in the same situation without a class split, but it’s just the way things are right now. If there’s a guy in between you and someone you’re battling, you’re gonna fight that guy pretty hard just to keep that buffer in hand. That kind of separates the race, especially on those last restarts where it’s going to be difficult to see a proper battle in your own class.”Class Mix Adds Strategy and IntrigueRoss Gunn, driver of the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the GTD PRO class, appreciates the challenge of having multiple classes mixed together.“For sure, sometimes it makes it a bit tricky for the viewer to understand the difference in the driver gradings and whatever,” he said. “But generally, the pace is always very similar. It makes for one big fight, and I think overall that’s a better solution than having two separate BoPs and more classes on top of what we already have.”Ben Barnicoat, part of Vasser Sullivan’s GTD PRO effort in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3, called the mixing of the classes “quite a tricky element.”“It’s always pretty difficult that you’ve got these cars that are of the exact same capability, the same speed, also with great drivers in the middle of these intense battles as we see in IMSA,” he said. “That’s been quite a challenge.”It’s a challenge that has caused some competitors to place an increased emphasis on qualifying – especially since IMSA amended its rules this year allowing any driver to qualify a GTD entry and start the race, rather than mandating that responsibility to the team’s Silver- or Bronze-rated driver.“I think at (next week’s WeatherTech Laguna Seca race), especially now that the pros are allowed to qualify in GTD, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of them qualifying the pro, putting the Silver driver in for the middle stint, and then the pro is back in for the end,” Barnicoat said. “That could influence the battle for sure. It adds another element, and we certainly want to start with track position and keep the GTD cars behind us so we can do our own races.“We’ve always had quite a strong focus on qualifying as a team,” he added. “It’s simple: The further up you start, the easier you race, typically, aside from a few yellows and stuff like that. But everyone is there on the same bit of tarmac to race, and we’ve just got to respect that and try and beat them fair and square.”The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship visits WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca from May 12-14 for the Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N. Tickets are available at weathertechraceway.com. The race airs live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, May 14. |
