Season Battles Continue in Four Classes as Well as in Sprint Cup for GTD
June 28, 2023
By Mark Robinson
IMSA Wire Service
Entry List (Click here)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ventures north of the border next week for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario. It’s the sixth round of the season with live coverage Sunday, July 9 on NBC.
Thirty-four cars are entered in the four competing classes. Canadian storylines were strong throughout last year’s race weekend, and many of the same players return this year.
Here’s what you need to know to prepare for the Chevrolet Grand Prix:
Fast Facts
Chevrolet Grand Prix
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
July 7-9, 2023
Race Day/Time: Sunday, July 9 – 12:05 p.m. ET
NBC Network Coverage: LIVE – Noon-3 p.m.
Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at noon on Peacock (in the U.S.) and IMSA.com/TVLive (outside the U.S.)
IMSA.com/TVLive Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, July 8 – 12:40 p.m.
IMSA Radio: Select sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Sunday, July 9 at Noon (XM 207, SiriusXM Web/App 992)
Circuit Type: 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course
Classes Competing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)
Race Length: 2 hours, 40 minutes
Track Social Media:
Twitter: @CTMPOfficial
Instagram: @ctmpofficial
Facebook: @CanadianTireMotorsportPark
Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #ChevroletGrandPrix
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
GTP: New class for 2023 (DPi track record: Tom Blomqvist, Acura ARX-05 DPi, 1:04.394 / 137.472 mph, July 2, 2022
LMP3: Garett Grist, Ligier JS P320, 1:12.523 / 122.063, July 3, 2022
GTD PRO: Mathieu Jaminet, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 1:15.468 / 117.300 mph, July 2, 2022
GTD: Jack Hawksworth, Lexus RC F GT3, 1:15.546 / 117.178 mph, July 7, 2018
2022 Chevrolet Grand Prix Winners
GTP: New class in 2023 (2022 DPi winners: Renger van der Zande/Sebastien Bourdais, No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R)
LMP3: Jon Bennett/Colin Braun, No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier JS P320
GTD PRO: Matt Campbell/Mathieu Jaminet, No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
GTD: Roman De Angelis/Maxime Martin, No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3
StorylinesA Quarter Century of CTMP Tradition: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has become a staple of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar. IMSA has raced at the track every year since 1999, with the exception of the pandemic years of 2020 and ’21.
Reborn GTP Class Continues to Impress: The Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class has been an unqualified success in its first IMSA season, featuring hybrid-electrified powertrains paired with internal combustion engines in each car. Nine GTP entries are expected for the Chevrolet Grand Prix representing the four participating manufacturers: Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche.
IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup Resumes: In addition to its place in the season-long championship, the Chevrolet Grand Prix is the third of seven events making up the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup schedule for the GT Daytona (GTD) class. The battle for Sprint Cup honors couldn’t be any tighter heading into the race weekend. Roman De Angelis and Marco Sorensen, co-drivers of the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3, hold a slim one-point advantage over Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow, co-drivers of the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. The No. 1 PMR team are defending Sprint Cup champions, while Heart of Racing and De Angelis took Sprint Cup honors in 2021.
Happy Homecoming for Canadian Drivers: De Angelis, a native of Windsor, Ontario, also returns to CTMP as the defending GTD race winner, though he was teamed with Maxime Martin in the No. 27 a year ago. He wasn’t the only Canadian who claimed victory on their “home track” last year, though. Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins drove to victory in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race to cap off a frenetic week. The duo won for the first time together the weekend before CTMP at Watkins Glen International, then Wickens had to rush to Indianapolis to be with his wife for the emergency delivery of their first child, and then he hustled back to CTMP just in time to hop in the car for the race, with Wilkins finishing the back-to-back victory sweep in the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Wickens and Wilkins are back to try for a repeat, though they’re driving in different cars this year for the BHA team. On top of that, Canadian team Pfaff Motorsports was victorious in the WeatherTech Championship GTD PRO class.
Who’s Hot?
No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus: Co-drivers Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat have been red-hot for nearly a year in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3. They’ve won two of the past three GTD PRO races and have an astonishing run of nine straight podium finishes dating to the middle of last season. The last time the No. 14 didn’t reach the podium? Last year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park when Hawksworth missed the race while recovering from an injury.
No. 74 Riley Ligier: Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga have driven to victory at Sebring and Watkins Glen this year in the LMP3 class to open an impressive 124-point lead after the two points-paying races. Can they make it three in a row?
Who’s Good Here?
Colin Braun: The co-driver of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 in the GTP class is a five-time winner at CTMP. He collected three class victories in the former Prototype Challenge class (2013, ’15, ’16) before taking the overall and Prototype class win in 2018, teaming with Jon Bennett in a CORE autosport ORECA LMP2. Braun and Bennett teamed again last year to win in the LMP3 class.
Corvette Racing: The stalwart IMSA team has won 11 times at CTMP over the years, the first coming in 2001 and latest in 2014. Looking to break that drought this year in the No. 3 Corvette C8.R GTD will be Antonio Garcia, who was part of that 2014 win, and current co-driver Jordan Taylor.
Previous Chevrolet Grand Prix Winners in 2023 Field (14)
Colin Braun (5): PC – 2013, 2015, 2016; P – 2018; LMP3 – 2022
Bill Auberlen (2): GTLM – 2017; GTD – 2019
Sebastien Bourdais (1): DPi – 2022
Matt Campbell (1): GTD PRO – 2022
Roman De Angelis (1): GTD – 2022
Robby Foley (1): GTD – 2019
Antonio Garcia (1): GTLM – 2014
Mathieu Jaminet (1): GTD PRO – 2022
Patrick Pilet (1): GTLM – 2015
Alexander Sims (1): GTLM – 2017
Nick Tandy (1): GTLM – 2015
Jordan Taylor (1): P – 2015
Ricky Taylor (1): P – 2015
Renger van der Zande (1): DPi – 2022
Previous Chevrolet Grand Prix Pole Winners in 2023 Field (10)
Colin Braun (4): PC – 2012, 2016; P – 2018; DPi – 2019
Nick Tandy (2): GTLM – 2015, 2018
Ricky Taylor (2): P – 2015, 2017
Tom Blomqvist (1): DPi – 2022
Robby Foley (1): GTD – 2019
Antonio Garcia (1): GTLM – 2016
Jack Hawksworth (1): GTD – 2018
Mathieu Jaminet (1): GTD PRO – 2022
Frankie Montecalvo (1): GTD – 2022
Alex Riberas (1): GTD – 2016
Previous Chevrolet Grand Prix Winning Teams in 2023 Field (10)
Corvette Racing (11): GTS – 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004; GT1 – 2005, 2007, 2008; GT2 – 2009; GT – 2011, 2013; GTLM – 2014
Chip Ganassi Racing (3): GTLM – 2016, 2018; DPi – 2022
Action Express Racing (2): P – 2016, 2017
Porsche Penske Motorsport (2): P2 – 2006, 2007
Riley Motorsports (2): GTD – 2014, 2018
Turner Motorsport (2): GTD – 2016, 2019
BMW M Team RLL (1): GTLM – 2017
Heart of Racing Team (1): GTD – 2022
Pfaff Motorsports (1): GTD PRO – 2022
Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (1): P – 2015
Previous Chevrolet Grand Prix Winning Manufacturers in 2023 Field (7)
Porsche – 18
Chevrolet – 13
BMW – 4
Acura – 3
Aston Martin – 2
Cadillac – 2
Mercedes-AMG – 1 |
