All Five Classes Return to Action at Driver- and Fan-Favorite Track
July 26, 2023
By Mark Robinson
IMSA Wire Service
Entry List (Click Here)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The stretch run for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks into high gear next week with the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
The high-speed 4.048-mile track, a favorite of drivers and fans alike known as “America’s National Park of Speed,” will see a whopping 50 cars entered across the five competing classes for the race on Sunday, Aug. 6. The Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class grows to a season-high 10 entries, with the addition of the No. 59 Proton Competition Porsche 963.The IMSA SportsCar Weekend is the eighth WeatherTech Championship event of the 2023 season. Only three more events remain following Road America – one of them being GT-only – to decide the champions in each class. Here’s a primer for what you need to know ahead of the race weekend:
Fast Facts
IMSA SportsCar Weekend
Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Aug. 4-6, 2023
Race Day/Time: Sunday, Aug. 6, 11:10 a.m. ET
USA Network Coverage: LIVE – 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 11:05 a.m. (available outside the U.S. on IMSA.com/TVLive)
Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, Aug. 5 – 2:10 p.m. on Peacock (in the U.S.) and IMSA.com/TVLive (outside the U.S.)
IMSA Radio: Select sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Sunday, Aug. 6 at 11 a.m. (XM 207, Web/App 992)
Circuit Type: 4.048-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
Track Social Media: Twitter: @roadamericaInstagram: @roadamericaFacebook: @roadamerica
Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #RoadAmerica
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
GTP: New class in 2023 (DPi track record: Dane Cameron, Acura DPi, 1:48.715 / 134.045 mph, August 2019)
LMP2: James French, ORECA LMP2 07, 1:52.037 / 130.070 mph, August 2019
LMP3: Malthe Jakobsen, Ligier JS P320, 1:59.434 / 122.015 mph, August 2022
GTD PRO: Jack Hawksworth, Lexus RC F GT3, 2:05.365 / 116.242 mph, August 2022
GTD: Ben Keating, Mercedes-AMG GT3, 2:05.250 / 116.349 mph, August 2019
2022 IMSA SportsCar Weekend Winners
GTP: New class in 2023 (2022 DPi winners: Ricky Taylor/Filipe Albuquerque, No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05)
LMP2: Dwight Merriman/Ryan Dalziel, No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07
LMP3: Gar Robinson/Felipe Fraga, No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320
GTD PRO: Jack Hawksworth/Ben Barnicoat, No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3
GTD: Russell Ward/Philip Ellis, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
Storylines
Reborn GTP Class Continues to Impress and Grow: The innovative Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class has been an unqualified success in its first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. GTP prototypes feature hybrid-electrified powertrains paired with internal combustion engines in each car. Each of the four competing manufacturers – Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche – have won at least one race this season. A 10th GTP car is entered for the first time with the addition of the No. 59 Proton Competition Porsche 963 to be co-driven by Harry Tincknell and Gianmaria Bruni.
Together Again: All five WeatherTech Championship car classes will be competing at Road America. This is the first time it’s happening this year outside of one of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events. After this weekend, the five classes will race together again at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September and at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the season finale in October.
Logjam in LMP2 Standings: Three teams are wedged within six points atop the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) standings heading into the Road America weekend. Ben Hanley, George Kurtz and the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 are in first place. Mikkel Jensen, Steven Thomas and the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA are just three points back, with Ben Keating, Paul-Loup Chatin and the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA another three points in arrears.
Parity in GTD PRO: Just how close is the competition in the GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class? Each of the five manufacturers racing full-time has won at least once through the first seven races. Aston Martin was the latest to reach victory lane – joining Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, Lexus and Chevrolet – on July 22 at Lime Rock Park.
IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup Resumes: In addition to its place in the season-long championship, the IMSA SportsCar Weekend is the fifth of seven events making up the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup schedule for the GT Daytona (GTD) class. With the recent win at Lime Rock, Roman De Angelis, Marco Sorensen and the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 wrestled the Sprint Cup lead away from reigning champions Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers and the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. The No. 27 leads the No. 1 by 60 points heading to Road America.
Who’s Good Here?
No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07: Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel and the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA return to Road America as the two-time defending class winners in LMP2. In fourth place in the class standings but just 66 points from the lead, they’re looking to mount a charge starting in Wisconsin.
No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3: Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth wheeled the No. 14 Lexus to the GTD PRO class victory a year ago at Road America, the second of what became a nine-race streak of podium finishes that ran into the middle of the 2023 season. Barnicoat, Hawksworth and the No. 14 are atop the GTD PRO season standings by 151 points over Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD.
Who’s Hot?
No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8: Nick Yelloly, Connor De Phillippi and the No. 25 BMW sit second in the GTP standings on the strength of four podium finishes in the last five races. Their highlight thus far was winning the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International in June.
No. 74 Riley Ligier JS P320 in LMP3: Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga are nearly unbeatable in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) this season. They’ve won all three points-paying races to build a hefty 181-point lead in the class. They’re also the defending race winners at Road America.
Previous IMSA SportsCar Weekend Winners in 2023 Field (25)
Bill Auberlen (3): GT2 – 2009; GT – 2012, 2013
Colin Braun (2): P – 2018; LMP3 – 2021
Matt Campbell (2): GTD – 2019; GTLM – 2021
Ryan Dalziel (2): LMP2 – 2021, 2022
Pipo Derani (2): P – 2017; DPi – 2021
Ben Keating (2): GTD – 2015, 2016
Dwight Merriman (2): LMP2 – 2021, 2022
Ricky Taylor (2): DPi – 2020, 2022
Filipe Albuquerque (1): DPi – 2022
Joao Barbosa (1): P – 2014
Ben Barnicoat (1): GTD PRO – 2022
Philip Ellis (1): GTD – 2022
Felipe Fraga (1): LMP3 – 2022
Antonio Garcia (1): GTLM – 2020
Ben Hanley (1): LMP2 – 2020
Jack Hawksworth (1): GTD PRO – 2022
Frankie Montecalvo (1): GTD – 2020
Felipe Nasr (1): DPi – 2021
Patrick Pilet (1): GTLM – 2015
Gar Robinson (1): LMP3 – 2022
Nick Tandy (1): GTLM – 2015
Jordan Taylor (1): GTLM – 2020
Harry Tincknell (1): DPi – 2019
Renger van der Zande (1): PC – 2014
Russell Ward (1): GTD – 2022
Previous IMSA SportsCar Weekend Pole Winners in 2023 Field (13)
Ricky Taylor (3): DP – 2011; P – 2017; DPi – 2020
Ben Keating (2): GTD – 2019, LMP2 – 2021
Aaron Telitz (2): GTD – 2020, 2021
Filipe Albuquerque (1): DPi – 2022
Jonathan Bomarito (1): P – 2016
Colin Braun (1): LMPC – 2013
Ryan Dalziel (1): P – 2014
Robby Foley (1): GTD – 2022
Jack Hawksworth (1): GTD PRO – 2022
Felipe Nasr (1): DPi – 2021
Alex Riberas (1): GTD – 2016
Jordan Taylor (1): GTLM – 2021
Steven Thomas (1): LMP2 – 2022
Previous IMSA SportsCar Weekend Winning Teams in 2023 Field (16)
Corvette Racing (8): GTS – 2002, 2004; GT1 – 2005, 2006, 2007 2008; GTLM – 2016, 2020
Chip Ganassi Racing (5): DP – 2011, 2012; GTLM – 2017, 2018, 2019
Action Express Racing (4): P – 2014, 2015, 2016; DPi – 2021
BMW M Team RLL (3): GT2 – 2009; GT – 2010, 2012
Porsche Penske Motorsport (3): P2 – 2006, 2007; DPi – 2020
PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports (3): LMPC – 2011; PC – 2016; LMP2 – 2019
Riley Motorsports (3): GTD – 2015, 2016; LMP3 – 2022
Turner Motorsport (3): GT – 2013, GTD – 2014, 2017
Pfaff Motorsports (2): GTD – 2019, 2021
Vasser Sullivan (2): GTD – 2020; GTD PRO – 2022
Era Motorsport (1): LMP2 – 2022
Performance Tech Motorsports (1): PC – 2017
Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (1): DPi – 2022
WeatherTech Racing (1): GTLM – 2021
Winward Racing (1): GTD – 2022
Wright Motorsports (1): GTD – 2018
Previous IMSA SportsCar Weekend Winning Manufacturers in 2023 Field (8)
Porsche – 15
Chevrolet – 14
BMW – 9
Acura – 5
Lexus – 2
Aston Martin – 1
Cadillac – 1
Mercedes-AMG – 1 |
