| No. 02 Cadillac Takes DPi Points Lead;Paul Miller Racing/BMW Relationship Nets Quick Win April 12, 2022By Mark RobinsonIMSA Wire Service  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lexus is building on its success at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by taking on naming rights to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship weekend next month at the track. The May 13-15 event is now known as the Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio.The Lexus RC F GT3 won three straight Mid-Ohio races in the GT Daytona (GTD) class from 2018-20 and finished second in GTD last year at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course in Lexington, Ohio. The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 will represent the brand again in this year’s race that will also feature the Daytona Prototype international (DPi), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) and Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) classes. “We’re thrilled to partner together with Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as the title sponsor of the Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio,” said Jeff Bal, motorsports manager, Lexus Division. “The on-track performance of the Lexus RC F GT3 at Mid-Ohio and the tremendous support we receive from our local Lexus dealers, owners and race fans in the Ohio area make this a great fit for our brand. We look forward to continuing this momentum when we get to the track in May.” In addition to being title sponsor, Lexus will provide the official safety vehicle and pace car for the race weekend. “The Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio is a great way to get our 2022 season underway as the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship is one of the fans’ favorite events,” said Craig Rust, president of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “Lexus has supported this event since its inception, and we truly appreciate them stepping into the title role. We look forward to working with the entire Lexus team to continue to grow this fantastic weekend for years to come.”  No. 01 Cadillac Grabs Long Beach Headlines, No. 02 Cadillac Grabs DPi Points Lead Somewhat lost in the warranted attention given the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R following its dramatic recovery to win Saturday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was the fact that the team’s No. 02 Cadillac snuck into the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) championship lead with a second-place finish.After the third of 10 races for the class, the No. 02 holds a slim, three-point advantage over the No. 5 JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac, which has finished on the podium in each IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race this year but has yet to reach the top step. The DPi battle remains wide open among all fulltime competitors. Even the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac, the reigning DPi champion, is far from out of it sitting sixth in the standings. The No. 31 trails the leading No. 02 by 81 points, essentially the difference between a first- and fifth-place race finish. Following its third-place finish in GTD PRO on Saturday, the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD continues to lead the class standings, 30 points ahead of the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. With its runner-up showing at Long Beach, the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus moved into third in the GTD PRO rankings, 81 points behind the No. 3. While the GT Daytona (GTD) cars also raced at Long Beach, the results only counted toward the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup and not the season-long standings. Therefore, the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 maintains its 53-point advantage on the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 in the class season standings. The LMP2 and LMP3 classes didn’t race at Long Beach. Since the only season points in the classes awarded thus far came at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts in March, the winning No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 (LMP2) and No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P320 (LMP3) head up their respective classes.  Paul Miller Racing: Quick on Track, Quick to AdaptIt took just two races for Paul Miller Racing to figure how to get a car the team only had for two months into victory lane. PMR’s No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 won the GTD portion of the Long Beach race, giving the new-for-2022 M4 GT3 its first North American victory. PMR’s crew toiled long and hard to get the car ready for Sebring after taking shipment of it in February. The No. 1 showed promise in the 12-hour race before being taken out trying to avoid a spinning car. Redemption came Saturday with a dominant win from the Long Beach pole. “For us to learn the car this quickly is a massive testament to our entire organization,” said team owner Paul Miller, who had fielded Lamborghinis in WeatherTech Championship competition since 2016 until making the manufacturer switch. “We figured this would be a learning year for us, so to win and win so quickly has exceeded all expectations.” Driver Bryan Sellers, who shared the wheel with Madison Snow, credited the working relationship with BMW paying immediate dividends. “The information that BMW has been able to pass forward to us has certainly helped our learning curve dramatically,” Sellers said. “A little bit selfishly, I think we have one of the best teams in the business. I think our crew always executes and I’d put them up against anybody. It’s great to see them get their hands on a piece of new machinery and what they’re able to do with it.” |
