| April 12, 2019 Staff Report IMSA Wire Service LONG BEACH, Calif. – “Chamber of Commerce” weather conditions greeted IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors Friday morning for two full hours of practice in preparation for Saturday’s 100-minute BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach. It was the first on-track activity of the weekend at the Acura Sports Car Grand Prix, which meant that track conditions on the street circuit dramatically improved throughout the session as more Michelin rubber was laid down. “By the end, the racing line was pretty clean,” said Nick Tandy, who led the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR with a best lap of one minute, 17.549 seconds (91.358 mph). “Because we knew the track evolution, we saved our new tires right to the end of the session when the track was at its best. “You can see from the start to the end of a two-hour session, you pick up two and a half seconds. The way the car reacts with the track here, and the way that the tire reacts with the track surface here is everything. This is all we work on here at Long Beach is making the tire work with the surface as it changes.” In the lead Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class, Felipe Nasr and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R team were quickest off the truck with a best lap of 1:12.394 (97.864 mph). Buoyed by their victory in last month’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, Nasr and co-driver Pipo Derani head into Saturday’s race sharing the lead in the WeatherTech Championship DPi point standings with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R driving duo of 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona winners Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande. “It was a pretty good beginning,” Nasr said. “It’s great to be back here at Long Beach, a circuit that I really love, you know, back to a street course. Our No. 31 Whelen Cadillac was handling pretty well from the beginning. It’s always tricky as you’re getting to know what’s the grip available on the track, and we did a few setup changes to get us where we wanted. I think we made good progress. Pipo, as well, was able to feel pretty confident in the car, and I think we’ve got a good weapon in our car to this weekend for another win.” Acura Team Penske occupied the second and third spots on the time charts, led by three-time Long Beach winner Ricky Taylor in the No. 7 Acura ARX-05 DPi at 1:12.535 (97.674 mph) that he shares with Helio Castroneves. Juan Pablo Montoya – who won the 2018 Motul Pole Award at Long Beach – was third at 1:12.569 (97.628 mph). Nasr mentioned the Acura squad by name among contenders for the victory in what he expects will be a close battle Saturday afternoon. “You will see; It’s going to be close,” Nasr said. “I feel we have pretty good contenders, as well, this weekend. The Acura is looking pretty strong, but we’ve got to focus on ourselves, get the work done, and I’m sure we’re going to be fighting up there.” In the GTLM class, Tandy’s teammate, Earl Bamber, made it a 1-2 sweep for the Porsche GT Team in Practice 1 with a best lap of 1:17.793 (91.072 mph) in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR. Third was two-time and defending Long Beach GTLM winner Oliver Gavin in the No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R at 1:18.091 (90.724 mph). Both Nasr and Tandy also made a point to describe the atmosphere at Long Beach and how much they enjoy racing here. “It’s pretty special,” Nasr said. “First of all, I love where we are. The vibe in this place, I love California. I love coming here. The people, the fans, they love this circuit as well. As a driver, I feel it’s amazing to drive these prototype cars around here.” “I love it here,” Tandy added. “It’s the only street circuit that we do in GTLM. It’s a place we’ve been successful at. It’s a track that really should suit the short wheelbase of our car. Longer, faster-flowing tracks suit a longer wheelbase car. This has, historically, been one of our strongest circuits, so we need to make use of it and get on with it.” Next up for the WeatherTech Championship is Practice 2 at 7:45 p.m. ET, followed immediately by qualifying beginning at 8:40 p.m. ET. Live streaming of qualifying with IMSA Radio commentary is available on IMSA.tv. NBCSN will have live television coverage of the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach beginning at 5 p.m. ET Saturday. IMSA Radio will have live coverage as well on IMSA.com,. RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio Channel 202 (Internet 972). |
