Weekend Recap: Long Beach Winners and More
Catch up on all of the sports car racing action from the streets of Long Beach...
Van der Zande, Bourdais Dominate Long Beach
Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais claimed a commanding victory in Saturday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, leading a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Van der Zande took the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R to a 3.761-second win over teammate Earl Bamber in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring-winning No. 02 entry following a series of late-race yellows in the 100-minute contest.
Having started on pole, Bourdais lost the lead on the fifth lap while trying to navigate around the No. 34 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Kyle Washington in the Hairpin.
The Frenchman impressively regained a 21-second deficit during his stint to retake the lead from the sister No. 02 car of Alex Lynn on Lap 29, with the No. 01 Cadillac remaining out front to the checkered flag.
It marked the duo’s first victory of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Read the Full Article on Sportscar365
Heart of Racing Wins GTD Pro After Corvette Penalty
The Heart of Racing’s Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas came out on top in GTD Pro, benefitting from a drive-through penalty for the the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD.
Riberas held off Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 for Aston Martin’s first win in the new-for-2022 class.
The pole-sitting Corvette of Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia finished third in class after one of the car’s wheel nuts fell out of its pit box and punctured the radiator of the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, which had been running second at the time.
Garcia was forced to serve a drive-through penalty for the crew “losing control of equipment” during its stop.
Read the Full Article on Sportscar365
Paul Miller Gives BMW M4 GT3 First Win in North America
Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow, meanwhile, gave M4 GT3 its first victory on North American soil with a dominant run in GTD.
Sellers brought the car home in third amongst the production-based machinery after a flawless run from class pole.
The No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 of Mario Farnbacher and Marc Miller finished a surprise second, with Aaron Telitz and Frankie Montecalvo’s No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus completing the GTD podium.
Sellers battled with the No. 27 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Maxime Martin on the restart with 30 minutes to go that resulted in damage to the Aston and ended with the Belgian AMR factory driver in the wall.
Read the Full Article on Sportscar365
Van Berlo Sweeps Long Beach Weekend
Kay van Berlo claimed a sweep of the Long Beach weekend with a win in the second Porsche Carrera Cup North America presented by The Cayman Islands.
The Dutchman took his No. 3 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to a 0.249-second win in Sunday’s race, which was marred by a lengthy caution that erased half of the green flag running time.
Having started again on pole, Van Berlo was challenged by teammate Riley Dickinson at the start until Dickinson stuffed his No. 53 Porsche into the Turn 1 barriers.
Moments later, a three-car accident in Turn 9 brought out a full course caution that lasted for 20 minutes.
Dimitri Dimakos (No. 11 311 RS Motorsport) and Varun Choksey (No. 13 Wright Motorsports) were handed incident responsibility by IMSA for the accident that also involved the No. 7 Kelly-Moss Porsche of Michael McCarthy.
A second yellow came out with eight minutes remaining for Michael McCann’s No. 8 Porsche in the wall in Turn 8, which set up a one-lap shootout to the finish.
Read the Full Article on Sportscar365
Long Beach Post-Race Notebook
Colombo to Sub for Injured Correa
GMG Set for Triple Duty at Laguna
WeatherTech’s Mercedes-AMG Lineup Set
Porsche Sports Car Together Fest Returns