Weekend Recap: WEC Visits Monza, IMSA North of the Border at CTMP
Catch up on last weekend's sports car racing from around the world...
Toyota Wins 6H Monza; Corvette Seals GTE-Am Title
Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez and Mike Conway denied Ferrari victory on home soil by winning the 6 Hours of Monza, while Corvette Racing locked up the GTE-Am title two races early.
The No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid took victory by a margin of 16.520 seconds over the No. 50 Ferrari 499P piloted by Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina.
The Japanese crew started the race from pole position, but lost ground in the opening phase as Peugeot led the race by the end of the first hour when Conway was overtaken by Mikkel Jensen.
It regained ground after that and was back in the lead by the halfway mark, extending its lead until a safety car in the fifth hour when the No. 99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 broke down on track.
The neutralization brought the No. 50 Ferrari back within striking distance of the Toyota, only for the Japanese manufacturer to respond with a fuel-only penultimate stop.
A rapid Fuoco then chipped away at the gap, but Kobayashi managed to keep Fuoco’s No. 50 Ferrari at bay, setting the fastest lap of the race en route to victory.
It marks the third win of the season for the No. 7 crew after Sebring and Spa, bouncing back from their retirement at last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Read the Full Article on Sportscar365
MSR Acura Stretches Energy to CTMP Victory
Meyer Shank Racing has become the first repeat winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class, with Colin Braun holding on to take top honors in Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Braun took the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to the win after a heavy crash by Renger van der Zande, who was pushed into the grass by Augusto Farfus, resulted in the two-hour and 40-minute contest ending under yellow in the final five minutes.
Braun completed the final 1 hour and 16 minutes on a single replenishment of energy, although it came amid three full-course cautions that slowed the pace dramatically.
While having led from pole, a slow pit stop while under the first full course caution dropped Braun to third, behind the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura of Filipe Albuquerque, who took over the lead at the time, with the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Alexander Sims in second.
The No. 10 WTR Andretti Acura appeared to be in control following a green-flag stop, just moments before the race’s second yellow, but didn’t regain the lead when the No. 60 Acura gambled on fuel and stayed out.
Braun shared top honors with pole-sitter Tom Blomqvist, marking their first win since the controversial Rolex 24 at Daytona that saw the Ohio-based team docked 200 points and issued other penalties due to tire data manipulation.
Read the Full Article on Sportscar365
Turner Hit With Double Penalty; Hattori Toyota Inherits Pilot Challenge CTMP Win
Hattori Motorsports has been declared the winner of Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 was assessed two penalties following post-race technical inspection.
The Robert Megennis and Cameron Lawerence-driven BMW was found to have a refueling time less than the minimum permissible and also found to be under the minimum allowed weight.
The penalties moved the car to the rear of the 24-car GS finishing order and advanced the No. 50 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO co-driven by Parker Thompson and Billy Johnson to the race victory.
It marks the first Pilot Challenge win for Toyota and made Hattori Motorsports a winner in its series debut.
Thompson also claimed victory in his series debut while it was the 24th for Johnson, making him the winningest driver in Pilot Challenge history.
Read the Full Article on Sportscar365