All Content © 2022 Rex McAfee, [email protected]
Under clear blue skies with a coastal breeze from nearby Monterey Bay, the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Challenge visited the historic Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca for its fourth round of the 2022 season. Scheduled in Spring for the first time since 2016, it was IMSA’s first race of 2022, run on a purpose-built road course. Team strategies that worked at the Daytona 24, Sebring 12, and recent “street fight” at Long Beach would undoubtedly need to be changed. Could the current points leaders extend their margins, or was it time to shuffle the deck on one of America’s most historic tracks? I investigate the three most popular classes to find out.
The hot-shoes upfront in DPi (Daytona Prototype International) entered the May 1st weekend with the #02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, driven by Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber just 3 points ahead of the #5 JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac piloted by Tristan Vautier and Richard Westbrook.
But hold on a second before you assume an “all Cadi” podium; Acura won this race the last three years and counting. The #10 Konica Minolta Acura (Wayne Talyor Racing), driven by Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, is of particular interest, having won last year’s event. Was it time to make it “four in a row” for Acura?
Even before qualifying on Saturday, a glimpse of Sunday was revealed in Friday’s practice when Ricky Taylor unofficially broke the DPi track record with a lap time of 1:14.400 (108.290 mph) in the #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05. When Saturday’s qualifying ended, he bested that with a 1:13.924, earning him pole position.
Confirming the buzz in the paddock that Acuras seem to have an advantage over the Cadillacs on this diverse 2.238-mile circuit, Oliver Jarvis filled the remaining front-row spot driving the Meyer Shank Racing W/Curb-Agajanian Acura DPi with a time of 1:14.013. Would Cadillac respond on Sunday?
When the green flag dropped on Sunday, the #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 piloted by Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque maintained the lead for 111 out of 117, leaving no doubt who owned this weekend. Second place was captured by the Acura DPi from Meyer Shank Racing, with Tom Blomqvist earning the overall fastest lap of the race.
If there was a surprise in DPi this weekend, it was when the Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac of Pipo Derani and Tristan Nunez, which qualified last, eventually worked their way up to grab the last spot on the podium. Congratulations to Acura for making it four in a row.
As for the GTD Pro class (the pinnacle of production car racing), those who watched the Acura Long Beach Grand Prix two weekends ago knew what this weekend would entail; REVENGE. For some background, the PFAFF Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R entered the West Coast swing just 13 points ahead of the second-place Corvette Racing team’s C8R. During the Long Beach spectacle, a wheel nut from the Corvette accidentally flew out of the gun and struck the radiator of the PFAFF Porsche pitted immediately behind it.
The Porsche’s weekend was over, and so was its points lead that the Corvette inherited. And you thought racing was fair? Would Laguna Seca serve as the battlefield for PFAFF Motorsports to seek revenge? Driver Mathieu Jaminet found some clear space late in qualifying and claimed the Motul Pole Award in GTD PRO with a 1:23.142 lap time. With Jordan Taylor qualifying the Corvette 6th in class, all eyes were on the Porsche to reclaim the points lead.
From the drop of the green to the checkered flag some 2 hours and 41 minutes later, it was the PFAFF Motorsports Porsche leading the GTD PRO class. No drama here, just consistent laps and clean driving. The Corvette Racing’s #3 C8R worked its way up to 1st on two separate occasions through its pit stop strategy but eventually settled for 4th place.
The new GTD PRO standings were a swap between first and second; the PFAFF Motorsports Porsche 911GT3R overtook the Corvette Racing’s C8R, while the Vasser / Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 driven by Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat retained its third-place standing.
If you’re the type of motorsports fan who also likes to bet on Roulette, then predicting this weekend’s results in the GTD class was for you. After finishing 6th at Long Beach, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports enjoyed a commanding points lead. Then came Laguna Seca, where their professional driver Mike Skeen was sidelined with COVID-19.
His teammate driver Stevan McAleer inherited qualifying duties, which resulted in eighth fastest. Alternatively, entering this weekend 8th in the points, driver Russell Ward put the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the pole, leaving fans wondering if this weekend’s race would turn the leaders-board upside down?
Unfortunately for Winward Racing, their superb qualifying performance was wasted when their Mercedes-AMG GT3 hit the inside wall exiting turn six, resulting in a full-course caution. As proof of the level of competition in GTD, no less than six different teams had the honor of leading throughout the race.
With 11 laps remaining, the Wright Motorsports Porsche 911GT3R took the lead and defended it until the checkered flag, vaulting them from 3rd to 1st in the points. Other essential points gains went to the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of CarBahn with Peregrine Racing (14th to 5th in points) and the BMW M4 GT3 from Turner Motorsports (9th to 3rd in points).
IMSA’s next race weekend on the WeatherTech Championship calendar is another road course with plenty of elevation changes and curves. The Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio is where the DPi, LMP2, Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), and GTD classes will duke it out along with the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA Prototype Challenge, and Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich the weekend of May 13-15 in Lexington, Ohio.
2022 Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship Photo Gallery
