Category: IMSA

(Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.) July 4, 2023 — The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team heads north of the border for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) – the only international race on the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule. After a troublesome race day in Watkins Glen, Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) team are looking forward to a fresh start heading into the second half of the 2023 season.

WTRAndretti has seen past success around the 2.459-mile road course in Ontario with one win, two pole positions and four podiums in seven starts. With full focus reset after Watkins Glen, teammates Taylor and Albuquerque are determined to do everything in their power to bring home the first GTP victory for WTRAndretti in Canada.

“It feels really nice to get a quick reset after a difficult stretch of races,” said Ricky Taylor. “We never got to really show what we had in Watkins Glen and we feel like CTMP should be another good race for Acura. Now that every one of the GTP manufacturers have gotten a win, it’s time to get one for WTRAndretti.”

“After such a hard weekend in Watkins Glen, we just want to reset and have another try,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “It’s great that Mosport is around the corner and we’re already preparing. We just want to reset and go again. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be competitive, so we’re looking forward to the race and we just want to win.”

“After Watkins Glen – losing wheels and running out of brakes, it is really disappointing,” said Wayne Taylor. “We’ve had a competitive car all year. We’ve had a terrible year with accidents and all sorts of things other than Daytona, so I am hoping that we don’t have another DNF. I’m sure Ricky and Filipe will do what they normally do and be fast and competitive to try and win the race. We win races every single year and this year we haven’t even been on the podium other than at Daytona, so I’m really hoping for a good weekend and for some luck to go our way for a change.”

WTRAndretti’s on-track action in Canada will begin with practice on Friday, July 7th at 2:50 p.m. ET. Qualifying for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP is set for 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 8th. NBC will broadcast the full two-hour, 40-minute race beginning with coverage at 12 p.m. ET and the green waving at 12:05 p.m. ET.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the workplace to achieve true connectivity through the Intelligent Connected Workplace. The company guides and supports its clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fifteen consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2021 America’s Best-in-State employers list. The company received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. The company recognizes 150 years in global business in 2023. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting Company, Acura Motorsports, Honda Performance Development and Hammer Nutrition.

Co-driver with Sebastien Bourdais of No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R seeks clean race

Renger van der Zande, co-driver with Sebastien Bourdais of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, met with the media via Zoom call Thursday to preview the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race July 7-9 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Van der Zande and Bourdais will seek to successfully defend their 2022 win on the 2.549-mile, 10-turn road course in the Grand Touring Prototype racecar powered by the Cadillac 5.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine. They won at Laguna Seca in May. Q&A with van der Zande:

Tell us about your reflections of the 2022 race win and what you’re looking forward to getting back up there.

“Mosport is one of the most bizarre and amazing tracks in the world, not only the IMSA calendar. My memories there have always been very nice. Last year was the first time that I won there, but I’ve been trying really hard. And if you want to win there you have to try really hard because it’s one of those tracks where at home here I tell how bizarre it is, how fast you go there, how much risk you take, how blind the corners are and at the same time very fast. Also, the traffic is not easy at all. Plus, you need a very fast car. If you don’t have a fast car on the backstraight, you can have a fast car in the corners but you’re not going to win the race. The whole package needs to fit. It’s actually one of those tracks where it’s more interesting from an engineering perspective than you think when you look at it. When you look at the track layout, it’s all about the high speed, but it’s also about top speed at that track. It’s one of those tracks where it’s not easy to win, and last year it was even more unlikely to win it because Sebastien Bourdais came in after one stint and the power steering was locking and it was locking to where he said, ‘hey, I don’t want to drive anymore,’ and I said let’s give it a go and let’s try anyway. At that point, I started using some strength that I’ve never known from before and we made it through to the end, and at the end I even had a shot at finding my way past some cars, which was quote bizarre. And we won the race. It’s a great memory. I would say it was one of the most special wins for me because of that reason. And Mosport is a special track unto itself.”

How do you have the courage to put down those laps and be successful?

“In endurance racing, I think drivers learn how to judge risk and know when to push and when to take care of the car and when to not take the risk. In practices, you’re not going to win the race and even in the beginning of the IMSA races you’re not going to win the race. So, you need to keep it clean in those moments of the race. Once it’s go time, especially in IMSA, normally in the last half hour, 45 minutes, the racing is tough, the racing is hard. And I think everybody understands that’s the time to go. People are not shy of a little rubbing and maybe even a bit of a divebomb here or there. When you go, you go. And as a driver you feel when you need to go and when you need to back out of it. The first time you go to this track you feel very impressed, easy to ball up your car. The track is still dirty in the beginning of the weekend, so it’s easy in Turn 1 and 2 and 3 to make a small mistake with a very big outcome, which is a wrecked car. If you’re in the last 45 minutes of the race, that’s a different story. If you damage the car, it’s for a good cause and that’s how it was last year. There was not much to lose, it was just to go. And sometimes these races fall your way and you win the race.”

What’s it going to take for you and Sebastien to rise above next week and through the rest of the season?

“I think we’ve been in the corner where we’ve made a lot of mistakes from all kinds of areas. When we get that out of the way … and honestly I feel like we’ve been very unlucky here and there being in the wrong moment in the wrong spot. So. I think we’re going to Mosport wanting to do a clean race. Maybe that means not fighting for that last bit like last year for the win, but if the opportunity is there for sure I will go for it anyway. In principle, we need to start doing clean races and then we’ll grab the opportunity if it’s in front of us. Otherwise, we should be happy with a decent result and a clean race.”

With the experience you have so far this season, what do you expect in that Turns 1-4 section of the racetrack?

“I think the GTs are almost faster than the GTPs in the slow speed stuff. If you look at Turn 5, that’s where they are going to drive away from us a bit almost. But the higher the speed the faster we get in comparison to the GTs. I think it’s one of those tracks where the difference will be the biggest of all the tracks between the GTs and the prototypes. I’m looking forward to that because it’s not been easy with traffic this year with the GTs being so fast – or the GTPs being so slow because of the weight in the low-speed corners and we’re kind of in the way of each other. But Mosport, I think, is going to be one of the tracks where it’s a higher speed and the difference becomes a bit bigger again between the prototypes and the GTs.”

At this point of the season, is there more pressure on trying to win this race given that you’re a couple of positions out of first place?

“I think there is a lot of pressure on both (GTP and GT classes). More than ever, especially at Mosport, it’s time to rock and roll and go.”

Where do you have the most trouble consistently hitting your marks?

“I think Turn 3. When you go to power up, your exit is blind so you don’t know if you’re going to make it. If you don’t make it and you put one wheel in the grass you’re going to end up in the wall, so it’s one of those corners where you’re relying on the grip and you never know if you’re going to make it. Always put your seat belts on tight before you go into that corner.”

Concurrent with the Chevrolet Grand Prix in Canada, the sister No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook will seek to continue the momentum as their first-year tour of the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule moves to the 5.793-kilometer, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. The No. 2 Cadillac is coming off a podium finish in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans and is third in the team and driver Hypercar standings.

2023 Cadillac V-Series.R

Wins: Sebring (Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken), Laguna Seca (Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande)

2 wins, 5 podiums (including wins) IMSA

1 podium FIA WEC (Le Mans; No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Richard Westbrook)

Cadillac total wins in all classes/series since 2004: 68

Cadillac total podiums in all classes/series since 2004: 217

IMSA GTP (5)

IMSA DPi (85)

FIA WEC (1)

World Challenge (126)

Cadillac Manufacturer Championships in all series: 8

IMSA DPi (2021, 2018, 2017)

Pirelli World Challenge GT (2014, 2013, 2012)

SPEED World Challenge GT (2007, 2005)

IMSA DPi Driver Championships: 2021, 2018, 2017

IMSA DPi Team Championships: 2021, 2018, 2017

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Champion: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Driver Championships: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Team Championships: 2018, 2017

Pirelli World Challenge GT Driver Championships: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

SPEED World Challenge GT Driver Championship: 2005

Media Q&A ahead of Chevrolet Grand Prix and team’s lone Canadian stop

Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor was part of a media Zoom today to talk about next week’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and the sixth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He will team with Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which raced at CTMP for the first time a year ago. The duo finished third in the GTD PRO class last weekend at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R

ON THE FOLLOWING AND SUPPORT OF CORVETTE RACING AT CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK.

“It’s always a big weekend for us. Obviously being the Chevrolet Grand Prix, there’s a lot of Chevy supporters and Corvette supporters. The Corvette Corral that we have there every year is massive. It’s always exciting for us. Corvette Racing has 11 wins there over the year with the last one being in 2014. So we’re due for another win there. It’s been awhile, and last year we finished second. I feel like this year we’re a little bit stronger compared to this time last year when we first entered GTD PRO. This past weekend was a little bit of a struggle at Watkins Glen, but I don’t see why we can’t be a little bit closer to the front next weekend. It’s a big weekend for Corvette and Chevrolet every year we go there, and they are true sports car fans when we go north of the border.”

DOES THE MOVE TO CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS FOR NEXT YEAR IN GT3 CHANGE ANYTHING FOR YOU AS A DRIVER?

“We kind of knew this was coming over the past year or two with the class going to GT3 and a customer-based program. Our history has always been in the GTLM and GTE classes, so with it going to GT3 it makes sense to rename it how they did. For me, it doesn’t change a whole lot. It’s still run by Pratt Miller. Corvette Racing always had Pratt Miller behind the scenes running the program from their shop in Michigan. Now it’s all going to be the same guys running the program. We deal with the same exact people on the management and contract side, so from the drivers perspective it changes nothing. The only thing that changes for us as Corvette drivers is that there will be more Corvettes on the track that we have to race with. It’s going to be interesting to see how it is. Obviously it makes it trickier when there are more cars on track in your class of car. But I think it’s great for the brand. There are so many Corvette fans in sports car racing worldwide that now going to this GT3 platform, we can see them racing at Le Mans, Nürburgring, Bathurst, Spa… it’s available to go anywhere now. For me, that’s super exciting to see. Obviously we’ve been locked down to IMSA and WEC the last few years. But with this new class for us, it opens things up a lot for drivers. I’m not sure what it holds for us as drivers, but for sure it would be cool to mix in some of these other races. You see other manufactures have their drivers going to Bathurst around Daytona time, Nürburgring around Le Mans time and Spa coming up this weekend. It would be cool to add some of those races to our calendar. I know a lot of guys in the Corvette stable are looking forward to that.”

HOW TOUGH IS TO TURN REALLY FAST LAPS AT A TRACK LIKE THIS THAT IS SO DAUNTING?

“It’s a place where you need a lot of confidence in yourself and in your car. If you’re lacking any of that, it’s definitely going to show up at a place like this. It’s nice that it’s in the middle of the season. I’d say that if this was the first race of the year when you’re getting back in the swing of things, it would be quite a shock to the system to get up to speed there. It’s always nice to have it back-to-back with Watkins Glen where you’ve come from a high-speed track, you’ve done six hours in your car and you kind of know the limits of it so when you get to CTMP, you’re mostly ready to go. It’s a high-risk, high-reward type of place especially when it comes to traffic. Having driven there in prototypes and now GT cars, you kind of see the perspective from both sides and see how much you can gain or lose in those situations. That definitely ramps up the intensity, especially the last hour of the race when guys don’t want to wait around. I’m sure it will be another classic IMSA fight all race long.”

THERE ARE SIX RACES STILL TO GO. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO TRACK DOWN THE 14?

“We’ve had a pretty good year. Other than Sebring when we got knocked off the track and our penalty at Laguna Seca, it’s been a pretty flawless season. At Daytona, we had a flawless race and finished second. At Long Beach, we had a good fight and had the third-fastest car and finished second. This weekend (at Watkins Glen), we had the fifth-fastest car and finished third. I feel like we are kind nailing our races pretty really and calling super-strong strategies. Our guys in the pits have been doing an unbelievable job on pit stops to jump guys when we can. Everything is going well – we just need to tick that last little box. Hopefully this weekend we can get it done.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SPEED DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GTP CARS TO THE GTD CARS WILL BE LIKE?

“It’s made it a little tricker in traffic to understand the capabilities of the GTP cars. We’re still used to DPis coming by us, and they used to fly by us in a lot of spots. You can tell guys are a little more hesitant with some of their moves especially with their tire allocation now; if they’re double-stinting their tires, they can be quite slow in some of the corners. At Sebring in some of the medium-speed corners, they’d be slower than us if we were on new tires. I’m not sure what their allocation is for next week for race stints, but I’d say if they are on a second stint on tires, they’ll struggle to get by us in some spots where they usually fly by us. It’s something for sure to think about and learn. It’s definitely a new challenge to figure out where they can pass you and where you need to defend. You can tell when they’re getting frustrated or they know certain spots where they need to get by or else they’re going to get stuck is where they start getting aggressive because they don’t want to wait around either. Understanding that is a big part of it so hopefully we’ll have a good amount of practice to get an understanding.”

WITH THE DYNAMICS BETWEEN GTP AND GTD PRO, IS THERE MORE PRESSURE RACING FOR WINS AND CHAMPIONSHIPS BECAUSE THE PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES ARE UNDERSTOOD?

“For us, we haven’t won since Sebring 2022. If there are any openings to get a win, we’re definitely going to pounce at it. At the same time, we’re still racing for a championship and there is still a long way to go. If we have a third-place car, we need to finish second or third and not take a risk to finish fifth. Our race is against the Lexus at this point, so we might strategize a little bit around those guys to maybe make some moves.”

IS THERE A PART OF THE TRACK THAT’S HARD TO GET RIGHT EVERY TIME, AND IS THERE A FAVORITE SECTION?

“Turn Three. There’s also a bump on entry which makes it tricky to have a lot of confidence to attack. I’d say the best part about it is the flow between Turn One and Turn Two. It’s an amazing sequence of corners with blind entries and lots of elevation change. The fans in general at CTMP are also always special. I can’t remember what year – maybe 2017 or 2018 – but I went out to Turn Three and Turn Four to watch and the fans that camp there just love sports car racing. Not all tracks have authentic fans like that, so it’s always cool to see fans who have been going back since back in the day when old-school drivers and old-school cars were racing around there.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

• George Kurtz, Ben Hanley, Nolan Siegel drive No. 04 CrowdStrike ORECA-Gibson to LMP2 victory
• Win comes two weeks after class victory for Kurtz, Algarve Pro Racing at 24 Hours of Le Mans
• CrowdStrike Racing heads into CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with strong momentum

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 28, 2023) – CrowdStrike Racing by Algarve Pro Racing (APR) and drivers George Kurtz, Ben Hanley and Nolan Siegel earned their first victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

The trio teamed for a landmark Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) victory in the No. 04 CrowdStrike ORECA 07-Gibson. Sunday’s win unofficially moved the Kurtz and Hanley team into first place in the LMP2 Drivers Championship – a remarkable accomplishment for a program that made its debut in January for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The weekend’s win and a runner-up finish were made doubly sweet as the CrowdStrike Racing by APR team also claimed the round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup – made up of the WeatherTech Championship’s four long-distance races. The Watkins Glen victory came two weeks after Kurtz, Colin Braun and James Allen drove an APR ORECA to an LMP2 Pro/Am win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The CrowdStrike-sponsored prototype led seven times in the Watkins Glen race for a class-high 109 laps. Kurtz started off the day by driving from fourth at the start to first place during his 90-minute stint. Siegel and Hanley also led significant portions of the race out front with Hanley moving ahead for good with 23 laps to go.

In addition to the wins at Le Mans and Watkins Glen, Kurtz and CrowdStrike Racing are on a roll with consecutive victories in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS, including the competition last weekend at Virginia International Raceway.

Next up for the program is this weekend’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – one of the premier GT3 races in the world. CrowdStrike by Riley will field the No. 04 CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the crown jewel of SRO’s Intercontinental GT Challenge.

For more information, visit CrowdStrikeRacing.com. Follow #CrowdStrikeRacing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.

Driver quotes after the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen

George Kurtz, No. 04 CrowdStrike ORECA 07-Gibson: “We knew we had a great car, a great team in CrowdStrike Racing by APR and a great driver line-up. We also had a good race strategy and the crew did some amazing work in the pits, and I’m delighted I was able to do the job and pass the car over to Nolan (Siegel) and Ben (Hanley) so they could do their thing. Overall, being smart, staying out of trouble and just doing what we needed to do helped us take the win.”

Ben Hanley, No. 04 CrowdStrike ORECA 07-Gibson: “We can’t forget that this CrowdStrike Racing by APR program came together quite late and we haven’t managed to get out and do any collective test days yet, and that makes this win in the IMSA Six Hours of The Glen even sweeter. CrowdStrike Racing by APR has done a great job to put us in the window straight away, even though we had mixed conditions in free practice and a very limited opportunity to see how things would play out across a race stint. We managed to nail it pretty well, and it’s positive that there are still things we can improve going forward to Road America because we’re still learning about the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Michelin tires and the opposition.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 04 CrowdStrike ORECA 07-Gibson: “It has been an incredible journey since first stepping into an LMP2 car in February and I’ve loved every minute of it. It has been great to adapt this quickly to Le Mans Prototypes, and to win what is only my second LMP2 race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a great team like CrowdStrike Racing by APR and great co-drivers in George (Kurtz) and Ben (Hanley) is amazing.”

About CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD), a global cybersecurity leader, has redefined modern security with the world’s most advanced cloud-native platform for protecting critical areas of enterprise risk — endpoints and cloud workloads, identity and data.

Powered by the CrowdStrike Security Cloud and world-class AI, the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform leverages real-time indicators of attack, threat intelligence, evolving adversary tradecraft and enriched telemetry from across the enterprise to deliver hyper-accurate detections, automated protection and remediation, elite threat hunting and prioritized observability of vulnerabilities. Purpose-built in the cloud with a single lightweight-agent architecture, the Falcon platform delivers rapid and scalable deployment, superior protection and performance, reduced complexity and immediate time-to-value.

CrowdStrike: We stop breaches.

Learn more: https://www.crowdstrike.com/

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2023 CrowdStrike, Inc. All rights reserved. CrowdStrike, the falcon logo, CrowdStrike Falcon and CrowdStrike Threat Graph are marks owned by CrowdStrike, Inc. and registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and in other countries. CrowdStrike owns other trademarks and service marks, and may use the brands of third parties to identify their products and services.

Solid points performances for Alex Sedgwick in a pair of wild Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America races

WATKINS GLEN, NY (26 June 2023) – PT Autosport with JDX Racing posted its most consistent weekend to date, as the rookie Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America team captured two top five finishes at legendary Watkins Glen International.

Alex Sedgwick showed his best pace of the season behind the wheel of the No. 98 PT Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car, as the 24-year-old Warwickshire, UK native gained significant points with a fourth and a fifth-place finish in the pair of 40-minute races in wildly changing weather conditions on the famed upstate New York road course.

As the 16-race season hits the halfway mark, Sedgwick lies in fifth position in the point standings, but with the margin to 1-4 tightened considerably.

The JDX team had tested at WGI last month, with Sedgwick able to quickly learn the legendary circuit’s intricacies as he put that knowledge to use as the official IMSA race weekend opened with practice on Thursday.

In the morning practice session, with little Michelin rubber on the 11-turn, 3.45-mile road course, Sedgwick set the third quickest time on a very green racetrack. In the afternoon session, it was P8 – a solid time on used Michelin tires.

Cloudy and cool conditions greeted the racers for Friday morning qualifying. On his last lap of qualifying, he set his quickest times in all three sectors to put himself seventh in race one, and fifth in race two with a lap at 1:48.359 – his fastest lap of the weekend.

The JDX team made a crucial decision ahead of the race that became a significant factor in both races: putting new Michelin tires on only the left (more heavily loaded) side of the car. That meant that Sedgwick had two new tires for both races, instead of four new tires for race one – as most of his competitors.

Moving up a position in race one after a post-qualifying penalty to a competitor, Sedgwick began pressing his case at the drop of the green – stapling himself to the car in front, sliding to the outside in turn one and taking fifth position. The top five cars settled in nose-to-tail, all running lap times within three-tenths of a second, but with breathing room between each car by lap five. Posting laps faster than the car ahead in fourth position, Sedgwick worked to find a way forward – until teammate Will Martin, leading from pole, was hit from behind and fell back in the field, putting Sedgwick into fourth. Now the on-track fight was for a podium position.

Lap 14 saw Sedgwick as the fastest car on track, leaning hard on Tom Sargent ahead, hoping to force a mistake.

He pushed through multiple laps and through lapped traffic, but without a lane to make a move, Sedgwick took the checkered flag in fourth – pacing within two-tenths of the leader.

“By race end, we were back to where we expected to be, pace-wise, after a difficult qualifying,” said Sedgwick. “We were bumped to the outside of row four which I thought might be an issue going into turn one, but we got a really good start and slid into P5 in the Esses – and that worked out really well, as everyone behind us stacked up and basically had their own race. Once everyone started to struggle a bit, we were in great position. We had great pace mid-race and I was able to get close to Sargent in the Bus Stop, but with all the aero the Porsche has, we’d lose him in 10 and 11, repeat every lap. Frustrating in some respects, but then again, everyone ahead of us in the championship was behind us today.”

With the bulk of the field on used tires, Sedgwick took the race two green with two new left side Michelins. But as the green flag flew, the car ahead failed to launch, forcing Sedgwick to try an inside pass in turn 1. Pushed onto the curbs, he was fortunate to only lose one position. Pacing two-tenths of a second more quickly than the car ahead, Sedgwick was determined to move forward.

Making the pass stick in turn 9, Sedgwick regain fifth position and began to close the gap to the leaders. But Mother Nature had not yet had her say, as race control called light rain in turn 8 with 13 minutes remaining. Within moments, two cars had spun and come together in turn 8, bringing out a full course caution. The skies then opened in turn 9, ending the race under caution – with Sedgwick disappointed with the outcome once again. That he was disappointed with two top five finishes says volumes about his progress this season.

“I saw (teammate) Will Martin launch (from pole) and I went with him,” said Sedgwick. “I got squeezed over the curb and had nowhere to go. We had an advantage on the guy ahead but trying to get by just chewed up the tires. We had a big gap to overcome and were chipping away before the rain and the incident. I had a massive moment in turn 8 as well.

“But this has been our best weekend points-wise, so we’re moving in the right direction. We have a test coming up at Road America so we’ll just keep going forward.”

“It’s never fun to finish under yellow but clearly it was the prudent thing for the series to do,” said team principal Jason Myers. “Two top-five finishes, can’t complain. Alex is maturing and learning the car, and we’re looking forward to the remainder of the season – but also making plans for 2024. People have approached us, interested both in Alex and in the team, and we appreciate the exposure we’ve received. John Hindhaugh and everyone at IMSA Radio have been our biggest allies, and we really appreciate that they’ve talked about Alex and PT Autosport on the broadcasts.”

Next up for PT Autosport and the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America will be the doubleheader in support of the NASCAR Xfinity series event at Road America July 27 through 29. The races will be broadcast live in the U.S., on IMSA.tv, the NBC Peacock streaming app and PorscheCarreraCup.us.

PT Autosport would like to thank JDX Racing partners Byers/Porsche Columbus, Renier Construction, PDCA Inc., and Revamp Marketing.

About PT Autosport

PT Autosport is a newly formed racing team currently based at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ. The team campaigns rising star Alex Sedgwick (U.K.) in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America series for the 2023 season with JDX Racing and 2022 Aspiring Driver Shootout winner Henry Drury (UK) in select PCA, SCCA, and WRL races during the 2023 season.

PT Autosport is working towards bringing diversity and opportunity to the motorsport industry, hosting their annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, in which aspiring drivers aged 18-23 can compete for a $100,000 racing partnership with the team. Visit PTAutosport.com for more info.

Watkins Glen, NY (26 June 2023) – The Heart of Racing (HOR) team persevered through a weekend of ups and downs with both the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GTD PRO entry and the No. 27 GTD entry. When the checkered flag flew, both cars had raced to sixth place finishing positions in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

The weekend featured an opening practice Friday evening followed by a Saturday morning practice session before qualifying Saturday afternoon. Ian James qualified the No. 27 Aston Martin entry fifth for the start of Sunday’s race. Unfortunately the No. 23 Heart of Racing entry ran into a technical issue on the right rear tire, preventing the team from setting a qualifying lap.

The No. 23 Heart of Racing entry saw Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas team up for the fifth time this season.

Starting from the rear of the GT field Gunn was able to make up 15 positions of GT competition in the first 16 laps of the race, three of which were under full course caution conditions. Gunn and Riberas switched on and off each stint as the day progressed, carefully making their way through the field.

Unfortunately Riberas hit a tire that was left in his path by the No.3 team causing a drive through penalty, but was able to maintain his class position.

The duo worked their way up to second, in the order before being called back to pit lane on lap 147 to address the tire pressure issue with just an hour remaining in the race. Riberas crossed the finish line under caution in sixth.

The No. 27 Aston Martin was piloted by team regulars Roman De Angelis and Marco Sorensen, the duo was joined by HOR team principal Ian James.

James was first behind the wheel taking the first two stints. James handed the Aston Martin off to De Angelis in fourth on lap 98. De Angelis made his way back to sit third before Sorensen took the reins. With an hour remaining in the race, Sorensen was called down pit lane to serve a penalty due to a failure to adhere to tire requirements. Sorensen was able to make his way back up to sit sixth when the caution came out with three minutes remaining in the race.

The Heart of Racing will be back in action July 7-9th at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the next event on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar.

Quoteboard:

Ross Gunn (No. 23 GTD PRO) – “It was an unfortunate race for us. We were in a really good position with two hours to go. We were looking good for a minimum a podium, but unfortunately we needed to go on a different strategy for a minimum tire pressure mandate and that essentially ruined everything for us. So really frustrating. Still waiting for the luck to change because it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong. The team has worked very hard this weekend to give us a competitive car. It really showed throughout the race. We had some great pit stops and great teamwork that were able to go last all the way towards the front and we’re very proud of that. The luck will change at some point, it’s obviously quite tiring, but we will get it turned around.”

Alex Riberas (No. 23 GTD PRO) – “It was just one of those races. It’s not easy, this championship is very difficult. It’s very competitive and you have to be perfect in order to be up there on the podium and fighting for wins. Today, unfortunately, we weren’t. We had two drive through penalties that put us in a bit of the wrong place at the wrong time. We were a bit on the back foot to achieve good results today. At the end of the day, we were competitive for the most part. At one point, it seemed like a podium was achievable. We were right there and I think that gives us hope for the future. Mosport is one of the best tracks for us and I’m sure we can be competitive there as well.”

Roman De Angelis (No. 27 GTD) – “It seemed to be a pretty good weekend. We had really good pace here. The Aston always seems to be great at this track, particularly throughout the season. It’s one of the races we look forward to coming here just because of how good the car is here. The race was going really well. Ian did a great job in the first stint and made up a bunch of spots. I tried to do the same. I had a really good few stints and am pretty happy. Marco was able to bring it home as best he could after the 23 and 27 had a tire pressure violation. So, we’ll see what happens at the next one.”

Marco Sorensen (No. 27 GTD) – “It was a difficult race all around. It’s nice to do an endurance race again. I actually got a lot of time in the car. This was my first time racing at Watkins Glen and I love the track here so it made the two and a half hours I did in the car enjoyable. It was difficult and we’re doing a lot of what we had to do with some small fuel saving as well. Then we got a penalty for having a little bit too low tire pressures, which a lot of cars actually did in this race. It put us in a really bad spot, but I’m okay with finishing P6 with what we had today.”

Ian James (No. 27 GTD) – “ Generally it was a good weekend for the Heart of Racing. Qualifying went well, we had a problem with the 23 car, but they bounced back for the race. They were a contender for the podium, as was the 27 all race long. Unfortunately in the last hour we fell foul of IMSA’s tire pressure minimums, just like a lot of cars did during the race. It was too late for us to get back from there. So we had 2 P6’s, it’s good championship points. We move onto Mosport.”

About The Heart of Racing

The Heart of Racing races to raise funds and awareness for Seattle Children’s Cardiology Research. The team competes internationally with concurrent campaigns in IMSA, SRO, Formula Drift and the 24H SERIES. Last season The Heart of Racing won the IMSA GTD Championship title in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The Heart of Racing team hosted their first all-female driver shootout in November of 2022, bringing to the team Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt for the 2023 SRO GT4 America season. To contribute to The Heart of Racing’s fundraising efforts please visit: https://give.seattlechildrens.org/fundraiser/3642390

(Watkins Glen, N.Y.) June 25, 2023 – A disappointing end to the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06’s race at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen to retire just 30 minutes shy of the checkered flag. There was no shortage of challenges against the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) team to ultimately finish seventh in the GTP class at Watkins Glen International after the retirement due to a mechanical issue.

Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque were joined by endurance co-driver Louis Deletraz to complete the WTRAndretti’s lineup for the six-hour endurance event. Much of the weekend at the historic road course in Upstate New York saw tricky conditions due to weather, with heavy rain canceling Saturday’s qualifying session leading to the field being set by championship points standings.

IMSA Michelin Endurance Championship co-driver Louis Deletraz began the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen with sights set on progressing forward to the front of the field after starting third. Although he fell back to fifth after the race start, Deletraz made up ground on the leaders over the course of his stint. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 came into pit lane in third, just shy of the two-hour mark where he traded controls with Filipe Albuquerque.

Albuquerque took the reins of the blue and black machine and quickly began putting pressure on the front running GTP cars. Closely in contention for the lead, Albuquerque unfortunately suffered an issue that caused a tire to come loose from the car. The Portuguese full season co-driver was able to bring the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 safely to pit lane for the WTRAndretti crew to replace the missing tire. In combination with loose tire and a drive-through penalty for pit lane speed violation, the WTRAndretti team fell three laps down off the lead lap. With over three hours remaining in the six-hour event, it was heads down and ready to battle back to the lead lap.

In impressive efforts and a beneficial caution, Albuquerque was able to obtain one lap back and handed the driver’s seat over to teammate Ricky Taylor just before the four-hour mark. All efforts seemed to be slowly playing in favor of the blue and black team to rebound from the tire issue until an untimely mechanical issue with the brakes forced the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 back to the garages in the closing half hour of the event.

“We needed a result today,” said Ricky Taylor, full season co-driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06. “Unfortunately, these are the kind of days we have in racing. The car was really fast, really strong. Things just happen to go wrong today, and we will look into why they went wrong. Luckily, Mosport is short and we have short memories. We will get to Mosport and put this behind us really fast.”

“Definitely not our Sunday,” said Filipe Albuquerque, full season co-driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06. “Just too many issues. The only thing that is really annoying is that we were really, really quick even with the issues we were having with the car. Again, at the end of the day, it is the team that has less problems that wins. Everyone has had problems this year and today it was us. It hurts because I think we really had the pace to win. We continue working, we analyze, and we come back stronger!”

“Not the day we wanted,” said Louis Deletraz, IMSA Michelin Endurance Championship co-driver. “The car was fast. We definitely had the pace to fight for the victory. Some things were unlucky, a few issues. It is racing, it happens. I think we will be back stronger. What is key is that as a team, we worked well. No mistakes. Without those issues we would have been fighting for the win. I look forward to Petit Le Mans.”

“I will just say I’m happy that we did not destroy the car or hurt Ricky because we ended up having brake failure,” said Wayne Taylor. “We lost a wheel with Filipe, and it appears that the left right wheel also came loose which caused the brake failure. Ricky said he spun the car to avoid going into the wall. It is very disappointing because this is something that we never have had – ever. This year just doesn’t get any better. We just have to keep our heads up and try and figure out what is going on.”

The WTRAndretti team will see a short break and travel across the northern border to Canada, returning to the sprint portion of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on July 9th, 2023.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the workplace to achieve true connectivity through the Intelligent Connected Workplace. The company guides and supports its clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fifteen consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2021 America’s Best-in-State employers list. The company received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. The company recognizes 150 years in global business in 2023. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting Company, Acura Motorsports, Honda Performance Development and Hammer Nutrition .

Podium finish in wild Sahlen’s Six Hours for Garcia, Taylor, No. 3 C8.R

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 25, 2023) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor recorded their third podium finish of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

The duo drove the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to a third-place finish in GT Daytona (GTD) PRO, an improvement of three spots from their sixth-place starting position. Garcia and Taylor inched up a spot in the class Drivers Championship to third after five races.

Despite two penalties and a pace deficit to the class front-runners, Garcia found himself leading inside the final 30 minutes thanks to some great strategic calls, fuel-saving and maximizing performance out of the No. 3 Corvette. Nevertheless, the C8.R team left Watkins Glen encouraged with a solid points day.

Three early full-course yellows and a pace deficit made it tough to establish a rhythm early. The Corvette pit crew did its part, however, and jumped three cars on the first pit stop at the 46-minute mark to move Taylor to fourth on the restart.

Unfortunately for the Corvette squad, IMSA officials penalized the No. 3 team after the No. 23 Aston Martin drove through the Corvette’s pitbox and hit a tire that clearly was inside the C8.R’s pit space. The Corvette team provided the series with evidence that its tire was within the pitbox boundary, but the penalty stood.

That knocked Taylor down one position in class but well down the order in the overall GTD category. Undeterred, he battled back through the slower traffic and passed eight GT cars prior to the halfway mark. Misfortune struck again as officials required the No. 3 Corvette to stop about seven laps early due to a faulty tire pressure sensor.

The team elected to make the change from Taylor to Garcia, who was in the Corvette for the final three-plus hours.

Despite the setback, the No. 3 Corvette cycled back up to fourth in class and gained back a considerable amount of track position due to the race’s fourth full-course yellow with a little more than two hours to go. That caution period moved Garcia to third when the No. 63 Lamborghini was caught up in a prototype crash that necessitated the full-course yellow.

Garcia gained another spot when the then-second place Aston Martin had to pit to correct a tire pressure problem. The Corvette crew called him in with 62 minutes remaining – on the same lap as the class-leading No. 14 Lexus. However, it had to serve a penalty for a drive-through penalty, which elevated Garcia to the lead.

It was a small lead, though, as the No. 14 re-emerged from the pitlane with 59 minutes left and right on the Corvette. Forced to save fuel and hold off the No. 14 and the hard-charger No. 62 Ferrari, Garcia did a masterful job keeping the two challengers at bay before they found their way past with a little more than 30 minutes left.

Corvette Racing’s next event in GTD PRO is the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, July 9.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Corvette Racing has always been good at Watkins Glen. We usually are quite decent there, and it seems like we always have a chance in this race. Watkins Glen is a track that I’ve always liked, and it’s always good to turn laps there. Being part of the Michelin Endurance Cup adds something extra for us. We are in contention in that and in the regular championship, so this weekend has added importance. This is six hours, so it’s one of those races that has something extra for the competitors.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It feels like we haven’t been at the track in months since Laguna, so it’ll be great to get back to racing at Watkins Glen. We didn’t have the fastest car there last year, but we somehow found ourselves in contention. I feel like we’ve made some big gains this season that should benefit us there. We haven’t had the results to show our true performance this year, so hopefully we can have a clean weekend and start getting back into the championship fight.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

IMSA at The Glen: Cadillac scores podium finish

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R maintains endurance points lead

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 25, 2023) – The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R placed third for the second consecutive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race and strengthened its IMSA Michelin Endurance Championship points lead Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken, who combined to win at Sebring International Raceway in March, drove around and occasionally through the 57-car field in an action-packed race on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course for its third podium in five races.

The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, which won the last IMSA GTP race with Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande sharing time in the seat, finished four laps down in sixth place after multiple issues including two on-track incidents that resulted in damage and a penalty for tire requirements.

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R added five points to its endurance championship advantage by pacing the field at the halfway point of the race, and leads the points heading into the season-closing Petit Le Mans in October that s the finale of the four-race endurance set.

Aitken set the fastest lap of the race (1 minute, 33.028 seconds) and the track race record during his stint, which included Laps 122-152 as the leader.

The No. 6 Porsche 963 made a pass for the lead with four minutes left and just before a full-course yellow resulted in the race ending under caution.

Cadillac Racing returns to competition July 7-9 with concurrent IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championship events: the 2-hour, 40-minute Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and the 6 Hours of Monza in Italy.

Bourdais and van der Zande will seek to successfully defend their IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory at the 2.549-mile, 10-turn road course in Bowmanville, Ontario. It was their third victory of the season in the twilight of the DPi era. Derani, who drove to a third-place finish in 2022, will again be joined by Sims in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, coming off a podium finish in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans, is third in the team and driver WEC Hypercar standings. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook will seek to continue the momentum as their first-year tour of the WEC schedule moves to the 5.793-kilometer, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

What they’re saying

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Renger van der Zande: “I feel disappointed because we had bad luck, and the race just didn’t go our way. It was pure survival out there and that’s just not a nice feeling when you’re not in a competitive position.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “We had a good start, and the car was strong. We were making some good numbers but halfway through the stint we had contact with the Porsche. That was disappointing and I thought we had gotten away OK but then we got run into by the BMW, which really sabotaged our race because the rear of the car was severely damaged. It was definitely one of those days where what could go wrong did go wrong.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “The car felt good all day. Unfortunately, on the second to last pit stop we had an issue with tire pressure which compromised our pace. And then the GT blocking and I made contact that destroyed the front splitter. By that point we were compromised and didn’t have enough to close on the leader. Overall, a good points day for us – especially in the endurance championship – and we’ll keep fighting.”

Alexander Sims: “I really enjoyed driving the car here and it felt like one of my better races. I understood what the car was doing, so I was happy with it. We were fighting at the front the whole race. There was no luck involved. We were there on pace. Credit to the whole team and Cadillac, and another strong finish. Good day points for the championship, which is all you can ask for.”

Jack Aitken: “I was just happy to experience Watkins Glen for a full stint. I had time to get into it and I was in a great position coming out in the lead under caution. Strategy was perfect, I ran a clean stint and held the gap to the 60. I think it’s a great result and we’re right in there for the championship and collected the endurance points as well.”

2023 Cadillac V-Series.R

Wins: Sebring (Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken), Laguna Seca (Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande)

2 wins, 5 podiums (including wins) IMSA

1 podium FIA WEC (Le Mans; No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Richard Westbrook)

Cadillac total wins in all classes/series since 2004: 68

Cadillac total podiums in all classes/series since 2004: 217

IMSA GTP (5)

IMSA DPi (85)

FIA WEC (1)

World Challenge (126)

Cadillac Manufacturer Championships in all series: 8

IMSA DPi (2021, 2018, 2017)

Pirelli World Challenge GT (2014, 2013, 2012)

SPEED World Challenge GT (2007, 2005)

IMSA DPi Driver Championships: 2021, 2018, 2017

IMSA DPi Team Championships: 2021, 2018, 2017

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Champion: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Driver Championships: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Team Championships: 2018, 2017

Pirelli World Challenge GT Driver Championships: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

SPEED World Challenge GT Driver Championship: 2005