Category: IMSA

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R places fifth on street circuit

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 15, 2023) — Starting seventh on the sole street circuit on the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar, the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R group decided an alternate strategy was in order to challenge for its second consecutive victory.

That strategy included a full-course caution that came too late in the 100-minute race. Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims co-drove to a fifth-place finish in the third round of the Grand Touring Prototype season.

Sims brought the hybrid prototype into the pits on Lap 6 and gave way to Derani, who systematically moved up and ran second on Lap 38. Derani returned the No. 31 Cadillac to the pits for service on Lap 52 of the 78-lap total, but the strategy didn’t play out to challenge for the lead as the top four cars made one stop in the race.

“We have to make a lot of decisions and one of them was we were toward the back of the pack anyway and passing is so difficult on the track. So, our best shot was to get the driver change done as quick as possible and then any time before the halfway point — when everybody else started pitting – with a yellow flag all of sudden we’re going to have a quicker pit stop than them because they still have to do their driver change,” team manager Gary Nelson said.

“It was the right move early and with a yellow we’re in contention to win. Without a yellow, we have to try to pass people and passing is a higher risk of not finishing than the risk of pitting early.”

Derani and Sims, who teamed with endurance driver Jack Aitken to win the Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, are one point out of the championship lead. The No. 6 Porsche 963 won under caution – the yellow flag flying with three minutes left.

Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, who won the 2022 Long Beach race to lead a Cadillac sweep of the podium, were unable to mount a challenge as a first-lap incident forced retirement of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R. It was classified eighth in the GTP class.

Bourdais, who qualified third with a lap of 1 minute, 10.981 seconds on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit, lost grip making a charge for the lead entering Turn 1 and spun, with the nose of the hybrid prototype making contact with the unforgiving concrete barrier.

Cadillac Racing had won the past five races at Long Beach dating to the start of the DPi era. The two Cadillac prototypes will next challenge for the victory May 14 on the undulating 2.238-mile, 11-turn WeatherTech Raceway Laguna road course in a 2-hour, 40-minute race.

In the interim, Bourdais and van der Zande will co-drive the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on April 29. They will join the sister No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R in the first WEC outing at the Belgian road course for Cadillac Racing. The race will be a warm-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, and the Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R will also expand the Hypercar field for the centenary race in France.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R will start on the fourth row Sunday in the 6 Hours of Portimão in Portugal. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook will share driving duties.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais: “Weird situation for sure there. We got squeezed against the wall at the start and put marbles on the tires. We’re not exactly sure what happened and why the rears locked up. I feel bad for the team, but we’ll learn what we can from this one and move on to what’s next in the WEC, as well as Laguna.”

Renger van der Zande: “It’s unfortunate because we came into this race expecting to defend our win from last year. We have to see what actually happened. Obviously, it’s been very tough to get tire temps in the car and I think that for sure is causing a lot of issues in the warm-up laps. It’s bad for the points in the championship and I feel sorry for the whole team because this is not what we race for.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “It was one of those races where you start from the back and then you have to try something different, and we did. It was a nice fight up until a certain point of the race. I could fight, overtook a few cars while we were close to the leading cars. We knew we were on a different strategy, and we were counting on another yellow toward the end of the race, which didn’t happen. Nevertheless, we showed that we were on par in terms of pace during the race and I think we managed to improve throughout the weekend, which is very positive. It’s a long championship and I think considering how the race evolved, it’s a good points day. We wanted we wanted to be further ahead, we showed that our Cadillac V-Series.R has a lot of promise and we have a lot to look forward to.”

Alexander Sims: “Starting seventh doesn’t do you any favors in a sprint race on a street circuit where it’s difficult to pass, so the strategy was to pit early and give Pipo tires that had a few laps on them so they would come in quick. We were looking for the yellow that never came. We showed good pace throughout the race and Pipo did a great job. It’s still learning for us and the other teams about this car, so we’ll take the improvements and data and move on to Laguna Seca.”

(Long Beach, Calif.) April 14, 2023 — Filipe Albuquerque piloted the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 into pole position during Friday’s qualifying session for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Albuquerque’s flying lap posted a time of 1:09.909 – a half of a second faster than the second-place qualifier for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP field. With the pole position for the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, Acura locked in the front row for the manufacturer’s home race.

“It feels so good to be in pole position in Long Beach, the home of Acura,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “Through the two practices we seemed to be a little quicker than the other manufacturers, but between the two Acuras we were really close, and the fight was mainly between us. We were never underestimating anybody, so there was still a lot of tension to secure that pole. Again, my lap came out really well and it seemed that we had an edge on everybody, so super happy with the pole position by half a second with such a strong field feels good.”

TOP FIVE STARTING GRID

1. No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 (Acura ARX-06) R. Taylor, F. Albuquerque (101.343 mph)
2. No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian (Acura ARX-06) C. Braun, T. Blomqvist (100.375 mph)
3. No. 01 Cadillac Racing (Cadillac V-Series R) S. Bourdais, R. van der Zande (99.812 mph)
4. No. 25 BMW M Team RLL (BMW M Hybrid V8) C. De Phillippi, N. Yelloly (99.783 mph)
5. No. 24 BMW M Team RLL (BMW M Hybrid V8) P. Eng, A. Farfus (99.271 mph)

Albuquerque and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 will lead the field to the green flag for tomorrow’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at 2:05pm PT. All 100 minutes of the first sprint race of the season will be broadcast on USA Network and Peacock.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.’s (Konica Minolta) journey started 150 years ago, with a vision to see and do things differently. The company innovates for the good of society and the world. The same purpose that kept it moving then, keeps it moving now. Konica Minolta aims to partner with clients to Give Shape to Ideas by supporting their digital transformation through its expansive Intelligent Connected Workplace portfolio. Its business technology offerings include IT Services, intelligent information management, video security solutions and managed print services, as well as office technology and industrial and commercial print solutions. Through its ongoing work, the company is fortunate to be continuously recognized for its products and services. This includes, but is not limited to being included on CRN’s MSP 500 list numerous times; named a finalist in the IT Software Category by The World Technology Awards; recognized as the #1 Brand for CustomerLoyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys and presented with Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Awards for its bizhub i-Series.

Sustainability also continues to be a key driver for the company. As such, Konica Minolta Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent six years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. For more information, please visit Konica Minolta online and follow its accounts 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 .

Long Beach, Calif. (14 April 2023) – Returning to the streets of Long Beach, The Heart of Racing team (HOR) qualified to roll off from pole position for Saturday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas placed the No. 23 Heart of Racing GTD PRO entry at the top of the leaderboard for the first practice of the day. The Grand Prix of Long Beach reigning victors continued to lay down fast laps in the afternoon sun for second practice, ending the second practice with the fourth fastest lap.

Gunn qualified for the duo earning a top spot early on in the qualifying session. Just after his fastest lap was eclipsed, the session went to red flag conditions for an incident on track, and did not restart as Gunn will open the 100-minute race from the front row of the GTD PRO grid.

Marco Sorensen and Roman De Angelis are teamed in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 entry in the GTD class. The duo are making their IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup start together, and worked through a balance issue in the opening session to start the day eighth in first practice.

After a few changes, the car had more stability in the second practice session landing the No. 27 Aston Martin with the third fastest lap in that session.

Sorensen qualified for the first time on a street circuit in an Aston Martin and quickly went to the top of the leaderboard and earned the Motul Pole Award for the No. 27 Heart of Racing entry. Sorensen topped both the GTD and GTD PRO classes with a 1:17.811 – second lap time.

The Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach will take the green flag on Saturday at 5:05 pm ET with live coverage on USA Network starting at 5:00 pm ET. Live race IMSA Radio coverage will be broadcast on SiriusXM Ch. 207.

The Heart of Racing Quoteboard

Ross Gunn No. 23 GTD PRO : “It’s a great result for the team because Marco was P1 and I was P3 overall, P2 in class. Everyone wants to be on pole but Marco delivered the lap and delivered the performance, he did an amazing job. Qualifying wasn’t very smooth for me – I really under-achieved, to be honest. I made a mistake which upset the rhythm a bit but having said that, we’re at the front, close to where we need to be to start getting points to come back in the championship. So at least we’re up at the sharp end. Tomorrow is about trying to pick up some good points because we are quite a long way behind in the championship, having had some bad luck so far this season. But we’ll be out there pushing tomorrow.”

Marco Sorensen No. 27 GTD : “I think coming here for the first time on the street circuit, I was definitely a bit uneasy. When I came out on the track the first time it was something you had to build up to during the day today. It was nice when we actually made the decision that I was doing the qualifying, though it was not fully the plan. It was good to actually go out and just get the job done. The car was really good.”

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

Cadillac aiming for sixth consecutive prototype victory on challenging street circuit

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 14, 2023) — Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will aim to successfully defend their victory and extend Cadillac Racing’s winning streak at Long Beach to six races from the inside of the second row in the 100-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race Saturday.

Bourdais, who last April set the track qualifying record of 1 minute, 9.472 seconds (101.980 mph) in earning the pole, covered the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in 1:10.981 in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R to grab the third starting spot.

Alexander Sims qualified seventh in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R with a best lap of 1:11.410. Felipe Albuquerque claimed the pole in the No. 10 Acura with a lap of 1:09.909.

Long Beach is the first outing for the hybrid Grand Touring Prototype cars, which are heavier and have less downforce than their DPi predecessors, on the street course.

In 2022, Bourdais and van der Zande took the checkered flag after 73 laps to lead a Cadillac sweep of the podium.

USA will telecast the race at 5 p.m. ET Saturday, with steaming coverage on Peacock. IMSA Radio will broadcast the race at IMSA.com along with Sirius 216, XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

In Round 2 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on March 18, the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R co-driven by Sims, Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken, earned its third consecutive victory in the Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Cadillac leads the GTP Manufacturer Championship standings and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R prepared by Action Express Racing sits atop the GTP Championship Team and Driver standings.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande

Bourdais drove in the 20-minute qualifying session (1 minute, 10.981 seconds on 13 laps): “It was a trying day for us. I think the cool temperatures hurt us quite badly. The Cadillac has been very good so far, though, taking care of conditions like this on a street course. I’m pretty happy with the qualifying results, all things considered, and I know we can go racing from there.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani, Alexader Sims

Sims drove in the 20-minute qualifying session (1 minute, 11.410 seconds on 13 laps): “Seventh is not great, but I’m relatively comfortable with the time gaps around me. There was more lap time in me fine-tuning things. Fifth definitely was in the cards if maybe I just had a few more laps. We opted to do what we did with tires, which should help us tomorrow to put a few extra laps on them so they come in nice and quick for Pipo. I was happy with how the car felt. It was nice to do a low-fuel run. We have work to do tomorrow to make some opportunities happen probably in traffic. Hopefully give it to Pipo and he can make some magic happen out there. Keep it smart, stay in the race and see where it goes.”

Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R Long Beach results 2022-2017

2022: Overall winner (No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais

      Second (No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn

      Third (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook

      Fifth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez

2021: Overall winner (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr

     Second (No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Renger van der Zande, Kevin Magnussen

     Third (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval

2019: Overall winner (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Felipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa

     Fifth (No. 84 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Stephen Simpson, Simon Trummer

     Sixth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr

    Seventh (No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start ninth – Kyle Kaiser, Will Owen

    10th (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 10th – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor

2018: Overall winner (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth — Felipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa

    Third (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor

    Seventh (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran

2017: Overall winner (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor

    29th overall, seventh in class (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi

    32nd overall, eighth in class (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Eric Curran, Dane Cameron

LONG BEACH, California – Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship shift from the two longest races of the year to the shortest sprint of the season at this weekend’s Grand Prix of Long Beach. Three Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams across a pair of GT Daytona (GTD) classes take part in Saturday’s 100-minute sprint race on the 1.968-mile Long Beach street circuit. The race can be seen live on the USA Network beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT/5:00 p.m. EDT.

Round three of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech Championship, the Long Beach sprint follows January’s season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona and last month’s 12 Hours of Sebring. With a combined 36 hours of endurance racing, Daytona and Sebring are a major departure from the fast and flat-out sprint race that the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams tackle this weekend on the streets of Long Beach.

The championship-leading No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3 team and co-drivers Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella compete at Long Beach in the GTD Pro class. On track at the same time battling for GTD-class honors will be the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Russell Ward and Philip Ellis and the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 co-driven by Mike Skeen and Mikael Grenier.

With a victory at Daytona and third-place finish at Sebring, the No. 79 team and drivers moved their full-season GTD Pro championship bid off to a fast start. The WeatherTech No. 79 team and drivers bring a 26-point lead over the nearest GTD Pro competitor, 708 – 682, to Long Beach. The early success has also given Mercedes-AMG the lead in the GTD Pro manufacturer championship standings by the same points margin.

In GTD, Team Korthoff and Winward showed race-winning performance comparable to WeatherTech Racing at both Daytona and Sebring but now look to Long Beach to secure their first strong race results of the season.

Korthoff and Winward combined to lead an amazing 562 GTD race laps at Daytona and Sebring but a string of typical endurance racing issues prevented them from leaving either race with a result indicative of their competitive pace.

A tight, two-day event, the weekend schedule starts with morning and afternoon practice sessions Friday, April 14, which set the stage for GTD Pro/GTD qualifying that afternoon at 5:15 p.m. PDT.

Race-day Saturday, April 15, features only the 100-minute WeatherTech Championship sprint race that is scheduled to go green at 2:05 p.m. PDT.

Jules Gounon, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It will be my first time in Long Beach, and for Dani also, so we are really looking forward to racing on the California streets. It is pretty amazing, it all sounds like Monaco in Europe. I am really looking forward to the race, I enjoyed the track on the simulator, and it is really good. Short, and you are running very close to the walls. It will be very important to maximize the traction and rotation of our WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3. Some of the recent rule changes certainly don’t favor our car, but Dani and I love street courses and we will try to do anything to help. We are going to give it everything we have.”

Daniel Juncadella, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Long Beach is a new track for me. I have been on the simulator and watching online video to get an understanding of the layout. I have a pretty good history on street courses. I won the Macau Formula 3 race in 2011. I know how to experience the limits on street courses. I would compare Long Beach more to Pau (Circuit de Pau-Ville) in France, which is another famous street race. We have had a very good start on the season, and we are looking at keeping the momentum going as we start the sprint portion of the schedule.”

Mike Skeen, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Going from the two longest races to the shortest event of the year will present a few challenges at Long Beach. Especially given the uniqueness of the street track layout. However, I have always enjoyed Long Beach and I look forward to hitting the streets!”

(Deland, Fla.) April 12, 2023 — The No. 93 Harrison Contracting Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 hits the streets of California for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Saturday, April 15. The 1.968 mile, 11-turn temporary street course along the city’s waterfront marks Racers Edge Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport’s first foray into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint series for the 2023 season.

Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher will pilot the No. 93 Harrison Contracting Acura NSX GT3 Evo22, decked in a special livery designed by Acura, for the 100-minute race. While Long Beach is their first IMSA appearance together, the duo are no strangers to each other as teammates, having six wins together, five of those and a 2022 GT3 Championship with Racers Edge Motorsports on their resume, with the latest victory earned at Sonoma Raceway in Harrison’s GT3 Pro class 2023 debut.

The green flag on the famed street circuit waves Saturday, at 2:05 p.m. PDT. Live flag-to-flag coverage is available on Peacock and USA Network beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying streams live on Peacock and IMSA.com at 5:10 p.m. PDT on Friday, with GTD class qualifying at 5:15 p.m. PDT. Additional broadcasts include IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio (Siriux 217, XM 207, Web/App 992).

No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 DRIVER QUOTES:

Ashton Harrison:
“Obviously, I’m very excited to take on the streets of Long Beach with Mario and Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti. To be working so closely with Acura and Honda/HPD Racing in their home race as the title sponsor is a complete honor. I’m looking forward to practice on Friday. Mario has had past success here at Long Beach in an Acura, so I’m planning to get up to speed quickly with his experience and hopefully continue that winning tradition. I’m so thankful for this opportunity from Acura and Jon Ikeda and so excited to release this livery to the public and participate in the special weekend Acura has planned. I’m grateful for Jon Mirachi and everyone at Racers Edge Motorsports, WTRAndretti and beyond who have transported our two Harrison Contracting chassis back and forth across the country for two back-to-back California race weekends, and especially to the crew for getting this car ready after Sebring. Coming to Long Beach is a great way to kick off the sprint rounds in the IMSA series, and even better to follow up our recent win at Sonoma.”

Mario Farnbacher:
“I’m excited to go back to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with so much support from Acura and Honda/HPD Racing. I’m really thankful that Jon Ikeda made this happen, and for the trust from Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti to have selected me as a driver for this special event. I love street circuits generally, and I’m excited to be teamed up with Ashton in the IMSA series for the first time. I’m really looking forward to the challenge. Last year, I finished second in this race in an Acura NSX GT3, so I definitely want to continue that tradition and push for the win.”
About Harrison Contracting
Harrison Contracting Company, Inc. (HCC) is a commercial painting and facility maintenance contracting company headquartered in Villa Rica, GA with divisional offices in Florida and Texas. HCC provides repainting/reimaging and facility maintenance services nationwide, and new construction painting across the southeastern US. At HCC, red is more than the company color, its culture. RED stands for Reliable, Experienced, and Diligent, and is the cornerstone for all we do. We are more than just your painter; we are your partner.

Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti is also proudly sponsored by Acura Motorsports and Honda Performance Development (HPD).

Two Cadillac V-Series.Rs aim to tame Long Beach street circuit in sprint race

DETROIT (April 12, 2023) – Though IMSA has raced on the temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California, since 2006, each year presents teams and drivers some unknowns.

Questions in 2023 will be magnified with the new Grand Touring Prototype racecars. What is the impact of recently resurfaced sections of the 1.968-mile, 11-turn circuit on tire grip and wear? Will cornering speed be a concern while defending or attempting to overtake? What about traffic management in the 28-car field across three classes? One set of tires for the 100-minute race duration or change on the sole scheduled pit stop?

All that, and more, will come into play this weekend in the third race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Cadillac Racing will aim to extend its winning streak at Long Beach to six races with the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R and No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R competing in the GTP class.

Last April, Sebastien Bourdais set the track qualifying record at 1 minute, 9.472 seconds (101.980 mph) in earning the pole in the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R. He and Renger van der Zande went on to take the checkered flag after 73 laps and lead a Cadillac Racing sweep of the podium for the second consecutive year.

“It’s a very challenging street course, like most of them are, but when you do get it right it’s super rewarding. Obviously, we had a strong weekend last year with the pole and the win. It would be awesome to do it again with Cadillac,” said Bourdais, who also won three times in Long Beach in CART (2005-07).

“The hairpin is tricky and it’s the slowest corner of the season, so it definitely is its own animal. But when I think about Long Beach, I think about Turn 1 more than the hairpin. That’s the place that has the highest approach speed, it’s a tricky braking zone over concrete slabs, it’s bumpy and pretty quick and the room for errors is tiny.”

Cadillac leads the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP Manufacturer Championship standings and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R prepared by Action Express Racing sits atop the GTP Championship Team and Driver standings through two endurance races.

In Round 2 on March 18, Cadillac earned its third consecutive victory and fifth in seven years in the Twelve Hours of Sebring as pole winner Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken combined to drive the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R.

“It was brilliant to get the win at Sebring and the hard work continues with the race preparation,” said Sims, whose Action Express Racing team won three times (2018, 2019 and 2021) at Long Beach during the DPi era. “We have to work hard to get tuned into the track from a driving and car point of view and work out how these new cars work there. It’s a challenge but looking forward to it.”

Cadillac leads the GTP Manufacturer Championship standings and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R prepared by Action Express Racing sits atop the GTP Championship Team and Driver standings.

Two practice sessions Friday precede same-day qualifications. USA will telecast the race at 5 p.m. ET Saturday, with Peacock streaming qualifying (8 p.m. ET) and the race. All on-track sessions will be broadcast at IMSA.com along with race coverage on Sirius 216, XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

What they’re saying

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais: “Long Beach is a great event and definitely one of the highlights of the season. It’s always a fun place to race at. It’s a very challenging street course, like most of them are, but when you do get it right it’s super rewarding. Obviously, we had a strong weekend last year with the pole and the win. It would be awesome to do it again with Cadillac, but we know the competition will be tough. We definitely need points, but we’ve showed progress and pace. Hoping it all comes together this weekend and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Renger van der Zande: “I think Long Beach (2022) is one of the best races in recent memory. Obviously, the car was lightning fast, blinding fast, but Sebastien got us up front and then I was able to finish it off. It’ll be a new track for this car, so we’ll have to see how it behaves. Tire degradation has always been a bit of a topic in Long Beach, so there is a lot of new news for this race which is a good thing. We’re prepared to go and make the most out of what we know and then fine tune things once we get there. Can’t wait to get this Cadillac on another street course race; It’s pretty special.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “Looking forward to going back to Long Beach. It’s one of those race events that you’re always looking forward to – the first street track of the year. Excited to see how the new GTP cars are going to go around that track in particular. Felipe (Nasr) and I had the chance to win it together in 2021 in a very commanding way. Felipe put it on pole, and I got it from the lead and we just kept increasing until the cheered flag. Nice way to win. It’s one of those races where qualifying matters more than others because it’s just hard to pass like any other street track. Getting there with a win already under our belts this season, a pole position and the championship lead, but we’re going to attack the weekend the same way as if we had not won the last race or were not leading the championship. It’s still early days; we know how long this championship is and every point counts. Every point counts and attacking is the name of the game. We’re going to try to put it on pole again, of course, and make our lives a little bit easier for the race. If you put it on pole in Long Beach, it makes your life a lot easier.”

Alexander Sims: “Looking forward to getting back to Long Beach; it has been awhile since I’ve been there in the GTs. It is certainly one of the unique places that we go to in IMSA with the relatively bumpy street course and medium- to slow-speed corners generally. It’s always the same at street tracks – when the walls are the limit it heightens the experience somewhat as the risk versus reward judgment that you’re making all the time is skewed a bit more. There is more risk that you can take but it’s not very comfortable as you could see last year by Bourdais’ pace the rewards are high if you’re able to achieve that but it’s super difficult to ignore the walls are there because you know any mistake and your race is probably over. It was brilliant to get the win at Sebring and the hard work continues with the race preparation. We have to work hard to get tuned into the track from a driving and car point of view and work out how these new cars work there. It’s a challenge but looking forward to it.”

Cadillac Racing on the streets of Long Beach results 2022-2017

Overall wins

2022 (Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais)

2021 (Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr)

2019 (Joao Barbosa, Filipe Albuquerque)

2018 (Joao Barbosa, Filipe Albuquerque)

2017 (Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor)

• No race in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic

2022: Overall winner (No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais

      Second (No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn

      Third (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook

      Fifth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez

2021: Overall winner (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr

     Second (No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Renger van der Zande, Kevin Magnussen

     Third (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval

2019: Overall winner (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Felipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa

     Fifth (No. 84 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Stephen Simpson, Simon Trummer

     Sixth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr

    Seventh (No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start ninth – Kyle Kaiser, Will Owen

    10th (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 10th – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor

2018: Overall winner (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth — Felipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa

    Third (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor

    Seventh (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran

2017: Overall winner (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start first – Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor

    29th overall, seventh in class (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start second – Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi

    32nd overall, eighth in class (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Eric Curran, Dane Cameron

Transcript: Championship leader discusses his outlook for the sprint race on street circuit

Pipo Derani, co-driver with Alexander Sims of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R in the Grand Touring Prototype class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, met with the media via Zoom conference to preview the April 14-15 race in Long Beach, California.

Derani and Sims, along with Jack Aitken, co-drove to victory March 18 in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Derani co-drove to victory at Long Beach in 2021 for Cadillac Racing, which has won every IMSA prototype race at Long Beach since the start of the DPi era in 2017.

Q&A with Derani transcript:

You’ve had previous success at Long Beach. What is it going to take for you and Alex (Sims) to do it again?

“Looking forward to going back to Long Beach. It’s one of those race events that you’re always looking forward to – the first street track of the year. Excited to see how the new GTP cars are going to go around that track in particular. Felipe (Nasr) and I had the chance to win it together in 2021 in a very commanding way. Felipe put it on pole, and I got it from the lead and we just kept increasing until the cheered flag. Nice way to win. It’s one of those races where qualifying matters more than others because it’s just hard to pass like any other street track. Getting there with a win already under our belts this season, a pole position and the championship lead, but we’re going to attack the weekend the same way as if we had not won the last race or were not leading the championship. It’s still early days; we know how long this championship is and every point counts. Every point counts and attacking is the name of the game. We’re going to try to put it on pole again, of course, and make our lives a little bit easier for the race. If you put it on pole in Long Beach, it makes your life a lot easier.”

With no LMP2 or LMP3 cars at Long Beach, does that make it easier because you’re likely to have a better handle on the drivers in the other cars?

“That really depends because sometimes despite being the quicker car you don’t quite know if the guy has seen you and sometimes you think he hasn’t seen you and then he blocks. I think it depends on the moment you’re in the race. Sometimes in the beginning it makes no sense, you make life easy. But later in the race when GTs might be fighting for their own race and we’re trying to overtake, multi-class racing can bring you this sort of situation and you have to deal with it as you go. Sometimes you have a pretty clean race and straightforward in that regard from our side of things and sometimes you have to be a bit more on the aggressive side and make sure that you get by so you don’t get overtaken by the car behind. It’s like a chess game with the GTs while you’re trying to do your own race. In general, over the last year, we have seen quite an improvement in that area from both sides. I think the GTs are a lot better and easier to deal with because you also have the pro guys inside. Going into Long Beach, the GT cars, especially at the end of the race where the pros will be finishing the race, should be more straightforward if we cooperate with each other.”

What are your anticipations about passing for position between the GTP cars within the tight confines of Long Beach?

“There are expectations for great racing and therefore if the cars are really running close to each other, especially at a place like Long Beach, you expect to have to muscle your way around some of your competition to try and have an edge. That’s all good for the sport. Long Beach being one of our shorter races that we have all year makes for a different dynamic, so everyone coming from a long race like Sebring has to quickly switch and go for a completely different strategy in order to achieve a good result. Therefore, a little bit of argy bargy is necessary. I think tight racing and competition like that brings more fans, which is what we need, and the more we have the more success everyone will have. GTP cars are a bit bigger than DPis, so muscling your way around will be a little bit trickier than it was before.”

How does the tire situation and the short duration of the race affect the overall strategy?

“I think that depends on how the weekend evolves. It’s the kind of thing that you see as you go. If you start up front, it’s definitely going to be one way. If you’re on the back, you might want to gamble a bit. It really depends car by car as well because one car might react differently to the tires than the other depending on setup. We also have different chassis, so that has an influence. We’re still all learning the cars. There are so many things we wish we knew already, but we don’t and tire is one of them. So, we have to see as we go. I’m hoping that it’s an easy decision instead of trying to make something out of the blue. I would like for it to be a simple decision instead of a gamble.”

(Long Beach, Cal.) April 11, 2023 — The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) heads west for the first sprint event of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Settled on the streets of Long Beach, California, full season co-drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque are on a mission to stand on the top step of podium to represent Acura at their home event.

The WTRAndretti team has an impressive record around the 11-turn, 1.97-mile street course with five podiums, three victories and two pole positions. As the first two endurance events of the year are in the books, all focus for Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team switches to sprint racing and closing the 10-point championship gap.

“Starting the sprint race portion of the season is exciting,” said Ricky Taylor, 2017 Grand Prix of Long Beach winner. “We get to go to another new track with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, so it will be interesting how the new GTP cars adapt to the first street course of the year. Being the shortest race of the year, we can transition our energy from purely reliability to hopefully a bit more risk-taking for Acura’s home race in Long Beach.”

“Long Beach is a special one,” said Filipe Albuquerque, two-time winner at Grand Prix of Long Beach. “I call it the Monaco of the United States. IndyCar is there and it’s in the city, near L.A., and there is a lot of action going around that weekend – classic cars are there as well. It’s always cool to go there. This year I think that we have a shot to go for the win. Especially after the past two years, we struggled a lot of with the DPi and we knew it was not a track for us, that delta is way smaller now. Bring on Long Beach and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team is super motivated.”

“We just finished a shakedown prior to going to Long Beach,” said Wayne Taylor. “Long Beach has always been one of the hardest circuits for us. HPD has been working really hard on throttle response, traction control and things like that. The team has been working on figuring out a way how we can run over curbs, which we normally don’t do. We have seen at Long Beach though it is a must when you go through the fountain area. We have had two races so far this year and we have shown we have a dominant car. This is an Acura event, so the pressure is on. It’s the first sprint race of the season, so it’s an important one. We will do whatever it takes to try and win this race for HPD and Acura. It’s really important to them and for us in the championship.”

Practice for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach begins Friday, April 14 at 9 a.m. PT followed by qualifying for the spring race at 5:40 p.m. PT. The green flag waves for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 15 at 2:05 p.m. PT with broadcast live on USA Network and Peacock for all 100 minutes.

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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.

Pataskala, Ohio (10 April 2023) – For the first time this season Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) will have both of its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and NTT INDYCAR SERIES programs competing on the same weekend and on the same circuit.

MSR will kick off the weekend with the IMSA Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 15th with live coverage on USA Network / SiriusXM Ch. 207 starting at 5:00pm ET. Then on Sunday, MSR will close out the weekend with round 3 of the IndyCar season starting at 3:00pm ET on NBC / SiriusXM Ch. 160.

Meyer Shank Racing Ready to Tackle the Streets of Long Beach for Round 3 of IMS Competition

After running the two longest races on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) with Curb-Agajanian now sets its sights on the shortest with Saturday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun will share the No. 60 Autonation / SiriusXM Acura ARX-06 in the 100-minute sprint in America’s longest-running street race.

This will be MSR’s sixth start on the 1.968-mile circuit. Last year, Blomqvist qualified third and placed fourth in an Acura ARX-05 DPi – missing a podium finish by a mere 0.966-seconds.

Blomqvist’s only other start at Long Beach was in 2019, when he finished seventh in GTLM.

Braun is an eight-time competitor at Long Beach, winning the Prototype Challenge class in 2013 and taking third overall. He also took home a third place finish the previous year in 2012. Braun also finished a lead-lap seventh in his lone Grand-Am start at the circuit.

Braun ran in five WeatherTech Championship races, scoring three top-10 finishes. Braun’s most recent appearance was in 2021, when he was 10th in GTD.

Prior to last year, MSR’s best Long Beach finish was in 2006, when Ozz Negri and Mark Paterson co-drove a Daytona Prototype to a fifth-place finish. The team also finished sixth in 2015 with Negri and John Pew in a Honda HPD Ligier JS P2.

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach begins on Saturday at 5:05pm ET. Live television coverage will be on USA beginning at 5 p.m. ET and IMSA Radio coverage on SiriusXM Ch. 207.

IMSA Driver quotes:

Tom Blomqvist:

“Long Beach is a really cool event and it’s a track that I enjoy driving at. It’s just a cool event, especially being right downtown and seeing all of the fans.We had a good showing there last year, but it’s a new track for everyone with the GTP cars. We’re a bit unsure how we will stand, but we’ve had some good pace the first two rounds, so we’ll see what we can do on a street course.”

Colin Braun:

“I am really looking forward to the weekend. Long Beach is a unique circuit and with the prior two IMSA rounds being at very different styles of tracks, I think we are all excited to see what our Acura GTP car will do around this iconic street circuit! It is a huge home race for Acura & HPD, so the pressure will be on, but I know everyone at MSR has been working extremely hard to be prepared and put on a great show!”

MSR Looking to Continue Positive IndyCar Momentum on the Streets of Long Beach

Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) bounced back from a tough 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opener by posting a top-ten finish at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, as both AutoNation / SiriusXM drivers finished better than they started.

The Ohio-based team looks to continue its climb this weekend at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, one of the signature events of the IndyCar calendar, hosting IndyCar racing since 1984.

Both Helio Castroneves (No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) and Simon Pagenaud (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) are looking forward to making a start on the second street course of the 2023 IndyCar season. Unfortunately the St. Pete season opener ended on lap 1 for both Castroneves and Pagenaud, but both drivers and MSR feel that they have a strong street course package and are looking forward to showcasing that on Sunday.

Both the team and its drivers have earned solid results at Long Beach, with MSR carding top-10 finishes in each of the last two years, highlighted by a seventh-place run in 2021.

Both Castroneves and Pagenaud have visited Victory Lane in Long Beach, with Castroneves winning in 2011 to go with three other event podiums (2000, 2015, 2016). Pagenaud led 28 laps to win the 2016 race and also finished second in 2012.

The 85-lap Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will air on NBC on Sunday starting at 3 p.m. ET. Saturday’s qualifying will be shown live on Peacock beginning at 3:05 p.m. ET. SiriusXM will also host live IndyCar Radio coverage of both sessions on XM Ch. 160.

INDYCAR Driver Quotes:

Simon Pagenaud:

“I’m excited for Long Beach, it’s my favorite street course race and I just going to California because that is where my wife is from. We have a really good street course package in St. Pete, so I have a lot of confidence at that track. Obviously with the position that we are at right now, if I am second, I think I am going to go for first. It’s definitely going to be an exciting weekend and I am going to give it my A+ game.”

Helio Castroneves:

“Long Beach is a really great place and it’s been there for so many years. It’s probably one of the oldest street courses in the IndyCar Championship. It’s a challenging place because all street courses are different. We learned a lot from last year and I think we’re going into the weekend with confidence. Now let’s make things happen with the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM car!”