Category: IMSA

The No. 99 GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R Improved Seven Positions In the Sprint Race on the Famed Street Circuit

LONG BEACH, California (April 9, 2022) – Hardpoint improved seven positions from start to finish of the short IMSA WeatherTech Championship Sprint Cup race on Saturday on the streets of Long Beach to take home a seventh-place finish. Rob Ferriol started the race before passing off to Katherine Legge with just over an hour to go in the 100-minute sprint at the Long Beach Grand Prix.

No. 99 GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R Event Notebook

• Hardpoint began Saturday’s Long Beach race 14th on the GT Daytona (GTD) class grid with Ferriol behind the wheel. The race distance was just 100 minutes, more than an hour shorter than the typical sprint race distance of two hours, 45 minutes on the WeatherTech Championship schedule.
• Despite the time crunch, the team was able to make up seven positions during the race. The seven positions were second most of any team in the race, regardless of class.
• The positions gained also came despite contact from a DPi-class car, which made contact with the front right of the Porsche midway through Ferriol’s stint. The contact changed the handling of the car during Legge’s run and put her in survival mode through the finish of the race.
• With the finish, Legge and Ferriol unofficially sit seventh in IMSA’s Sprint Cup championship standings.
• Hardpoint returns to action at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, April 29 – May 1. In addition to the GTD car driven by Ferriol and Legge, it will mark the return of Hardpoint’s IMSA Michlelin Pilot Challenge GS-class car, the No. 22 Racing To End Alzheimer’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport driven by Nick Galante and Sean McAllister.

Hardpoint Quote Board

Rob Ferriol, Owner and Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: “We know coming to Long Beach, we’re coming for a street fight. It’s a street race and there’s no margin for error. We had a good car, I think we were one of the better Porsches. We had some contact with one of the prototypes coming through, which adjusted the handling a little bit. We stayed in it, Katherine got in and picked up a few more positions. We fought all the way to the end with a bit of a compromised car, picked up seven spots, and we’ll take that. We’ll learn some lessons and get ready for Laguna.”

Katherine Legge, Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: “The team did a great job. We had a great pit stop and they executed perfectly. Unfortunately, we had a small issue from Rob getting hit. Rob and I were really just trying to keep it off the walls and finish the race, which is more than some others did. I think all in all it was a good result. We managed to keep it together and the team took a step forward. There are a lot of positives to take from a difficult race.”

About Hardpoint:
Hardpoint was founded by Rob Ferriol in 2018 with the vision of combining his experience as a successful entrepreneur with his passion for racing. Headquartered at VIRginia International Raceway, the team captured the 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro-Am championship in its inaugural season and competes full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in the No. 99 GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R with co-drivers Ferriol and Katherine Legge, joined by Stefan Wilson for Michelin Endurance Cup races. In 2022, Hardpoint has added the No. 22 Racing To End Alzheimer’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport driven by Nick Galante and Sean McAllister in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS). More information on Hardpoint can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Cadillac sweeps front row in qualifying for second race in a row
Bourdais records track record in the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 8, 2022) – For the second consecutive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, Cadillac swept the front row in qualifying.

For the second race in a row, Sebastien Bourdais earned the pole award in the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R. For the second race in a row, Bourdais set the DPi track qualifying lap record.

“Now all we have to do is put it all together over 100 minutes,” said Bourdais of the April 9 race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in downtown Long Beach.

A Cadillac DPi has won every race at Long Beach dating to the inception of the class in 2017 (there was no race in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), and last year the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R won from the pole to lead a Cadillac sweep of the top three finishers.

Bourdais drove the No. 01 Cadillac to a best lap of 1 minute, 9.472 seconds in the 15-minute session with a late-afternoon ambient temperature of 92 degrees. The previous qualifying lap record was 1:11.322, set in 2019. He also set the DPi track qualifying record for the 12-hour race on the Sebring International Raceway road course last month in claiming the pole start.

“That 01 Cadillac has been awesome to drive,” said Bourdais, who topped the practice time chart with a lap of 1:10.913 earlier in the day. “I just basically had to hit the potential of the car and get quite a good margin on the field. That was a great feeling. It’s testament to the team’s ability to give us some really fast race cars.”

Alex Lynn, driving the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R that won the Sebring race, will join his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate on the front row. He recorded a best lap of 1:09.833.

Pipo Derani, who co-drove to victory in 2021 at Long Beach, posted a best lap of 1:10.001 and will start fourth. Tristan Vautier, who co-drove the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R to a runner-up finish at Sebring, will start fifth after a best lap of 1:10.376.

USA Network will telecast the race at 5 p.m. ET April 9. Peacock will also stream the race live, and IMSA Radio will have the broadcast.

An interview with DPi pole winner Sebastien Bourdais (No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R):

TALK ABOUT HOW QUALIFYING DIFFERS IN A 12- OR 24-HOUR RACE BUT HOW MUCH IT MATTERS HERE.
“When you have 24 or 12 hours of racing, it seems a little futile. We have a 100-minute race with a busy field and a one-stopper, with difficulty to pass unless you get caught in traffic or make a mistake. It’s quite important and we’ve teed ourselves up for the best possible situation and scenario, but there’s still 100 minutes of racing to go and we’ve proved we don’t need 100 minutes to lose it. Let’s hope that we won’t do that tomorrow.”

TELL US WHAT IT TOOK TO MAKE IT HAPPEN TODAY AND WHAT IT WILL TAKE TOMORROW.
“I took a really good lap. I was really happy, and thanks to the boys at Chip Ganassi Racing. That 01 Cadillac has been awesome to drive. I just basically had to hit the potential of the car and get quite a good margin on the field. That was a great feeling. It’s testament to the team’s ability to give us some really fast race cars. I’m just looking forward to a different outcome because we’ve kind of shot ourselves in the foot quite a bit with mechanical issues – nothing to do with Cadillac but just kind of issues on our end. I’m really looking forward to picking up our game and put an event together, and I’m hoping it’s going to happen tomorrow.”

NEARLY TWO SECONDS UNDER THE TRACK RECORD, WHERE DID THE TIME COME FROM?
“It’s not like INDYCAR where you have a street course, road course, oval tire. Really, we’re running a road course tire on the street course. It’s a harder tire than it could be for places like this and the unusual high temperatures helped get the tires in that window for the car. The grip was amazing. Michelin has some really stable tires.”

IT WILL BE MUCH COOLER TOMORROW. HOW WILL THAT PLAY OUT?
“Back to normal. That’s the tough part. I think it really helped rubber up the track, and you can produce some really fast early lap times. From there, what happens I don’t think anybody really knows. I think, overall, I’m not super worried. I think it will just be easier on the rear tires. We have the bars in the car, we can change tire pressures for the second stint. It’s all about managing traffic, making sure you don’t get caught out in the big groups of GTs that are going to be around because it’s going to be 20 GTs nose to tail for the opening stint.”

Cadillac Racing lineup, starting position and notes:

No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais
Bourdais drove in the qualifying session (start first, 1:45.166). Bourdais has earned the pole award at the two most recent races. Bourdais is a three-time winner at Long Beach in Indy car competition. … Van der Zande teamed with Kevin Magnussen to finish second in the 2021 race at Long Beach in the first season for the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R.
Car chief-Phil Binks
Lead engineer-John Hennek
Race strategist-Peter Baron

No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn
Lynn drove in the qualifying session (start second, 1:09.833). The 02 Cadillac DPi-V.R won the race at Sebring after starting fourth. … First-year team in expanded Cadillac Racing entry for Chip Ganassi Racing. … … Bamber salutes his home country with a silver fern design on the sides of his helmet — a quasi-national emblem used for various official New Zealand symbols.
Car chief-Jamie Coates
Lead engineer-Danielle Shephard
Race strategist-Michael Harvey

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)
Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez
Derani drove in the qualifying session (start fourth, 1:10.001): “We have a good car and we decided to kind of abort qualifying to have some tires for the race, and unfortunately the lap I did wasn’t enough and almost all the guys improved. I think they put up an amazing lap at the end. It’s one of those question marks; had I stayed a couple more laps could I have gone quicker? I believe so because the car has been so good. I think we missed an opportunity and we thought what we had was good enough because we never saw those kind of laps here. We have a good race pace and we’ll attack tomorrow.”

The No. 31 Cadillac DPi-V.R started from the pole and went on to win the 2021 race on the street circuit with Derani co-driving with Felipe Nasr. The team is coming off a third-place finish at Sebring. It opened the season with a fourth place at Daytona. … Derani and Nasr were the 2021 IMSA DPi Driver Champions and Whelen Engineering/Action Express Racing was the Team Champion.
Car chief-Bill Keuler
Technical director/lead engineer-Iain Watt
Race strategist-Tim Keene

No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (JDC-Miller MotorSports)
Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook
Vautier drove in the qualifying session (start fifth, 1:10.376): “The car doesn’t feel bad, but we’re lacking pace to the 01 and 02 cars. We made some changes (after practice) for qualifying that made the car feel better that I think will give us a better race car for tomorrow.”

The No 5 Cadillac DPi-V.R enters the race weekend as the DPi championship points leader after third- and second-place finishes to start the season. … Vautier teamed with 2022 endurance event driver Loic Duval to place third in the 2021 Long Beach race. … The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R won the 2018 and 2019 race at Long Beach.
Car chief-Josh Kerrigan
Lead engineer-Rick Cameron
Race strategist-John Church
Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R Long Beach results 2021-2017

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

About Cadillac
A leading luxury auto brand since 1902, Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio that features distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac’s media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.

Fourth Annual HSR Spring Fling at Sebring International Raceway, April 6 – 8, First Race Since IMSA Acquisition of HSR in January

SEBRING, Florida (April 5, 2022) – Less than three weeks after the checkered flag waved on the blockbuster 70th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, IMSA makes somewhat of a return visit to Sebring International Raceway this week for the season-opening Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Spring Fling, April 6 – 8.

The season-opening HSR race for the fourth-straight year, the 2022 Spring Fling follows the announcement during January’s 60th Rolex 24 At Daytona that IMSA acquired HSR. The HSR Spring Fling marks the debut race under the new ownership of what can now truly be described as IMSA’s newest series featuring its oldest racing machines.

While HSR is now the eighth racing series under the IMSA umbrella, no present plans are in place to change HSR’s current racing operations, management group and race-weekend staff. HSR President David Hinton and a familiar team of established and dedicated personnel remain at the center of HSR’s day-to-day and race weekend operations.

Dedicated to historic and vintage motorsport competition, HSR offers a variety of classes and run groups for sports cars and other road racing machines from the last 65 years and beyond. The new IMSA ownership solidifies what has already been a strong relationship with HSR. Since 2015, IMSA has been the presenting sponsor of HSR’s premier Classic Daytona 24 Hour race, and dozens of teams and drivers regularly compete in ex-IMSA race cars on any given HSR race weekend.

One notable entry this week at the Spring Fling that was a winning part of IMSA’s revered and original GTP era is the Rogers Motorsports 1985 No. 44 Group 44 Jaguar XJR-7 (pictured at top).

Chassis No. 001, the XJR7 debuted at the 1985 IMSA Camel GT Daytona 3-Hour Finale where Group 44 fielded both its first XJR7 and a previous generation XJR5. The 001 Jaguar’s finest moment came less than two years later when Hurley Haywood and John Morton drove the V12-powered XJR7 to victory in the 1987 Grand Prix of Palm Beach. The Jaguar made its final race start in its prime in the 1988 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and current owner Jim Rogers purchased the XJR7 in the early 1990s. Doug Smith, a multiple HSR Classic Daytona race winner, is Rogers’ go-to driver of choice for the Jaguar and once again takes to the wheel at the Spring Fling.

The 2022 HSR Spring Fling at Sebring returns with the same Wednesday through Friday weekday event format that proved popular with competitors and race fans alike last year. The schedule includes the first 2022 rounds of the B.R.M. Chronographes Endurance Challenge in a special Friday doubleheader. The one hour Vintage and GT Classic (GTC) B.R.M. Endurance Challenge kicks Friday’s schedule off at 8 a.m. EDT. The opening race will be followed by the Historic, Prototype and GT Modern (GTM) 60-minute endurance challenge that afternoon at 12:45 p.m. EDT.

The WeatherTech Sprint Series is another primary part of the packed HSR Spring Fling schedule with the usual doubleheader race lineup bolstered by a third bonus race Friday. After Thursday’s first round of WeatherTech Sprints, two more races will be run for all Groups on Friday morning and later that afternoon.

Thursday’s schedule features qualifying all morning with that afternoon’s opening round of WeatherTech Sprints setting the stage for the week’s first feature races. The season-opening HSR Sasco Sports International/American Challenge race starts Thursday at 4 p.m. EDT and will be followed by the first HSR Stoner Car Care Global GT race of the season at 4:30 p.m. EDT.

A full day of testing for all Run Groups kicks the 2022 Spring Fling off Wednesday and will be followed by a meet-and-greet with IMSA President John Doonan at the Sebring International Raceway Legends Building at 5:30 p.m. EDT. Open to all members of the HSR community, the casual mixer is a way for HSR members and competitors to get to know Doonan and IMSA a little better after January’s announcement.

Soon after the acquisition, Doonan and Hinton met at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA), which is located across the street from IMSA headquarters in Daytona Beach. There Doonan and Hinton filmed a brief video (below) to share information on the new partnership and address some of the questions HSR competitors and race fans alike have raised.
IMSA and HSR merger update for the upcoming 2022 season
Spectator tickets for the HSR Spring Fling are available exclusively at Sebring International Raceway beginning at 9 a.m. EDT this Wednesday, April 6.

About HSR: Now an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) property, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the race cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/ and on Twitter and Instagram at @HSR_race. A dedicated website for the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA is available at www.Classic24hour.com.

• New TPC Racing and Alegra Motorsports Collaboration for de Quesada’s First Porsche GT3 Cup Season in Five Years
• De Quesada, TPC and Alegra on Carrera Cup Top-10 Qualifying and Race Pace at Sebring in No. 22 Alegra Motorsports/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 992

SEBRING, Florida (March 22, 2022) – TPC Racing moved its new partnership with Carlos de Quesada and Alegra Motorsports off to a competitive and productive start last week at Sebring International Raceway in the season-opening races for the IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands. The same-day Carrera Cup doubleheader was one of several support series races for Saturday’s milestone 70th Anniversary running of the 12 Hours of Sebring but also marked a significant return for de Quesada.

A veteran Porsche GT3 Cup series competitor and two-time Rolex 24 at Daytona winning driver and car owner, de Quesada made his first race start in five years at Sebring in the No. 22 Alegra Motorsports/TPC Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 992. The last time de Quesada raced in competition, he came home a winner in the GTD class as one of five drivers in his Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R at the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

“It’s been a long time since I have been in a proper race car like this,” de Quesada said. “I kept my expectations low, I had back surgery five years ago, and it has been that long since I have raced at this level. I am just trying to get back in shape, and I felt like now was a good time to try it out and see how I did.”

Alegra currently campaigns a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD division. Not wanting to detract from that program, de Quesada contacted longtime friends and competitors TPC Racing to discuss a partnership in Carrera Cup this year.

“It’s such a perfect fit,” said Harris Levitas, TPC Racing Director of Race Operations. “The collaboration between Alegra Motorsports and TPC Racing came about when Carlos purchased his 992 GT3 Cup. His team is really focused on a top finish in GTD in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship with their Mercedes-AMG GT3, so, I spoke with Alegra Team Manager Tony Ditto – and Carlos too – about what we could do to work together. The goal is to keep Alegra from being so stressed on a race weekend, and we came up with the solution of TPC operating the car for Carlos and Alegra to keep their team free to focus on GTD. Carlos has always been such a great friend to our family, and it was a great time being back with him last week.”

Despite a late start to the partnership that didn’t allow for testing, the No. 22 Porsche was quick off the trailer with de Quesada at the wheel. He qualified ninth in the competitive Pro-Am field and held station in the class top-10 from the drop of the green flag in last Thursday’s first 40-minute sprint. De Quesada climbed to as high as eighth in the late stages of the race, but the fast pace and high track temperatures led to a worn rear tire that saw the No. 22 drop out of the top-10 at the finish.

De Quesada had a great start in that afternoon’s second and final race only to be unintentionally spun out by another competitor on the opening lap. Quickly recovering, de Quesada continued in last place on track and began picking off as many positions as he could before the checkered flag flew. The end results of the weekend were a pair of 13th place Pro-Am finishes in both races.

“My goal was to improve every session I went out,” de Quesada said. “I didn’t do any testing before coming to Sebring, but I still improved every lap. I am happy with my results so far in this first race, and I am just going to come back harder and more competitive. So, step by step.”

Levitas and the TPC crew were also encouraged by the positives from their first weekend of competition with de Quesada and Alegra.

“We have only had just over two days on track here and about an hour before arriving in Sebring,” Levitas said. “So, for Carlos to come in and start his first GT3 Cup races in five years and be competitive right off the bat was great. He has been doing a lot of historic racing the last few years, but he has been having so much fun getting back in this competition. The Carrera Cup has already shown so much growth and it is a great series.”

The Type 992 – the latest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car – impressed de Quesada.

“It’s just better grip overall,” de Quesada said. “I felt like the brakes are just absolutely amazing. I was able to just go in really deep and stand on them, and it would stop the car and allow me to turn in. And just very impressive with the aero. It felt like more grip around the turns. The car is phenomenal, very well built, a very sturdy car.”

The No. 22 team’s exact schedule of 2022 Carrera Cup races will be determined in the coming months, but the next chapter in a great relationship between TPC and Alegra is off to a good start.

“There have been so many battles between TPC and Alegra over the years,” Levitas said. “My father, Michael Levitas, called to congratulate Carlos when Alegra won its first Rolex 24 in 2007 because we had won the GT class with TPC a year earlier. We all have been friends ever since and I just can’t thank Carlos and Alegra enough for trusting us to do this and having him with us.”

About TPC Racing: TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sportscars. TPC Racing specializes in R&D and sales of high-performance modifications for Porsche sports cars and race cars, offering a wide range of vehicle upgrades. Best known for a line of forced induction solutions for the Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster, a long-time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled TPC Racing to become experts in Porsche service, tuning, and racing. In 2000, TPC Racing began entering races under its own banner, scoring an SGS-class Championship in 2004 in the Grand-American Rolex Series and was a class winner in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and captured the 2013 and 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup Championships. More information can be found at www.TPCRacing.com.

SEBRING, Fla., (March 20, 2022) – Era Motorsport returned to the podium at Sebring International Raceway for the second consecutive year on Saturday evening, braving hot temperatures to finish third place at the always challenging Twelve Hours of Sebring. Drivers Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, and Kyle Tilley raced all twelve hours of the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship without air conditioning in the No. 18 Oreca, surviving a calamity-filled race to earn their first podium of the 2022 season.

Dwight Merriman qualified the No. 18 Oreca on Friday morning, putting in a quality performance to set the team up to start in third position for race day. The field took the green flag under muggy, overcast conditions, which quickly burned away by late morning to allow the sun to bake the Sebring, Florida circuit. Temperatures climbed to a high of 92 degrees, the highest of the weekend.

The team’s first instance of attrition started almost immediately when the No. 18 Oreca’s air conditioning failed to work. Merriman, Dalziel, and Tilley drove the entire Twelve Hour race with no cooling system at one of the most difficult circuits on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Calendar. Despite the hardship, the team put in a good performance, beginning with a double stint from Merriman. He had a strong chance with the No. 81 Oreca, challenging his LMP2 competitor for second place. He pitted in fourth with 80 laps complete, passing the driving duties to Dalziel.

From there, the trio rotated through, with the engineers and strategists in pit lane expertly keeping the car in the top five positions in the LMP2 class, working cautions to the team’s best advantage. The No. 18 Era Motorsport Oreca proved to be tough competition in the tight field, consistently closing in on the cars ahead, gaining time with each lap.

Dusk provided a welcome respite for the team, allowing temperatures and humidity to cool down over the circuit. The No. 18 Oreca climbed to second place in the final hours, but a punctured tire forced Ryan Dalziel to make an unscheduled stop, dropping the team back to fifth place. Never giving up, the Indianapolis-based group persisted, with Dalziel and Tilley trading turns, each doing their best to gain back lost ground. In the final 30 minutes, Dalziel captured third position, and held it to the checkered flag, bringing home a much-needed podium after a difficult day.

Era’s IMSA WeatherTech program resumes April 29 to May 1 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The race will be the team’s first sprint event of the 2022 season, racing for two hours, forty minutes through the rolling hills of Monterey. Merriman and Dalziel will race together, with Tilley, the team’s endurance driver not returning to the car until June’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen International in New York. For schedule information, visit imsa.com.

DRIVER QUOTES
Dwight Merriman
Four hours into the race, we were fighting well for second or first place. But as happens in endurance racing to everyone sooner or later, we then had several random issues, one, for example, being a puncture, and little luck on the timing of cautions to mitigate. This all added up. I really admire the team’s tenacity as we fought back to a podium spot with focus, execution, and good strategy.

Ryan Dalziel
This was physically one of the toughest races I’ve done in a long time. After my first double stint, and I knew I had three more doubles to do, I was fairly concerned that we weren’t going to be able to last the whole race. Thankfully once the humidity dropped, it got better as the race went on. We would have been closer to the leaders if it weren’t for our puncture when we were running in second on the lead lap. That set us back and left us hoping for a yellow we didn’t get. It was a good rebound from a bad Daytona. Flawless job from everyone on the team and my teammates. It was a good points day, and on to the next one.

Kyle Tilley
Because of the heat alone, this was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done. I think the temperatures were floating around 90 degrees Celsius inside the car. It was relatively miserable in the car. We had a puncture for Ryan, which was unfortunate and took us out of contention to win the thing. We think we cracked an exhaust header as well, so we were possibly down on power a bit from where we should have been. After all of that, this one feels like a win.

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About Era Motorsport
Era Motorsport was formed in 2018 with the idea of providing unmatched excellence in historic racing. Just two years later, the team expanded to the world of professional sports car racing, fielding an Oreca 07 in the prolific IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2021, the team went on to win at the iconic Rolex 24 At Daytona, in what was their second attempt competing in the event. Motorsport isn’t just a hobby, it is a way of life: a passion that is in the team’s blood. Whether you find us in the IMSA WeatherTech paddock with modern prototypes or chasing down lap records in our fully restored classic sports cars, or even globetrotting to experience historic F1 at some of the world’s most iconic circuits, Era Motorsport has something for everyone. In 2021, the team secured a prestigious victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and also became class champions in the Asian Le Mans Series.

SEBRING, Fla., (March 20, 2022) – The Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday was a character-building race for Wright Motorsports. The Ohio-based team managed to rebound from an early-race setback to earn a top-ten finish in the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R. After twelve punishing hours at the Sebring, Florida raceway, drivers Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen, and Zacharie Robichon brought the car home in tenth-place.

“Today was a hard race for our team, but the attitude of everyone on this organization shows what a quality group we have,” said Team Owner John Wright. “No matter how perfect you prepare or execute, things still happen that are out of your control. Everyone on our team immediately pulled together and got to work, never uttering a complaint. We got to work right away and never gave up on gaining back our lost ground. I’m proud of each and every one of them. The Porsche is a great machine that had the speed, and luck just wasn’t on our side today.”

Wright Motorsports entered the Twelve Hours of Sebring race week with high energy and high hopes, eager to keep the momentum gained from the team’s Rolex 24 At Daytona race win in January. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD points leaders looked strong in each of the four practice sessions, and the consistent performance carried over into the qualifying session. After an impressive qualifying display on Friday morning, Zacharie Robichon and the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche earned a first-place starting position for Saturday’s big race.

Less than 15 minutes after taking the green flag on Saturday morning, Robichon radioed to the team that something was wrong while running in second place. Less than a handful of laps later the issue in the left rear corner of the car revealed itself, and the car temporarily left the competition to undergo repairs in the garage.

After expert services from the crew, the No. 16 1st Phorm Porsche returned to the fight about 40 minutes later, running 18 laps down. Robichon stayed behind the wheel to finish his stint, and then Ryan Hardwick took over for the next run, joining the race in 16th position. Echoing his co-driver’s thoughts, Hardwick said the current setup was challenging, using his analysis of the car to provide the engineers in the pit box with insight for the next set of changes in future pit stops. Jan Heylen took command of the Porsche in the fourth hour, taking advantage of the first full-course caution to receive a pass around procedure and regain a lost lap back.

The afternoon hours continued on as temperatures continued to climb, reaching a peak of 92 degrees Fahrenheit. With each stop, the engineers in the pit box used driver feedback to perfect the car’s setup, allowing them to put in consistent lap times and focus forward. As the race progressed, the majority of the field had one issue or another, bringing out a series of full-course cautions and race retirements. After the early race setback, the Wright Motorsports team enjoyed a relatively clean and drama-free run, utilizing each full-course caution to play the strategy and gain back a lost lap to climb back up through the field.

Around the halfway point, the team cracked back into the top ten in the GTD class, gaining back four of the 18 lost laps. In the end, the team’s rebound brought them a tenth-place result, holding third in the GTD championship standings leaving the second round. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next competes at the Long Beach Grand Prix street circuit in California, April 9. The one-hour, forty-minute event will be the first sprint race of the 2022 season and will host only three of the five WeatherTech classes. For more information, visit wrightmotorsports.com.

Ryan Hardwick
I’ve often heard that championships are won on your bad days. Well, our team finally had one of those days today at Sebring. The mechanical issue we had at the onset of the race was unfortunate, but our team never lost faith and they never backed down. Thanks to our dedicated team of mechanics we got our car back on track in quick order and clawed our way back into the top 10 by the end of the race. We are leaving Sebring sitting in the top three in overall championship points, and we will take that. I’m looking forward to getting the sprint races started with Jan and the team in a few weeks in Long Beach!

Jan Heylen
It was not the day we were hoping for, but there’s days like this in racing. It doesn’t make it any easier though. It takes so much preparation to come here and so much time and effort from everyone involved in our team. To be out of the race on lap four is tough, but we had a good comeback. The guys did an amazing job replacing a differential in such a short amount of time. To come back in tenth place is still good points for the championship. Races like this win or lose a championship, and it was an amazing team effort to come back from where we were to tenth place. A big thank you to all the team and I’m looking forward to Long Beach for some redemption.

Zacharie Robichon
It was not where we wanted to finish. Considering it was such a tremendous team effort, to still be able to finish in the top ten after missing the entire first hour is such a testament to the team. It was one of those things that is just a freak incident. Who knows what caused it and what we could have done. The team diagnosed it and got the car fixed. We lost some laps, but we never gave up. We had eleven hours to show our grit and determination and that’s what we did. We came back from sixteenth to tenth and it showed our team effort. Winning is easy but losing is much harder. We showed we can make the most of when we’re on our back foot, and ultimately, that’s what can win the team a championship.

Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands
The Wright Motorsports Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands effort kicked off the season at Sebring International Raceway this weekend, with Varun Choksey, Hutton McKenna, and John Goetz driving. The trio raced in a pair of 40-minute races in support of the WeatherTech series. Goetz earned Wright Motorsports the first Cup podium of the year, finishing in third-place in race two. Choksey had a positive Wright debut, finishing seventh in his second race. McKenna also put in a strong effort over the weekend, finishing 13th in the competitive Pro class. The next race event for the Porsche Carrera Cup will be the Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 6-9.

1st Phorm
1st Phorm is a sports nutrition company based in St. Louis, MO. In 2009, CEO Andy Frisella and his business partner Chris Klein started the brand, and since then, it has become the fastest growing supplement company in the world. 1st Phorm has set the standards in the industry for quality and helping people reach their goals. This new racing partnership is not their first time in the exotic car scene either. 1st Phorm has been the title sponsor for the Gold Rush Rally for six years running. With over a million followers across social media, 1st Phorm has amassed a huge cult-like following known as, “The Legion of Boom.” They stand for a movement in the fitness world. To turn it back to what it was meant to be. Helping others improve their lives, to be a good human… and to drop the excuses and do the work. 1st Phorm is a winning brand and they don’t expect anything less when it comes to their race team. For additional info: www.1stphorm.com

Mountain Motorsports
Mountain Motorsports is a group of motorcycle and powersports dealerships with multiple locations in the southeastern United States. The company was founded by lifelong friends Ryan Hardwick and Justin Price when they opened their first location as a single-line Honda dealership in Sevierville, Tennessee in 1999. The company has since grown into one of the largest retailers of motorcycle and powersports vehicles in the nation, spanning nine dealership locations representing eleven of the industry’s most well-known brands. For additional info: www.mountainmotorsports.com

Una Vida Tequila
Una Vida translates to One Life. That is how this brand started. By people who want to live their “One Life” to the absolute fullest and to their highest potential. A group of guys from the Midwest who love great quality tequila, and want their One Life to have meaning and impact others.

One Life, One Tequila is our CORE BELIEF. We’re building the only tequila brand you will ever need to drink. Una Vida is bigger than just tequila we’re also building a culture of people who want to live their life to their utmost potential.

Our story begins and continues to grow bottle by bottle. It’s a life mission for us to create a community of people who all raise a glass knowing they’re living their ONE LIFE! For more information, visit unavidatequila.com

Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series and international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy, and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013, and 2015, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team, and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. In 2020, the team captured the GT World Challenge America Am championship. In 2021, Wright Motorsports had a wildly successful season, capturing nine championships across their five racing efforts.

Sebring, Fla. (March 19, 2022) — The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 finished fourth in the 70th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts tonight. After dedicated, complimentary drives by teammates Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens, the No. 10 Konica Minolta squad remains second in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi standings with 665 points, having reduced the gap to the leaders down to 11 points.

Ricky Taylor started the race cleanly, avoiding drama and maintaining third position. He executed a triple stint and took second place before handing the car to teammate Will Stevens. The heat was a continued challenge as the race progressed into the afternoon hours where the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 fell to sixth position. At the fifth hour, Filipe Albuquerque made an exciting move on the sister No. 60 Acura car and proceeded to chase down the Cadillacs ahead.

It was déjà vu at the halfway point, with Ricky Taylor at the wheel running in third position, mirroring the start of the race. With a pair of long cautions to start the second half of the race, Ricky Taylor took the No. 10 Acura to the front for the remainder of his stint. Will Stevens took another turn behind the wheel and maintained the lead into the seventh hour, but a pit lane violation after a later pit stop resulted in a drive through penalty, relegating him to the back of the field.

After another stint from Filipe Albuquerque, who handled the crucial day-to-night transition, Ricky Taylor climbed aboard for the sprint to the finish. Making qualifying lap after qualifying lap look effortless, Ricky did what he does best, clawing his way back to fourth position with 20 minutes remaining. He set his sights on the podium with the bit between his teeth. Despite a valiant effort, the team ultimately finished fourth.

“I’ve competed in the Twelve Hours of Sebring eight times,” said Ricky Taylor. “I’ve only been on the podium once. You either win, or you have a messy day. It’s so difficult, this race. You have to do every little thing right. I’m really proud of all the Konica Minolta guys and they gave us an amazing Acura all day. All the pit strategy was perfect. I can’t believe we got set back two-thirds of the way through and then, with 53 cars on track, we didn’t get a single yellow to bunch us back up. I feel like, if we could have bunched back up and had a shot to fight, we would have given it our all and perhaps put ourselves on the podium. Hats off to Ganassi. They were the class of the field today. I don’t know if we had enough for them, but we were fighting for really good points today and the car was really strong at the end when we wanted it to be. We’ve got little things to improve, but overall it’s a big positive.”

“Today we had ups and downs,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “We managed to, at one point, lead the race, but a penalty threw us a bit off. But then again, we were relaxed because there is always a yellow towards the end of the race. Yet, today was the record for the least amount of yellows at Sebring, and it was insane to go five hours without a yellow. That killed our chance to get back in the game, but the team did a great job. In the end, Ricky did an amazing job at that final push to get that position from the other Acura. That was amazing. It is what it is, but we’ll keep fighting for the rest of the championship.

“Obviously, the result, coming from where we were, seems good,” said Will Stevens. “Filipe and Ricky did a really good job at the end to bring the gap back down, but we came here to get a win and it’s disappointing to not do that. It’s a damage limitation race, for sure. We were in a good position. Some mistakes out there that cost us a lot of time, but we keep focused, we keep pushing and we’ll move on to the next one.”

“First off, thank you to Konica Minolta, HPD, Acura, Harrison Contracting and CIT for their continued support,” said Team Owner Wayne Taylor. “I’m extremely disappointed that we finished fourth because we should have won this race. There was a mistake made that was impossible to believe, but it was done. We were down a minute and thirty seconds, and Ricky ended the race 23 seconds behind. Congratulations to Cadillac 1-2-3, we knew that they had a good car. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team did an outstanding job, the drivers, engineers and crew. Everything is good, but fourth is not good enough.”

Friday, April 8th will mark the start of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend with Practice 1 at 12:15 a.m. ET. Green flag for the 2-hour sprint waves at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 9th. Full coverage can be streamed on Peacock with network coverage on USA.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future. 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 recently 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 fourteen consecutive years, and 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. 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-05 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting, Acura Motorsports, Hammer Nutrition and CIT.