Category: IMSA

Milner, Tandy team for hard-fought GTLM win; Taylor, Garcia take second in No. 3 C8.R

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 12, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy took a hard-earned victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) category Sunday with their second win of the season in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

The duo scored a one-lap victory – their first full-points win of the year – at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for Corvette Racing’s first triumph there since 2014. It came as the program marked 23 consecutive years of racing on the Monterey Peninsula.

GTLM Drivers Championship leaders Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor placed second in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette as the pair of mid-engine C8.Rs combined to lead every lap Sunday.

Milner and Tandy won a non-points race earlier this year at Detroit, and the No. 4 Corvette also won a 100-minute qualifying race ahead of the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. Sunday was a break-through for the pairing in scoring maximum race points.

Milner started second in class and drove the first 58 minutes of the two-hour, 40-minute race before handing over to Tandy, who drove a double-stint to the end. He finished a lap clear of the sister Corvette as each car in the category made two stops due to a two-hour, 26-minute, green-flag run to the finish.

Taylor led for the entirety of his stint to open things in the No. 3 Corvette, which was the first of the C8.Rs to stop at the 51-minute mark. He handed off to Garcia, equipped with a full tank of fuel and fresh Michelin tires. Milner followed suit a couple of laps later, and Tandy set off in hot pursuit of the No. 3 C8.R.

He and Garcia engaged in a spirited battle with the two exchanging fastest GTLM race laps multiple times. Tandy, who set a GTLM track record at 1:21.827 (98.461 mph), got alongside his teammate at one point and inherited the lead for good when Garcia made his final stop with 49 minutes left.

The No. 4 Corvette came in a lap later and came out just ahead of Garcia, despite a trip through the gravel along Laguna Seca’s winding pitlane exit. Undeterred, Tandy slowly but steadily built a gap over Garcia to the end of the race.

Corvette Racing returns to action at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, Sept. 25.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “For us on the 4 car side, it feels like we have a monkey off our back a little bit with getting a full race win. We’ve had really fast Corvettes all year long, even last year with Olly (Gavin). For one reason or another, we couldn’t put it together – problems here and there, driver mistakes, problems on the pit stops, whatever it was. We’d have fast race cars but one little thing would trip us up. When you’re racing against guys like our teammates Jordan and Antonio… those guys are obviously on their game. Credit to those guys. They’ve done a phenomenal job for the last year-and-a-half and perfect pretty much all the time. It feels great today to get that win. We had a little issue with the car that felt like déjà vu as usual with something going wrong. Fortunately it didn’t put an end to our race and we were able to finish it out on top.”

WHAT WAS THE ISSUE WITH THE CAR? DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAD THE MEASURE OVER THE 3 CORVETTE? “It looked good at the start. The car felt really good, the balance was great and pace was good. We had talked about splitting strategies between the two cars. Whoever was out front would do a three-stop and whoever was next would do a two-stop. I was just saving tires and fuel as best I could and wait for the opportunity for the 3 car to pit, then use everything left in fuel and tires before we stopped and hopefully have an advantage. The yellow kind of put an end to multiple strategies there. Still, saving tires helped me quite a bit in the first stint. Because the car was as good as it was, we were able to save tires… we weren’t driving it absolutely for every last little bit possible and killing the tires. This track is so tough on tires that you have to be nice to them to have good ones at the end.

“The problem we had, maybe I’m making a bigger deal out of it than it actually was because in the end it didn’t affect our race. It was an alternator issue. It was still functioning but it wasn’t functioning as well as it should. There was some concern for a little bit and it was a little hot in there for a little while. But in the end, everything was OK and the team was happy with the state it was in. When you hear that radio transmission, your first thought – especially for us – was here we go again. That wasn’t the case today.

“The Corvette was fantastic. The balance lately has been good. Here again today it was really good. It was great to finally show a result for all the hard work that all the crew guys have put in for so long. They deserve a lot of credit. They’re here first at the track and leave last. Those guys want to win just as much as we do. It’s frustrating for them to have little issues and not get a result. So I’m happy for Nick and myself, but most of all I’m happy for the crew guys on the 4 Corvette who have soldiered through quite a bit over the last year or two with these new cars and getting the result they deserve.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “I’ll echo a lot of what Tommy said. My first year with Corvette Racing has been such a kind of mixed set of emotions. The car is great. It’s great working with this team in a superb atmosphere with guys that know exactly what they are doing. We were just kind of missing that final result. We had the win at Detroit, which I’ll always count as a bona-fide win, but we haven’t had a points-paying win. It was getting a little bit long in the tooth. Going to all these races, running well and up front, we just weren’t winning races… it was similar the last time out at Le Mans. It’s great to get that slate wiped and know that we still have three more races this year. We’ve got momentum. The car was fantastic all weekend. It gives me hope and looks good for the rest of the season. It’s been such an emotional roller-coaster. A lot of the time, you think you put the work in and you just see the result just in front of you but it just doesn’t get there. To finally get there and stand on the top step with my buddy, it feels good. We want to do it three more this year.”

THE LAST PIT STOP: “When you’re racing guys like Jordan and Antonio in the 3 Corvette, you’ve got to be on your game and you can’t afford to give away any time. The problem is that the previous stint I exited the pit and braked way too early (before returning to the track) and thought I’d given up too much time. Knowing it was going to be close on where we were going to come out on the last stop, I braked a little later – not by much! – but she didn’t want to stop. The front wheel locked and took a little trip across the gravel. I managed to get back into the pit exit before blending on the track. There was no real harm done. We gave up a little bit of time but we still managed to stay in front.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTLM: “It was good for a 1-2 finish for Corvette and that we could cover the Porsche on any possible strategy. Having such a clean race with just one yellow made things a tiny bit easier. Today it went our way. Another Corvette 1-2 even if it was another super-tight battle with our teammates. Those are always fun to have. As I’ve said many times, there is no worse adversary than your teammates because they have the same tools. Whatever advantage you have they have it too, and whatever weakness you have they have the same. This time the win went to Tommy and Nick. They were just a tiny bit better than us, but I’m happy we showed well and had a nice, clean race between the two Corvettes. I gave everything I had, for sure. I didn’t have anything else.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTLM: “It’s a little disappointing not to get the win. At the same time it was a good day for Corvette Racing with another 1-2 finish. It was nice for the 4 car guys to get the monkey off their backs. We had a good Corvette. From the pole, leading most of the race and with the pit stop cycle and strategy, we just missed it a little bit. In these races, you can’t make any little mistakes. Once the yellow came out at the beginning, it kind of put everyone on a three-stop strategy. There were some options for a three-stop but you needed it to be green the whole race for that to work. Once the yellow came out at the beginning, everyone was locked in to the same strategy. But it wasn’t a bad day for the championship, so we can look forward to Long Beach and focus on that one.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Dominant Win for the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Monterey, Calif. (September 12, 2021) — The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 secured their third victory of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the Monterey Sports Car Championship and third win overall at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The triumph extends their lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, bringing their points total to 2,765 and extending their lead over the second place No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi to 100 points.

First time IMSA pole winner Filipe Albuquerque led into the Andretti Hairpin from the green flag and never looked back. Despite a minor rear brake issue during the opening stint, Filipe set the pace. The lead changed intermittently through each pit cycle, but victory for No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 was never in doubt.

Ricky Taylor took the wheel with an hour and 30-minutes remaining, crucially staying ahead of lapped DPi traffic. The crew worked fast to clean the brake duct, solving the issue during a stop, and as traffic slowed his competitors, Taylor opened the gap to an impressive 20-seconds on his way to the checkered flag. Ricky showed his experience by avoiding colliding LMP2 cars in a hair-raising moment at Turn 9 of the final lap, bringing the car home to cheers from the pit wall.

The victory, their third of the season, was the team’s most dominant of the 2021 campaign to date. Their closest championship rivals, the No. 31 and No. 55 Mazda Motorsports DPi, finished in P3 and P5 respectively. Today’s win is the 45th for Wayne Taylor Racing in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition. As the championship heats up with two rounds remaining, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team is rising to the challenge.

“Everybody before the weekend was saying, ‘the Jaws music is playing, they’re under pressure now,’” said Ricky Taylor. “We felt like we were in control. We’ve had strong cars and the team’s been executing well, but things haven’t quite been going our way. But we’re the only ones that knew it. Today, I was really proud of the team. They responded to the Jaws music and the pressure by executing perfectly. The car was dominant. Everyone at HPD and Acura worked really hard between the races to give us the best possible engine control and power. Brian and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 boys changed the car from the traditional setup. We made lots of developments. The car was creative and well-thought-out, and it showed on track today. This is one of those wins that we have to remember and strive for in the future.”

“What a dream weekend. I love this weekend,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “Pole position and the win. There is nothing else we can ask for. Yesterday, I was super happy with pole. Today, we started well, but second stint was super hard. We had a problem on the rear brake duct, so it was overheating the rear tires and was super hard to drive. I was thinking that it would be incredibly hard for my teammate, Ricky, to do the rest of the race like that. Luckily, in the pit stop, they were able to clean the duct. I was confident in my teammate, I trust Ricky so much, and he delivered. He controlled the race, dominated, and caught the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing DPi that was on another strategy. He won the race by 20-seconds. Pretty simple. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 was perfect, perfect execution, the perfect weekend for us. We had the pace, we dominated, and we took the win.”

“This was obviously the result we came here to get.” said team owner Wayne Taylor. “I’m really happy. The team did a fantastic job in the pit stops. Brian and Logan did an outstanding job on the strategy. The drivers, Filipe getting the pole, leading, giving Ricky the car, and Ricky finishing the race was just perfect. For all our sponsors, Konica Minolta and Harrison Contracting, and all the people that support us. Long Beach next will be tough, because all of DPi will be hot on us, like in Detroit. But at least we achieved what we had to do, and there was no coming second this weekend.”

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 2021 returns to action for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on September 24-25. Practice begins on Friday at 12:45 p.m. PT. Green flag will wave on Sunday, September 25 at 5:05 p.m. PT with live coverage on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

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 customers’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), content services, 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. Wayne Taylor Racing’s existing lineup of partners that also features Harrison Contracting, Acura Motorsports , Hammer Nutrition and CIT.

Team Hardpoint’s IMSA WeatherTech GTD Porsche Will Start On Row Five Out West at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (September 11, 2021) – Team Hardpoint EBM’s Efrin Castro earned his second Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro-Am win on Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and teammate Riley Dickinson earned his fourth podium finish of the season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The team is split in two different locations this weekend, with the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship running out west at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Team owner Rob Ferriol and Katherine Legge will co-drive the No. 88 Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R in Sunday’s race after qualifying 10th in class on Saturday for Team Hardpoint.

Castro’s win came flag-to-flag in the No. 65 Fine Fare Supermarkets/GoDomincanRepublic.com Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in dominating fashion with a 23.353 second win. Despite running in the Pro-Am Class, Castro finished in ninth place overall in the 45-minute race.

The victory allowed him to make up twenty points in the championship, as leader Alan Metni missed Saturday’s race to run in a separate series at Laguna Seca. Metni will be in Indianapolis for the two Sunday races.

“I was able to hold my pace and create a gap for the whole race and was very consistent with my laps and that gave me the win,” Castro said. “I learned the track a little better today for tomorrow’s races, and that will help tomorrow. I would have liked to have Alan Metni here but he had a different race and I’m very glad to get the win today. I’ll try to do it again tomorrow with him here.”

Dickinson had a successful day for himself and the No. 53 Porsche Austin/Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche 911 GT3 Cup overall and in the Pro class. Starting fourth, Dickinson made his way around the championship leader for third early in the race. Once clear, Dickinson gapped the rest of the field and came home comfortably in third place.

That result allowed Dickinson to close within one point of fourth in the season-long point championship.

“The race result was definitely what we needed, especially after race two at Road America,” Dickinson said. “I had a good fight at the beginning with myself and another driver. That set the tone for us for the way the rest of the race went, because it created a big gap for the rest of the race and that result was set in stone. I can’t thank the Team Hardpoint EBM guys enough for the work they’ve done this weekend. We’ve kept our heads down and continued to refine our 992 Porsche Austin Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. I’m looking forward to race two and race three, we’ll see how that plays out tomorrow morning. It’s going to be a little bit cooler, and we’ll see how the day plays out, go from there, and keep on pushing.”

Dickinson will start Sunday’s race fourth overall on the grid.

Ferriol qualified 10th with a time of 1:25.813 (93.887 mph) for the GT Daytona class of the WeatherTech Championship race at Laguna Seca. Legge was one position higher in the “pro” portion of qualifying, which awards championship points.

Sunday will be a busy day for the Team Hardpoint line-up. Dickinson, Castro and the Team Hardpoint EBM contingent race at 8:45 a.m. EDT and again at 3:30 p.m. EDT on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ferriol, Legge and the No. 88 Richard Mille/GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R run a two-hour, 40-minute race at Laguna Seca beginning at 1:10 p.m. PDT (4:10 p.m. EDT). The Porsche Carrera Cup races can be seen live on Porsche Motorsport North America’s Youtube page, while the WeatherTech Championship race can be seen on NBCSN for cable or satellite subscribers or via TrackPass on the NBC Sports app.

About Team Hardpoint:
Hardpoint Motorsports was founded by Rob Ferriol in 2018 with the vision of combining his experience as a successful entrepreneur with his passion for racing. Team Hardpoint EBM is a joint venture between Team Hardpoint and Earl Bamber Motorsport formed in late 2020 for Team Hardpoint’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America program to utilize the resources of EBM and co-owners Earl Bamber and Will Bamber and the early success of Team Hardpoint. Headquartered at VIRginia International Raceway, the team’s 2021 plans include a full-season effort in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in a Porsche 911 GT3 R and a multi-car effort in the IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America. More information on Hardpoint Motorsports can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

CORVETTE RACING AT LAGUNA SECA: Garcia, Taylor Transcript

Corvette Racing drivers Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor, teammates in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and points leaders in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, met with members of the media during a Zoom conference call Tuesday ahead of this weekend’s race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna. TRANSCRIPT:

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
YOU’VE WON THREE TIMES IN YOUR CAREER AT LAGUNA SECA. IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT THE TRACK THAT SPEAK TO YOU? IS IT LUCK OR IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE?
“I wouldn’t say it was luck. You never know at Laguna. There are always a lot of different strategies in play. It’s usually a two- or three-stop race. Lately it has been more of a three-stop one. With those, you always need to fight those gambling with two stops. We’ve won a few races there but we also lost a few with cars and people who we didn’t expect to get to the end and they ended up managing to make the strategy work. There is a fine line. Tire degradation is the main thing. As soon as there is a yellow, everything starts again and you better have a good tire. Otherwise you are going to end up being very vulnerable. Let’s see what this weekend goes. Hopefully we are on the good strategy.”

WHAT HAVE BEEN THINGS LIKE FOR YOU SINCE THE LAST IMSA RACE AT ROAD AMERICA?
“It’s been very busy. Right after Road America, we had two or three days off and then we were off again to Le Mans. Being European, I was a little luckier than the American guys so I could stay here (in Spain) until the Friday morning before the Test Day. So that saved me a couple of days. Le Mans was very tiring as always. Last week I was at the simulator with Jordan, so the work is still on. You need to keep focusing. There was a ton of data to analyze and some correlation to be done after Le Mans. You better have all the information you can after a big race like that. I spent a few days there and then came back here for some family time. Time flies by when you are with your kids, for sure.”

HOW RELIABLE HAS THE CHEVROLET SIMULATOR BEEN FOR YOU ON THE CORVETTE SIDE WHEN THE CAR GETS ON THE TRACK?
“A lot. The C8.R is the answer for that. We’ve been working on the simulator with the C8.R for two to three years in advance before it was on the track for the first time. That helped a lot. It’s true that you need to trust all the data you are getting from the wind tunnel and all your simulations. Our simulator seems to be very good on correlation. We also have Michelin helping us develop a very, very good tire model which is one of the most important things we need to have. So it has worked very well for us on the C8.R. Every time we had a bad race – even though there was no time to go on track – we had time to recover and fix things that didn’t work. Most of the time, the car is really good out of the box at the track. You end up doing a few tweaks and very small setup changes. It’s been very, very good.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R
WHAT ABOUT WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA MAKES IT SPECIAL TO A LOT OF PEOPLE?
“To us, it’s a classic sports car track in North America. It’s known around the world for the Corkscrew but anyone who goes there – for our weekend in particular – who is a hard-core sports car fan knows it because of the history of the sport. There’s a lot of history there. A lot of famous guys raced really cool cars back in the day in sports cars. I was able to go there a couple of years for one of the Reunions and drive an old Corvette around the track. You definitely feel a lot of history when you go there. It’s a cool part of the country… lots of great restaurants in the area, you’ve got the town of Monterey. The track itself is built into the hillside there. We enjoy it. The track is challenging. It’s more slippery than you’d expect. It degrades the tire pretty quickly, so it makes the whole weekend pretty tricky to understand what the car needs to be competitive. You can have one car for qualifying that will be fast but you need a completely different animal for the race itself. There always seems to be some sort of compromise, but that’s what makes it enjoyable is to have that challenge.”

WHEN YOU EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE THE SUBJECT OF ADHENSION AND GRIP AND THEN HAVING NONE AT LAGUNA, HOW DO YOU GET THAT TO RELATE TO PEOPLE WHO DON’T DRIVE?
“That’s a tricky question to explain. When you go to a place like Watkins Glen or Road Atlanta, the grip level is high so to find the threshold and limit of the car and the tire, you need to push the car a lot and trust that the grip will be there. When you go Laguna Seca, I wouldn’t say it’s like driving on ice – it’s not that slippery – but the limit comes so fast. You find the limit of the tire, the grip and the car extremely quickly. You’re driving almost like a knife-edge. You try to stay under the grip of the tire and not trying to slide it. The grip level is so low that it’s easy to go past it. I’d say a way to explain it is that you’re very on edge the whole time to stay below that limit and hurt the tire and laptime. If you can save that from the beginning of a stint, it will be pay huge dividends at the end of it.”

HOW DOES THAT CHANGE YOUR AGGRESSION LEVEL, EITHER WHEN YOU’RE PUSHING ANOTHER DRIVER OR PUSHING AGAINST YOURSELF?
“It’s really tricky. It takes some experience and maturity not to get caught up in things, especially in GTLM. Our stint length is really long. I came from being in prototypes where our stints were getting shorter and shorter to like 35- or 40-minute stints. At that point with tire degradation, you can still push pretty hard and maybe you’ll suffer for the last 10 minutes. In GTLM, our stints can be close to an hour in length so you can suffer for 30 minutes. The amount of patience you have to have with the way you are driving, attacking and fighting people and to get through traffic… you have to be a lot more careful and mindful of what you’re doing. Every time you slip the tire a little bit, you kind of remind yourself that maybe you went a little too hard there. You have to reset and think more about the bigger picture.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE C8.R AT LAGUNA LAST YEAR THAT CAN BE HELPFUL THIS YEAR?
“The biggest thing when we go there is understanding how the tire works and tire compound. I think last year we split strategies between the 3 and 4 car because we have such limited track time. You don’t have much time to test and understand what you need to do in the race itself. Splitting the strategies last year should help us this year to understand where the strengths and weaknesses were between those two strategies and tire options. It’s another thing we were working on last week in the simulator to understand where we want to be and understand the different temperature ranges on the track this week. We learned a lot Last year was the first time the car was on a very low-grip surface. It’s unique in that fashion and we learned some important lessons last year.”

YOU WERE ON THE DALE JR. DOWNLOAD LAST WEEK. TALK ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE.
“It was a lot of fun. Doing the Dale Sr. helmet was special and taking that to Le Mans this year was a big deal. Dale and I have spoken a bit over the years and texted every now and then, and with him coming to cover the Rolex 24 the last couple of years we formed a small relationship to bounce things off each other. I’d tried to get on the podcast for the last couple of years but timing-wise things never lined up. Now with the Dale Sr. helmet and I was up there last week with Antonio for the simulator, schedules lined up pretty well and it was an awesome experience. I never spent a lot of time with Dale Jr., but it was really cool to talk to him even if it was just sharing stories and hear some of his stories with his dad… reminiscing of their experience at the Rolex 24 and some unique stories from that event were pretty funny. To see the personal side of him and getting to know him as a person… I think we realized we are pretty similar guys – we’re pretty shy and reserved but in certain situations and with certain people, we are pretty comfortable and can open up a lot. I definitely had a good time. It was really cool to see the fan response and the support from everyone. I think it opened a lot of eyes from the NASCAR world to the IMSA world, so I think it’s good to have that cross-over. It would be good to have those types of events.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

BATAVIA, Ohio. (September 7, 2021) — Another multi-city race weekend is here for Porsche customer racing team Wright Motorsports. The three professional race programs the team holds under the IMSA-sanctioned umbrella race this weekend, with the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge competing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands running three races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“The pressure is on for this final stretch of the season,” said Team Owner John Wright. “This is our second event this year where we will be racing in two different locations. I know we’ve got the best people to make all three efforts have successful runs. Our biggest strength has always been consistency on and off track, and we’re looking to score maximum points this weekend.”

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
With four races remaining in the 2021 season, Wright Motorsports holds tight to fifth-place in the GTD team championship standings, with Patrick Long standing fifth in the driver championship battle. After a third-place finish at Road America last month, the pairing of Long and Trent Hindman have momentum on their side in the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R. With three sprint races together as co-drivers, the pair have found their stride, eager to add to the three, top-five finishes the GTD team has accumulated so far this season.

Located near Monterey, California, the 2.238-mile road course is a home track to Long, a California native. The track will host 26 entries in four of the five IMSA WeatherTech classes this weekend, with four on-track sessions before Sunday’s race. The Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship will begin at 1:10 PM Pacific on Sunday, September 12, running for two hours and 40 minutes. The race will air live on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold’s TRACKPASS streaming service beginning at 1:00 PM Pacific.

DRIVER QUOTES

Patrick Long
No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
It’s great to be back to the west coast. Minimal track time leading up to the event remains a theme in the series, so we will be looking to use our practice time wisely and start strong. The Corkscrew is one of those iconic corners in motorsport where you never perfect it, nor do you grow tired of it. It’s an awesome track altogether! Let’s get this Wright Porsche 911 on the top of the box for 1st Phorm and all of our great partners.

Trent Hindman
No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
A good result at Road America finally provided some validation for our efforts over the last few rounds, though all focus turned towards Laguna Seca the second we crossed the line three weeks ago. A tight, technical racetrack with high tire degradation seems suitable for a Wright Motorsports-prepared 911 GT3 R. I’m looking forward to improving upon our last race result with Pat and the 1st Phorm team after a long break in the action.

Michelin Pilot Challenge | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Only three races are left for the GT4 effort in Michelin Pilot Challenge, where the team is currently holding third place in the GS team point standings. With four podiums in seven races, the team has made a strong effort to join the championship battle after missing the first race of the 2021 season. Three weeks ago at Road America, rough weather conditions made for a slick track and caused a series of events leading the No. 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport to go off course, unable to finish the race. Undeterred, Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen will keep their eyes focused on the championship title this weekend, enjoying the flowing turns and steep elevation changes that WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca has to offer.

The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 begins on Saturday, September 11 at 4:40 PM Pacific, airing live on NBC Sports Gold’s TRACKPASS.

DRIVER QUOTES

Ryan Hardwick
No. 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport
I love racing at Laguna Seca! It’s one of the most fun and challenging tracks to drive on with the lack of traction from the surface. I’m expecting us to rebound well here after a bad race for our GT4 program at Road America. I also think our GTD car will be very competitive around this circuit as well. I’m expecting good things from this race weekend.

Jan Heylen
No. 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport
I’m looking forward to traveling out west to Laguna Seca. It’s a super fun race track with high tire degradation which always makes the race a real battle, with typically a lot of action towards the end of the stint. We’ve got a little catching up to do in the points, but we have the best team and a fast Porsche to get that done.

Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands | Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The trio of Wright Motorsports Porsches had a frustrating start to the inaugural season of the one-make championship in March, but have since gained significant ground. The Ohio-based program has been improving on-track performance and getting the most out of the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, as well as the three drivers; Maxwell Root, Hutton McKenna, and John Goetz since the season-opener. With nine podiums in four events, the trio hit their stride at the previous round at Road America, with each driver producing some of their best performances of the season.

Twenty-eight entries are slated to compete this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Porsche SportsCar Together Fest: three, 45-minute races held on Saturday, September 11 at 4:15 PM Eastern and Sunday, September 12 at 8:45 AM and 3:30 PM Eastern. All three races can be viewed live at PorscheCarrereaCup.us and on imsa.tv.

Visit our store

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, 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.

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 7, 2021) – WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is a track that was sorely missed on the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires schedule last year. The picturesque circuit is where this series made its debut in 2006. Since then, it’s been nothing but door-to-door, action-packed racing.

The only West Coast race on the 2021 calendar, this California track will host Rounds 11 and 12 of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup this weekend. Laguna Seca’s challenging layout, variable weather and slippery track surface might just bring the championship picture into focus by separating the better from the best.

Michael Carter (No. 08 Carter Racing Enterprises) comes to Laguna Seca with an 80-point lead in the championship over Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance). A further 130 points behind Wagner is Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports). Of the three, only Rollan has notched a victory there.

“Laguna is definitely a track where passing opportunities don’t come easy,” Rollan said. “I’m expecting not to hit fifth gear at all on this track, meaning the draft won’t play much of a role. Most passes will be done by capitalizing off of others’ mistakes.”

Laguna Seca’s most infamous turn is the Corkscrew; a blind, downhill, left-right, but the circuit is also notorious for something else: sand. It blows across the surface of the track and limits the amount of grip. This effect is exaggerated with each off-course excursion a driver makes.

“I don’t think it’s much of an issue as long as you are on the racing surface where you should be,” Wagner said. “Obviously, if you go way off-line, there will be marbles and loose gravel to contend with, but that’s not massively different than usual. The thing I have to keep in mind is dropping tires off the track. While we can usually get away with dropping wheels and small offs, the sand really grabs the tires and can pull the car into it. You have to be mindful of how much more punishing the loose sand can be compared to compacted dirt and grass.”

Mazda MX-5 Cup’s textbook photo finishes are likely to continue. A brief glance at prior margins of victory at Laguna Seca shows few that were over one second.

A man who knows a thing or two about close finishes is Carter, who won the most recent MX-5 Cup race at Road America by a mere 0.008-second.

“I remember having a lot of good racing last time we were here in 2019, and I expect more of the same this time around,” Carter said. “I can see where it can be hard to pass, but I see a lot of good opportunities as well.”

Passes will have to be made with precision at Laguna Seca, because $250,000 is on the line for the series champion with only four races left in the season.

The current leader in the Rookie of the Year Championship is the “California Kid,” Chris Nunes (No. 32 JTR Motorsports Engineering). While it might be expected that he has experience at Laguna Seca, but that’s not quite the case as Nunes, who comes from off-road racing and has never been to six of the seven tracks on the MX-5 Cup schedule, is set to make his first start at Laguna Seca.

But Nunes won’t be alone, as his closest competitor for the rookie title, Sam Paley (No. 28 McCumbee McAleer Racing) is also making his Laguna Seca debut. After a phenomenal weekend at Road America, Paley is only 30 points behind Nunes. Rookies Luca Mars (No. 41 Copeland Motorsports) and Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 Provision Motorsports) are also within striking distance for the rookie crown and the $80,000 that comes with it.

Saturday’s Mazda MX-5 Cup race is slated for 12:00pm PT. Sunday’s race will go green at 9:25am PT. Both races will be streamed live on IMSA.com/tvlive.

About: The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup champion is awarded $250,000 as the top rookie nets $80,000.

Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.