Renger van der Zande drove his No. 1 Cadillac to the lead in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park with 10 minutes to go, cruising to a decisive victory in the seventh round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
He won by a margin of 3.509 seconds after passing Oliver Jarvis’s No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura with 10 minutes to go to claim the third win of the season for the No. 1 Cadillac.
The victory was unexpected and was not without its struggles.
“This race wasn’t going to be ours,” he said, “We changed the car around completely after the warm-up practice this morning and didn’t know what to expect. The changes worked, but the power steering failed, and that was the toughest part of today.
“I knew I needed traffic to get by, so it was maximum attack, full risk,” he added. “I thought, ‘This is the time to go,’ and it worked.”
Teammate Sebastien Bourdais qualified the No. 01 Cadillac fifth fastest, but he gave all the credit to van der Zande for expertly navigating the 11-turn, 2.459-mile road course.
“That was all him,” Bourdais remarked. “With the massive power steering issues, I was barely hanging on and I have no idea how he put that thing up there to fight those guys. He obviously reads traffic super-well, and when he gets all wound up with emotions, he uses that anger in a positive way. He really made it work today, and it was very impressive.”
It was van der Zande’s 17th victory in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition and the 10th for Bourdais.
Tom Blomqvist, who set a record qualifying lap to capture the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, and co-driver, Oliver Jarvis, finished second. Pipo Derani and Olivier Pla completed the podium after finishing third in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.
CORE Autosport’s Colin Braun and Jon Bennett won the LMP3 Class finishing ahead of Andretti Autosport’s Jarrett Andretti and Gabby Chaves. Ari Balogh and Garrett Grist placed third in the No. 30 Jr III Motorsports Ligier.
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is August 4-7 at Road America for prototype classes DPi, LMP2 and LMP3.
Murillo Racing scored the top two spots in Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). They were dominant throughout the race as the No. 56 and No. 72 cars combined to lead all but two laps.
Co-drivers Eric Foss and Marc Miller claimed the victory in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4, .338 of a second ahead of their teammates, Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak, who finished second in the No. 72 Mercedes. It was the team’s second victory in the last three races.
Foss, who led the final 33 laps, said, “The Murillo Racing team has always been on top of things and a great communicating team,” Foss said. “Having Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak come into the team this year has given us another push and added an incredible amount of additional data with two more talented drivers on the team.
“Christian was very generous today. I made a couple of mistakes toward the end of the race, and he had the opportunity to pounce, but we definitely wanted to make sure we stayed clean. It’s just amazing to bring both Mercedes-AMG GT4s home one-two like that and get the great result here. The biggest strength the Mercedes-AMG GT4 has is its balance. It is very driver-friendly.”
Szymczak was pleased with the team’s performance and optimistic about the future.
“It is awesome for the team,” he said. “Since we rolled the cars off the truck, they have been great, and we knew we were going to be in for a good finish for the weekend. I came out of the pits and Eric had already cycled through the pits. He was on warm tires, I was on cold, and he was just able to get by me for the lead. I would have tried to make a move if I could have, but there was just no viable place to make a move. It was just great to bring home the one-two finish. We just need to keep showing up, doing what we do, and hopefully, good results will keep coming our way.”
Marc Miller was eager to help out the team and fill in for the injured Jeff Mosing.
“I have known the Murillo guys and Jeff Mosing for years and when Eric called me, and I could do it, I didn’t hesitate. I called my wife and said ‘hey, we are going to Canada.’ It was our weekend off, but I really wanted to fill in for Jeff and do this for Eric.”
Murillo, who won his first career pole Friday and led a race-high 42 laps, said, “Christian and I both worked hard coming into this event. Anything less than a podium was not going to feel good. If we were going to get beat, it was going to be by our teammates. I am really happy for the team. They have been working really hard all weekend long. Canada always brings some logistical challenges, so we were working with just half the crew, it was especially hard on the crew, so to bring them a one-two finish just feels really good.”
Wickens and Wilkins score TCR class victory
Photo by Ray MacAloney for SpeedwayMedia.com
To say it’s been an exciting week for Robert Wickens is an understatement.
Last week, he was in victory lane at Watkins Glen International, celebrating his first win since he returned to competition this year after suffering a spinal cord injury in 2018 during an IndyCar race.
Then, fast forward to Saturday when Wickens and Mark Wilkins earned the Michelin Pilot Challenge Touring Class victory. But it’s what came in between that put the biggest smile on his face.
Wickens was at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Thursday when his wife call called to say the baby they were expecting was going to arrive early. Wickens immediately drove home for the anticipated birth of his first child, On Friday, he and his wife welcomed their son, Wesley Joseph Wickens, into the world.
Tom Blomqvist won the pole Saturday afternoon in his No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 and will lead the field when the green flag drops for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Round 7 of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The 1:04.394-lap was Blomqvist’s second consecutive IMSA pole and a DPi track record.
“It was an absolute wild ride,” he said. “I was over my limit; I’m not going to lie. That session was a case of putting your brain to one side.”
Ricky Taylor qualified second in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing car and Tristan Vautier was third fastest in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R. The Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Alex Lynn’s No. 02 will start in fourth place with Olivier Pla in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac starting fifth and Sebastien Bourdais rounding out the top six.
Andretti Autosports’ Jarrett Andretti won the pole in LMP3 with a 1:13.102 lap time followed by Gar Robinson (Riley Motorsports) in second, Ari Balogh (Jr III Racing) in third and CORE Autosport’s Jon Bennett in fourth.
Pfaff Motorsports’ Mathieu Jaminet earned the pole in GTD Pro, and Frankie Montecalvo had the best time in GTD in his Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.
Jaminet was tops in GT3 R, 0.165 seconds ahead of the GTD pole-sitter Montecalvo.
Alex Riberas was third among the GTD cars and second in GTD pro in the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, followed by the No. 25 Team GT3 team of John Edwards. Jordan Taylor was fifth in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD.
You can tune into the Chevrolet Grand Prix Sunday at 3 p.m. ET with television coverage on NBC and Peacock.
Kenny Murillo was fastest during qualifying Friday afternoon, topping the leaderboard in his No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 with a track record lap at 106.997 mph.
He will start on the pole for Saturday’s Michelin Pilot Challenge Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 for the sixth round of the Michelin Pilot Challenge season.
Argentinian driver, Damian Fineschi, made the most of his debut in the series, qualifying his Toyota FR Supra GT4 in second, only 074 seconds behind Murillo.
Marc Miller, Murillo’s teammate, will start third, followed by VOLT Racing’s Alan Brynjolfsson while Murillo Racing’s Tim Probert will round out the top five in the No. 65 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4.
The qualifying session ended early after a crash involving Turner Motorsports’ Dillon Machavern, who had unofficially been credited as fifth fastest. As a result, he lost his two best laps for causing the red flag which dropped him to seventh place.
Hugh Plumb will start his Team TGM Porsche in sixth, followed by Machavern. Michael McCann Jr. will start in eighth place as PF Racing’s James Pesek and Sheena Monk round out the top 10.
In the Touring Class (TCR) Bryan Herta Autosports’ Tyler Maxson bested JDC-Miller Motorsports’ driver Chris Miller for the pole with a 104.988 mph lap. It was Maxson’s second pole of the year and the eighth-fastest qualifying lap overall. Miller posted the second-fastest overall lap and will start 10th, followed by Parker Chase (11th), Travis Hill (13th) and AJ Muss in 15th.
There are 33 cars on the entry list but only 28 posted qualifying laps. Robert Wickens, who was shown as the driver for the Bryan Herta Autosport No. 33 car, was notably absent.
The reason became quickly apparent when he announced the birth of his first child on his Twitter account.
“For those of you wondering why I wasn’t at the track today, I would like everyone to meet Wesley Joseph Wickens. Born two weeks early but we could not be happier. Baby and Mom are doing great! I am so grateful to be married to such a strong woman! Let’s start the next chapter!
You can tune in to watch the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET with broadcast coverage on Peacock.
Ahead of the penultimate race at Road Atlanta, the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class and the GT Daytona (GTD) class had their own battles this weekend at Virginia International Raceway.
In one of the rarer times on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar schedule, the GTLM and GTD category battled it out on the track with the exception of the DPi as DPi classes who will return for the final race of the season at Road Atlanta.
GTLM
Corvette Racing has swept most of the races on the schedule this season with the No. 79 Porsche settling in the third and final position. When the teams rolled in on Friday, Corvette Racing was looking to do the same thing they had been doing all weekend, win. However, they had to fight for that win.
On Friday afternoon in qualifying, the No. 4 of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy paced the field with laps of 1:40.263 seconds and 117.140 mph.
When the race began, Corvette was dominant, leading nearly every lap of the race albeit with the No. 3 of Jordan Taylor leading the way and Milner/Tandy trailing behind in second. At the 2 hours and 17-minute mark, Tandy took the lead from the No. 79 Porsche of Kevin Estre.
The battle continued between the two manufacturers, as the Porsche and Corvette had a shoving match. Tandy and Estre shoved each other off the track multiple times trading paint, while Estre, unfortunately, received the worst of the melee and wound up driving in the grass as a result.
Even though there was multiple contact between the two teams, no action was taken by IMSA officials.
From there, Tandy/Milner continued to show the way and take home their third straight victory of the year.
“Today is all about that guy right there,” Milner said. “He (Nick Tandy) made it happen today for sure. Porsche definitely had pace on us for sure, but when you have got a guy like that who can race like he does, he got a little bit, but he gave it right back. What an awesome race. That was a lot of fun to watch. I’m super happy for all of our Corvette Racing guys. We got a little lucky there with the No. 3 car. I think it was going to be close at the end. What a race! That was awesome.
“Look at this winning car,” Tandy, the overall race winner said. “First of all, congratulations to Corvette Racing, one-two again. It was an awesome race. It shows a way to win a race when you don’t have the fastest car. Honestly, the Porsche should have won the race. But honestly, when you kind of lose your brain and start driving stupid, stuff happens. Luckily with our Corvettes, we kept them on the track and didn’t do too much damage to them, so here we are talking to you.”
Photo Courtesy of Corvette Racing
Official GTLM results:
Nick Tandy
Antonio Garcia -17.852 seconds
Kevin Estre -38.665 seconds
GTD
The GTD class was action-filled, including an on-track incident between the No. 96 of Bill Auberlen and the No. 3 of Garcia.
At the 2 hour and 30-minute mark, Auberlen was leading the race but was clipped on the inside by the No. 3 of Garcia and lost the lead. Following the incident, he had major right side damage to his machine and eventually finished 12th in the GTD running order, 1 lap down.
It was the Porsche 911 GT3R driver Laurens Vanthoor who took the lead and went on to win the GTD category, his fourth victory of the year.
“This win is the happiest I’ve got so far because yesterday was just our mistake, a stupid mistake,” Vanthoor said. “Today, when any mistake happened, they made up for it like triple the time because the pit stop is what got us out in front, which is amazing what they did.
“Zach Robichon (Vanthoor’s teammate), how quickly he got by at the start and up to the front. Those things helped give us the race. In all honesty, when I was in front of the BMW, I wasn’t very optimistic I was going to stay there because he was very quick. I pushed hard and pushed like it was qualifying laps. Managed to stay out in front at the end.”
Official GTD results:
Laurens Vanthoor
Bryan Sellers
Jack Hawksworth
Patrick Long
Ross Gunn
Alex Riberas
Jeff Westphal
Daniel Morad
Franck Perra
Katherine Legge
Mike Skeen, 1 lap down
Bill Auberlen, 1 lap down
Zach Veach, 2 laps down
Andy Lally, 13 laps down
Mario Farnbacher, OUT, Accident
Up Next: The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series will take a month off before returning for the final event of the season at the 10 hours of Road Atlanta.
Returning to the track for the six hours of Watkins Glen Sunday, Corvette Racing drivers Antonio Garcia and Nick Tandy look to continue their winning ways at the Glen. This will be the first time back to the track since it was canceled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Garcia, driver of the No. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM Chevy, has yet to secure a race victory at Watkins Glen despite having won other endurance races including Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring. The Corvette driver will look to change that this Sunday, as The Glen is a track he has circled on his bucket list.
“The Glen is one of my favorite events since I discovered it back in 2006, I think,” Garcia said. “I really liked it and really wanted to win that race. I think I have only won it once or twice, I can’t remember. But every time I am there, I really like the event.
“The whole atmosphere with all the race fans around the area is really, really good. So hopefully we have a really good crowd over there. And it is going to be nice during the races this year just to have more and more crowds and get more involvement between us drivers and the fans. I think we are going in the right direction so looking forward to this weekend for sure.”
Despite not yet winning that race, Garcia has had experience racing in the former Grand-Am Series sprint races which could provide helpful information when he steps into the car.
“There are a few differences,” Garcia added. “We will run into the night (during the July 2 sprint race). From what I remember, the racetrack seems to change quite a lot during the cool-down of the day and going into dusk. There are a few things we will need to learn because it’s the first time we will have run there at that time.
“The experience of Corvette Racing will be good enough to help us analyze and anticipate what the car will do. It will be new for us, though, and we need to see how the track develops. It won’t be the same as it will be in the Six Hours. You just need to react to what the track conditions are. Strategies probably will change a tiny bit. But even in the Six Hours, when it comes to the final two hours it’s basically like a sprint race so nothing much will change.”
Garcia’s teammate, Nick Tandy, a Corvette Racing newcomer, is a former and defending race winner at The Glen in the GTLM category. Tandy is coming off the race victory at Detroit and has confidence that he will have a strong car this weekend.
“Yes (laughing), I guess so,” Tandy said. “My confidence level is growing all the time with each day I spend with the team and each race I do in the car. We had a great Detroit event for the team with both cars. The cars were competitive. The cars were reliable. The team did a good job and we had a good fight with speed in the race and also strategy. This got us kind of back going into the swing of things going racing. It’s good to know we’ve had that kind of week of practice if you like.
“As for Watkins Glen, I remember the last time we were there. It basically came down to a fight with my car and this other chap that is next to me in the video in a yellow Corvette. I’m kind of hoping it will come down to that again in the next race, but this time it is the two Corvettes out front fighting it out for the last couple of hours. Yes, it’s just great to think about the fact of going back. Driving a fast car around Watkins Glen, it’s always a pleasure. So we’re looking forward to going back to compete and hopefully bag another win for the No. 4, and if not, then for our buddies in the No. 3.”
Wayne Taylor Racing announced their 2021 driver lineup on Monday afternoon and the lineup features some familiar faces.
Ricky Taylor, son of Wayne Taylor (Team Owner), moves back over to his dad’s team after recently competing with Team Penske in the Acura this season. Taylor competing for Wayne Taylor Racing will be the first time in three years since he last made the start for the team which came in 2017. That season, the Apopka, Florida native obtained five wins (Daytona Rolex 24, 12 Hours of Sebring, Long Beach, Austin and Bell Isle), achieved seven podiums and averaged a finish of 3.2 with 803 laps led.
“I have a lot of history with Wayne Taylor Racing,” said Ricky Taylor who has 24 wins, 57 podiums and 28 pole positions in his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship career. “I grew up with the team and they helped develop me as a driver. It was a very difficult decision to leave the team in 2017 and join Acura Team Penske but I was able to grow more. It’s always great to go somewhere and bring value to the team, so now that I feel like when I return, I can do that. Alex, Helio and I have a lot of experience with the Arura ARX-05 and I know the team really well, it’s literally family. The addition of Filipe Albuquerque who is a world-class driver and has a lot of experience driving for big manufacturers and winning of the biggest races in the world. I think we have a very strong line-up.”
In addition to the lineup, 45-year-old veteran Helio Castroneves also comes to the team for the first time in his career. The move marks the first time in quite some time that Castroneves will compete for someone other than Penske. Despite losing his ride with Team Penske after Acura pulled support, Castroneves maintains with the Acura family.
“To be part of the WTR super team with a great group of drivers is like we are continuing what we left off from last year,” said Helio Castroneves who hopes to add a Rolex 24 at DAYTONA victory to his acclaimed resume. “Working with Ricky Taylor, Alexander Rossi and Filipe Albuquerque is just a great way to start 2021. Looking forward to working and racing with this organization with eyes on the Rolex 24 win, something they know very well.”
For the 2020 season, the Brazilian earned four race victories with those wins coming at Road America, the 2 hour and 40 minute Road Atlanta event back in the summer, Mid-Ohio, the 10 Hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October, and most recently at Laguna Seca. Castroneves shared the championship with Taylor after finishing eighth in the Daytona Prototype Class in the season finale at Sebring this past month.
Two other additions to the team include full-time NTT IndyCar Series driver Alexander Rossi and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Filipe Albuquerque. Rossi only competed in three events this past season, mainly focusing on endurance races duties which came at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 10 Hours of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and finishing the season at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
“It’s a great honor to not only drive for WTR next year but also to continue to race the Acura DPi for the three endurance races,” said Alexander Rossi who has two podiums in his five IWSC races. “On top of that, to be able to stay united with Ricky and Helio will be a huge benefit to all as we make this transition. I look forward to working with Felipe for the first time and I am excited to get to work right away in January, and hopefully, we can bring home a Daytona win for HPD.”
Meanwhile, Albuquerque has made on and off starts throughout the last couple of years in his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar career. The Portugal driver collected one podium this year in the 2 hours and 40 minutes race at Road Atlanta.
“I am really really happy with this new project,” commented Albuquerque with six victories and 19 podiums in IWSC. “Wayne Taylor Racing is one of the best teams at IMSA, they are always at the top at every event. My motivation couldn’t be higher. Regarding my teammates, I think it’s hard to have picked better ones. I fought them in the past and now they are my teammates, it takes away a lot of pressure. WTR could not have chosen better. Between us all, we have won everything: IMSA, Daytona, Le Mans, ELMS, WEC, Indy500.”
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series looks to begin their 2021 season with the annual 24 Hours of Daytona, which is slated to begin Saturday, Jan. 30. However, there will be a “Roar before the 24 test” as well just a couple of weeks before on Friday, Jan. 22.
Veteran A.J. Allmendinger will be returning to Meyer Shank Racing as one of the team’s four-driver roster for the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway scheduled on January 30-31, the season-opening WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event.
Allmendinger, a native from Los Gatos, California, who has competed across a variety of motorsports regions from sports cars to IndyCars and NASCAR, is slated to make his 15th career Rolex 24 at Daytona start next season, all occurring with MSR. He competed with MSR in the 2020 Rolex 24 on January 25-26. Sharing an Acura NSX GT3 Evo with Misha Goikhberg, Trent Hindman and Alvaro Parente, Allmendinger contributed to an eighth-place result in the GTD class, 25th in the overall race.
“More than anything, I am so pumped for [team owner] Mike [Shank] and the team to become a factory Acura DPi team,” Allmendinger said. “No one deserves this more than Mike Shank. His hard work and dedication is paying off and I am happy to be a small part of that.”
Finishing in second place in his Rolex 24 debut in 2006 while contributing to the first podium result for MSR at Daytona, Allmendinger co-drove the No. 60 MSR Riley Mk. XXVI Ford to the 2012 Rolex 24 victory overall along with Oswaldo Negri, John Pew and the late open-wheel competitor Justin Wilson.
“That was probably one of the biggest moments in my career,” Allmendinger noted. “Mike and MSR worked so hard to get that win, and to be a part of such a monumental victory in the team’s career is something that I will always cherish.”
Since his runner-up result in 2006 and his breakthrough victory in 2012, Allmendinger has contributed to a third-place result in 2013 and a second-place result overall in 2018 for MSR during the Rolex 24.
From 2006 to 2013, Allmendinger competed in the Rolex 24 with MSR under the DP class. From 2014 to 2016, he competed under the Prototype class. While he did not participate in the 2017 Rolex 24, he returned in 2018 and competed under the GTD class through this season. By then, he retired as a full-time NASCAR competitor. For 2021, he will be co-driving the No. 60 Acura ARX-05 DPi entry for MSR, which will compete in the DPi class.
Along with competing in this year’s Rolex 24, Allmendinger is a part-time competitor for Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a role he has been in since 2019. He has competed in 14 Xfinity races with Kaulig from 2019-20 and has won two races, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in September 2019 and at Atlanta Motor Speedway in June 2020. He is also an analyst for IMSA and NASCAR America on NBC.
“I always feel so fortunate and lucky to have the opportunity to drive for my close friend Mike Shank and everyone at the Meyer Shank Racing team for my 15th attempt at the Rolex 24,” Allmendinger added. “I can’t wait to get back to Prototype racing. The DPi machines are very quick and look so fun to drive. I am sure it will take me a few laps to get used to the speed and downforce, but I’ll be surrounded by a great team and I know that I will get up to speed fairly quick. I can’t thank Mike, MSR and Honda HPD for allowed me to drive for them. Time to get another Rolex!”
The team’s full driver lineup for next season will be announced at a later date.
Former NASCAR star and now IMSA Sports Car Series driver Colin Braun briefly returned to the Stock Car world a few weeks ago at the Daytona Road Course event, competing in the ARCA Menards Series competition.
Braun helped GMS Racing driver Sam Mayer bring home the No. 21 Chevy to a third-place finish that night. The Texas native received the opportunity to split the driving duties with Mayer (something that normally doesn’t happen in ARCA/NASCAR), as the Wisconsin had a hairline fracture on his right wrist following a TransAm accident at Road America, the week prior.
The Daytona Road Course race was the first time in nine years that Braun has competed in the NASCAR/ARCA world. However, after his third-place run, he was satisfied with the outing and is open to doing more starts in the future, should the opportunity arise.
“For me, I really enjoyed myself,” Bruan said about the ARCA experience. “It was really a last minute deal (to drive). Sam Mayer unfortunately, had an incident at Road America the weekend before. Going to a road course with a lot of shifting, they (GMS) were worried about Mayer not being able to successfully finish that race.”
“So they called me up and I took the opportunity. They wanted to me jump in at the first yellow. Well, unfortunately or fortunately, there was no yellows through the first few laps, and I had to wait until the halfway break to jump in the car. That was the challenge for me, as the race was sort of a mixed conditions race and jumping in there, and sort of having to figure it halfway through the race, of what the racetrack was going to be like. I really enjoyed my experience though. Got those guys (GMS) a good finish and kept them strong in the points.”
“As far as doing more (races), I would love to do more of that racing. I enjoyed it back years ago when I did it, and jumping back in that ARCA car got me excited about Stock Car racing in general. It’s just the timing has to be right and everything else has to be right. However, I would definitely be interested.”
Braun currently competes in the LMP2 class driving in the No. 18 Era Motorsports entry and won the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona event back in January. In addition, Braun is mostly known for competing in the Truck and Xfinity Series from 2007-2011. He only has one victory to his name in the NASCAR world, which came in the 2009 Michigan Truck Series race.
The Ford GT era of the 2010s will end with the decade as the Ford GT Le Mans program will not race in IMSA in the hands of privateers, as reported by Racer.com. This also means the end of Chip Ganassi Racing’s participation in the IMSA WeatherTech Series for the time being. The program’s closure will leave the GTLM class with only 6 full-time participants in IMSA going into the 2020 season.
Fellow Ford pilot Ben Keating, who took a GTE AM class win at Le Mans only to later be disqualified due to his fuel tank being too big, is also opting out of racing his Ford in favor of a Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR in 2020.
“If I decide to race the Ford again at some point, that will require a whole lot more stuff,” said Keating.
The Ford GT’s return to competition from 2016 to 2019 coincided with the 50th anniversary of their four consecutive wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1966-69 and generated a lot of fanfare. However, in May of 2019 Ford confirmed they would be closing the program after the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans in the WEC and after the 2019 Petit Le Mans in IMSA.
The Ford GT program found it’s share of victories, including their class return to Le Mans in 2016 despite claims on sandbagging from other teams. They also won in their class at Watkins Glen in 2017 and at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2018. Despite not winning any titles in WEC or IMSA, they scored 16 class wins in 56 races, meeting and exceeding the goals set by Ford.
Despite the car no longer competing in an official capacity, there’s reason to believe that it made an impact in sports car racing beyond the track. Following the conclusion of the 2019 IMSA season, the sanctioning body reported that viewership for the sport increased by 15 percent. Although this was in the latter half of the GT’s participation in the sport, there’s no denying that part of the sport’s heritage was part of the larger draw in 2019.
