The First Natural Terrain Road Course of the Season Awaits
By David Phillips
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Four events into the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), GT Daytona (GTD), GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) cars finally tackle their first natural terrain road course of the season in this weekend’s Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N. And what a natural terrain road course it is.
WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway ranks among the most challenging, scenic and, yes, beloved venues on the IMSA calendar. From the iconic Corkscrew plummeting 59 feet in a quarter mile to the Andretti Hairpin and the ultrafast Turns 6, 9 and 10, there’s nary a dull moment throughout its 11 turns and 2.238 miles. Here are some things to keep an eye on this weekend.
Evolving GTP
The GTP class will continue its rapid evolution in this, the fourth event of its debut season. Most evident is the welcome addition of a third Porsche to the mix, with the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 making its maiden competition appearance alongside the pair of now battle-tested Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s. With veteran Mike Rockenfeller and young Tijmen van der Helm at the wheel and the JDC-Miller crew having their first taste of GTP action, running at the front is a tall if not unrealistic order. Then again, JDC-Miller had a surprise or two up its sleeve in the old Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class – see wins in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen.
Something’s Gotta Give – Maybe
Now that three of the four competing marques (Acura, Cadillac and Porsche) have graced victory lane, it would come as no surprise to see BMW take its first GTP win this weekend. After seemingly opening the season on the proverbial back foot in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 scored an opportunistic second place at Sebring. Better yet, BMW M Team RLL’s Bimmers came home P2 and P4 last month in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, with Connor De Phillippi setting fastest lap of the race. You don’t have to be a weatherman to know the BMWs have the wind at their back and might well notch their first GTP win at Laguna Seca.
Then again, when is the last time Chip Ganassi and Wayne Taylor went this deep into a season without notching a win? That’s not to say Daytona winners Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, Sebring winners Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing or Long Beach winners Porsche Penske Motorsport should abandon all hope of a second win this weekend. It is to say, however, that something’s gotta give before long in GTP; and it could well be at WeatherTech Raceway.
Something Else Might Be Ready to Give
Speaking of starting on the back foot, after an inauspicious debut in the Rolex 24, the new Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) came roaring back in Rounds 2 and 3, with the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche taking the GTD PRO win at Sebring and coming home P3 on the streets of Long Beach. While the new Porsche has so far been shut out of the GTD podium, Wright Motorsports is the defending class winner at WeatherTech Raceway. What’s more, in addition to Wright’s No. 77 Porsche, no fewer than three others (No. 91 and 92 Kellymoss/Riley and No. 80 AO Racing) give the Stuttgart marque a numbers advantage in GTD.
Tanned, Ready and Rested
Having not raced since Sebring, the LMP2 competitors will be tanned, ready and rested. Tower Motorsports rates as the odds-on favorite given it’s not only the defending class winners at WeatherTech Raceway but carries the class points lead into Monterey after winning at Sebring. That said, the top five finishers at Sebring finished on the same lap, which bodes well for a highly competitive two hours and 40 minutes of LMP2 competition.
Be sure to catch all the Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N action from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca live on NBC network this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.