The IMSA WeatherTech Championship Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown at COTA, May 4 – 6, will be the first of four IMSA GT Daytona (GTD) races that Lone Star Racing, Knox and Skeen will contest this year in the team’s new Mercedes-AMG GT3.

In addition to COTA, Lone Star Racing will also race in the three-race stretch of IMSA events at Road America, August 3 – 6, VIRginia International Raceway, August 25 – 27, and Laguna Seca, September 22 – 24.

Lone Star’s 2017 schedule includes the same four races that the team selected last year for its IMSA GTD racing schedule.

“This schedule worked for us last year and we are looking forward to visiting four of our favorite tracks again in 2017,” Knox said. “We would love to do more races, who wouldn’t, but I also have many time commitments away from race track with family and business. It has been six months since we last raced so we are anxious to get things going very soon at COTA.”

Skeen partnered Knox at all four IMSA races in 2016 and the duo also co-drove in the Pirelli World Challenge GT and Sprint-X events at Laguna Seca.

“Last year we were knocking on the door of a top-five finish on a couple of occasions but never quite got the result due to a few different reasons,” Skeen said. “The competition is as strong as ever, but I think we are capable of that performance again if we put everything together. Like always, execution is the name of the game.”

Lone Star, which is based in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area, took delivery of its new Mercedes-AMG GT3 very late last year. The team has thoroughly prepared the new car over the last few months at the team’s Motorsports Ranch-based shop in Cresson, Texas and recently completed its first test at COTA.

The two-day session last week at COTA allowed the team to test with the on-site support of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Engineers.

“I am very excited,” said Lone Star Racing Team Manager AJ Petersen. “Our COTA test went well, and it will be special for us to race in front of a home-state crowd in a couple of weeks. There will be friends and family attending this event. It will be one of our most important races of the year.”

Knox, Skeen and Lone Star earned an IMSA season-best finish of eighth last year at COTA. They were as high as fifth in the late stages of the race only to be forced to serve a penalty for an earlier contact incident in the final minutes.

“Our recent test at COTA has shown that the returning members of the team are all ready to go, and we have some excellent new additions as well,” Skeen said. “The new car, for one, is very exciting and should prove very competitive. The racing in IMSA is always good although I believe we should be able to find some good success at COTA. We had a strong run last year even though we didn’t have the best results, so hopefully we can hit the ground running when we get back to Austin.”

Lone Star raced a Dodge Viper GT3-R the last three seasons, a big-bore, front-engine race car similar to the basic platform of the Mercedes-AMG GT3.

“The cars are somewhat similar,” Petersen said. “Mercedes-AMG has done a great job with this car. It has high levels of downforce and quick responses to driver input, which brings driver confidence. It has less torque than the Viper that should help the car be easier on the tires and make for a more consistent pace throughout a stint.”

Skeen also sees the long-run consistency and potential of the Mercedes-AMG GT3.

“I think the levels of downforce are significantly higher with the Mercedes-AMG and the platform is much more direct,” Skeen said. “This gives the driver more confidence that the car is going to go where you place. Perhaps more importantly, I think the car will prove to be much more consistent over a race stint, so we should be able to maintain a strong pace to fight for positions at the end of a race.”

Noteworthy

- Petersen and his team have had to learn more than just a new race car in their switch to Mercedes-AMG. “The biggest change for me is my tool box,” Petersen said. “Going from Viper to Mercedes has meant a new assortment of metric tools and torx drivers. I am also becoming proficient at reading German and the current Dollar to Euro exchange rates!”

- Lone Star’s participation at COTA and the other three races will give Mercedes-AMG a fourth entry in those events in its bid for the IMSA WeatherTech GTD Manufacturers Championship in its first year in the series. Victories in the last two series races and a third-place finish in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona have given Mercedes-AMG an early-season lead in the GTD manufacturer title race over Porsche, 100 – 91. “We can’t help but be encouraged by the performance of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 so far this year,” Petersen said.

- Petersen hasn’t ruled out more IMSA races for Lone Star this year if the right customer can be found. “I really look forward to the consecutive races that we have scheduled late in the season,” Petersen said. “It will be good to bring the team into the routine of the events and for us to hit our stride. We are still working to add to our 2017 schedule with other drivers with budget that desire to run a Mercedes AMG-GT3 in IMSA.”

The No. 96 BMW M6 GT3 of Bret Curtis and Jens Klingmann took the green flag from fourteenth place in Saturday afternoon’s race. Curtis was able to maintain a strong pace in the opening laps but had very little opportunity to make up position due to two early full course cautions.

As part of a strategy call, the No. 96 M6 GT3 was called to the pits under the second full course caution at the eighteen minute mark for tires and a splash of fuel, leaving Curtis in the car.

Curtis continued on to complete his forty-one minute opening stint before handing the car over to Jens Klingmann with a pit stop under green following caution three of the race.

After making up several positions with a shorter fuel only and driver change stop, the No. 96 of Klingmann exited pit lane to regain track position with just under one hour remaining in the race.

Klingmann pushed his way up and into the top five of the GTD class despite two more full course cautions in the final hour of the 100-minute contest.

Klingmann went on to cross the line and take the white flag from fifth position pushing to hold what would have been a solid top-five finish from a fourteenth place start.

In the final corner, on the final lap of the race, Klingmann entered the hairpin in front of the No. 86 Acura NSX when at the last second the rookie driver in the factory No. 15 Lexus RCF attempted an impossible pass which resulted in all three cars crashing into the outside wall, heavily damaged and unable to continue on to take the checkered.

“I have seen a lot of stupid things happen on the race track – but this one takes the cake. What was Alon thinking? – oh wait , he wasn’t.” Will Turner Said. “I’ll send the bill to repair our wrecked car to Lexus. I’m sure a big factory team like Lexus will be happy to pay for the action of their driver. I was also surprised that we got no apologies from the driver or the team after this happened – I’ll update everyone once I get the check from them”

“It’s quite frustrating to have something like this happen to us on the final lap and final corner after running a strong and clean race,” said Jens Klingmann. “A fifth place finish for us would have been a great result starting from fourteenth in a caution filled race.”

Despite a solid performance by the entire Turner Motorsport team, the No. 96 M6 GT3 of Curtis and Klingmann recorded a ninth place finish.

Racing action resumes in just over three weeks in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas on May 6th for round four of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The team had showed a continued improvement in the first two races of the season, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the Twelve Hours of Sebring. When the No. 48 Lamborghini Huracán hit the track this week on the streets of Long Beach, California, drivers Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow showed strong speeds in the IMSA GTD class. Sellers ran a perfect qualifying session, earning pole position on Friday in a highly competitive field.

Sellers led the field to green Saturday afternoon under clear weather conditions. A full course caution came out after the opening lap, and Sellers stayed on track, leading the GTD field back to green. A second caution came out at the 17 minute mark, and while the majority of the GTLM and GTD field made their mandatory pit stops and driver changes, the No. 48 Lamborghini Huracán stayed on track. As the field went back to green, the team called Sellers into pit lane, where the car received a full service pit stop. Madison Snow took over and rejoined in sixth, only to be called into pit lane for pitting under caution. At the time the car entered pit lane, the track and pits had yet to be declared green, resulting in a stop and hold penalty.

Snow rejoined at the rear of the field, and as is typical with street courses, contact and cautions played into the final results for many of the competitors. While the No. 48 Lamborghini showed an impressive run all week with blistering lap times, the attrition filled race resulted in a 16th place finish in class.

Round Four of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge takes place at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, May 4-6.

Driver Quotes

Bryan Sellers
Unfortunately, it was not the day we were looking for. Sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t. Today was not our day. That’s all we can do. We had a great effort, and it is true to say you win and lose as a team. We have to go back and look at what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again. I think we also have to look at the positives. We had a good car, sat on the pole, so it was a good weekend up until it wasn’t. We’ll look at what we have to do and get better for the next one.
 
Madison Snow
We had a rough penalty at the beginning of the race. Bryan was quick, the car was quick and he had a good gap out front. I got in the car, and the car was great. We were pushing, then got the penalty. We had a good car and a lot of speed in the car. We have the set up right, but it makes it more disappointing to know we had such a good car for this race. We’re looking forward to coming back and doing this race again. We learned some set up things that we will implement for future races so that Bryan and I will be even more comfortable with getting it to the top.

Paul Miller
We had a very strong car and had nailed the setup, which was a big positive! We also had a good strategy working, but made a basic error from the pit stand. Communication from race control was confusing to us, but we ultimately have to take responsibility for our error. It’s a shame because the TOTAL Lamborghini was poised for an excellent result!

 “I can’t take any credit for today,” stated Nielsen. “This credit goes entirely to Scuderia Corsa and Alessandro Balzan, they were totally my heroes today. How they executed, it’s just unbelievable what they did. They keep creating magic, every time I would think ‘you can’t do this,’ they make it happen. They kept telling me I was running lap times as fast as the leaders, but you just can’t pass. Huge props to Alessandro and the Scuderia Corsa guys, that was just badass.”

Driving the No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3, the first time for the venerable machine on the famed street circuit, the day was off to a daunting start knowing that they would start the race in the 11th position. As the shortest race of the year, 100 minutes, the tricky 1.9-mile circuit that is literally formed around the downtown city streets is notorious for a lack of passing opportunities. Knowing they had very little time to gain ground, the challenge of working their way up the field was set.

As the green flag fell, Nielsen would take on starting duties, wasting no time as she gained two spots before settling in to a rhythm to carry out her stint. Finding an immediate pace that matched the leaders, Nielsen’s lap-times would match the leaders throughout her run, ultimately setting the fastest lap of the opening stint. With passing nearly impossible, however, all focus would shift to preserving the car and focusing on strategy and quick pit work to jump ahead of the competition.

As the opening round of pit stops cycled through, the team would pit Christina with just under one hour to go, having advanced several positions and threatening for a top-five. Once again proving that this is a team sport, an excellent stop by the Scuderia Corsa crew would gain two more places, with teammate Alessandro Balzan now driving to the finish and sitting in fourth place.

For the final 50 minutes, Balzan would enjoy a remarkable drive, hunting down the final podium position for much of his stint, engaged in an endless wheel-to-wheel battle on a track known for impossible passing. As the stint wore on and tire management would become more prevalent, the experience of Alessandro and team showed through, making an incredible pass in the difficult Turn Nine with five minutes remaining, making light contact in the process but ultimately pulling the move off. Balzan would nurse the car home for the final laps, podium in hand.

Now second in the standings, Nielsen and team know the focus for the “sprint” season must move to continued results and no mistakes.

“Unofficially we should be second in the championship and that is a great feeling,” stated Nielsen. “The level of competition here is incredibly tough, and after having a mechanical issue at the first race we began the year a little behind. Today was another testament to my team and teammate, as it’s proof that you can’t ever stop focusing on the field ahead of you to maximize every point. Our next race at Circuit of the Americas is one we all look forward to. We had a great car last year and hopefully we can carry our current momentum through.”

The fifth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will take place in one month’s time, headed to the famed Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Practice will take place on Friday, May 4, with the race taking place on Sunday, May 6.

Running first and second on the road, the #3 and #4 Corvette arrival at the final hairpin on the final lap to find the circuit partially blocked, with Antonio Garcia opting to take the outside line and found his path blocked. This allowed Milner to patiently pull alongside and then make his way through the blocked cars to take a dramatic victory…

Gavin says…

On a dramatic last lap, last corner victory

“It is certainly the most unusual race I have ever won. Road America last year was a bit special but this was on another level as it was all down to the last lap and the last corner – that’s just the way it unfolded.  We managed to find a way through but it’s not the way we wanted to win, we always want to win by going wheel to wheel and winning on pure pace, not this way.
 
“A win is a win and after a frustrating start to the year this is good result to get our season started. This race was so random at points, it was really the case of who was in the right spot as the landscape kept shifting based on fuel, tyres, some random driving from other people and it really was a case of survival – keeping all four corner on the car – making sure you were there or thereabouts for the last 10-15 laps of the race.”

On strategy and teamwork and some bad luck for the sister C7.R

“We had a good pitstop, the fastest in the GTLM class and the guys worked so hard and that helped us in our battle in the final stages. It was so cruel on the sister #3 car but perhaps we were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.
 
“Tommy lost positions in a similar incident at turn 11 earlier in the race and he used that experience to pick his way through on that final lap. But again, we really don’t want to win this way as our teammates had the race taken away from them.
 
“It was actually quite a hollow atmosphere in the team after the race, despite our win. We got lucky this year and last year the luck was against us with the Porsche taking us out, so some serious luck this year and we’ll roll with it and go with it, we’ve also made some good ground in the championship.”

On a tense opening few laps of the race and the first stint…

“The way the race even started was crazy. We came around on the formation lap and approached the hairpin (final turn) at almost racing speed, so into turn one, it was always going to be difficult.  The Ferrari was so aggressive and passed (#3 teammate) Jan (Magnussen) and then pushed the prototype into turn five and turned it around. The exit of turn five is heavily cambered away and I knew the accident would be out wide, so I opted to turn inside, give myself some room, and made it through.
 
“With years of racing, especially at street circuits like this, you get a sense of what will happen and unravel, so I gave myself some breathing room as you could see (from the) the body language of the cars ahead that they were going to have an accident. For the rest of the stint, my aim was to get past Bill (BMW) and give the car over to Tommy as straight and cleanly as possible. We had a great stop, so it was a case of doing the basics well and giving us the option of attacking at the end… almost the foundations to win.”

What goes around comes around…

“We got lucky at the end, but we needed to be there. At the last restart, there was 20 minutes to go and it was the business end of the race. Tommy made a great pass on the BMW and Ford to get us up to second. Then it came down to the last turn on the last lap… It’s hard not being in the car for those final laps, but you trust your teammate. He was a victim last year and this year was a complete flip – we got the luck.
 
“We’ve now had six wins here – some 50 per cent – so it’s an impressive tally. The team is in a good position, always focused on the business end of the race and that’s a real theme that started about 18-months ago, and has really paid dividends. It’s so important to be focused on those final laps and be ready to go. It’s all about reading the race, understanding the track and using the skill, knowledge and experience of the whole team.
 
“Now we head to Austin and COTA, where we hope we can have another strong run and really get our championship defence back on track.”

Starting from 15th in the GT Daytona class, Bennett took on opening race driving duties in the No. 54 Composite Resources / Flex-Box / Micro WaterJet Porsche 911 GT3 R. Bennett expertly navigated the concrete lined street course and avoided the melees, which brought out a total of four full-course cautions during his stint.

Following his teammate’s lead, Braun took over the wheel nearly halfway through the 100-minute sprint race and executed a solid run. The short race length, copious amounts of traffic and another full-course caution period made it difficult to advance, but Braun picked up one spot before crossing the finish line 14th.

The team now heads to Braun’s home state for the Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Show Down at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The event weekend runs May 4 through May 6 and features a two hour and 40 minute race around the 3.4-mile circuit.

Jon Bennett
Driver: No. 54 Porsche 911 GT3 R
“The starts here at Long Beach are always interesting. That’s the beauty of a street course  – the confined space and lots of traffic. Unfortunately, this year the tail of the field got a bit strung out from the start of the field. I was a bit disappointed to not be able to completely pack up before the start of the race. Luckily, a yellow was part of the start too and that basically allowed a second chance at a start.

“On the restart, things were going very well. I was running with the GTD field and I was competitive. I lost a few positions, but in general, we ran with the pace of the GTD field. We were holding our own and waiting for some good pit stops and to get Colin in the car to move up the order. Our program is getting stronger and we’re all getting more familiar with the GT3 R. I’m looking forward to COTA to see if we can move the car up, and I really think we have the potential to do so.”

Colin Braun
Driver: No. 54 Porsche 911 GT3 R
“The biggest challenge today was that it was such a short race. We got trapped a lap down early in the race, and at that point, everyone had made their last pit stops. The pit-stop window for GTD cars is about an hour under green. Once everyone made their pit stops, we were trapped a lap down. It is pretty impossible to get your lap back at that point because there are no more pit stops and you can’t get a wave-by. It’s also tough to balance a street course. You have to race and do your part while respecting the other guys that are on the lead lap and racing for position. We had a pretty decent car in terms of pace there at the end. We had better pace than some of the guys that were running in the top five. It felt like we would have had a top five car had we had some luck and things fall our way. We made it to the end, and we’re definitely improving.”

The team showed great improvement on the new program after a difficult first two races in Florida earlier this year. From the opening practice to the qualifying session, Ed Brown took four seconds off his best lap in the No. 22 Nissan Onroak DPi, to set his fastest lap ever at the Long Beach Grand Prix street circuit. Scott Sharp also showed strength in the qualifying session, setting a lap time to sit third, before pitting the No. 2 Nissan Onroak DPi to wait out the remainder of the session. To the team’s disappointment, the track improved and other competitors in the field found speed, shuffling the No. 2 to sixth.

Trouble appeared for Brown and van Overbeek on the start of the race in the opening lap, when another car had contact with the No. 22 car. The Nissan Onroak DPi suffered damage and parked in pit lane, unable to continue the race.

Scott Sharp and the #2 car had a clean start, keeping position as the field ran the opening 30 minutes of the race, keeping clear of any street racing carnage through two caution periods. With about an hour remaining, Sharp pitted in the third caution to give the driving duties to Dalziel. He rejoined in sixth, but a narrow escape from an incident in the hairpin turn moved him up to fourth. The Prototype field made its text round of pit stops, and the Tequila Patron ESM engineers made the strategy call to take fuel only, allowing Dalziel to exit pit lane in first place. Because of the extra pit stop for the Prototype class, the GTLM and GTD class ranked higher on the charts, forcing Dalziel to slice his way through the slower traffic. With 20 minutes remaining, Dalziel took the overall lead, setting the fastest lap of the race.

With a win in sight, all eyes were on the clock with five minutes remaining as lapped traffic allowed the No. 10 car of Jordan Taylor to close the gap to the leader. Dalziel continued to set the fastest laps of the race, but a lapped car held up the Tequila Patron ESM car, allowing Taylor to get by with three laps to go. Dalziel attempted to charge for a final fight, but traffic continued to hold him up to the checker flag, resulting in a second place finish.

While the result felt bittersweet after being so close to the win, Tequila Patron ESM earned their first podium with the new Nissan NISMO Onroak DPi program, showing significant progress over the last month. The next race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be held at Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas, May 4-6. For schedule information, visit imsa.com.

Driver Quotes

Ryan Dalziel
All around, it is a good result. If we came in this weekend thinking we were going to lead laps, be competitive and finish second, we would have been thrilled. To have led so many laps, see how strong we were, and just get ruined by lapped cars driving like morons is frustrating. We did everything we could do. The car was excellent and strategy was perfect. I feel bummed, but we will take second.

Scott Sharp
It was a big step forward for the team this weekend. We’ve been working on our reliability, and that went forward. The performance was better and it seemed like we were competitive in every session. The team did a great but risky strategy call to pit us under yellow and swap drivers early, but it worked out for us. Ryan did a great job. Sometimes traffic goes your way, sometimes it goes against the grain. Unfortunately that was it for us today.

Ed Brown
I am happy for the team and happy for the No. 2 car. They had a good race. Traffic ended up costing us the win. As for the No. 22, that incident was definitely not what we wanted to happen. Street courses bring that on, and we’ll live to go race at Circuit of the Americas.  
 
Johannes van Overbeek
I feel bad for Ed and the Patron ESM guys. We had a pretty good car. We were a victim of circumstance. Hats off to everyone on the No. 2 car. They had a great run. I feel bad for Ryan. He was the quickest car out there, but traffic didn’t swing his way. We’re making progress with the program and we’ll be sporty in races to come.

Drivers Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook expertly navigated through a caution-filled race, keeping the No. 67 in one piece and positioned for a podium, their sixth IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship podium together since pairing up at Ford Chip Ganassi Racing last season.

“It was a good, clean race for us,” Briscoe said. “We got a bit of good fortune at the beginning. A few cars went out in front of us, so that gave us a little bit of track position. We had a very nice pit stop with a driver change, then a really long stint on our Michelin tires. I think comparing to the other cars on my strategy, we were probably the best car when it came to consistency and performance at the end of the race. It was a crazy finish, with a stack-up at the hairpin. I think this will really shake up the points nicely for us on the No. 67 car. I think this gets us back in the hunt.”

Westbrook started p8 after an aggressive pursuit of extra tenths in qualifying put the rear of the No. 67 into the tire wall. Meanwhile, Joey Hand put the No. 66 Ford GT on the front row in p2. But at the green flag, Hand was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was collected by an accident in front of him that left him no room to avoid it, and caused significant damage to the front of the car. The No. 66 finished p8.

Meanwhile, Westbrook and Briscoe steadily worked their way around the packed street circuit, in pursuit of a podium. It was as much of a victory for the No. 67 crew, who’d already performed an engine change and repairs to the car after qualifying.

“Obviously, starting at the back gave us some options on strategy,” Westbrook said. “We really set the car up for the long run and it really paid dividends today. Had there not been so many yellows at the end, the result could’ve been even better. Ryan really spent a long time working on the fuel number. Thanks to everyone on the No. 67 team for holding patient and working hard. We’re back on the podium.”

The No. 66 was caught in not one, but two on-track incidents. In the second, driver Dirk Müller was spun into the wall in the hairpin turn, causing damage to the rear of the car. The No. 66 Ford GT had finished on the podium at the first two races of the year, winning at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and finishing second at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The events of the day were not a surprise to Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Mike Hull.
“The results were exactly what you expect on city streets,” Hull said. “On city streets, you always wait until the end to see who’s going to blink first. We had a great car today. Both Richard and Ryan did exactly what they knew to do to finish where they did today. I think it’s great for the team, great overall for the program.”

The no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 drove from its starting position of 11th to finish in third position in the GT-Daytona class. Christina Nielsen started the race and advanced several positions before fast pit work by the Scuderia Corsa team allowed her teammate Alessandro Balzan to take the car over in fifth position.

Locked into a multi-car battle for position throughout the second half of the race, Balzan ensured a podium finish for the Ferrari with a late-race pass into turn nine. The third-place finish was the second straight podium for the Ferrari after Scuderia Corsa finished second at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

In the GT-LeMans class it would be a short race for the no. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE. Starting in third position, Toni Vilander jumped to the lead in the first corner but would be involved in an incident with a Prototype class car in the fifth corner. The resulting damage forced Vilander to retire the Ferrari.

Before Long Beach, Risi Competizione had finished in third position at both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The next round of the IMSA Sports Car Championship will be May 4-6 at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

Starting from the pole position, Ricky Taylor drove the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R through the early stages of race, weathering several yellow restarts and turning it over to his brother Jordan at the 56-minute mark of the 100-minute event. Jordan exited the pits mired in the middle of the 35 car field in second place behind the No. 2 ESM team car. The Konica Minolta Cadillac was a clearly better handling car in the back section of the track, but the ESM prototype clearly had the exit speed out of the hairpin and the top speed down Shoreline Drive. With just five minutes remaining, Jordan Taylor was able to use the slower traffic to his advantage and pass the ESM car to go on for the win. The Long Beach victory today joins the team’s Rolex 24 Hour At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring wins so far this season.

“We knew we were exiting the pits in second behind the No. 2 car,” Jordan Taylor said. “As soon as we restarted and got strung out, I knew the 2 car was fast and I would need to use traffic to get by him. As soon as we hit traffic, it was a Chess match to see who would go which way. He went to the inside into Turn 1 and I went to the outside and my line worked. As soon as we got in the lead, I knew it would be hard for him to get by me. We are three for three, winning Long Beach, Daytona and Sebring!”

“My part was straight forward,” Ricky Taylor said. “I drove from pole and brought in to pit lane in the lead. Jordan had the tough job to battle traffic and overtake guys. When Jordan got in and we came out in second, I wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to make the move, but Jordan got it done. The race strategy was perfect. Jordan did an amazing job to get by the 2 car and get our third win.”

The No. 5 Mustang Sampling and No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.Rs were factors at the front of the field in the early going. Fourteen minutes into the race, Christian Fittipaldi had contact with a GTD car that caused heavy damage to the rear of the Mustang Sampling Cadillac. Successive pit stops were required to make repairs. The No. 5 Cadillac was classified in seventh at the finish several laps down.

“It was a really tough day for the whole team,” Barbosa said. “There is a big points gap to the leaders now. It makes for a long race when you’re driving three laps behind in a short race. You just try to stay out of trouble, cruise around and get as many points as possible and take the checkered flag.”

“We had a tough day,” Fittipaldi said. “I went by the No. 50 GTD car down the back straight. I got collected and he spun me out. That was the end of our day. By the time we fixed the car, it was over. In such a short race you cannot make up that amount time. Nothing we can do, turn the page and move on to Austin and the Circuit of the Americas.”

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac was battling for a podium position when Dane Cameron went through Turn 8 and hit the wall at the exit of the corner. The damage to the car was too severe to continue, they were classified in eighth position.

“It was a weird race,” Cameron said. “We got cycled back in the GTD field on that restart when I got in the car. It was a feisty and crazy restart. The car was ok, I was fighting for position. I was in the thick of the fight looking for A podium finish or a win today. I made a mistake in Turn 8 and hit the inside wall and that sent me hard into the outside ending the day. I am disappointed to throw that one away. Difficult start to the year. Time to turn the page at Austin. Thanks to Cadillac and the Whelen Engineering team for a safe car, I am fine.”

“Overall I had a good start to the race,” Curran said. “I had a little traction problem with cold tires early on in the race. I had a good battle with Tom Long in Mazda, got by him and made my way up third. The Whelen Cadillac got better over the long run as we got some heat in the car. The team did an amazing job on the pit stop and got us out behind the 10. Dane got by the 10 and he was pushing hard and got a little too close the wall and clipped it. Some heavy damage. We will get it fixed and get ready for COTA [Circuit of the Americas, next race]. We won’t get discouraged and go win COTA”

MacNeil, who was slated to start 13th in the No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, actually started last in the GTD category because the team decided to change tires after yesterday’s qualifying. Given that starting position, combined with a very tight 1.968-mile street course, this meant that MacNeil and Jeannette would need some luck and a solid race strategy in order to win.

MacNeil got a great start and passed two GTD cars on the first lap just minutes after the green flag flew. This is when the first of five race cautions came out. On lap 10, the second caution came out for No. 22 DPi car. This is when the team decided to have MacNeil pit and put Jeannette in the car to drive the remainder of the 100-minute race. This was part of the team’s strategy. But, they would still need a little luck to go the distance on fuel.

“Anytime you start dead last, it puts a lot of burden on you to perform extremely well and to pick up as many positions as possible, and as quickly and safely as possible,” MacNeil said. “On a street course like Long Beach, that’s a lot easier said than done. But, I just kept my head down and kept my eyes out of the mirrors – not worrying about people behind me. I just kept my focus forward, picking cars off and moving forward. We made a good call coming in just 25 minutes into the race. Gunnar took it from there.”

As the GTD cars began to cycle through their pit stops, Jeannette inherited the race lead on lap 29. One lap later the race’s fourth caution came out. At that point, the team knew it had to conserve fuel in order to have any shot of making it to the end without a splash of fuel. As lady luck would have it, the caution flew for the final time with 29 minutes remaining. At that point, the team knew they had a realistic shot at picking up their first win of the 2017 season. All Jeannette needed to do was to continue to put down fast, consistently clean laps and he did just that for the win.

“We knew the circumstances that were likely to happen for this race,” Jeannette said. “We knew that pitting early would be a gamble. If everything worked out for us caution-wise, we knew it would be the right gamble to make. With us starting at the back, it was going to be hard to win today not risking things. So, we just decided to do it.

“I got in the car and I was in fuel save mode. I cycled into the lead and was able to stay there. We had extra yellows. And, at that point when the final yellow came out, we knew we had made the fuel number we needed to. Then it was like, ‘OK cool. We can turn the power up and not have to worry about it.’ Luckily, we were quick enough to not really have to fight with anybody. It was an awesome job by our WeatherTech Racing guys. Our Mercedes-AMG did what we needed it to do.
 
“Long Beach and I have an awesome relationship. My father was born in Long Beach hospital. I’ve raced here four times and have won three out of the four. I’m super happy.”

The IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship next travels to Austin, Texas May 4-6 for the Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown.

The start of the race was sparkling for both Tristan Nunez and Tom Long. Nunez, driving the No. 55, muscled past the No. 5 Cadillac going into the first turn to take second place, where he remained for his entire stint. Tom Long raced from his seventh place starting spot all the way to third place during his stint. With one hour remaining and Mazdas running second and third, both drivers encountered gridlock exiting Turn 11, the tightest hairpin turn of the IMSA season. A Ford GT had stalled and was sitting sideways on the track. As Nunez squeezed around the car, the Ford lurched forward, forcing Nunez to come to a halt. Meanwhile, Long took a tighter angle to the inside of the stalled car. Then, the Ford suddenly backed up, forcing Long to a halt, eventually losing a number of positions in the traffic jam.

The short sprint race meant a single pit stop for both cars. Nunez handed the car over to co-driver Jonathan Bomarito, who returned to the track in fourth place among Prototypes, but behind a number of GT car who were on a different fuel strategy. Long also climbed out, as co-driver Joel Miller climbed in for the finish in the No. 70. The team suffered a failure with the air jack system, which meant the right rear tire was not properly attached. After correcting the issue, Miller was able to continue, but one lap down.

Tristan Nunez, Driver, No. 55 Mazda Prototype
About going three-wide with two Cadillacs at the start: “We got a great start, which put me side-by-side with them heading towards Turn 1. I didn’t give an inch, so we made our way into second place. Then, we held it until the pit stop. I was very very pleased with the performance. At Long Beach, you’re always going to have close calls, especially with so many cars on a short street circuit. It’s a concrete canyon but, overall it was pretty clean despite all of the yellow flags that came out. It was pretty smooth sailing.”

Jonathan Bomarito, Driver, No. 55 Mazda Prototype
About fighting to pass the slower GT cars: “The traffic was wild! We talked about that scenario with Zach LaGrone, our engineer. You try to plan for it before the race, but you can’t plan everything. You have to be flexible with the environment as you race. There were a lot of yellow flags, so you really had to stay clean. It’s risk versus reward. You don’t want to lose to the cars in front of you, but you can’t take a big chance. Some took chances today and you saw their cars in the wall. It was a good day for the team and Mazda. And, a first podium for the new Mazda RT24-P! Tristan did great in qualifying and had a great first stint. I’m happy with our performance for the day.”

Tom Long, Driver, No. 70 Castrol Edge/ModSpace Mazda Prototype
“It was a lot of fun here at Long Beach, and our Mazda was really strong today. The traffic was like driving on the 405! Our car had such strong braking going into the corners, we were able to out-brake and then pounce on the Nissan and some of the other cars ahead of us. It was about being aggressive but being smart at the same time while using that to our advantage. It was a dynamic race. The hairpin always seems to have some excitement and it happened multiple times this race. We had a traffic jam there. I don’t expect to be using reverse during race, but it happens!”

Joel Miller, Driver, No. 70 Castrol Edge/ModSpace Mazda Prototype
“The biggest thing for us in this sprint race format was losing the lap because of the issue there in the pits. That was crushing to our race. We rebounded from that and showed that we had a car that was quick, as our pace was very good through the entire race. It was definitely bumper cars out there, but we knew that coming into the race. It’s fantastic for the 55 car, and I’m really proud for the program for them to get that podium. We know what we need to work on going towards COTA [Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex., May 6], which is next. We showed the cars are getting faster on the race track, which is good and shows we have the potential for many more podium positions.”

John Doonan, Director, Mazda Motorsports
“It was a decent Mazda day here in Long Beach. Both cars showed solid pace throughout the race….and if you are going to stand somewhere at the end of the race, you certainly want it to be on the podium. I want to thank every one of the team members and all of our partners for their efforts and support. It has been a thrash getting up to speed and getting the 2017 program off the ground. Now, getting a taste of what it feels like to have the leaders in our sights is nice, but we are far from satisfied. The top step of the podium is where the Mazda brand and our partners like Castrol, ModSpace and Motegi belong.”

Gavin won for the fourth time at Long Beach, and the victory was Milner’s second at the event. They won together in 2012, and on Saturday came from sixth at the start to record a surprising but rewarding victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“After a hard-fought battle, it was rewarding to see Tommy Milner roll the No. 4 Corvette C7.R into Victory Lane today at Long Beach,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Tommy and Oliver Gavin overcame adversity early in the race to be there at the end to capture the win.”

Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, coming off a GTLM victory at Sebring three weeks ago, placed fifth in class Saturday with their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Garcia seemed headed for certain victory until a multi-car incident at the final turn blocked the track and brought a handful of cars to a stop – including both Corvettes. Garcia became trapped on the left-hand side of the track while Milner, on the right-hand side, was able to slip through the traffic jam and won by 1.830 seconds.

The two Corvettes found themselves running 1-2 in class with 10 minutes left despite different race strategies. Magnussen was caught up in an opening-lap incident and suffered damage to the front of the No. 3 Corvette C7.R. Garcia drove the final 78 minutes on the same set of Michelin tires and tank of fuel, aided by five full-course caution periods.

Gavin drove the first 42 minutes in the No. 4 Corvette before handing off to Milner. Not long after Milner left the pitlane, an incident – similar to the once that impacted the race’s finish – blocked the final turn with Milner stuck in the outside lane. Nearly an hour later, he found himself approaching the same situation but chose to take the inside line. As it turned out, it again was the lane that was able to clear the pileup.

“While the outcome of the late local caution was frustrating, it is the never-give-up attitude of everyone at Corvette Racing that continues to result in these exciting races and finishes,” Campbell said. “We had two strong race cars today and look forward to the next race at COTA.”

The next race for Corvette Racing is the Advance Auto Parts SportsCar Showdown on May 4-6 from Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. FOX Sports 1 will air the race at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 6. Live coverage will be available on FOX Sports Go with live audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “This was a very bizarre day and finish. We will take this victory, and we’re glad that Corvette Racing and Chevrolet have won again at Long Beach. It was just a very unfortunate way that it worked out for Antonio and Jan. We’ve all raced together for so many years now. It’s definitely not the way Tommy and I would have liked to have won. But at the end of the day, a victory is a victory. The good thing for Tommy and I is that it has gotten us back in a good direction heading to COTA for the next round.

“The start was pretty interesting. Coming down into Turn One, it looked like Jan had been jumped by a couple of cars. On first laps here, you’re always looking to see who has their tires up to temperatures, who is using a little bit of extra road and who is taking chances. When I came to Turn Five, the Patron car was already backward going over the apex curb. Knowing that the camber falls away, I knew everyone would be going outside and into the wall. Three of us managed to avoid any contact and got through. From there, it was a lot of insane racing. “Yes it’s a 100-minute race but some people were trying to win it with 75 or 80 minutes left. My goal was to keep the Corvette clean and hand it off to Tommy at the appropriate point whenever the team called us in. We managed to do that and our crew managed to get us out and in front of the cars we felt we were racing. Even past that point, the race kept getting turned on its head. You never knew which way it was going to go.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “It was a weird race today for sure. There was a lot of giving and taking throughout the day. As for the finish, I’ve never seen things work out that way for me or anyone else for that matter. You feel bad for the No. 3 guys, for Antonio and Jan. They had a great race and did everything right. It was just unlucky to lose it that way in a big pack. You need luck in racing sometimes, and today we had that on our side. It feels good for us to get a win and to get points for our No. 4 Corvette and Chevrolet.

“We were a bit behind at one point and it didn’t look like our strategy would play out for us. All those cautions allowed the cars who pitted early could make it on one stop for fuel. Our hope was to get past them if they had to make a late splash for fuel. That didn’t happen. I was hoping for another yellow to get us bunched back up again, which is what happened. I had 13- or 14-lap newer tires and I was able to get around the 24 and I went door-to-door with the 67. That allowed Antonio to get out in the clear, and then so was I. He was quick but then his tires started to go away. In that situation, getting by him was going to be really tough.

“In the last corner at the end, my first reaction was that the race was over. Antonio had a gap over me and also over the 67. I figured it would end up like that but I heard on the radio that there was another crash at the hairpin. At first the track was clear and then it wasn’t. I was in that exact situation earlier in the race and went to the outside; it didn’t work and I lost a spot there. I went to the inside this time, and it opened up. When I got out of the hairpin, I saw green but thought the race was over until they told me on the radio that we had won. It was definitely an unusual way to take a victory. Now we have to regroup as a team and get ready for the next race at COTA.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “I’ve never been part of a finish like that. It’s for sure very difficult to go through; I’m very confused with how the officials judged both incidents in the last corner. Our No. 3 Corvette team did everything we needed to do in order to have the best chance at another victory. I don’t understand the ending and unfortunately for us the results are what they are. All we can do is put ourselves in position to go for a win the next race in Austin.”
 
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FIFTH IN GTLM: “The start was unfortunate. I didn’t get a good getaway. I kind of got swamped going into Turn One. Then I was just in the wrong place going in to Turn Five when the Ferrari got it wrong with one of the prototype. I got caught in all of that and set put us back. We were on a different strategy from there. Our team did a fantastic job. It just an unsatisfying result.”

The race set against a postcard-perfect backdrop of sun, sea and palms is regarded as the American equivalent to the Monaco Grand Prix for good reason. Despite the short race duration of just 100 minutes, the completely walled and fenced 3.167-kilometre street circuit demands everything from the drivers, and on the grandstands and balconies of high-rise apartments, keen sports car fans mingle with famous stars. The simple reason for the high number of prominent celebrities is that Hollywood is virtually just around the corner.

The race was as spectacular as the backdrop. After just one lap, the leading trio in the particularly competitive GTLM class clashed – which opened the door for Laurens Vanthoor. Taking up the race from the fourth grid spot, the Belgian, who as the winner of the 2016 Macau Grand Prix is no stranger to narrow city circuits, moved into the lead. Vanthoor held onto the top spot for almost 45 minutes until the first pit stop – no other GTLM vehicle stayed out on the track as long without a tyre change. It was only while handing the 911 RSR off to Kévin Estre that the position was lost. Running in fifth place, the Frenchman then took up the chase again. In the final laps of a race that had seen no less than five safety car phases, events turned truly dramatic: Kévin Estre advanced to fourth place and kept his cool in the hairpin just before the finish line: In stop-and-go traffic he overtook another competitor in the last seconds to secure the second podium result for Porsche in North America’s premier racing series.

In the second 911 RSR with the starting number 911, two former Long Beach winners had to line up at the back of the field: Patrick Pilet (2016) and Dirk Werner (2015) were unable to take part in the qualifying session due to an accident during practice and were therefore relegated to the very back of the 35-strong field. Putting in a spirited drive, Patrick Pilet ploughed his way through the pack and as he came into the pits he was running in eighth position. Dirk Werner gained another four places during his stint and was even looking good for a podium spot. However, a drive-through penalty imposed by the stewards of the meeting for making contact with another competitor put a sudden halt to his charge.

In the GTD class, Park Place Motorsports with Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) in the 911 GT3 R finished on fourth place as the best Porsche customer team. His works driver colleague Wolf Henzler (Germany) took the flag in the 911 GT3 R of the TRG squad in fifth. Fielded by Alegra Motorsports, the 500+hp customer sport racer, which Porsche had designed for worldwide GT3 series based on the 911 GT3 RS production sports car, secured a class win at round one at the Daytona 24-hour race.

Round four of the IMSA SportsCar Championship will be contested on 6 May at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin/Texas.

Comments on the race
Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “It takes a while to digest such a race. It was turbulent and difficult to keep oversight. Finishing in third place at the end was pretty good. Still, you’re left feeling that there could have been more. Thanks to a good strategy and fast pit stops we managed to gain ground, particularly with our number 911 car, which had started from the very back. But because of the drive-through penalty it wasn’t enough for a podium result. Congratulations to our customer team Park Place Motorsports, who was rewarded with fourth place for its strong pursuit after a spin in the first lap.”

Marco Ujhasi, Overall Project Manager GT Works Motorsport: “That was a crazy race with highs and lows. We suffered a setback on Friday when our number 911 car was damaged during practice. But the team worked brilliantly to repair the car in time to compete. The race started turbulently. We were able to take the lead at a relatively early stage, which suited our strategy perfectly. At the next safety car phase we then split the strategy, like most other teams, and that also worked well. As far as the result is concerned, we definitely did the best we could under the circumstances. But no one needs such a rollercoaster of feelings every weekend.”

Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #911): “That was a dramatic race with a lot of incidents. The safety car had to be deployed often. There were a lot of collisions and drive-through penalties. And then the front-runner loses the race in the final lap because several cars didn’t make it around the bend. That’s pretty crazy.”

Dirk Werner (911 RSR #911): “Patrick got us back in the race with great overtaking manoeuvres. We were lucky with the caution phases and by mid-way through the race we were already running in the top four. But then we were handed a drive-through penalty and our fight for a podium spot was over. It’s a shame for the team who worked so hard through the night to repair our 911 RSR. Those guys certainly deserved a better result.”

Kévin Estre (911 RSR #912): “It was a difficult race. We actually did everything right with our strategy. We were leading, but then lost places due to the many safety car phases. In my first lap I was hit quite hard in the rear. After that I had hardly any downforce, but I kept fighting and was rewarded in the bizarre final lap.”

Laurens Vanthoor (911 RSR #912): “We actually didn’t expect to be on the podium. But we’re happy to take it home. My teammates told me a lot about Long Beach, but I hadn’t expected it to be quite so turbulent here.”

Sellers and Paul Miller Racing’s last pole position was won on another street course, at the Detroit Grand Prix in 2016. This afternoon, Sellers earned his first Long Beach pole position in lap 10 of his 11 lap run, setting the fastest lap by 0.033 seconds. The success of winning the TOTAL Pole Award marks a special moment for the team, who is also partnered with TOTAL Lubricants for the 2017 season.

“To get on pole at Long Beach is really exciting,” said Sellers. “I have been close a couple times and have never been able to get there. It is a little extra special for us, having TOTAL on board as a team partner, and get the TOTAL pole award makes it even better. It was a lot of work, and the guys did a great job.”

In preparation for Saturday’s race, the team will get to work on the final set up changes on the Lamborghini Huracán GT3. Sellers will lead the GTD field to green before giving the wheel to Snow to finish. The race will air at 4:00PM Eastern, live on FOX, Saturday, April 8.

Patrick Pilet (France) was not able to take part in the qualifying: After clocking the fastest lap time during the morning session, the 2015 IMSA GT champion crashed into the wall in the second 911 RSR (#911) fielded by the Porsche GT Team shortly before the end of the second practice. The vehicle was so badly damaged that it couldn’t be repaired in time for the qualifying, which took place soon after. For this reason, Pilet and his teammate Dirk Werner (Germany) have to take up the race from the back of the field.

Qualifying quotes
Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “The qualifying actually ran as expected. The field was extremely close. In fourth, we’re just one-and-a-half tenths of a second off the pole-setting time. It’ll certainly be a gripping race. The fact that Patrick hit the wall and couldn’t qualify our second 911 RSR was, of course, a setback. The repairs will take quite some time, but we’re feeling optimistic and we expect the car to be ready to race tomorrow.”

Laurens Vanthoor (911 RSR #912): “This was my first ever qualifying session with the 911 RSR, and so I’m feeling pretty happy. On such a difficult track, and one which is new for me, there are always places where you lose some time. In light of this, it went very well. I hope that we can improve even more in the race.”

Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #911): “I can’t pinpoint why I hit the wall. Unfortunately this meant we couldn’t take part in the qualifying and have to start from the back. But anything’s possible in Long Beach. We have to put it behind us now and look ahead.”

This year, IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship has brought more cars to Long Beach than ever before. Contributing to the loaded entry list this weekend is the addition of the GTD class to the mix, which boasts 16 entries, including the No. 54 Composite Resources / Flex-Box / Micro WaterJet Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Jon Bennett was designated as the driver for today’s 15-minute qualifying session. Bennett’s fastest lap was a 1:22.837 (85.5mph). This puts the No. 54 15th on the GTD grid for tomorrow’s one-hour and 40-minute race.

Bennett shares the car with Colin Braun. The pair won at Long Beach in 2013, driving in the Prototype Challenge category.

The BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach airs live on FOX, starting at 4pm ET.

Jon Bennett
Driver: No. 54 Porsche 911 GT3 R
“The track was a bit better than I expected from this morning.  It took a bit of an adjustment to take advantage of the grip that was developing. I went nearly a second faster than my session this morning. We are getting incrementally better each session, so I’m optimistic. Of course, there’s a lot more that goes on during the race than tenths of seconds. My biggest surprise was how close the GT3-based GTD cars are similar to the GTLM cars. It’s a lot closer than I expected. Hopefully that won’t hinder either class in the race, but this track has certainly brought the two classes close together.”

MacNeil had the controls of the No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 for today’s late afternoon 15-minute qualifying session. Early in the session, he was in the top five on the speed charts. And, as the session wore on, he got faster. In fact, he set his fastest lap time of 1:20.363 on the final lap of the session.

“Normally as qualifying goes on, the track, the car, and the tires get hotter and more worn, and you usually go slower,” MacNeil said. “I didn’t have much practice this morning. I’ve had about 20 minutes [of total practice time] before I went qualifying. I’ve been here [at Long Beach] before, but I’m still learning how this car reacts to this track. So, I did the best I could with that learning curve in mind. I just kept pushing it more with each lap – methodically – because I didn’t want to push too hard in one corner, lose the car and crash, and then create unnecessary work for the guys.”
 
MacNeil likes how the Mercedes-AMG GT3 performed in qualifying despite only having about 20 minutes of practice time today.

“I’m happy with how the Mercedes performed in qualifying today,” MacNeil continued. “It handled really well and drove really smoothly. It did everything I wanted it to do. The Mercedes is adaptable to anything. It’s such a good car. It really does whatever we want it to do.”  
 
“I think qualifying went well,” Jeannette said. “Cooper didn’t get a ton of time in the car in the first practice session. He went more than a second faster [in qualifying] than he did in the last practice session. So, I think he did a really great job. The GTD field is really strong. We’ll see how the race shakes out. Our Mercedes-AMG GT3 is in a really good place. I’m pretty happy with it. So, I think you’ll see us moving forward.”

Live race coverage of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship Bubba burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach starts at 4 p.m. ET and will be televised LIVE ON FOX.

The Konica Minolta Cadillac team is continuing its storied run. Following up on their wins at the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Ricky Taylor drove the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R prototype to the pole position with a time of 1:13.549. The duo of Ricky and Jordan Taylor led this morning and this afternoon’s practice sessions, and capped the day with a pole run.

“We came here motivated as we won the first two big races,” Ricky Taylor said. “I think this is the most valuable pole of the yea, as track position is so important here. We have won here the last two years. This year is going to be tougher. There are more cars on the track with the addition of the GTD cars. We are looking at two pit stops, the GTD and GTLM cars just one. There has been one yellow the last two years combined. With different pit strategies it can make for a messy race. It is difficult to pass here. I am glad to have the track position to start the race. Last year, I had to make a move on Christian [Fittipaldi] for the lead into Turn 1. Pole is a vulnerable position here. I will have to have a good start. This is our first street race with the Cadillac DPi-V.R. Cadillac has done a great job with car. The confidence it gives you in the seat is just incredible. You feel the bumps here, but it really doesn’t upset the car too much. The first gear we are running is very long, so we have to take care exiting the hair-pin turn. Hats off to the team for giving me a great car.”

Christian Fittipaldi had the wheel of the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R for the 15-minute qualifying session. Fittipaldi posted a time of 1:13.753 and will start on the front row in second. Teamed with Joao Barbosa, the team is hungry for an overall win after finishing second at Daytona and Sebring.

“It was a good qualifying run,” Fittipaldi said. “I am happy to start the race tomorrow second. The Mustang Sampling Cadillac, with everything that was mandated for this race, the team finds solutions to lose the minimum amount of performance. We are strong for the race tomorrow, but so is the 10 car. I am happy with the work of the team. I think we went a little backward from practice one this morning. We still need to try adjustments, we could have went quicker. I had a good run, we just weren’t quick enough to beat the 10 car today.”

Eric Curran drove the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R to a fifth place starting position with at time of 1:14.444. Curran will start and then hand it over to Dane Cameron for tomorrow’s 100-minute race on the streets of Long Beach.

“The first practice here is always tough,” Curran said. “When you are the first cars on the track, the streets are dirty and it takes a while to get some rubber down. From where we were this morning to where we are now is better. We have been fighting an unusual brake issue on our Whelen Cadillac. I was skating into Turn 1, so we have to get a handle on that for that race. Cadillacs are one-two and we are fifth. We need to get our brake issue situated, so we can get up front with the other two cars. I love this place. It is a lot of fun coming to Long Beach.”

The IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach will be televised Saturday, April 8 LIVE ON FOX starting at 4 p.m. ET.

Magnussen set a GT Le Mans (GTLM) class record in qualifying for the Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix of Long Beach with a lap of 1:16.090 (92.1 mph) in the Corvette he shares with Antonio Garcia. The veteran also won pole position for Corvette Racing at Long Beach in 2008 and 2014. Both times, he went on to victory including three years ago with Garcia. Magnussen and Garcia also won last year at VIR after Magnussen scored an overall pole position.

“It was an outstanding effort by Jan and everyone on the Corvette Racing team today in qualifying,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet Director of Motorsports Competition. “This is a great result coming off the victory at Sebring and bodes well for our chances at a sixth Long Beach class win tomorrow.”

Qualifying was extremely competitive with only 0.578 seconds covering eight GTLM cars. That included Oliver Gavin, who was sixth in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with a lap of 1:17.115 (91.9 mph). He and teammate Tommy Milner were runners-up last year in class at Long Beach and won the 2012 race together.

Both Corvettes showed strong pace in the two practice sessions Friday ahead of qualifying. That should be no surprise considering Corvette Racing has won five times at Long Beach. The four Corvette Racing drivers have combined to win seven times at Long Beach. It’s an impressive record on such an historic course.

Magnussen and Garcia also are coming off a GTLM victory at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the most recent round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. It moved them to second in GTLM Driver’s Championship points; Chevrolet holds the same position in the Manufacturer’s Championship.

The Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 8 from the famed Long Beach Street Circuit. FOX will have live coverage beginning at 4 p.m. ET with live audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FASTEST QUALIFIER IN GTLM: “Qualifying here is a fantastic experience. I love this place. It’s one of my favorite tracks. Qualifying at any street circuit is always special. You can get so close to the walls… as long as you bring it back fastest you can scrape it a little bit! The Corvette was good. We had a good session just prior to qualifying where we did a simulation where we found a couple of areas where we could change a little bit. Those were good changes and allowed us to find what we needed.”

DID YOU THINK THE CAR HAD THAT IN IT? “It did feel like that this morning, but that can guide you off in the wrong direction. But it did feel like if the track gripped up then, the Corvette would be super nice to drive. So this session the car did bog down, so we made some changes for that. I think that the engineers found that last little bit that they needed.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IN THE FRONT HERE CAN’T BE OVERSTATED: “Of course it is important – track position here when everybody is this close. (Oliver) Gavin is P5 and he is just two tenths back. It’s pretty crazy… absolutely crazy. Track position is going to matter here. You have to fight for your position.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTLM: “It was a frustrating session for sure. The session before we were in P1 and I really thought we were in a good spot. The car felt great. We made a small adjustment, and I was just waiting for everything to come together. I had a good lap going. I came through Turn 10 and into 11… that is the corner where maybe I’ve been not quite so natural through. And I just made an absolute dog’s dinner of it. That is where any chance of me getting pole just disappeared and went. Then when we got bumped to P6, I was just ‘what!’ I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to make it so both cars were on the sharp end. That is where both cars should be. I’m frustrated now that we have made it harder on ourselves. But that seems to be the story of our year so far. It isn’t exactly going smoothly for us. It’s a shame. Congrats to Jan. He had a fantastic lap. I’m glad one of our cars is there in P1. It’s turning into a good season for them.”

Driver Joey Hand qualified p2 with a 1:17.001 lap in the No. 66 Ford GT.

“I feel good about second today,” Hand said. “I threw down everything. I knocked the mirror of the car off again. I put some Long Beach racing stripes on it, but that’s what you have to do here. You have to maximize. I got everything I could. We were close to pole, but we can race from No. 2.”

The No. 67 Ford GT had worse luck. In an attempt to get every bit of performance out of the car, driver Richard Westbrook clipped a tire wall in turn six, causing damage to the rear and wing. He’ll start the race at p8 with a quick lap of 1:17.487 in the race that features the GTLM, GTD and prototype categories.

Hand qualified p1 at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener, the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Then Ryan Briscoe earned the pole in the No. 67 at the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Ford GT front-row lock-out, with Dirk Müller and the No. 66 starting p2 in Florida.

“Joey got everything out of the car he possibly could,” said team manager Mike O’Gara. “There were segments we were faster, but overall lap time, we were just a tenth short overall. Richard was trying to wring everything he could out of the No. 67 car and unfortunately clipped a tire and tore up the back of the car. We’ll get it fixed for tomorrow. It gives us a great opportunity to try a new strategy to get to the front.”

Both drivers showed speed on the legendary street circuit, and were taking turns working through the VISIT FLORIDA Racing test plan in the opening practice session of the weekend on Friday. Unfortunately, van der Zande suffered a brake issue heading into the braking zone for Turn 1.

The Dutchman was able to slow the car, but not before making contact with the tire barriers in the run off area for Turn 1. The high-speed contact saw the machine absorb the energy, allowing van der Zande to quickly emerge from the car and head for an all-clear from the IMSA medical staff.

Unfortunately, the No. 90 machine suffered damage that is significant enough to prevent the team from participating in the remainder of the race weekend.

“Renger (van der Zande) had a brake issue going into Turn 1 and the car just wouldn’t get slowed down,” said VISIT FLORIDA Racing Team Owner Troy Flis. “We are relieved that he is okay, but it looks like we are done for the weekend. The damage got into the tub, and with this race being out on the West Coast, we just don’t have the access to resources that we’d need to continue this weekend. It is a shame for VISIT FLORIDA, but we’ll go back and look at what happened and work on our plan to come back stronger.”

VISIT FLORIDA Racing will next be in action at Circuit of the Americas on May 4-6 for Round 4 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The Long Beach street course is only 1.968 miles long and the race is the shortest of the season at 100 minutes. Far different from the season’s opening 24 Hours of Daytona (USA) and 12 Hours of Sebring (USA) endurance events, success is often dictated by how the caution periods fall and how a team executes the planned race pit stop and driver change.

To date in 2017, the team has scored a season’s best sixth place finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring. At Long Beach the full-season drivers will share their cars with Auberlen and Alexander Sims (GBR) in the number 25 BMW M6 GTLM. John Edwards (USA) and Martin Tomczyk (GER) will drive the number 24 car.

The GTLM class Balance of Performance was adjusted by IMSA following Sebring and the BMW M6 GTLM will benefit from an increase in boost in the rev range from 2,000 to 7,250 rpm. The fuel tank volume was also increased by 3 litres to total 108 litres of E20 fuel.

Bobby Rahal (Team Principal, BMW Team RLL): “It’s been a challenging year. But if you look back at how we did at Long Beach last year being on pole with Bill, with the car in its third race at that stage, the race was very positive for us. I would like to think that we can repeat the performance there. If you look at our history at Long Beach, it’s pretty successful with BMW Team RLL having won three times and earned a number of podiums beyond that. Last year was the only year of eight that one of our cars didn’t finish on the podium so we go there with a positive outlook based on past performance from both BMW and the team.”

Bill Auberlen (No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM): “Long Beach is the highlight sprint race of the year. I always look forward to the weekend for two main reasons. First, it’s my home track and, secondly, I’ve won twice in the last few years. Last year, I qualified on the pole, setting a new lap record in the BMW M6 GTLM. This year I hope for a repeat of that, but also to be standing on the top step of the podium at the end of the race.”

Alexander Sims (No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM): “I am thoroughly looking forward to the Long Beach weekend. It will be my first time there and having watched the onboard videos, the circuit looks to be a brilliant challenge. I’ve been enjoying working with the team and am just looking forward to getting to Long Beach and trying to exploit all we can from our BMW M6 GTLM.”

John Edwards (No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM): “I always enjoy racing at Long Beach because it’s the only street circuit we go to in the GTLM season. The walls are closer and consequences are higher, but we can feel the fan support more on a street circuit, even as we walk to the pit lane to get ready for every session. I’m also looking forward to the first sprint race of the season, as the intensity is higher and mistakes are more costly when we only have one pit stop in a 100 minute race.”

Martin Tomczyk (No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM): “It is always exciting to race on a street circuit. Long Beach will be my first in the States. I know the nine-hour time difference between my home in Germany and California will not make it easy, but I am up for the challenge. After two disappointing races at Daytona and Sebring we are ready to prove the performance of our BMW M6 GTLM.”

As the first sprint race on the 2017 schedule, the Long Beach Grand Prix will run 100 minutes. Both Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow will need to complete a minimum of 30 minutes of racing in order to score points. The typical sprint car format will make for intense battles on the 1.968-mile temporary street course. Surrounded by concrete walls, the circuit can be unforgiving to miscalculated moves, often resulting in several early retirements.

The limited track time will present its own sets of challenges, as Bryan Sellers will be kept busy all weekend on and off track, participating in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as the Pirelli World Challenge. Madison Snow will be utilizing his co-driver’s experience at the track, having never been to the event before, as a participant nor as a spectator. The event also marks the first time since the merge of the American Le Mans Series and GRAND-AM Rolex SportsCar Series that the GTD class has raced on the temporary street circuit in the heart of Long Beach.

The BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach will broadcast live at 4:00PM Eastern on FOX, Saturday, April 8. International fans will be able to watch worldwide at imsa.tv. Additional audio coverage will be available via IMSA Radio at www.radiolemans.com.

Driver Quotes

Bryan Sellers
I’m really looking forward to Long Beach. The Lamborghini was a very good car on street circuits last year and I hope this year is the same. As a program we are continually moving forward, but are all missing the result we want so far this year. Heading to the next race gives us an opportunity to try and accomplish that goal. This is always an interesting race because of its length. It always proves to be challenging from a strategic standpoint, so it will be fun and interesting to see how it all plays out.

Madison Snow
Long Beach is a race I have never had the opportunity to race at or even attend before. All my knowledge about the race is from watching it on TV for the last couple of years and everything Bryan has told me about it in the last month, which is a lot! I am very excited for this coming weekend, as it gives me a fresh chance to learn a ‘new’ track. After talking to Bryan and hearing that this is one of his favorite tracks it makes me very excited and enthusiastic to be able to race here, especially with someone that has so much experience at this track. I will really have to take all the knowledge Bryan can give me when we arrive this weekend, as the track time is very limited. With Detroit, the only other street course we race at, being one of my favorite tracks, I am really looking forward to be racing against the other cars at Long Beach in a very similar setting.

After one win and a p2 finish at the pair of season-opening endurance races, the Ford squad has momentum and is ready to redeem itself from p4 (No. 67 Ford GT) and p8 (No. 66 Ford GT) finishes on the scenic street course last year, where the car showed speed.

“I love Long Beach,” said Dirk Müller, driver of the No. 66 Ford GT. “Long Beach is a highlight of the season for me. I really love driving street courses and I know (co-driver) Joey (Hand) does as well. Both of us are feeling really confident right now. Our Ford GT was really quick there last year and I’m pretty sure we’ll be in the mix this year as well.”

In 2016, Müller walked away with the quick lap of the race in GTLM on the circuit where Ford Chip Ganassi Racing won in prototype in 2014 and scored a second-place podium spot in 2015 with Hand behind the wheel. Ford’s history with the Long Beach Grand Prix stretches back to the 1970s, when the manufacturer was involved with F1.

This year, the Grand Touring Daytona category has been added to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, which could result in a changed strategy, Müller said.

“It’s going to be a different race,” Müller said. “Last year, it was pretty much a flat-out race. This year, I think tactics will play a bigger role, like when you plan to do the one pit stop you need, but we rely on our Ford Chip Ganassi Racing crew to make those decisions. They know how to do it. You need to perform really well at everything, since it is such a short race. Expectations are really high for all of us. Everything needs to be done perfectly. It’s a challenging weekend with little prep time at the track, but I really love it. I’m looking forward to it already.”

For the Californian Hand, the race is a homecoming second only to the series’ stop at Laguna Seca. He’ll have friends and family at the track to watch.

“For me, Long Beach is one of my favorite venues. When you go street racing, it’s a whole different vibe,” Hand said. “When you take racing to the people, you get so many different types of fans, especially since it’s in Southern California. It’s always a race I want to win. You want to win every race, but this one, it’s a special one. I have family and friends coming, so it’ll be a good time.”

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing has had a great start to the WeatherTech season, with wins in GTLM at the Rolex 24 and a runner-up finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

While the race is only an hour and forty minutes long, the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street course will present its own sets of challenges to the 35 entries competing this weekend. A strong qualifying position for both Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan Onroak DPis will be crucial, as the tight turns make for minimum areas to pass and fight for position between the concrete walls.

The 2017 season has not been easy for Tequila Patrón ESM, as the team works through the normal teething issues of a new program. The No. 2 and No. 22 Nissan Onroak DPi cars struggled at the Twelve Hours of Sebring last month, but the team pressed on, identifying and fixing the source of the issues in preparation for the next round of the championship.

For the Grand Prix at Long Beach, Tequila Patrón ESM will run its full season sprint lineups, with full season drivers Scott Sharp and Ryan Dalziel in the No. 2 Nissan Onroak DPi, and Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 22 Nissan Onroak DPi.

Fans will be able to watch the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach live on FOX, beginning Saturday, April 8 at 4:00PM Eastern. IMSA Radio will also be on the ground all weekend, covering the action on www.radiolemans.com, and the race will be streamed live in its entirety for international audiences on IMSA.tv. For ticket information, visit www.gplb.com.

Driver Quotes

Scott Sharp | No. 2 Nissan Onroak DPi
It is super exciting for Tequila Patrón ESM to return to the Long Beach Grand Prix!  Southern California is a huge market for Tequila Patrón and we have responded to this in the past and had many strong races!  The team and all of our partners have worked extremely hard since the Twelve Hours of Sebring and we head to Long Beach confident that we have taken the necessary steps forward to improve our reliability and performance! I cannot wait to showcase our green and black Onroak Nissan DPis on the city streets!
 
Ryan Dalziel | No. 2 Nissan Onroak DPi
Long Beach is without a doubt our Monaco. I have such amazing memories there dating back to my first race in the USA in 2002. Sebring was really a tough event for Tequila Patrón ESM, but the guys have been working hard to turn things around for us, so we will go there with our heads held high and ready to attack. I’ll have a busy weekend pulling double duty racing two series but extra track time on a street course is always a positive, so I’m hoping that helps me get up to speed quicker than others.

Ed Brown | No. 22 Nissan Onroak DPi
We are looking forward to racing the streets of Long Beach! We have had good results as a team at Long Beach in the past. It will be great to race the shorter time race with my teammate Yoyo, it’s been a long time since we’ve raced a race of this distance.
 
Johannes van Overbeek | No. 22 Nissan Onroak DPi
Long Beach has to be in the top five, in terms of atmosphere, for any race in the world. Southern California has a very rich car and racing culture and new and old is on display during the Long Beach weekend. It is one of my favorite events, and I am thrilled to be back with Ed and Tequila Patrón ESM. Because of the tight nature and the short race length, it will be a dogfight from start to finish. Our Nissan engine will give us good top speed down Shoreline Drive and our Ligier chassis will take care of all the heavy braking and turning required for the rest of the lap. I cannot wait to get started.

Coming off of their second win in as many races the Konica Minolta Cadillac team is heading to Long Beach looking for a third win in the series and to defend their win at the 1.9-mile, 11-turn circuit that surrounds the Long Beach Aquarium. Jordan and Ricky Taylor are carrying the momentum from their wins at the Rolex 24 and the Sebring 12 hours. Having won the two longest races on the schedule they are coming to the shortest, just 100-minutes long. In pursuit will be Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R and Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R.

The Cadillac DPi-V.R has received yet another balance of performance (BOP) adjustment by the IMSA officials.  The fuel cell capacity has been reduced since Sebring (from 68 liters to 66) and IMSA has mandated a gear set.
Ricky and Jordan Taylor are looking to extend their dream start to the season with another win at Long Beach.

“We couldn’t ask for a better start to the year, Ricky Jordan said. “We have great momentum and have proven the strength of the new Cadillac Dpi-V.R right out of the box as a dominant competitor in the class. Combined with having a beautifully designed racecar, the team itself has been performing incredibly well, without missing a beat over the entire first 36 hours of racing. Long Beach will be a different challenge for us with the new car as this track it’s the first street course. I think the track type will still suit our car as the Cadillac makes great mechanical grip, which you really need around a street course like Long Beach where the track grip is often very low. The performance of our 6.2 liter V8 will also help us to accelerate well out of all of the very slow corners, especially the famous hairpin leading onto the front straight.

“It does not matter how much BOP we have leading into the race, our team will still perform at their best and execution will still be rewarded. So far this season, the other teams have not been able to execute nearly as well as the Cadillac teams and that has been the main explanation for the results so far in addition to Cadillac’s immense preparation for the challenges of endurance sports car racing.”

“We go from our two longest races of the year to our shortest race of the season,” Taylor continued. “A lot more emphasis will be placed on qualifying and track position. We will have to be much more aggressive to maintain position on track because it is such a short race and so hard to overtake while also not making any mistakes because street courses are so unforgiving.”

The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac team of Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa are coming off of two straight second place finishes and is ready to take the top step at Long Beach.

“We are preparing the same for the 100 minute Long Beach race as we did for Daytona and Sebring,” Fittipaldi said. “We have what we have from a BOP standpoint. We could write a book about the adjustments we have to make. There is a long championship ahead of us, so crying about won’t change anything. If you have a mechanical problem at Daytona or Sebring you can fix it and get a good points result. If you have an issue at Long Beach the chances for a good finish are very small. There will also be 35 cars on the track this weekend. So there will probably be some more yellows. There were some years that we ran when we didn’t have a single caution. We will have to qualify well and start at the front and have some luck to be in a position to take advantage of strategy. Hopefully we will give Cadillac another great result this weekend.”

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac team of Dane Cameron and Eric Curran is looking for a strong weekend on the beach. Some small issues at Daytona and spin at Sebring set the team back.

“In the last few years, qualifying in Long Beach has been super important as there really hasn’t been much passing and the races have typically gone close to fully green from flag to flag,” Cameron said. “I expect this year to be a very different race with the addition of the GTD class, much more traffic and cars in general will likely shake things up. The entire weekend is very compact in Long Beach. You really don’t get much track time, so it is essential to hit the ground running and come out of the gate with a good balance as you won’t have much time to correct it if you get it wrong. We are trying to use all the information from the past as well as everything we’ve learned this year to be as prepared as possible for our first street course race in our new Cadillac DPI V.R. All three Cadillacs have been very strong all year thanks to the early preparations of our partners. For our No. 31 Whelen Cadillac to come out on top we need be perfect all race long, we have shown great pace, but have had some troubles in the first two rounds so Long Beach seems like the right time to turn it around and get our first win of the season.”

Long Beach holds a special place in Cameron’s heart.

“I raced there for the first time in 2008 in Formula Atlantic,” he continued. “In 2014 I ran in GTLM with Risi Competizione, my only start in GTLM. In 2015 and 2016 in Prototype with Action Express Racing our best result was third. Also, I was born in nearby Newport Beach so it’s always been a bit of a home race for me. It was really special to me to have my first Formula Atlantic start there, that series is so special to my family with the Lynx Racing program it was really cool to have raced here in that category.”

The IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach will be televised Saturday, April 8 starting at 4:00 p.m. ET.

The race
The race in the harbour region of Long Beach, where the pits are just a stone’s throw away from where the docked ocean-liner giant “Queen Mary” lies anchored, is a highlight of the season. Another very popular US series, IndyCar, is also contested on the 3.167-kilometre street circuit on the same weekend. This race is regarded as America’s equivalent to the Monaco Grand Prix and attracts many celebrities from nearby Hollywood.

The Porsche drivers
Four works drivers tackle the GTLM class with the new Porsche 911 RSR campaigned by the Porsche GT Team. The number 911 cockpit is shared by Patrick Pilet (France) and Dirk Werner (Germany), who kicked off the season with second place at Daytona. Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Kévin Estre (France) take on the opposition in the #912 car. In the GTD class, three works drivers compete for Porsche customer teams with the 911 GT3 R: Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) for Park Place Motorsports, Daytona winner Michael Christensen (Denmark) for Alegra Motorsports and Wolf Henzler (Germany) for TRG. CORE Autosports will run another 911 GT3 R.

The Porsche vehicles
The Long Beach round marks only the third race for the 100-percent newly developed 911 RSR. Depending on the size of the restrictor, the motor, which is now positioned in front of the rear axle, puts out around 375 kW (510 hp). Thanks to the particularly large rear diffuser combined with a top-mounted rear wing, the level of downforce and the aerodynamic efficiency were significantly improved. The 911 GT3 R, mounted with the new ultra-modern, four-litre, flat-six engine with direct fuel injection, started into its second season with a GTD class win at Daytona. Porsche had designed the more than 368 kW (500 hp) customer sports racer for worldwide GT3 series on the basis of the 911 GT3 RS production sports car.

The schedule
The race takes off on Saturday, 8 April, at 13.05 hrs local time (22.05 hrs CEST). Outside the USA, the race can be seen live on www.imsa.com.

Pre-race quotes
Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “The opening phase of the IMSA SportsCar Championship throws everything at us: First the long-distance classics of Daytona and Sebring, then the shortest race of the season – they could hardly be more diverse. The very aspect that challenges the drivers and teams is what adds extra thrills and excites the spectators. After the two season-opening races in Florida, we’re now looking forward to showcasing our new 911 RSR to the Porsche fans in California. We’re tackling the Long Beach event as last year’s winners. This is extremely motivating for the entire squad, particularly after our misfortune in Sebring.”

Marco Ujhasi, Overall Project Manager GT Works Motorsport: “This race puts the whole team under extreme pressure. Because the race is so short, every second you lose in the pits is two times more painful. We normally do just one pit stop. Refuel, new tyres, change drivers – it has to run like clockwork otherwise you’ve already lost. That’s what makes this race so thrilling for drivers and such a huge spectacle for fans.”

Sebastian Golz, Project Manager GT Customer Motorsport: “The rubber left on the track between the practice sessions and the race changes the surface characteristics more on a city circuit than on a dedicated racetrack. The very slow hairpins require good traction so that the drivers can get back on the throttle as quickly as possible. Thanks to its vehicle concept, our 911 GT3 R certainly has an advantage in this regard.”

Patrick Pilet (911 RSR #911): “The Long Beach city circuit is one of my favourite tracks in the USA. Last year we scored our first win of the season there, and we’d like to do that again with the new 911 RSR. The fans know why they come to Long Beach: To be permanently at the limit on this track is a fantastic challenge for drivers and makes for a gripping race.”

Dirk Werner (911 RSR #911): “Long Beach is a very special place to go racing. It’s a fantastic city circuit and great fun. The comparison to Monaco is really fitting. The racetrack is tricky and the more rubber that’s left on the track, the faster we become from one practice to the next. You have to stay focussed. The special challenge will be to find a perfect setup for our 911 RSR during the short practice session.”

Laurens Vanthoor (911 RSR #912): “I like racing on street circuits. I’m not yet familiar with Long Beach. The fact that we drive with the equally as popular IndyCar series on the same weekend will undoubtedly make Long Beach a highlight of the season.”

Kévin Estre (911 RSR #912): “I love city circuits. They’re something special and a welcome change, particularly for us drivers. You can even overtake in Long Beach, so we’ll definitely witness a riveting race. But it’s not only about that: With its sun and ocean, California is simply fun.”

Michael Christensen (911 GT3 R #28): “Long Beach is a great race. I’m looking forward to driving again with Alegra Motorsports in the 911 GT3 R. Its a fantastic crew and I hope that we will be as competitive as we’ve been in Daytona.“

Jörg Bergmeister (911 GT3 R #73): “The Long Beach circuit is as unique as the setting. The city course is one of the world’s most beautiful and is a fantastic challenge. There are virtually no run-off areas. Every mistake has immediate consequences. If you take a corner too fast you hit the wall.”

Wolf Henzler (911 GT3 R #991): “The race in Long Beach is a real highlight. I enjoy city circuits for practical reasons: The hotels are right next to the track and when you want to go out for dinner there are real restaurants and not just fast food places.”

A Challenging Circuit
The tight confines of the 11-turn, 1.968-mile circuit threading along the streets of Long Beach presents a huge challenge to the racers.

“It’s a real mental challenge,” explained 21-year-old Tristan Nunez, driver of the Soul Red No. 55 Mazda Prototype. “There is no room for error. There are no run-off areas, so if you make a mistake, you’re into a concrete barrier. It’s a very demanding track and, as a street circuit, the surface is very bumpy. So, that makes it very technical for a driver. The new car is much more physical to drive, and you have to be sure your concentration or your body doesn’t give out.”

Mazda Drive for Good… and Mazda Drivers For Good
Mazda’s Drive for Good program – a corporate-wide philanthropic effort that generates charitable donations and hours of service (the most recent annual program has provided more than $15 million and more than 262,000 hours of service to deserving causes) – has components in the Mazda Motorsports effort. Mazda’s national-touring R.A.C.E. (Racing Accelerates Creative Education) program has reached more than 32,000 students since 2014, while Mazda racer Nunez created the “DNT TXT n drV Foundation” to educate students about distracted driving. This Thursday, he will speak to four Long Beach elementary schools.

“It’s a message I’ve been pushing since I was 16 years old, and I do all I can to spread the message of the dangers of distracted driving,” said Nunez, who finished fifth with co-driver Jonathan Bomarito in last year’s IMSA race at Long Beach. “This week, I’ll be speaking with elementary school kids. We’ll try to educate them early and get the message out while they’re young. Maybe they’ll go home and tell their moms and dads that a race car driver said it’s bad to text and drive and that their parents shouldn’t do it! It’s awesome that I get to speak to four schools because I can go to the race track knowing I reached more than 500 kids in one day.”

Nunez will make speaking appearances at the following schools: Smith Elementary on Hill Street, Birney Elementary on Spring Street, Los Cerritos Elementary on San Antonio Drive and the Colin Powell Academy on Victoria Street. (Media who wish to attend, please contact Jade Gurss for more details.)

Mazda Prototype Team: Driver Lineup
No. 55 Soul Red Mazda RT24-P:   Jonathan Bomarito, Tristan Nunez
No. 70 Machine Gray Castrol Edge / ModSpace Mazda RT24-P:  Joel Miller, Tom Long

The No. 55 team is coming off of a fifth-place finish in the Prototype class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, while the No. 70 team aims to improve upon a fourth-place overall finish at Long Beach in 2016.

TRACK: Located in the streets of downtown Long Beach, California, the circuit has 11 corners and is 1.986 miles in length.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
LIVE ON FOX – Saturday, April 8 at 4:00 PM ET
Radio Coverage: www.radiolemans.com

DRIVER LINE-UP: Marc Goossens (Belgium), Renger van der Zande (Netherlands)

TEAM HISTORY AT LONG BEACH: In three starts at Long Beach, VISIT FLORIDA Racing’s best finish came in the form of a podium in 2015 when drivers Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante combined for a third place finish. Having campaigned the No. 90 Corvette DP in the three previous races, the 2017 event marks the first for the team with the LMP2.

2014: Started 6th & Finished 5th (Richard Westbrook, Michael Valiante)
2015: Started 4th & Finished 3rd (Richard Westbrook, Michael Valiante)
2016: Started 7th & Finished 6th (Marc Goossens, Ryan Hunter-Reay)

PODIUM FINISHES AT LONG BEACH FOR GOOSSENS & VAN DER ZANDE: Marc Goossens has made three previous starts at the Long Beach street circuit. He raced for SRT in a Viper in 2013 and 2014 with a podium finish of third in 2013. He campaigned a Corvette Daytona Prototype for VISIT FLORIDA Racing in last year’s race in which the team finished sixth.
Renger van der Zande made his first start at Long Beach last year driving in the PC class for Starworks Motorsport in which he took a podium result of second.

THUNDER THURSDAY: The No. 90 VISIT FLORIDA Racing Riley-Gibson will be on display Thursday evening with drivers Marc Goossens and Renger van der Zande signing autographs from 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM. The event will be held for the first time at The Pike Outlets on Shoreline Drive, west of Pine Avenue. Thunder Thursday begins at 6:30 PM and features freestyle motocross demonstrations, motorcycle stunts, live music, a car show, beer garden, and driver autographs.

New in 2017: With all-new regulations for the top Prototype class in 2017, VISIT FLORIDA Racing fields a Gibson-powered Riley Mk. 30. The Gibson engine is a normally-aspirated 4.2-liter V8, and is the specification engine for all competitors in the World Endurance Championship LMP2 category. Riley Technologies has an unparalleled history in the sport, and the Rolex 24 At Daytona marked the competition debut for the Mk. 30.

Car Specs:
Chassis – Multimatic / Riley Carbon Fiber semi stressed engine
Safety equipment – Crushable Nose box, 6 point safety harness, Onboard fire suppression system, Air conditioned cockpit for driver safety and comfort.
Transmission – X-Trac six-speed sequential, paddle operated rear wheel drive.

Addition of Michael Harvey: Prior to the 2017 season, VISIT FLORIDA Racing added Michael Harvey to the team as Director of Race Operations. Harvey, who has a long and varied range of experience in the sport, most recently managed the competition efforts for Fall-Line Motorsports’ multiple-championship winning programs in IMSA and SCCA competition as well as serving as a Series Director for the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA series.

New Partners for 2017: In addition to longtime partner VISIT FLORIDA, VISIT FLORIDA Racing has partnered with: Speed Chills, iRacing, Motegi Racing, Riley Technologies, Go Puck, GoPro, Burt & Scheld, Under Armour, and Whelen.

DRIVER QUOTES:

MARC GOOSSENS: “As a street circuit, there is no room for error at Long Beach because the track is lined with concrete walls and they are not very forgiving. As a team we need to keep working hard to find some more competitiveness and good driveability over the bumpy streets, and we are doing just that. Of course it is a much shorter race than Daytona and Sebring were and maybe a great strategy can make the difference here as well. Track position will be very important.

RENGER VAN DER ZANDE: “I finished second at Long Beach last year which was great. It’s such a cool place – I like it a lot. It’s only a two-day event and it’s great because we get to be there with the IndyCar Series. It’s a short race and I think that will make us think about the strategy as we go into the race. I think we’ll need to be creative in terms of strategy and that will be important to fight for a good result. The VISIT FLORIDA Racing team has worked really hard on the car since Sebring. There is still some speed to be found in the car and I hope that through the research and the development that we’ve done at the shop and together with our partners we will have a great car at Long Beach. I’m happy to get back in the LMP2 after racing some GTs in Europe and I can’t wait to get started.”