The 2018 Monterey Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County, California, on held on September 9, 2018, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, United States. The race was eleventh the round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Background
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International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017.[1] It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2018 Monterey Grand Prix was the eleventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the eighth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 2.238 mi (3.602 km) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on September 9, 2018.[2]
After the Oak Tree Grand Prix three weeks earlier, Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 228 points, ahead of Filipe Albuquerque with 221 points, and Jon Bennett and Colin Braun with 218 points.[3] With 269 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Antonio García and Jan Magnussen with a four-point advantage over Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook.[3] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with a thirteen-point advantage over Katherine Legge with 262 points.[3] Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Whelen Engineering Racing, Corvette Racing, and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.[3]
IMSA released two separate technical bulletins regarding the Balance of Performance for the event. The first one was released on August 30, 2018, for the Prototype (P) class.[4] The Oreca 07, Ligier JS P217, Dallara P217, and Riley-Multimatic MkXXX were given a 10 kilogram weight increase and a fuel capacity reduction of 3 liters. The Mazda RT24-P was given a 10 kilogram weight reduction and a fuel capacity increase of 2 liters. The Acura ARX-05, Cadillac DPi-V.R, and Nissan Onroak DPi were also given a fuel capacity increase of 2 liters. The second technical bulletin was released on September 5, 2018, which regarded the Balance of Performance in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes for the event.[5] In GTD, The Ferrari 488 GT3 received an increase in turbo boost as well as a fuel capacity increase of 2 liters. No changes were made in GTLM.
Entries
editA total of 34 cars took part in the event. 13 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 13 in GTD.[6] In P, AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports switched from the Ligier JS P217 to the Oreca 07.[7] In GTD, Park Place Motorsports and Squadra Corse Garage Italia returned after skipping the Virginia International Raceway event. Scuderia Corsa added a second entry. SunEnergy1 Racing withdrew from the event due to Kenny Habul having an illness.[8]
Practice
editThere were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour.[9]
Practice 1
editThe first practice session took place at 10:55 am PT on Friday and ended with Renger van der Zande topping the charts for Wayne Taylor Racing, with a lap time of 1:16.832.[10]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Renger van der Zande | 1:16.832 | _ |
| 2 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron | 1:17.533 | 0.651 |
| 3 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Pipo Derani | 1:17.975 | 1.093 |
| Source:[11] | ||||||
Practice 2
editThe second practice session took place at 3:15 pm PT on Friday and ended with Dane Cameron topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:16.865.[12]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron | 1:16.865 | _ |
| 2 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:16.980 | 0.115 |
| 3 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | Filipe Albuquerque | 1:17.248 | 0.383 |
| Source:[13] | ||||||
Practice 3
editThe third and final practice session took place at 8:30 am PT on Saturday and ended with Renger van der Zande topping the charts for Wayne Taylor Racing, with a lap time of 1:16.605.[14]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Renger van der Zande | 1:16.605 | _ |
| 2 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis | 1:16.686 | 0.081 |
| 3 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:16.750 | 0.145 |
| Source:[15] | ||||||
Qualifying
editSaturday afternoon's 65-minute qualifying session was divided into three groups.[9] All three categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the Prototype and GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries.[16]
Qualifying results
editPole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 10 |  Wayne Taylor Racing
|
 Renger van der Zande
|
1:16.181 | _ | 1‡ |
| 2 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske
|
Dane Cameron
|
1:16.576 | 0.395 | 2 |
| 3 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske
|
 Hélio Castroneves
|
1:16.662 | 0.481 | 3 |
| 4 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM
|
Pipo Derani
|
1:16.766 | 0.585 | 131 |
| 5 | P | 54 | CORE Autosport
|
Colin Braun
|
1:16.774 | 0.593 | 122 |
| 6 | P | 55 |  Mazda Team Joest
|
Jonathan Bomarito
|
1:16.793 | 0.612 | 4 |
| 7 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports
|
Robert Alon
|
1:16.989 | 0.808 | 5 |
| 8 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest
|
 Oliver Jarvis
|
1:17.249 | 1.068 | 6 |
| 9 | P | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing
|
Eric Curran
|
1:17.415 | 1.234 | 7 |
| 10 | P | 52 | AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports
|
 Sebastián Saavedra
|
1:17.485 | 1.304 | 8 |
| 11 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing
|
 João Barbosa
|
1:17.525 | 1.344 | 9 |
| 12 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM
|
Scott Sharp
|
1:17.679 | 1.498 | 10 |
| 13 | P | 99 | JDC-Miller MotorSports
|
 Misha Goikhberg
|
1:18.067 | 1.886 | 11 |
| 14 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing
|
Oliver Gavin
|
1:22.700 | 6.519 | 14‡ |
| 15 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing
|
Dirk Müller
|
1:22.787 | 6.606 | 15 |
| 16 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing
|
 Jan Magnussen
|
1:22.806 | 6.625 | 16 |
| 17 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing
|
 Ryan Briscoe
|
1:22.850 | 6.669 | 17 |
| 18 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL
|
Alexander Sims
|
1:22.972 | 6.791 | 18 |
| 19 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team
|
Nick Tandy
|
1:22.990 | 6.809 | 19 |
| 20 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team
|
 Earl Bamber
|
1:23.140 | 6.959 | 20 |
| 21 | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL
|
 Jesse Krohn
|
1:23.527 | 7.346 | 21 |
| 22 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin
|
Katherine Legge
|
1:24.456 | 8.275 | 22‡ |
| 23 | GTD | 48 | Paul Miller Racing
|
Madison Snow
|
1:24.595 | 8.414 | 23 |
| 24 | GTD | 33 | Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport
|
Jeroen Bleekemolen
|
1:24.644 | 8.463 | 24 |
| 25 | GTD | 58 | Wright Motorsports
|
Patrick Long
|
1:24.871 | 8.690 | 25 |
| 26 | GTD | 73 | Park Place Motorsports
|
Patrick Lindsey
|
1:24.904 | 8.723 | 26 |
| 27 | GTD | 14 | 3GT Racing
|
Kyle Marcelli
|
1:25.010 | 8.829 | 27 |
| 28 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport
|
Bill Auberlen
|
1:25.034 | 8.853 | 28 |
| 29 | GTD | 15 | 3GT Racing
|
Jack Hawksworth
|
1:25.170 | 8.989 | 29 |
| 30 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa
|
Cooper MacNeil
|
1:25.404 | 9.223 | 30 |
| 31 | GTD | 93 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin
|
Justin Marks
|
1:25.629 | 9.448 | 31 |
| 32 | GTD | 64 | Scuderia Corsa
|
Frankie Montecalvo
|
1:26.107 | 9.926 | 32 |
| 33 | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing
|
John Potter
|
1:26.411 | 10.230 | 343 |
| 34 | GTD | 51 |  Squadra Corse Garage Italia
|
Francesco Piovanetti
|
1:27.731 | 11.550 | 33 |
| Sources:[17][18] | |||||||
- 1 The No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM entry was moved to the back of the P field for starting the race with a different driver than who qualified.
- 2 The No. 54 CORE Autosport entry was moved to the back of the P field for starting the race with a different driver than who qualified.
- 3 The No. 44 Magnus Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.
Race
editPost-race
editThe result kept Curran and Nasr atop the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 299 points. Bennett and Braun advanced from third to second while Cameron and Montoya jumped from sixth to fourth.[19] The result kept García and Magnussen atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 299 points, 9 points ahead of Briscoe and Westbrook.[19] The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 303 points, 6 points ahead of Legge.[19] Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Whelen Engineering Racing, Corvette Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with one round left in the season.[19]
Results
editClass winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
Notes
edit- ^ The #5 Mustang Sampling Racing entry was involved in an accident on the opening lap of the race with the #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and #911 Porsche GT Team entries. The car did not cross the start finish line and scored no points.
Standings after the race
edit
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
References
edit- ^ Goodwin, Graham (August 6, 2017). "IMSA Announce 2018 Calendar". DailySportsCar. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (August 4, 2017). "IMSA's 2018 WeatherTech calendar released". racer.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "00_Champoinship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 21, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ Dagys, John (August 30, 2018). "LMP2s Get Weight Increase for Laguna Seca". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Dagys, John (September 5, 2018). "Ferrari Regains Boost Cut for Laguna". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Dagys, John (August 29, 2018). "35 Entries for Laguna Seca". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (August 16, 2018). "AFS/PR1 Mathiasen swaps Ligier chassis for Oreca". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Dagys, John (September 5, 2018). "Habul, Whincup SunEnergy1 Entry Withdrawn from Laguna". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ a b "Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Laguna Seca". sportscar365.com. September 6, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ Dagys, John (September 7, 2018). "Van der Zande Tops Practice 1 at Laguna". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "03_Results_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 7, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Dagys, John (September 7, 2018). "Cameron, Acura Team Penske Set the Pace on Friday". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "03_Results_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 7, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Dagys, John (September 8, 2018). "Van der Zande Paces Practice 3". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "03_Results_Practice 3.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 8, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "2018 IMSA Sporting Regulations & Series Supplementary Regulations of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. May 16, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ "03_Results_Qualifying.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 8, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "01_Starting Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 9, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 12, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. 12 September 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ "2018 CONTINENTAL TIRE MONTEREY GRAND PRIX". racing-reference.info. Retrieved November 13, 2023.