2023 Motul Course de Monterey

The 2023 Motul Course de Monterey (formally known as the Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N) was a sports car race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California on May 14, 2023. It was the fourth round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the second round of the 2023 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

The layout of the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Background

edit
 
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2022.[1] It was the tenth consecutive year it was part of the IMSA SCC.[2] The 2023 Motul Course de Monterey was the fourth of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2023 by IMSA, and the second of seven races of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[3] The race was held at the eleven-turn 2.238 mi (3.602 km) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on May 14, 2023.[4]

After the Grand Prix of Long Beach four weeks earlier, Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet led the GTP Drivers' Championship with 955 points, ahead of Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims with 954 points followed by Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor with 934 points.[5] With 375 points, the LMP2 Drivers' Championship was led by John Farano, Scott McLaughlin, and Kyffin Simpson with a twenty-five point advantage over Scott Huffaker, Mikkel Jensen, and Steven Thomas.[5] Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 1067 points ahead of Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella with 994 points.[5] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 1008 points, ahead of Roman De Angelis and Marco Sørensen with 909 points.[5] Cadillac, Lexus, and BMW were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche Penske Motorsport, Tower Motorsports, Vasser Sullivan Racing, and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.[5]

On May 4, 2023, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the GTP, GTD Pro, and GTD classes. In GTP, both Cadillac and BMW received weight reductions, whilst Porsche and Acura received weight increases compared to Long Beach. The Cadillac ran at 1030 kg, the BMW ran at 1031 kg, the Porsche ran at 1038 kg, and the Acura ran at 1049 kg. As a result, the Cadillac ran on 511 kilowatts of power, the BMW on 512 kW, the Porsche on 514 kW, and the Acura on 520 kW. Maximum stint energy figures were also adjusted.[6] In GTD Pro and GTD, the only changes in BoP are a 10 kg weight increase for BMW and a 5-liter decrease of fuel tank capacity for McLaren.[6]

Entries

edit

A total of 38 cars took part in the event, split across four classes. 9 car were entered in GTP, 8 in LMP2, 5 in GTD Pro, and 16 in GTD.[7] In GTP, the entry list was headlined by the addition of the JDC-Miller MotorSports entry, featuring the first Porsche 963 customer entry on the IMSA SportsCar Championship grid. The car was driven by Tijmen van der Helm and Mike Rockenfeller.[8] In LMP2, the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca 07 also entered with Ben Hanley and George Kurtz, even though the car was initially not confirmed as a full-season entry.[7] In GTD, Andretti Autosport debuted their No. 94 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, driven by Jarett Andretti and Gabby Chaves.[9]

Practice

edit

There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes on Friday while the second session on Saturday lasted 105 minutes.[10]

Practice 1

edit

The first practice session took place at 4:05 pm PT on Friday and ended with Matt Campbell topping the charts for Porsche Penske Motorsport, with a lap time of 1:16.703.[11] Louis Delétraz set the fastest time in LMP2 driving the #8 Tower Motorsports entry.[12] Ben Barnicoat was fastest in GTD Pro while Frankie Montecalvo set the fastest time amongst all GTD cars.[13]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTP 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Matt Campbell 1:16.703 _
2 GTP 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Colin Braun 1:17.019 +0.316
3 GTP 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Mathieu Jaminet 1:17.115 +0.412
Sources:[14][15]

Final Practice

edit

The second and final practice session took place at 8:55 am PT on Saturday and ended with Matt Campbell topping the charts for Porsche Penske Motorsport, with a lap time of 1:15.493.[16] Ed Jones set the fastest time in LMP2.[17] The GTD Pro class was topped by the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of Alex Riberas while Loris Spinelli was fastest in GTD.[17]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTP 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Matt Campbell 1:15.493 _
2 GTP 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Pipo Derani 1:15.642 +0.149
3 GTP 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Colin Braun 1:15.716 +0.223
Sources:[18][19]

Qualifying

edit
 
Matt Campbell (pictured in 2024) helped take the No. 7 Porsche's first pole position of 2023.

Saturday’s afternoon qualifying was broken into three sessions, with one session for the GTP, LMP2, and GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 20 minutes for the GTP session, and 15 minutes for the LMP2, and GTD Pro/GTD sessions.[10] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am LMP2 class requiring a Bronze rated driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put GTPs ahead of the LMP2, GTD Pro, and GTD cars.[20]

Qualifying was broken into three sessions. The first was cars in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. Klaus Bachler qualified on pole in GTD Pro driving the #9 Pfaff Motorsports entry. Alec Udell qualified on pole in GTD driving the #92 Kelly-Moss with Riley entry, besting Roman De Angelis in the #27 Heart of Racing Team entry.[21]

The second session of qualifying was for cars in the LMP2 class. George Kurtz qualified on pole for the class driving the #04 car for CrowdStrike Racing by APR.[22]

The final session of qualifying was for the GTP class. Matt Campbell qualified on pole driving the No. 7 car for Porsche Penske Motorsport, beating Mathieu Jaminet in the sister #6 car for Porsche Penske Motorsport by less than one tenth of a second.[23]

Qualifying results

edit

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 GTP 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport   Matt Campbell 1:14.774 _ 1
2 GTP 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport   Mathieu Jaminet 1:14.864 +0.090 2
3 GTP 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian   Colin Braun 1:14.979 +0.205 3
4 GTP 31 Whelen Engineering Racing   Pipo Derani 1:15.007 +0.233 4
5 GTP 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport   Ricky Taylor 1:15.303 +0.529 5
6 GTP 01 Cadillac Racing   Sébastien Bourdais 1:15.335 +0.561 6
7 GTP 25 BMW M Team RLL   Connor De Phillippi 1:15.648 +0.874 7
8 GTP 24 BMW M Team RLL   Philipp Eng 1:15.747 +0.973 8
9 GTP 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports   Tijmen van der Helm 1:16.995 +2.221 9
10 LMP2 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR   George Kurtz 1:19.262 +4.488 10
11 LMP2 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports   Ben Keating 1:19.323 +4.549 11
12 LMP2 11 TDS Racing   Steven Thomas 1:19.718 +4.944 12
13 LMP2 35 TDS Racing   François Heriau 1:20.475 +5.701 16
14 LMP2 51 Rick Ware Racing   Eric Lux 1:20.625 +5.851 17
15 LMP2 20 High Class Racing   Dennis Andersen 1:20.655 +5.881 13
16 LMP2 8 Tower Motorsports   John Farano 1:21.055 +6.281 14
17 LMP2 18 Era Motorsport   Dwight Merriman 1:21.912 +7.138 15
18 GTD Pro 9 Pfaff Motorsports   Klaus Bachler 1:24.529 +9.755 18‡
19 GTD 92 Kelly-Moss with Riley   Alec Udell 1:24.539 +9.765 19‡
20 GTD 27 Heart of Racing Team   Roman De Angelis 1:24.647 +9.873 20
21 GTD Pro 23 Heart of Racing Team   Alex Riberas 1:24.654 +9.880 21
22 GTD Pro 79 WeatherTech Racing   Daniel Juncadella 1:24.706 +9.932 22
23 GTD Pro 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing   Jack Hawksworth 1:24.727 +9.953 23
24 GTD Pro 3 Corvette Racing   Jordan Taylor 1:24.907 +10.133 24
25 GTD 80 AO Racing Team   Sebastian Priaulx 1:25.005 +10.231 25
26 GTD 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing   Frankie Montecalvo 1:25.085 +10.311 26
27 GTD 1 Paul Miller Racing   Madison Snow 1:25.260 +10.486 27
28 GTD 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports   Mike Skeen 1:25.433 +10.659 28
29 GTD 96 Turner Motorsport   Patrick Gallagher 1:25.440 +10.666 29
30 GTD 57 Winward Racing   Russell Ward 1:25.442 +10.668 30
31 GTD 91 Kelly-Moss with Riley   Alan Metni 1:25.601 +10.827 31
32 GTD 70 Inception Racing   Brendan Iribe 1:25.842 +11.068 32
33 GTD 78 Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics   Misha Goikhberg 1:25.927 +11.153 33
34 GTD 97 Turner Motorsport   Chandler Hull 1:26.227 +11.453 34
35 GTD 94 Andretti Autosport   Jarett Andretti 1:26.289 +11.515 35
36 GTD 66 Gradient Racing   Sheena Monk 1:26.363 +11.589 36
37 GTD 77 Wright Motorsports   Alan Brynjolfsson 1:26.365 +11.591 37
38 GTD 44 Magnus Racing   John Potter 1:26.415 +11.641 38
Sources:[24][25]

Race

edit

Post-race

edit

The result kept Tandy and Jaminet atop the GTP Drivers' Championship, 25 points ahead of Derani and Sims. Bourdais and van der Zande advanced from sixth to fourth.[26] In the LMP2 Drivers' Championship, Loup Chatin and Keating advanced from fourth to second while Farano dropped from first to third.[26] The result kept Barnicoat and Hawksworth atop the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship.[26] The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship while Iribe and Schandorff advanced from fourth to second. Cadillac, Lexus, and BMW continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche Penske Motorsport, Vasser Sullivan Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in their respective of Teams' Championships. TDS Racing took the lead in the LMP2 Teams' Championships with seven races remaining in the season.[26]

Class winners are in bold and ‡.

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 GTP 01   Cadillac Racing   Sébastien Bourdais
  Renger van der Zande
Cadillac V-Series.R 102 2:41:02.933‡
Cadillac LMC55R 5.5 L V8
2 GTP 6   Porsche Penske Motorsport   Mathieu Jaminet
  Nick Tandy
Porsche 963 102 +3.882
Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8
3 GTP 31   Whelen Engineering Racing   Pipo Derani
  Alexander Sims
Cadillac V-Series.R 102 +10.636
Cadillac LMC55R 5.5 L V8
4 GTP 10   Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport   Filipe Albuquerque
  Ricky Taylor
Acura ARX-06 102 +21.041
Acura AR24e 2.4 L Turbo V6
5 GTP 24   BMW M Team RLL   Philipp Eng
  Augusto Farfus
BMW M Hybrid V8 102 +22.818
BMW P66/3 4.0 L Turbo V8
6 GTP 60   Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian   Tom Blomqvist
  Colin Braun
Acura ARX-06 102 +23.109
Acura AR24e 2.4 L Turbo V6
7 GTP 5   JDC-Miller MotorSports   Mike Rockenfeller
  Tijmen van der Helm
Porsche 963 102 +23.818
Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8
8 LMP2 11   TDS Racing   Mikkel Jensen
  Steven Thomas
Oreca 07 102 +43.809‡
Gibson GK428 V8 engine
9 GTP 25   BMW M Team RLL   Connor De Phillippi
  Nick Yelloly
BMW M Hybrid V8 102 +45.677
BMW P66/3 4.0 L Turbo V8
10 LMP2 52   PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports   Paul-Loup Chatin
  Ben Keating
Oreca 07 102 +48.904
Gibson GK428 V8 engine
11 LMP2 04   CrowdStrike Racing by APR   Ben Hanley
  George Kurtz
Oreca 07 102 +49.158
Gibson GK428 V8 engine
12 LMP2 35   TDS Racing   Giedo van der Garde
  François Heriau
Oreca 07 102 +50.003
Gibson GK428 V8 engine
13 LMP2 51   Rick Ware Racing   Eric Lux
  Juan Pablo Montoya
Oreca 07 102 +1:03.324
Gibson GK428 V8 engine
14 LMP2 20   High Class Racing   Dennis Andersen
  Ed Jones
Oreca 07 102 +1:04.674
Gibson GK428 V8 engine
15 LMP2 18   Era Motorsport   Ryan Dalziel
  Dwight Merriman
Oreca 07 100 +2 Laps
Gibson GK428 V8 engine
16 GTD 91   Kelly-Moss with Riley   Kay van Berlo
  Alan Metni
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 97 +5 Laps‡
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
17 GTD 97   Turner Motorsport   Bill Auberlen
  Chandler Hull
BMW M4 GT3 97 +5 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6
18 GTD 92   Kelly-Moss with Riley   Julien Andlauer
  Alec Udell
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 97 +5 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
19 GTD 44   Magnus Racing   Andy Lally
  John Potter
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 97 +5 Laps
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
20 GTD 70   Inception Racing   Brendan Iribe
  Frederik Schandorff
McLaren 720S GT3 Evo 97 +5 Laps
McLaren M840T 4.0 L Turbo V8
21 GTD 77   Wright Motorsports   Alan Brynjolfsson
  Trent Hindman
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 97 +5 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
22 GTD 96   Turner Motorsport   Robby Foley
  Patrick Gallagher
BMW M4 GT3 97 +5 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6
23 GTD Pro 79   WeatherTech Racing   Daniel Juncadella
  Jules Gounon
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 97 +5 Laps‡
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
24 GTD 27   Heart of Racing Team   Roman De Angelis
  Marco Sørensen
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 97 +5 Laps
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
25 GTD 78   Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics   Misha Goikhberg
  Loris Spinelli
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 97 +5 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
26 GTD 1   Paul Miller Racing   Bryan Sellers
  Madison Snow
BMW M4 GT3 97 +5 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6
27 GTD Pro 14   Vasser Sullivan Racing   Jack Hawksworth
  Ben Barnicoat
Lexus RC F GT3 97 +5 Laps
Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8
28 GTD Pro 9   Pfaff Motorsports   Klaus Bachler
  Patrick Pilet
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 97 +5 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
29 GTD 80   AO Racing Team   Gunnar Jeannette
  Sebastian Priaulx
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) 97 +5 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
30 GTD Pro 3   Corvette Racing   Antonio García
  Jordan Taylor
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD 95 +7 Laps
Chevrolet 5.5 L V8
31 GTD Pro 23   Heart of Racing Team   Ross Gunn
  Alex Riberas
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 95 +7 Laps
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
32 GTP 7   Porsche Penske Motorsport   Matt Campbell
  Felipe Nasr
Porsche 963 94 +8 Laps
Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8
33
DNF
GTD 57   Winward Racing   Philip Ellis
  Russell Ward
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 86 Did not finish
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
34 GTD 66   Gradient Racing   Katherine Legge
  Sheena Monk
Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 75 +27 Laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
35
DNF
GTD 12   Vasser Sullivan Racing   Frankie Montecalvo
  Aaron Telitz
Lexus RC F GT3 58 Did not finish
Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8
36
DNF
GTD 32   Team Korthoff Motorsports   Mikaël Grenier
  Mike Skeen
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 37 Did not finish
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
37
DNF
LMP2 8   Tower Motorsports   Louis Delétraz
  John Farano
Oreca 07 34 Did not finish
Gibson GK428 V8 engine
38
DNF
GTD 94   Andretti Autosport   Jarett Andretti
  Gabby Chaves
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 9 Did not finish
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
Source:[27]

Standings after the race

edit
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


References

edit
  1. ^ Malsher-Lopez, David (August 5, 2022). "IMSA reveals 2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  2. ^ Malsher-Lopez, David (August 5, 2022). "IMSA reveals 2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  3. ^ Allaway, Phil (August 5, 2022). "IMSA Announces 2023 Schedules in State of the Sport Address". frontstretch.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  4. ^ Allaway, Phil (August 5, 2022). "IMSA Announces 2023 Schedules in State of the Sport Address". frontstretch.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Dagys, John (4 May 2023). "IMSA Tweaks GTP BoP for Laguna Seca". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b Dagys, John (3 May 2023). "38 Entries for Laguna Seca". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  8. ^ Dagys, John (26 April 2023). "Rockenfeller, Van der Helm in JDC-Miller Porsche 963". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  9. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2 May 2023). "Andretti to Debut Aston Martin GTD Program at Laguna Seca". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. ^ a b "2023 IMSA Official Schedule and SR WRLS 050323 V1" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  11. ^ James, Richard (May 12, 2023). "Penske Porsche tops first IMSA practice at Laguna Seca". racer.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  12. ^ Malsher-Lopez, David (May 12, 2023). "IMSA Laguna Seca: Campbell puts Porsche on top in FP1". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Dagys, John (May 12, 2023). "Campbell Tops Friday Practice at Laguna Seca". sportscar365.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "03_Results_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 12, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  16. ^ Bradely, Charles (May 13, 2023). "IMSA Laguna Seca: Porsche heads Cadillac and Acura in FP2". motorsport.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Dagys, John (May 13, 2023). "Campbell Remains On Top in Laguna Practice". sportscar365.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  18. ^ "03_Results_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  19. ^ "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 13, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  20. ^ "2023 IMSA SPORTING REGULATIONS and SERIES SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  21. ^ Dagys, John (May 13, 2023). "Campbell Leads Three-Class Porsche Qualifying Sweep". sportscar365.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  22. ^ Bradley, Charles (May 13, 2023). "IMSA Laguna Seca: Campbell takes pole in Porsche 1-2". motorsport.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  23. ^ S. James, Richard (May 13, 2023). "Porsche sweeps both front rows in tight IMSA Laguna qualifying". racer.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  24. ^ "03_Results_Qualifying.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  25. ^ "01_Grid_Race_Provisional.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  27. ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 17, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
edit
IMSA SportsCar Championship
Previous race:
2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach
2023 season Next race:
2023 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen