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July 3, 2022
Bowmanville, Ontario – Tonis Kasemets showed he had the measure of the IMSA Prototype Challenge field at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday. Twice.
The Estonian dominated the first hour at CTMP, then fended off a late challenge following the only full-course caution of the 90-minute race for Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) cars. He won for the second straight time this season and extended his championship lead.
Starting from the pole position, Kasemets steadily pulled away from the pack in the No. 60 Wulver Racing Ligier JS P320, building a cushion of more than 50 seconds as the race ran under green-flag conditions. Until, that is, Danny Formal slid off track in Turn 5 in the No. 46 CT Motorsports Duqueine D08 with just under 25 minutes remaining to bring out the only yellow of the race on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course.
Racing restarted with 13 minutes to go, and soon after, Parker Thompson (No. 14 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier) and Patrick Kujala (No. 77 O’Gara Motorsport/Change Racing/US RaceTronics Ligier) maneuvered through lapped traffic and were hot on Kasemets’ tail. Both contenders closed within a half-second of the leader until Kasemets responded.
He stretched the gap to more than two seconds before easing off on the final lap and crossing the finish line 0.512 seconds up on Thompson, who shared the No. 14 with Lance Willsey.
“The young guns, the future stars, it’s hard to keep them behind but I used everything I had in my book and did what I could,” Kasemets said. “It was tough.”
The 48-year-old race winner was one of only three solo driver entries in the race. Knowing the demands of CTMP, Kasemets worked on his endurance by going cross-country skiing in the interim between the last Prototype Challenge race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in May and this weekend’s event.
“We were slightly behind because we did not test here,” Kasemets said, “so it took us quite a lot of work to get the ride height right because it’s very demanding. Almost every corner is over 100 miles an hour. You’ve got to hold your breath and then you’ve got to learn how to breathe again. It takes everything you know.”
It was a remarkable recovery to second place for the No. 14 Sean Creech entry, considering the team was assessed a stop-and-go penalty for its pit stop falling 0.5 seconds shy of the minimum time. Thompson, the 24-year-old native from Red Deer, Alberta, charged back to reach the second step of the podium to the delight of the Canadian crowd.
“We were quick on track and we were a little (too) quick in the pits – under one second,” Thompson said. “We took that drive-through penalty, which was too bad, but kept my head down and picked them off one by one.
“Once I got back up on the podium after a drive-through penalty, I was fairly content,” added Thompson, racing in his homeland for the first time in three years. “Every Canadian’s dream is to stand on this podium. This is the most legendary track that we have to offer. Big shout-out to (IMSA) for getting us back to Canada; it’s awesome to be back. You see the Canadian fans; they’ve been dying to have a race.”
With the win, Kasemets expanded his points lead to 120. Memo Gidley and Alexander Koreiba, who finished fifth Sunday in the No. 23 AL Autosport with JDC MotorSports Duqueine, are second in points. The No. 77 of Kujala and Brian Thienes crossed the finish line in third place, but was moved to the rear of the field when post-race technical inspection revealed that the plank on the bottom of the car exceeded maximum permitted wear.
A recap of Sunday’s race airs at noon ET Sunday, July 10 on USA Network.
Two races remain on the Prototype Challenge schedule. Next up is VIRginia International Raceway from Aug. 26-28.
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July 3, 2022
Bowmanville, Ontario – Renger van der Zande’s opportunistic run through late-race traffic produced an unexpected victory for himself and Sebastien Bourdais Sunday in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
Van der Zande guided the No. 01 Cadillac V Performance Academy Cadillac past Oliver Jarvis in the leading No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura DPi with 10 minutes remaining in the 2-hour, 40-minute event when Jarvis was inadvertently blocked in Turn 3 by a GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) competitor. Once in front, van der Zande pulled away to win by 3.509 seconds to claim the third victory of the season for the No. 01 Cadillac.
The victory, which was the 10th in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition for Bourdais and the 17th for van der Zande, came as a surprise to both veteran drivers.
Bourdais qualified the No. 01 Cadillac fifth fastest, and the experienced Frenchman admitted that he struggled to come to grips with the fast and tricky CTMP circuit on his first visit. Then both drivers grappled with what they described as an intermittent and unpredictable problem with the Cadillac’s power steering.
“This race wasn’t going to be ours,” said van der Zande, who completed 123 laps of the 11-turn, 2.459-mile road course located 60 miles northeast of Toronto. “We changed the car around completely after the warm-up practice this morning and didn’t know what to expect. The changes worked, but the power steering failed, and that was the toughest part of today.
“I knew I needed traffic to get by, so it was maximum attack, full risk,” he added. “I thought, ‘This is the time to go,’ and it worked.”
Bourdais deferred to van der Zande when he was asked to place the decal signifying a WeatherTech Championship race win onto the victorious Cadillac after the race.
“That was all him,” Bourdais remarked. “With the massive power steering issues, I was barely hanging on and I have no idea how he put that thing up there to fight those guys. He obviously reads traffic super-well, and when he gets all wound up with emotions, he uses that anger in a positive way. He really made it work today, and it was very impressive.”
Blomqvist and Jarvis finished second for the fifth consecutive IMSA race, a streak dating to the event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in mid-May. Consolation came in the form of regaining the WeatherTech Championship DPi points lead over the No. 10 Konica Minolta Racing Acura shared by Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor, which finished sixth at CTMP.
The No 60 Acura duo now lead the No. 10 pairing by 56 points after arriving in Canada trailing by 17. Bourdais and van der Zande moved up to third in the standings, 148 points off the lead.
“Our race car was very difficult to drive and we really struggled a lot in traffic,” Blomqvist said. “We learned some lessons and know we can achieve performance over a single lap. But this hurts a lot, and everyone is heartbroken because we believe we should have won that one.”
Pipo Derani and Olivier Pla completed the podium by finishing third in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.
Braun and Bennett Win Again in Canada
Jon Bennett and Colin Braun seem unbeatable at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
“I just really enjoy this place,” Braun said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks, and things just kind of seem to flow our way when we come here.”
That proved to be the case again this year, as the duo combined to claim the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class victory in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier. It was their fifth IMSA win at the Canadian facility.
The No. 36 Andretti Autosport Ligier JS P320 shared by Jarett Andretti and Gabby Chaves was fastest in qualifying, and the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier manned by Gar Robinson and Scott Andrews led for the first 90 minutes of the 2-hour, 40-minute race.
But the Andretti car was delayed in the pits, and the No. 74 suffered a crash, leaving Bennett and Braun an uncontested run to the finish. They won by 2.753 seconds over Andretti and Chaves, with Ari Balogh and Garrett Grist taking third in the No. 30 Jr III Motorsports Ligier.
“Jeff Braun, our race engineer, really set up a fast car, and I ran a clean stint,” said Bennett. “Then Colin was just a rocket.”
“A great day,” Braun added. “I’m really proud of those CORE autosport guys. We had great pit stops and a fast car, obviously. Jon did a great job in that opening stint.”
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for prototype classes (DPi, LMP2, LMP3) is the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America, August 4-7. The GT classes are in action at Lime Rock Park July 15-16 for the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix.
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Junly 2, 2022
Bowmanville, Ontario – Tyler Maxson made an impressive debut today at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park with his pole winning lap of 1:24.318 seconds. The lap was the eighth quickest overall, and faster than 11 GS qualifiers. It was Maxson's second pole of the season and fourth this year for the #77 Elantra N TCR. Maxson's co-driver Mason Filippi scored the pole at Sebring and Watkins Glen.
On the subject of impressive debuts, Canadians Robert and Karli Wickens welcomed their first child, Wesley Joseph Wickens on this Canada Day!
Robert announced the news this afternoon on his social media accounts (see below). Wickens will travel back to Canada tomorrow, to race alongside his fellow-Canadian co-driver Mark Wilkins in front of their enthusiastic home crowd in the #33 Elantra N TCR.
It has been quite a week for Robert Wickens, he and teammate Wilkins scored their first victory of the season last weekend at Watkins Glen International. The win was Wickens' first victory racing with hand controls, a discipline that took just five races for Wickens to conquer.
The green flag falls for the 2-hour Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120 at 4:10pm ET and will be televised live on NBC's Peacock TV and on REV TV in Canada. Live radio coverage in addition to live timing and scoring will be available at IMSA.com.
Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120
Bryan Herta Autosport Starting Line-Up
P.1 Tyler Maxson and Mason Filippi #77 Elantra N TCR
P.3 Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker #98 Elantra N TCR
P.5 AJ Muss and Ryan Norman #2 Elantra N TCR
P.6 Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis #1 Elantra N TCR
P.7 Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson #54 Universal Coating Elantra N TCR
P.13 Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins #33 Elantra N TCR
Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian
Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single car Indy-Lights team into a multi-championship winning auto racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport has won races in every discipline they have entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rallycross, and championship titles in Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with driver Dan Wheldon. Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. In 2018, BHA entered the American Sports Car scene beginning its immensely successful partnership with Hyundai. Together, BHA and Hyundai have won four championships in as many seasons, including three consecutive team and driver championships, and two consecutive (2020, 2021) manufacturer's titles in IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge. For more information, visit: www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.
BHA/Hyundai Customer Support: Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and part support representative of Hyundai TCR and TCA race cars for customer teams. The BHA/Hyundai Customer Support Team offers trackside engineering support, setup and tuning advice, and part and order fulfillments for the Hyundai Veloster N TCR and TCA teams and drivers from the BHA’s headquarters in Speedway, IN. Since its North American debut in 2019, the Hyundai Veloster N TCR has scored 27 race wins, and three TCR championship titles.
HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA
Hyundai Motor America focuses on ‘Progress for Humanity’ and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs and electrified vehicles. Our 820 dealers sold more than 738,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2021, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com.
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Junly 2, 2022
Bowmanville, Ontario – Having two drivers in two distinctly different Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars tying for fastest time of the day around Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to the thousandth of a second is enough to leave anyone speechless.
For Sebastien Bourdais and Tom Blomqvist – each clocking laps timed at 1 minute, 5.712 seconds (134.715 mph) around the legendary 10-turn road course commonly called Mosport – the track itself did the job.
Blomqvist, Bourdais and their respective co-drivers looked spent after completing 90 minutes of practice in warm, humid conditions Friday in preparation for the Chevrolet Grand Prix (3 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC).
For Bourdais, sharing the No. 01 Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R with Renger van der Zande, it’s his first time at a track that hosted the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and countless major sports car races since the 1960s.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to find my way around,” Bourdais admitted. “It’s a tricky place. I think I would really like it if it was smooth. But these cars are ride-height sensitive and they’re heavy, and when you hit those bumps – man, oh, man – it’s dodgy out there. And there’s no room for error. You feel like you’re on oval-type corners 50 or 60 percent of the time, but bumpy as can be. If you make a mistake, you’re gonna pay, and fast.”
Blomqvist and teammate Oliver Jarvis, driving the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-05, are embroiled in a fierce DPi championship battle with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura driven by Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor. Albuquerque was fifth fastest on Friday at 1:06.013 (134.100 mph).
“It’s a pretty crazy track,” Blomqvist observed. “Super-fast, and it’s a lot more bumpy than I remember. I know they resurfaced some areas, but it seems like the bumps are pretty intense.
“Our car seems pretty fast, but we definitely need to tune it up a little bit,” he added. “It’s not easy out there. I think it’s going to be a difficult weekend for everyone and super close. We’re hanging on for dear life. I was scared out there, I’m not going to lie.”
Garett Grist was fastest in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class, recording a lap of 1:12.245 (122.533 mph) in the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 to edge four-time CTMP class winner Colin Braun in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier (1:12.284/122.466 mph).
The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Daniel Juncadella paced the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class, circulating in 1:16.520 (115.687 mph). The fastest GT Daytona (GTD) entry was the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 manned by Frankie Montecalvo at 1:16.927 (115.075 mph).
WeatherTech Championship action resumes Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with another 90-minute practice session at 8 a.m. ET prior to Motul Pole Award qualifying that streams live at 12:40 p.m. on IMSA.com/TVLive.
Globetrotting Kobayashi Excited for GTD PRO Opportunity
Call Kamui Kobayashi the ultimate corporate man.
The versatile 35-year-old racer was named team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) effort in December 2021, while continuing as a Toyota works driver. This year, he has combined that dual role while also serving as an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver for the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.
Kobayashi was at Watkins Glen International seven days ago with the No. 48 team when Andy Graves, Toyota Racing Development’s technical director, asked if he could co-drive Vasser Sullivan’s GTD PRO Lexus RC F GT3 with Ben Barnicoat in this weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP. Regular driver Jack Hawksworth is missing a third consecutive race as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in a motocross accident.
Kobayashi was facing a busy schedule that required him to fly to Europe immediately after the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen for important Toyota WEC meetings and a session in the Toyota simulator in Germany in preparation for the six-hour WEC race at Monza, Italy, on July 10.
But how could he say no – as a racer or a good corporate man?
Kobayashi arrived in Canada on schedule Thursday night – following a side trip to Charlotte to log time in the TRD simulator there to familiarize himself with the GTD PRO Lexus – but he had never seen CTMP prior to Friday morning and joked about not even knowing the track’s name.
“I got everything done and I’m pretty happy being here,” Kobayashi said. “I think the biggest challenge will be adapting from the simulator to the real car and the real track. It could be different, but I’ll try to do my best. It’s short notice, but there’s good support from the team, Toyota and Lexus.”
Kobayashi has previous experience in Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG cars built to the international GT3 formula that serves as the platform for IMSA’s GTD and GTD PRO classes. He has also compiled extensive seat time in the unique GT300 and GT500 cars that compete in Japan’s popular Super GT championship.
Perhaps most importantly, Kobayashi is playing a key role as Toyota Gazoo Racing develops its next-generation GT3 platform that will serve as the basis for future Toyota and Lexus racing cars. He called it “a huge project in Japan.”
“To have this experience racing the Lexus will be very important and helpful,” he said. “We are collaborating more with TRD USA to make sure in the future to work well for the next stage of the GT3 program.”
Kobayashi logged 26 laps in Friday’s practice with a best lap of 1:17.516 (114.200 mph) that was just two-tenths of a second behind co-driver Ben Barnicoat.
M&Ms, Murillo and Maxson, on Poles for Michelin Pilot Challenge Race
Qualifying Results
Kenny Murillo and Tyler Maxson set the fastest laps in their respective classes to win the Motul Pole Awards in qualifying for the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120. The race streams live on Peacock starting at 4:10 p.m. ET Saturday.
Murillo was fastest in the Grand Sport (GS) class with a best lap of 1:22.735 in the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 that he shares with Christian Szymczak. Murillo was but 0.074 seconds quicker than Damian Fineschi in the No. 14 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4.
Maxson put the No. 77 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR on the Touring Car (TCR) class pole with a lap of 1:24.318. Maxson’s co-driver is Mason Filippi. Chris Miller qualified second in TCR in the No. 17 Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS SEQ (1:24.436).
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Junly 2, 2022
Bowmanville, Ontario – Having two drivers in two distinctly different Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars tying for fastest time of the day around Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to the thousandth of a second is enough to leave anyone speechless.
For Sebastien Bourdais and Tom Blomqvist – each clocking laps timed at 1 minute, 5.712 seconds (134.715 mph) around the legendary 10-turn road course commonly called Mosport – the track itself did the job.
Blomqvist, Bourdais and their respective co-drivers looked spent after completing 90 minutes of practice in warm, humid conditions Friday in preparation for the Chevrolet Grand Prix (3 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC).
For Bourdais, sharing the No. 01 Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R with Renger van der Zande, it’s his first time at a track that hosted the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and countless major sports car races since the 1960s.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to find my way around,” Bourdais admitted. “It’s a tricky place. I think I would really like it if it was smooth. But these cars are ride-height sensitive and they’re heavy, and when you hit those bumps – man, oh, man – it’s dodgy out there. And there’s no room for error. You feel like you’re on oval-type corners 50 or 60 percent of the time, but bumpy as can be. If you make a mistake, you’re gonna pay, and fast.”
Blomqvist and teammate Oliver Jarvis, driving the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-05, are embroiled in a fierce DPi championship battle with the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura driven by Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor. Albuquerque was fifth fastest on Friday at 1:06.013 (134.100 mph).
“It’s a pretty crazy track,” Blomqvist observed. “Super-fast, and it’s a lot more bumpy than I remember. I know they resurfaced some areas, but it seems like the bumps are pretty intense.
“Our car seems pretty fast, but we definitely need to tune it up a little bit,” he added. “It’s not easy out there. I think it’s going to be a difficult weekend for everyone and super close. We’re hanging on for dear life. I was scared out there, I’m not going to lie.”
Garett Grist was fastest in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class, recording a lap of 1:12.245 (122.533 mph) in the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 to edge four-time CTMP class winner Colin Braun in the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier (1:12.284/122.466 mph).
The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Daniel Juncadella paced the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class, circulating in 1:16.520 (115.687 mph). The fastest GT Daytona (GTD) entry was the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 manned by Frankie Montecalvo at 1:16.927 (115.075 mph).
WeatherTech Championship action resumes Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with another 90-minute practice session at 8 a.m. ET prior to Motul Pole Award qualifying that streams live at 12:40 p.m. on IMSA.com/TVLive.
Globetrotting Kobayashi Excited for GTD PRO Opportunity
Call Kamui Kobayashi the ultimate corporate man.
The versatile 35-year-old racer was named team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) effort in December 2021, while continuing as a Toyota works driver. This year, he has combined that dual role while also serving as an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver for the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.
Kobayashi was at Watkins Glen International seven days ago with the No. 48 team when Andy Graves, Toyota Racing Development’s technical director, asked if he could co-drive Vasser Sullivan’s GTD PRO Lexus RC F GT3 with Ben Barnicoat in this weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at CTMP. Regular driver Jack Hawksworth is missing a third consecutive race as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in a motocross accident.
Kobayashi was facing a busy schedule that required him to fly to Europe immediately after the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen for important Toyota WEC meetings and a session in the Toyota simulator in Germany in preparation for the six-hour WEC race at Monza, Italy, on July 10.
But how could he say no – as a racer or a good corporate man?
Kobayashi arrived in Canada on schedule Thursday night – following a side trip to Charlotte to log time in the TRD simulator there to familiarize himself with the GTD PRO Lexus – but he had never seen CTMP prior to Friday morning and joked about not even knowing the track’s name.
“I got everything done and I’m pretty happy being here,” Kobayashi said. “I think the biggest challenge will be adapting from the simulator to the real car and the real track. It could be different, but I’ll try to do my best. It’s short notice, but there’s good support from the team, Toyota and Lexus.”
Kobayashi has previous experience in Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG cars built to the international GT3 formula that serves as the platform for IMSA’s GTD and GTD PRO classes. He has also compiled extensive seat time in the unique GT300 and GT500 cars that compete in Japan’s popular Super GT championship.
Perhaps most importantly, Kobayashi is playing a key role as Toyota Gazoo Racing develops its next-generation GT3 platform that will serve as the basis for future Toyota and Lexus racing cars. He called it “a huge project in Japan.”
“To have this experience racing the Lexus will be very important and helpful,” he said. “We are collaborating more with TRD USA to make sure in the future to work well for the next stage of the GT3 program.”
Kobayashi logged 26 laps in Friday’s practice with a best lap of 1:17.516 (114.200 mph) that was just two-tenths of a second behind co-driver Ben Barnicoat.
M&Ms, Murillo and Maxson, on Poles for Michelin Pilot Challenge Race
Qualifying Results
Kenny Murillo and Tyler Maxson set the fastest laps in their respective classes to win the Motul Pole Awards in qualifying for the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120. The race streams live on Peacock starting at 4:10 p.m. ET Saturday.
Murillo was fastest in the Grand Sport (GS) class with a best lap of 1:22.735 in the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 that he shares with Christian Szymczak. Murillo was but 0.074 seconds quicker than Damian Fineschi in the No. 14 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4.
Maxson put the No. 77 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR on the Touring Car (TCR) class pole with a lap of 1:24.318. Maxson’s co-driver is Mason Filippi. Chris Miller qualified second in TCR in the No. 17 Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS SEQ (1:24.436).
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