2023 Grand Prix Of Long Beach
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The 2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach (formally known as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach) was a sports car race held at Long Beach street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 15, 2023. It was the third round of the
2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship The 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) is the 53rd racing season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association, which traces its lineage back to the 19 ...
and the first round of the 2023 WeatherTech Sprint Cup. The No. 10 Acura driven by Filipe Albuquerque won the
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
by posting the fastest lap in qualifying and held the lead until a slow pit stop. This handed the lead to
Mathieu Jaminet Mathieu Jaminet (born 24 October 1994) is a French racing driver. He is currently employed by Porsche as a Factory-backed, factory driver and participates primarily in Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, including the Intercontinenta ...
in the No. 6 Porsche who held the first position until 2 laps remaining. Ricky Taylor attempted a pass at turn one, but crashed into the tire barrier and handed Jaminet the victory. The No. 25 BMW of Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly finished in second, and the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport car of Matt Campbell and
Felipe Nasr Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Nasr (born 21 August 1992) is a Brazilian racing driver. He is the 2018 IMSA Sportscar champion and won the 2019 12 Hours of Sebring. After a year as the official test driver for Williams in 2014, he joined Sauber a ...
came in third.
Ben Barnicoat Ben Barnicoat (born 20 December 1996) is a British racing driver who currently serves as a McLaren factory racing driver, while also competing in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship for Project 1 Motorsport. He has previously raced in the ...
and Jack Hawksworth in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus were unchallenged throughout the race and took the victory in the Grand Touring Daytona Professional (GTD Pro) class ahead of second-placed No. 3 Corvette Racing drivers Antonio García and Jordan Taylor. The Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class was won by
Bryan Sellers Bryan Sellers (born August 19, 1982 in Daytona Beach, Florida, Dayton, Ohio) is an American racing driver. Sellers won the title in the U.S. F2000 National Championship, U.S. F2000 in 2002 and later competed in the Atlantic Championship and in r ...
and
Madison Snow Madison Snow (born December 26, 1995) is an American racing driver who currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. In 2018 Snow became only the second driver in IMSA history to win two championships in the same year, winning both the W ...
after they took the lead during the pit stop cycle to secure their second victory of the season, and was followed by the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team car of Roman De Angelis and
Marco Sørensen Marco L. Sørensen (born 6 September 1990) is a Danish racing driver currently racing for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He was part of the Renault Driver Development. He has competed in such seri ...
. The result meant Jaminet and Tandy took over the lead of the GTP Drivers' Championship with 955 points. Matt Campbell and
Felipe Nasr Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Nasr (born 21 August 1992) is a Brazilian racing driver. He is the 2018 IMSA Sportscar champion and won the 2019 12 Hours of Sebring. After a year as the official test driver for Williams in 2014, he joined Sauber a ...
moved from sixth to fifth while
Pipo Derani Pipo is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Pipo (actor) (1933-1998), Mexican actor * Pipo Nguyen-duy (born 1962), Vietnamese photographer * Pipo of Ozora (1369–1426), Italian soldier * Pipo (footballer, born 1992), P ...
and Alexander Sims dropped from first to second. Cadillac remained in the lead of the Manufcatures' Championship, but their advantage was reduced to 41 points as BMW and Porsche jumped one position each. In the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship, Barnicoat and Hawksworth the lead from
Jules Gounon Jules Gounon (born 31 December 1994 in Aubenas) is an Andorran-based French professional racing driver. He is best known for his victories in the 24 Hours of Spa in 2017 and 2022 and Bathurst 12 Hour in 2020 and 2022. Career 1994-2015: Youth i ...
and
Daniel Juncadella Daniel Juncadella Pérez-Sala (born 7 May 1991) is a Spanish racing driver who currently competes in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. He is son of Xavier Juncadella and nephew of José María Juncadella, Alex Soler-Roig and Luis Pérez-Sala, als ...
as Lexus took lead of the GTD Pro Manufactures' Championship. Sellers and Snow jumped from second to first in the GTD Drivers' Championship with 1008 points, as BMW took the lead of the GTD Manufactures' Championship with eight races left in the season.


Background

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the
2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship The 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) is the 53rd racing season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association, which traces its lineage back to the 19 ...
(IMSA SCC) in August 2022. It was the ninth year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fifteenth annual running of the race, counting the period between 2006 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively. The 2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2023 by IMSA, the shortest of the season in terms of distance, and it was the first round held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. The race was held at the eleven-turn 1.968 mi (3.167 km) Long Beach street circuit on April 15, 2023. After the
12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...
four weeks earlier,
Pipo Derani Pipo is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Pipo (actor) (1933-1998), Mexican actor * Pipo Nguyen-duy (born 1962), Vietnamese photographer * Pipo of Ozora (1369–1426), Italian soldier * Pipo (footballer, born 1992), P ...
, Alexander Sims, and Jack Aitken led the GTP Drivers' Championship with 670 points, ahead of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, and Louis Delétraz with 660 points followed by Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, and
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
with 600 points. With 708 points, GTD Pro was led by
Jules Gounon Jules Gounon (born 31 December 1994 in Aubenas) is an Andorran-based French professional racing driver. He is best known for his victories in the 24 Hours of Spa in 2017 and 2022 and Bathurst 12 Hour in 2020 and 2022. Career 1994-2015: Youth i ...
,
Daniel Juncadella Daniel Juncadella Pérez-Sala (born 7 May 1991) is a Spanish racing driver who currently competes in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. He is son of Xavier Juncadella and nephew of José María Juncadella, Alex Soler-Roig and Luis Pérez-Sala, als ...
, and
Maro Engel Maro René Engel (born 27 August 1985) is a German professional racing driver based in Monaco. He is a long-time Mercedes-AMG factory driver, FIA GT World Cup Champion, Nürburgring 24 hour winner, DTM race winner, Suzuka 10h winner, Macau GT ...
with a twenty-six point advantage over
Ben Barnicoat Ben Barnicoat (born 20 December 1996) is a British racing driver who currently serves as a McLaren factory racing driver, while also competing in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship for Project 1 Motorsport. He has previously raced in the ...
and Jack Hawksworth. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Brendan Iribe, Ollie Millroy, and Frederik Schandorff with 629 points; the trio held a one point gap over Corey Lewis,
Bryan Sellers Bryan Sellers (born August 19, 1982 in Daytona Beach, Florida, Dayton, Ohio) is an American racing driver. Sellers won the title in the U.S. F2000 National Championship, U.S. F2000 in 2002 and later competed in the Atlantic Championship and in r ...
, and
Madison Snow Madison Snow (born December 26, 1995) is an American racing driver who currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. In 2018 Snow became only the second driver in IMSA history to win two championships in the same year, winning both the W ...
.
Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
, Mercedes-AMG, and
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Whelen Engineering Racing, WeatherTech Racing, and
Inception Racing Optimum Motorsport is a motorsport team known for success in sportscar racing, primarily with Ginetta and McLaren GT cars. Optimum also race under the Inception Racing banner. Their record includes championship wins in 2013 British GT4, class ...
each led their own Teams' Championships. On April 3, 2023, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining
Balance of Performance In sports car racing, balance of performance (BoP) is a regulation and mechanism that maintains parity between competing vehicles by adjusting limits on a car's parameters, such as horsepower, weight, engine management, and aerodynamics to preven ...
for the GTP, GTD Pro, and GTD classes. In GTP, all cars received weight reductions compared to Sebring. The
Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
ran at the lowest weight (1031 kg), with the BMW and
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
at 1036 kg, and the
Acura Acura is the luxury vehicle, luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It ...
at 1045 kg. As a result, the Cadillac ran on 513 kilowatts of power, while the BMW ran on 515 kW (up 2 kW from Sebring), the Porsche ran on 515 kW (down 2 kW from Sebring), and the Acura on 520 kW. Maximum stint energy figures were also adjusted. In GTD Pro and GTD, the
Acura Acura is the luxury vehicle, luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It ...
and BMW received weight adjustments. The
Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
,
Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...
, and the
Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
received air restrictor size changes. Other changes included a change in fuel tank capacity for almost all cars, except the BMW and Mercedes, and an adjustment of average power delta.


Entries

A total of 28 cars took part in the event, split across three classes. 8 were entered in GTP, 5 in GTD Pro, and 15 in GTD. Risi Competizione and
Iron Lynx Iron Lynx Motorsport Lab is an Italian auto racing team founded by Andrea Piccini, Deborah Mayer, Claudio Schiavoni and Sergio Pianezzola. The team is based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. They currently operate Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 spor ...
were absent in GTD Pro while
Turner Motorsport Turner Motorsport (Also known as TMS Racing or Turner racing ) is a professional sports car racing team located in Newton, NH, and is the second most prolific BMW privateer racing team in the world, second only to Schnitzer Motorsport, who sto ...
moved its entry to GTD. In GTD, Jeroen Bleekmeolen replaced David Brule in the #92 Kelly-Moss lineup. Wright Motorsports scaled down to 1 car after initially citing BoP concerns and scaling back their #16 entry to only contesting the Michelin Endurance Cup. Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR added a partial sprint campaign in addition to committing to the Michelin Endurance Cup.


Practice

There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, one on Friday morning and one on Friday afternoon. The first session lasted one hour on Friday morning while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted 105 minutes.


Practice 1

The first practice session took place at 9:00 AM PT on Friday after being delayed by ten minutes due to the opening practice for Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America having track communication issues which delayed the practice session. Eventually, opening practice for the IMSA SportsCar Championship got underway and ended with Ricky Taylor topping the charts for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, with a lap time of 1:11.942. Tom Blomqvist was second fastest in the No. 60 Acura followed by
Mathieu Jaminet Mathieu Jaminet (born 24 October 1994) is a French racing driver. He is currently employed by Porsche as a Factory-backed, factory driver and participates primarily in Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, including the Intercontinenta ...
in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry. The GTD Pro class was topped by the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of
Alex Riberas Alex Riberas Bou (born 27 January 1994) is a Spanish racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Heart of Racing Team and the FIA World Endurance Championship for Northwest AMR. Career Karting Riberas began kart ...
with a time of 1:19.303, 0.071 seconds faster than Jack Hawksworth's No. 14 Lexus.
Alec Udell Alec Udell (November 28, 1995) is an American racing driver from Houston, Texas. He has won the 2019 SRO GT4 European series Silver cup championship, the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge GT3 Cup championship and the 2013 Nasa Pro American Iron National ...
was fastest in GTD with a time of 1:19.488, ahead of
Loris Spinelli Loris Spinelli (born 30 December 1995) is an Italian racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Forte Racing. Since 2024, Spinelli has been employed as a factory driver for Lamborghini's GT3 program. Career Sp ...
in the No. 78 Forte Racing Powered by
US RaceTronics US RaceTronics (USRT) is an auto racing team based in Buttonwillow, California, that competes in the Atlantic Championship. It was founded by former Dorricott Racing Team Manager Shane Seneviratne. Seneviratne and the Dorricott Racing organization ...
entry.


Final Practice

The second and final practice session took place at 12:45 PM PT on Friday and ended with Tom Blomqvist topping the charts for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, with a lap time of 1:10.391. Filipe Albuquerque was second fastest in the No. 10 Acura followed by Nick Yelloly in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL entry. The GTD Pro class was topped by the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing
Lexus RC F GT3 The Lexus RC (Japanese: レクサス・RC, ''Rekusasu RC'') is a Compact executive car, compact executive two-door coupé manufactured by Lexus, Toyota's luxury division. The RC which according to Lexus stands for "Radical Coupe" is a two-door co ...
of Jack Hawksworth with a time of 1:17.876.
Patrick Pilet Patrick Pilet (born October 8, 1981) is a French professional racing driver. He has competed in major sports car endurance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Spa, 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Born in ...
was second in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche and Antonio García rounded out the top 3.
Mario Farnbacher Mario Farnbacher (born 14 May 1992) is a German racecar driver who currently competes in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Career file:GT Masters Porsche 911 GT3 R Farnbacher.jpg, 255px, Farnbacher competing at the Nürburgring in 2012 In ...
was fastest in GTD with a time of 1:18.516.


Qualifying

Friday's qualification session was divided into two groups with the first session lasting 15 minutes while the second session lasted 20 minutes. Cars in GTD Pro and GTD were sent out first. After a ten-minute interval, GTP vehicles drove onto the track. Regulations stipulated teams to nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each classes starting order. IMSA arranged the grid to put GTP vehicles ahead of the GTD Pro and GTD cars. Qualifying was broken into two sessions. The first was cars in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. Jack Hawksworth qualified on pole in GTD Pro driving the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry, beating Ross Gunn in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team entry by 0.141 seconds. Following in third was Pilet's No. 9 Porsche. The No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD and the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes rounded out the GTD Pro qualifiers.
Marco Sørensen Marco L. Sørensen (born 6 September 1990) is a Danish racing driver currently racing for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He was part of the Renault Driver Development. He has competed in such seri ...
set the fastest time among all GTD cars driving the No. 27 car for Heart of Racing Team, 0.006 seconds faster than GTD Pro pole winner Hawksworth. Sørensen was five-tenths clear of Frankie Montecalvo in the No. 12 Lexus followed by
Madison Snow Madison Snow (born December 26, 1995) is an American racing driver who currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. In 2018 Snow became only the second driver in IMSA history to win two championships in the same year, winning both the W ...
in the No. 1
Paul Miller Racing Paul Miller Racing is an American auto racing team that is part of Paul Miller Auto Group and associated with former racing driver . The team has operations that are headquartered in Buford, Georgia; the Racing team also has operations in Par ...
Car in third. The session was shortened after Ashton Harrison driving the No. 93 car for Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR crashed at turn eight. Moments later,
P. J. Hyett P. J. Hyett (born August 10, 1983) is an American software developer and technology entrepreneur, and a co-founder of GitHub, an Internet hosting service for software development and version control using Git, which he created with Tom Preston-Wer ...
driving the No. 80 car for AO Racing Team also crashed at turn eight. The Racers Edge Motorsports Acura caught fire and Harrison walked away from the accident. Hyett walked away from the incident unhurt. For causing the red flag, both the No. 93 and No. 80 had their best two times from the session deleted. Due to the extensive damage on their cars, Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR and AO Racing Team withdrew from the event. The final session of qualifying was for the GTP class. Several teams scrubbed tires in the first half of the session for the race. Filipe Albuquerque qualified on pole driving the #10 car for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, beating Tom Blomqvist in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian entry by over six-tenths of a second. Following in third was the No. 01 Cadillac of Sébastien Bourdais, with the No. 25 BMW of Nick Yelloly in fourth.
Augusto Farfus Augusto Farfus Jr. (born 3 September 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver. He lives in Monaco. Early years Born in Curitiba, Farfus first tasted racing in minibike races and won the local championshi ...
completed the top 5 in the slower No. 24 BMW. Porsche Penske Motorsport were sixth and eighth: Nick Tandy in the No. 6 car was faster than the sister No. 7 entry of
Felipe Nasr Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Nasr (born 21 August 1992) is a Brazilian racing driver. He is the 2018 IMSA Sportscar champion and won the 2019 12 Hours of Sebring. After a year as the official test driver for Williams in 2014, he joined Sauber a ...
. They were separated by the seventh-placed Alexander Sims in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac V-Series.R.


Qualifying results

Pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
s in each class are indicated in bold and by . * The No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR entry had its two fastest laps deleted as penalty for causing a red flag during its qualifying session. * The No. 77 Wright Motorsports started at the rear of the GTD class after deciding to change their starting race tires. * The No. 66 Gradient Racing entry started at the rear of the GTD class after deciding to change their starting race tires. * The No. 80 AO Racing Team entry had its two fastest laps deleted as penalty for causing a red flag during its qualifying session.


Race

Weather conditions at the start were dry and clear. The race began at 2:05 pm Pacific Standard Time ( UTC−08:00). Albuquerque maintained his pole position advantage while Tom Blomqvist blocked Sébastien Bourdais. Bourdais lifted to avoid touching the rear of the No. 60 Acura. Moments later, the No. 01 Cadillac was on the marbles and Bourdais outbraked himself going into turn one and crashed into the barrier. Blomqvist's Acura was tagged by the No. 25 BMW of Nick Yelloly, sending the Acura into a spin. The No. 01 Cadillac and No. 60 Acura came to a stop at the turn one runoff area. Blomqvist stalled his Acura and a full course caution was displayed soon after. Blomqvist lost a lap and continued while Bourdais's Cadillac retired due to heavy nose damage. Racing resumed with 90 minutes remaining with Albuquerque maintaining his lead over Nick Tandy with Jack Hawksworth leading the five-car GTD Pro field and
Marco Sørensen Marco L. Sørensen (born 6 September 1990) is a Danish racing driver currently racing for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He was part of the Renault Driver Development. He has competed in such seri ...
led GTD. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Alexander Sims pitted at the end of lap 7. The No. 31 Cadillac was refueled and
Pipo Derani Pipo is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Pipo (actor) (1933-1998), Mexican actor * Pipo Nguyen-duy (born 1962), Vietnamese photographer * Pipo of Ozora (1369–1426), Italian soldier * Pipo (footballer, born 1992), P ...
took over from Sims. With 78 minutes and 39 seconds remaining, The No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren of Brendan Iribe made contact with the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW of Chandler Hull at turn eleven. 6 minutes later, Hull spun Iribe at the same corner and blocked the track for several cars. Hull was issued a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility. Majority of the field made their first scheduled pit stops for fuel, tires, and driver changes. Sellers overtook De Angelis in the pit cycle to take the lead of GTD after the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW pitted one lap after the No. 27 Aston Martin. Sellers held off De Angelis on his out lap and kept the GTD lead. The No. 10 Acura had a slow pit stop after Ricky Taylor selected neutral on the car's steering wheel causing the car to not launch. Taylor eventually got the clutch engaged and rejoined the race.
Mathieu Jaminet Mathieu Jaminet (born 24 October 1994) is a French racing driver. He is currently employed by Porsche as a Factory-backed, factory driver and participates primarily in Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, including the Intercontinenta ...
, Matt Campbell,
Pipo Derani Pipo is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Pipo (actor) (1933-1998), Mexican actor * Pipo Nguyen-duy (born 1962), Vietnamese photographer * Pipo of Ozora (1369–1426), Italian soldier * Pipo (footballer, born 1992), P ...
, and Connor De Phillippi jumped Taylor in the pit cycle. Derani passed Campbell for second at turn six with 49 minutes and 42 seconds remaining. Jordan Taylor passed
Klaus Bachler Klaus Bachler (born 27 July 1991, in Unzmarkt) is an Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine ...
for second in GTD Pro at the same corner 8 minutes later. The No. 31 Cadillac of Pipo Derani pitted on lap 52 and dropped to sixth in the GTP class. De Phillippi attempted to pass Campbell at turn six on lap 59, but missed his braking point and went into the runoff area. De Phillippi spun his car around in the runoff area and Ricky Taylor was promoted to third place while De Phillippi rejoined in fourth. The No. 60 Acura of
Colin Braun Colin Braun (; born September 22, 1988) is an American racing driver. He is the 2014 and 2015 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype Challenge Champion and currently drives the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier LMP3 for CORE autosport in the IMSA ...
received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits. On lap 60, the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Connor De Phillippi set the overall fastest lap of the race, a 1:11.503. Ricky Taylor caught Jaminet on lap 62 and passed Campbell at turn 6, but was quickly overtaken by Campbell. The No. 10 Acura touched the rear of the No. 7 Porsche on seaside way one lap later and the Porsche lost its left-rear wing endplate. On the next lap, Taylor went around the outside at turn six to try overtaking Campbell for second overall. Campbell blocked Taylor from overtaking him for second position. Ricky Taylor went wide at turn eight on lap 67 was caught by De Phillippi's BMW. 3 laps later, Taylor passed Campbell for second position at turn eight while De Phillippi overtook Campbell for third position shortly afterwards. Going into turn one on the penultimate lap, Ricky Taylor dived down the inside of Mathieu Jaminet and out braked Jaminet going into turn one. However, Taylor carried too much speed and went into the tire barrier. A full course caution was displayed soon after and the race ended behind the safety car. Jaminet inherited the overall lead and took the first win of the season for the No. 6 Porsche. De Phillippi finished second in the No. 25 BMW, and Campbell completed the podium positions by finishing third. The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus of Barnicoat and Hawksworth secured victory in GTD Pro, ahead of the No. 3 Corvette of Antonio García and Jordan Taylor, and third-position finishers
Klaus Bachler Klaus Bachler (born 27 July 1991, in Unzmarkt) is an Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine ...
and
Patrick Pilet Patrick Pilet (born October 8, 1981) is a French professional racing driver. He has competed in major sports car endurance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Spa, 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Born in ...
of Pfaff Motorsports.
Bryan Sellers Bryan Sellers (born August 19, 1982 in Daytona Beach, Florida, Dayton, Ohio) is an American racing driver. Sellers won the title in the U.S. F2000 National Championship, U.S. F2000 in 2002 and later competed in the Atlantic Championship and in r ...
and Madison Snow took their second win of the season in GTD. The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team entry of Roman De Angelis and
Marco Sørensen Marco L. Sørensen (born 6 September 1990) is a Danish racing driver currently racing for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He was part of the Renault Driver Development. He has competed in such seri ...
finished second, and Frankie Montecalvo and Aaron Telitz in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry rounded out the podium.


Post-race

Ricky Taylor expressed his disappointment after crashing out on the penultimate lap: "I’m very sorry for Acura, HPD and the WTRAndretti team. With the reviousAcura ARX-05, this was always the track where we had the most performance deficit to the field. It just says so much about Acura, HPD, ORECA and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport to turn our weakest track into our strongest track ith the new Acura ARX-06 Unfortunately, we got behind with a little issue mid race, but we had such a strong car while fighting back. It came down so close in the end, if we had more time maybe I would have been more patient, but we just wanted to win this for Acura. Everyone at Acura, HPD and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport deserved to win this today and it’s just disappointing, but I’m just so proud to drive an Acura and be part of this team." Jaminet admitted he saw Taylor's overtake attempt happening: "I kind of saw it coming. He had fresher tires and I got held up in traffic the lap before. It was two to go and he went for us. I braked very late and I just saw he was going and if he could make it stop I’d be impressed." Hawksworth described the No. 14 Lexus victory in GTD Pro as a "perfect weekend": "One of the best-executed races we’ve been a part of. It was good to clear Sorensen off the start, and that put our Lexus RC F GT3 up at the front. Had an amazing pit stop and then Ben drove his tail off from there." De Angelis admitted the No. 27 Aston Martin couldn't keep pace with the GTD class winning No. 1 BMW: "We just didn’t have the pace of the BMW. We are looking long term and want to win the championship. I’m still disappointed we didn’t win the race today, but we still have to be happy for good points." As a result of winning the race, Tandy and Jaminet advanced from fifth to first in the GTP Drivers' Championship. In GTD Pro, Barnicoat and Hawksworth moved to first after being second coming into Long Beach. In the GTD Drivers' Championship, De Angelis and Sørensen advanced from fifth to second while Iribe and Millroy dropped from first to fourth. Additionally, Foley and Gallagher jumped from eighth to fifth. Cadillac continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championship while Lexus took the lead of the GTD Pro Manufacturers' Championship while BMW took the lead of the GTD Manufacturers' Championship. Porsche Penske Motorsport, Vasser Sullivan Racing, and Paul Miller Racing took the lead in the trio of Teams' Championships with eight races left in the season.


Race Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and .


Notes


Standings after the race

* 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


External links

{{Sportscar Race Report , Year_of_race = 2023 , Sportscar_Series = IMSA SportsCar Championship , Previous_race_in_season =
2023 12 Hours of Sebring The 2023 12 Hours of Sebring (formally known as the 71st Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts) was an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance Sports car racing, sports car race held at Sebring International Raceway nea ...
, Next_race_in_season = 2023 Motul Course de Monterey Grand Prix of Long Beach Grand Prix of Long Beach Grand Prix of Long Beach 2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season Events in Long Beach, California