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Looks like the Caddies should have only lost 3kg, Mazda and Acura are pretty evenly matched, but the top 2 Cadillacs 20 seconds ahead with an hour to go.
I knew once they changed the BOP in Cadillac's favor, Mazda would not win again. IMSA has always favored the bigger racing manufacturers and certainly doesn't want Mazda dominating Cadillac and Acura every race. Nothing different since my involvement with Mazdas in IMSA from back in the nineteen seventies. Oh well, nice to be on top while it lasted.
Lets see if IMSA leaves the BOP alone now, or just lets the Caddys dominate. .
The calculated dice roll didn't work out in their favor. Still pretty impressive that fuel volume, timing, and distance can be calculated down to such hair splitting values.
Where does this leave Mazda in terms of points? Tristan Nunez and Oliver Jarvis was leading 64 points each before Sebring. Still not updates post Sebring.
SNTP, took IMSA over a week to update the standings after the last race so I just did a little math and this should be where everyone stands after Sebring
Overall Team Standings
Mazda Motorsports #77 - 92 points
Konica-Minolta Cadillac #10 - 92 points
JDC Motorsports Cadillac - 90 points
Mazda Motorsports #55 - 86 points
Whelen Engineering Cadillac #31 - 85 points
Mazda's #77 is now in a tie for first place. Damn it, getting passed on that last lap cost us a valuable 2 points.
JDC Motorsports continues to be one of the most consistent cars out in the field now having finished on the podium (3rd) every single race this season. They'll be one to look out for
Official Results
Interesting to see just how dialed in that #31 was at Sebring. Their fastest lap was 1:47:675 @ 125.042mph
They were the only team in the 1:47's and no one else broke 125mph
yikes.
Looks like we have even more calendar updates coming (as if the 1st post of this thread didn't already have enough corrections) due to complications with Watkins Glen and LimeRock.
I was talking with a buddy of mine over the weekend how I wasn't sure they'd be able to race there and now it seems that's going to be the case.
IMSA Set for More Schedule Changes Amid Travel Restrictions
Watkins Glen, Lime Rock look unlikely to run in September; replacement races being evaluated…
IMSA looks set to make additional changes to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule amid the current travel restrictions in the Northeast, which has put both the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and GT-only round at Lime Rock Park in jeopardy.
Sportscar365 has learned that the two races are unlikely to occur as currently scheduled in early September due to New York and Connecticut’s 14-day mandatory quarantine for people arriving from states with “significant community spread” of COVID-19.
The current list of 19 states, calculated by having at least a 10 percent positivity rate over seven-day rolling average, currently includes Florida, North Carolina, California and Georgia, where the majority of IMSA teams are based.
NASCAR last week moved its annual race at Watkins Glen, scheduled for Aug. 14-16, to Daytona International Speedway due to the current travel restrictions.
While not confirming any specifics, an IMSA spokesperson told Sportscar365 that they could have an update on the 2020 schedule later this week although details are still being confirmed.
Rumors in the paddock during last weekend’s Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring indicated that both Charlotte Motor Speedway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta could serve as replacement rounds.
A GT-only race at Charlotte’s ‘Roval’ during the NASCAR weekend of Oct.11, has been suggested as a possibility, while Road Atlanta could host a six-hour round in September to replace the Watkins Glen event, which also serves as a round of the Michelin Endurance Cup.
My initial reaction was, lets go back to Daytona!
Road Atlanta is a track the teams are familiar with so I see how it makes sense to head there and do a 6 hour race. I was sort of hoping they would add a new circuit such as Circuit of the Americas since it's been a few years and that's always a beautiful facility but I"m sure with all the different race organizations having to make changes on the fly it would be difficult to do that on such short notice.
Report: Team Penske, Acura Likely to Split at End of Year
French report suggests Acura, Team Penske to go separate ways in 2021…
Whoa.
Team Penske and Acura’s partnership in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship could end at the conclusion of the 2020 season, with reports of the two parties going their separate ways next year.
Having debuted in 2018, the factory program, which brought star drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves into the WeatherTech Championship full-time, delivered the 2019 DPi title with Montoya and Dane Cameron.
With a total of four wins since the program’s debut, Acura Team Penske has yet to claim victories in any of the key endurance races including the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring or Motul Petit Le Mans.
Representatives from both Acura and Team Penske have yet to return Sportscar365’s inquiries for comment.
Sportscar365 understands that a number of teams, both currently involved in IMSA and not presently inside the paddock, have been vying to take over the Acura ARX-05 program beginning in 2021.
However, it remains unclear what the program could look like next year, particularly as manufacturers could be faced to make cuts in their motorsports budgets due to the current economic uncertainty.
Team Penske has been linked to at least one potential new LMDh effort, although a possible delay in the rollout of the joint ACO-IMSA regulations may not result in that program coming online until 2023 at the earliest.
Holy crap this is big news.
Acura has been extremely successful with this prototype under the management of Penske so I can definitely see other teams wanting to take over the program (Team Joest ? )
Rumor is Porsche is working on a new car for the FIA and I can see old man Penske wanting to go after a LeMans win! Can you imagine a Penske Porsche Team? I can and it sounds awesome.
Bummer to see Penske leaving IMSA but after winning a championship their first year out, I'd say they accomplished what they set out to do regardless of what happens this season (which I still expect them to remain competitive)
I can see them being one of the LMDh competitors on this side of the Atlantic.
I expected the break in the season would enable R&D and negotiations for LMDh to progress more quickly, shows what I know.
Maybe Chip Ganassi wants to come back to the top class in IMSA?
nice memory SNTP and bonus points to j_tso for grabbing a pic of it!
Looks like those weren't just rumors.
Acura Confirms Split with Penske at End of Season
Acura Motorsports, Team Penske to part ways at the end of current IMSA season… by Daniel Lloyd
Acura has confirmed that its partnership with Team Penske in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s DPi class will end after the current season.
A statement from Acura said the three-year project with the renowned Penske race team is being brought to an end by “mutual agreement”.
Team Penske has been running the Oreca-based Acura ARX-05 in IMSA’s top prototype class since the 2018 season and has achieved a total of four race wins to date.
The partnership’s defining moment came at the end of last year when it clinched a sweep of the 2019 teams’, manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships.
Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya won the drivers’ title, courtesy of their three victories at Mid-Ohio, Detroit Belle Isle and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
“On behalf of everyone at Acura and HPD, we’d like to thank Team Penske for their incredible efforts and impressive results racing the ARX-05,” said Honda Performance Development president Ted Klaus.
“The success we’ve achieved together during the first two-plus years of the program makes us even more determined to score more victories, defend our championships, and conclude our partnership on the highest of notes.”
No word has been given on the future of Acura’s DPi program, although Sportscar365 understands that it could continue in the hands of other teams.
Found an interesting quote from Penske over at racer.com
Asked earlier this month about continuing with the Japanese brand in IMSA, Penske said “You would need to ask them; any decision on the future belongs with Acura.” Representatives from Honda Performance Development and Team Penske were unavailable for comment.
Interesting.
Sounds like Acura could go with multiple teams!
Acura and Team Penske will not continue their IMSA relationship beyond the three-year contract which comes to an end after the 2020 season.
As RACER wrote on Monday, Acura Motorsports is likely to shift its ARX-05 DPi program from its current two-car, single-team structure, to a format used in the former American Le Mans Series where multiple teams worked alongside Honda Performance Development to field single entries.
Sebring IMSA Race Hits Record Viewership in NBC Sports Era
NBC Sports reports most-watched IMSA race since acquiring media rights to WeatherTech Championship… sportscar365
Last weekend’s Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring saw IMSA and NBC Sports reach new heights, with the race broadcast delivering the most-ever viewers in the two-year history of the partnership.
The three-hour NBCSN broadcast on July 18 averaged 357,000 viewers, according to data provided by NBC Sports, making it the most-watched IMSA race on record since acquiring media rights to the series last year.
Viewership was also up 91 percent compared to the IMSA average for races on NBCSN, with the race delivering a 0.23 rating in U.S. households
1 week until our next race and we've got another BoP update
Acura, Cadillac DPis Get Power Increases for Road America
IMSA issues latest round of BoP changes for Road America…
Both the Acura ARX-05 and Cadillac DPi-V.R will head into next weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Road America with power increases, in the latest round of Balance of Performance adjustments confirmed by IMSA.
Released on Friday, the latest BoP tables reveal that Acura DPi has been given both a 10 kg weight break and 13 horsepower increase across mid-to-high range RPMs.
The Cadillac DPi, which swept the podium at Sebring, meanwhile, will have a 0.3 mm larger air restrictor, which translates to roughly a 6.8-horsepower increase.
While the Cadillac remains the heaviest DPi at 960 kg, the Mazda RT24-P will lose an additional 20 kg, bringing it down to a minimum weight of 910 kg.
Fuel capacity adjustments have also been made to the Cadillac (-6 liters) and Mazda (-4 liters).
yikes.
Acura gets a weight break AND hp?
Caddy cruises at sebring and gets more HP?
Mazda goes on another diet and loses fuel
Mazda had a great race last year at Road America but this could make things challenging. Might be a bit of an overreaction by IMSA but obviously they have more data than we do so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
interesting comments from the WTR team considering the help they just received via BoP
Van der Zande: “Impossible” to Beat Mazdas at Road America
Wayne Taylor Racing driver expecting dominant performance from Mazda DPis at Road America…
by John Dagys
Renger van der Zande believes it will be “impossible” to win in a straight-up fight against Mazda this weekend at Road America, with the Cadillac DPi-V.Rs looking set to continue with its top-speed deficit despite recent Balance of Performance adjustments.
All three DPi models received BoP adjustments ahead of Sunday’s fourth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, including a slight 0.3 mm larger air restrictor for the Cadillac, which is estimated to give it roughly a 7 horsepower gain.
Van zer Zande, who spent Wednesday with Wayne Taylor Racing on Dallara’s simulator in Indianapolis preparing for the weekend, however, doesn’t feel it will make a difference, especially compared to the Mazda RT24-P’s pace at the four-mile circuit last year.
“I am very sure we’re going to have a very hard weekend in Road America against the Mazdas because I think last year, especially, they were so much faster than us and we’re basically going with the same BoP into this race,” he said.
“If you have to write a letter with predictions I think it’s going to be impossible to win.
“That’s not because we’re not trying. I was in the Dallara simulator trying all kinds of setup things and items to try to make the best out of it.
“We’re still fighting with the other Cadillacs to be the best Cadillac, which I think is the first goal.
“But BoP-wise, it doesn’t look great.”
The Dutchman, who along with co-driver Ryan Briscoe are tied for the DPi points lead with Mazda’s Tristan Nunez and Oliver Jarvis, said their only chance for victory will likely come if it rains.
Sunday’s forecast currently calls for a 60 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms although forecasts have fluctuated in recent days.
“The Cadillac is always very good in the rain,” van der Zande said. “It’s conditions that I really love. With Sebring as well, on the slicks in FP1, I was very happy making some lap time.
“Also with the rain tires, I think it’s an easy car to drive and a fun car to go fast with.
“I hope it’s going to rain and that would change things around a little.
“Strategy-wise, it’s always an interesting one. It’s such a long track that [relies] on strategy a lot. How many safety cars you’ll see is also dependent on that.
“There’s a lot of strategy calls to it. When it rains we’ll have a chance but if it’s dry I think not really.”
I'm still not sure why the RT24s were losing so much ground at Sebring. I guess they were slowing to conserve fuel and maybe their setups weren't as good as the Cadillacs' on the bumps.
Road America's straights are only a little longer and the track is smoother which helps.
First and Second practice sessions are now in the books.
P1: Acura 1st & 2nd, Cadillacs 3rd & 4th followed by the 2 Mazdas
P2: Acura again 1st & 2nd followed by the #77 Mazda
There were also issues for the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P of Jonathan Bomarito, who was slow on-track but managed to get the car back to the pit lane.
hopefully nothing major.
I find it interesting I'm still reading articles where they are referring to Mazda as the 'race favorites'. Mazda isn't exactly known for Sandbagging (looking at you Acura!) so to keep calling them favorites when they're not even the fastest is odd.
I'm obviously still hoping they rip off a crazy fast lap in qualifying and we can get another win tomorow.
time will tell.
For those of you who want to see the speeds / times:
Looks like the 77 is about half a second off the pace.
I'm bored so decided to see how today's times compare to last year's qualifying (maybe a sign of things to come) so here's the breakdown
Looks like the cars still have more speed / power available to them.
last year's qualifying was about half a second faster and there's at least another mph on the table.
I think qualifying is going to be FAST later today. (assuming the weather holds up)
Wayne Taylor: “No Firm Deal” on 2021 DPi Manufacturer
Wayne Taylor in discussions with “three or four” manufacturers for 2021 and beyond…
Wayne Taylor says that he currently has “no firm deal” with a manufacturer for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, amid increasing speculation that Wayne Taylor Racing could make the switch from Cadillac to Acura.
The longtime GM entrant, whose contract with the manufacturer is up for renewal at the end of this year, has revealed that he’s in discussions with “three or four” different OEMs for either next year or when the LMDh platform debuts.
Speaking with Sportscar365 Saturday at Road America, Taylor said he’s focused on committing to a long-term partnership that would take his team to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Presently I’m under contract with GM,” Taylor said. “I’ve certainly been approached by three or four different car manufacturers but there’s no firm deal out there.
“If you want to be the closest, my closest [option] is with GM.
“I’ve been with them for 28 years. All of those guys have been good to me over the years and have been good to my kids. Loyalty is a big thing.”
While not acknowledging discussions with Acura, Taylor admitted it would be a “great offer” if he could have his son, Ricky Taylor, back at WTR in the future.
Despite Ricky currently driving for Team Penske, Sportscar365 understands the 30-year-old, as is the case with defending IMSA DPi champion Dane Cameron, is contracted to Honda Performance Development.
Wayne indicated he will likely have a decision on his team’s future by the end of the month, once the finalized LMDh regulations are released.
“As soon as that day is done I’ll know exactly where I’m going,” he said.
He said a funded effort to take his team back to Le Mans would be one of the determining factors.
“For me personally it is, very much so,” Taylor said. “I can’t go there without anybody that’s going to be in a financial position to fund it properly because it’s the world’s stage.
“I think we can do it. It just depends on money.
“Right now it’s difficult times given the fact that nobody really knows what’s going on in the world with this virus. The virus affects sponsors and car manufacturers.
“Everybody’s scrambling to try and find security with that.”
I've only ever known Wayne Taylor and GM as a package, ever since I started following the series. Wayne Taylor has always been a stand up guy, runs a good race team, and I'm not just saying that because our company has sponsored him in the past. IF I weren't such a bit Mazda fan, I'd root for him.
It would be so weird (yet kind of cool) to see him running one of the Acura teams.
GM is not a fan of the new LMDh class that's coming out because it utilizes a spec hybrid and GM isn't currently developing any hybrids as they're focused on gasoline and full electric for their fleet so I could see them dropping out of the top class and maybe just focusing their efforts on these new Corvettes and potentially offering the vehicle to other teams.
IMSA today announced realignment to upcoming dates on its 2020 schedule, which includes shifting of the Labor Day Weekend six-hour race from Watkins Glen International to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and the GT-only event from Lime Rock Park to the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will host the six-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race on Sunday, Sept. 6, with three other IMSA-sanctioned series that all were previously scheduled to compete at Watkins Glen also moving to Michelin Raceway that weekend.
A four-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race will be held on Saturday, Sept. 5, with doubleheader races for both the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Lamborghini Super Trofeo races also planned for the weekend.
The Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL will host the WeatherTech Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes in a 100-minute race as part of the NASCAR event weekend, Oct. 9-10, at the facility. This event will replace the Lime Rock Park race previously scheduled for Sept. 11-12.
Michelin Pilot Challenge, which also was scheduled to race at Lime Rock Park, instead will have a doubleheader of two-hour races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on the weekend of Sept. 25-27.
The GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama will have three events per weekend at Mid-Ohio and the Motul Petit Le Mans weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Oct. 14-17.
IMSA continues to monitor state and local COVID-19 guidelines which may make additional schedule revisions appropriate in the coming weeks. Current Provisional IMSA schedules follow below.
1st post updated with newest calendar updates.
wow that post looks like a train wreck with all those cancellations / rescheduled events. I left the old ones up there just for context to how challenging this season has been.
2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Schedule (Revised):
Jan. 25-26 — Rolex 24 at Daytona (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
July 3-4 — Daytona (DPi, GTLM, GTD)
July 17-18 — Sebring (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD**)
Aug. 1-2 — Road America (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Aug. 21-22 — Virginia Intenational Raceway (GTLM, GTD)
Sept. 4-6 — Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Sept. 25-27 — Mid-Ohio (DPi, GTLM, GTD)
Oct. 9-10 — Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (GTLM, GTD)
Oct. 15-17 — Motul Petit Le Mans (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Oct. 30- Nov. 1 — WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Nov. 12-14 — Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
The #77 finally takes the lead and now it's pouring rain!
Yellow flag is out
#10 Cadillac first to get rain tires on. ****. This could be a bad break for Mazda
77 gambled on finishing under full course yellow. Even if they took the first chance to pit for rain tires they still would have had to work back up to the lead.
1 week to go before we're back at Road America for a 6 hour race!
IMSA released their BoP tables this morning and there will be no changes to any of the DPi cars. This could get interesting given the speeds we saw a few weeks ago at that track.
Weather (as usual) could be a factor at this track so we'll just have to see how it goes.
IMSA makes late BoP change to Cadillac DPi-V.R ahead of Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta weekend… by John Dagys
The Cadillac DPi-V.R has received a 15 kg weight break ahead of this weekend’s TireRack Grand Prix at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, in a Balance of Performance adjustment made outside of IMSA’s typical time window.
Confirmed in a technical bulletin sent to teams on Tuesday, the Cadillac DPi will now weigh in at 945 kg, instead of 960 kg.
Previously, the only BoP changes that were due to be made for this weekend were in GT Le Mans and GT Daytona, as declared last week prior to the seven-day window from the start of official on-track activity.
The revised BoP comes in accordance with section 2.2.2 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series supplementary regulations, which cites the power to make changes based on “unforeseen or otherwise extraordinary” circumstances if the application of the rules “may not achieve the purpose.”
Sportscar365 understands there had been pressure from Cadillac for a change ahead of Saturday’s Michelin Endurance Cup round.
Wayne Taylor Racing’s Renger van der Zande said in a pre-event Zoom call, prior to Tuesday’s change, that they wouldn’t have the pace to fight for “anything more” than fifth position.
“I don’t want to be the guy who’s always complaining about BoP but it is quite frustrating that you cannot fight against the Mazda or Acura which are just flying by,” van der Zande said on Monday.
Other changes in the updated BoP include fuel capacity increases for the BMW M6 GT3 (+2 liters) and Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 (1 liter).
I don't get what prompted this last minute BoP.
they have the advantage of racing at the exact same track two races in a row so what came up suddenly that prompted this? The irony of van der Zande complaining is that I'm pretty sure the #10 car is FIRST in the standings to win a championship so why is he bitching?
15kg is a huge weight loss for these big V8's.
damn, can't say I'm too excited for this race's weekend after this. I'll still be tuned in, posting, and hoping that this doesn't give Cadillac an insurmountable advantage come race time.
07-18-2020, 08:26 PM
