Hello, everyone. It is time to go to the beach. Long Beach, California, specifically. No. This is not a day of R&R, swimming, and surfing. This is a day of motor racing, IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship style. The first sprint event of the year is upon us. This is one of two short races, an hour and 40-minute timed event just the same as we will see at another street course in The Motor City, in Detroit, Michigan, later this summer. Two classes are present in the race today because of the tight nature of this legendary circuit, with the GTP prototypes and the GT Daytona GT3 production cars sharing the track.
On the pole in GTP, my friends from Action Express Racing and the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V Series.R with Pipo Derani and new sprint racing recruit, Jack Aitken. Cadillac, Whelen Engineering, and Action Express scored pole despite a very close shave in qualifying which buffed out fine, and we are looking forward to starting anew after a forgettable 12 Hours of Sebring about a month ago. Action Express have won at Long Beach before. Can they do so again? The team has victories here in 2018, 2019, and 2021. They are looking for number four.
Porsche Penske Motorsports and their two factory Porsche 963’s are defending champions of the Long Beach event. They too, are ready to go after it, as are the privateer Proton Competition and JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche’s, the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac, the two WTR Andretti Acura’s, the #40 entry of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz coming off a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring last month, along with the sister #10 car of Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, and so are the BMW Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8’s, cars #24 and #25.
It will be a closely fought GTP battle. At the top of the shop in GT Daytona is Vasser Sullivan Lexus, who are running a pair of Lexus RC F GT3’s in this event. The #12 regular season GT Daytona class entry with Frankie Montecalvo and for this event, Jack Hawksworth, and the new sister car, #89, of Ben Barnicoat, and Parker Thompson. #89 references the year Toyota Motor Corporation introduced the Lexus luxury car brand here in the United States, in 1989.
We’ll talk about the key players in GTP and the runners and riders in GT Daytona through the hour and 40 minutes we have coming up for you. The circuit here at Long Beach is legendary. It is tight, twisty, and unforgiving with concrete walls surrounding it, and a handful of legendary turns such as the Fountain corner and the fabled Shoreline Drive. Numerically, this is a 27-car field with ten GTP cars and 17 GTD entries. No wildcards in the prototype ranks, but a couple in GTD. The Lexus as well as the #28 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT3, to be driven by Andy Lee and Elias Sabo.
They are fixtures in GT3 racing but on the SRO America GT World Challenge circuit that we have covered here on the blog and this is the teams’ first foray into IMSA competition in a long, long time dating way, way back to the halcyon days of the old American Le Mans Series. The Heart of Racing also have split their lineup up in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 because some of their drivers are racing at Imola in Italy in the FIA World Endurance Championship event at Imola near Bologna, tomorrow. Now, a program note. I am confused and do not know what is going to happen with the streaming process for the FIA WEC.
So, I hope to bring you everything from Imola as soon as possible. But that may need to wait and make way for some other endurance and sprint racing nuggets I have found for you all to read about, recently. We shall straighten things out with other races being covered on the blog in due time. For the time being, it is Long Beach, right here and right now. Spencer Pumpelly joins Roman De Angelis in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston today in place of his normal teammates who are in Italy also with Heart of Racing for the WEC event at Imola.
We have 100 minutes of racing on the board around this 1.968-mile street circuit. Get ready for a wild afternoon of sports car racing here in southern California, on a gorgeous, 65-degree day. We have Leigh Diffey and Calvin Fish taking us through the action from the booth with Marty Snider and Dillon Welch in the pit lane. Action Express, as I said, we are ready for this race after our massive accident at Sebring. They have a backup tub. There was a slight brush with the wall in qualifying, but it was nothing. Will Action Express succeed? Will there be other teams seeking to make moves?
Again, we have just two classes of cars here for the sprint at Long Beach. Prototypes and GT3 production cars. For Pipo Derani and Parker Thompson, both, continue their form. But the keys to winning this event, catch the “brake”. Make wise decisions about your tires. Hot swap, no full energy or fuel fills. The driver changes will be critical in the one and only pit stop we are going to see. We could see tire degradation play a part, too. The points, by the way, are all tied up. This is it. Now is the time.
Cadillac and BMW on the front row. We will have a split start for safety. The GTP cars are off and running! Green flag! Pipo Derani gets a massive jump and now, Yelloly and Bourdais are fighting already and here come the Porsche’s and the Acura’s. In the GTD classes, the Lexus cars lead the charge. 17 GT Daytona cars all going for it. Danny Formal gets a good start in the #45 WTR Andretti Lamborghini, the Dex Imaging Lambo, going wheel to wheel with the Heart of Racing Astn Martin of Roman De Angelis.
De Angelis fighting on the outside just on lap one of the sprint race! This is no holds barred as Albert Costa chops the nose off of the Lexus, figuratively, through the hairpin! Costa made it work. Mikael Grenier pushing hard in the #32 Korthoff Preston Mercedes-AMG GT3. This field has come to race with force, with vigor. This is unbelievable! Blimey! It is a stack up and a drag race as we get going. Romain De Angelis tries again on Danny Formal, and the Costa Rican racer slams the door in the Canadian’s face
At the tp of the shop, Pipo Derani leads Sebastien Bourdais. The Ganassi Cadillac had hybrid troubles in qualifying yesterday. Montecalvo changed lanes, changed columns at the start and must serve a drive through penalty for doing so. Filipe Albuquerque has made a good start in the #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 GTP car for WTR Andretti Global. Montecalvo moved in front of his teammate to pick up a draft, too early. That is costly. A bummer for the Vasser Sullivan boys.
Pipo Derani and Action Express lead early doors here at Long Beach and there is more to come. The GTP field has caught GTD traffic. Again, be decisive under green flag racing. Pipo Derani opening a two second gap over Sebastien Bourdais. Action Express Cadillac vs. Ganassi Racing Cadillac. From the start, we saw Nick Tandy in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 and Sebastien Bourdais I believe was making a move but right now he has Nick Yelloly and the aforementioned Nick Tandy, going for it. Team manager Peter Baron tells Pipo Derani to be calm. There is a fine line in making moves on GT Daytona cars. Two GTD cars as Nick Tandy screams past Nick Yelloly! Yelloly and Tandy, Porsche vs. BMW. The Nicholas and Nicholas show. He has to give it up. We have a Full Course Yellow as the #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 of Brandon Iribe has had a clatter with the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R of Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer. I think there was a third car in this shemozzle.
In the replay, we can see Iribe getting loose and poor old Adam Adelson was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. We can hear Brendon, from the in-car microphone, feeling the pain of the impact! Ugh! Ahhh! That is going to hurt in the morning. Racing drivers are human. We all would feel the pain of a massive impact like that. That smarts! Michaelin welcomes the challenge of finding grip on a temporary street course. The GTP cars are running on soft compound tires providing quicker warmup and increased grip. The tread compound is more aggressive. In GTD, there is the new Pro GTD Michelin Pilot Sport tire that was incredibly consistent at the Rolex 24 in January.
Will teams change tires once, twice, or not at all? We’ll have to see. My mind is cranking right now, but with the softer compound, we are going to have to wait and find out as we are almost finished cleaning up the wreckage. Let’s hope that Brendon Iribe is OK and is not in any pain. Sebastien Bourdais is catching Pipo Derani. Bourdais is a master of Long Beach in open wheel cars, in IndyCar, and seems to be ready in the sports car as well. Danny Formal knows the Lamborghini well, but he is assuring his team he can do his job. It is a Kimi Raikkonen “leave me alone, I know what to do”, moment.
Danny Formal and Albert Costa Balboa are both showing their skills as GT3 world class drivers. Mikael Grenier too is in this fight. We have two GT Daytona cars now out of the race after the collision. The points are tied in GTP between the #7 Porsche and the #40 Acura, the two cars to win the first two events of IMSA 2024. Louis Deletraz is a very reserved driver but he will get his elbows out. Green flag and Pipo “The Dynamo” Derani does it again, eking out a lead over the GTP competition.
Filipe Albuquerque is being chased now by Dane Cameron’s Porsche 963 and the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the hands of Philipp Eng. Filipe Albuquerque is currently in eighth place. The #10 team needs to take risks and the battle for the lead in on fire right now with Derani, Bourdais, and Tandy. Cadillac., Cadillac, Porsche. Turn eight, an off camber turn as Tijmen van der Helm is in the #85 JDC-Miller Porsche 963 followed by Mike Rockenfeller in the #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 963. Roman De Angelis chasing Albert Costa Balboa for GT Daytona.
Spencer Pumpelly is a Silver graded driver who has won at Long Beach in SRO competition and has driven an Aston Martin GT3 for Magnus Racing in the recent past. Seven laps on the board, or seven laps is what it has taken to bring the GTP cars closer to the GTD cars. Derani in the lead of this motor race. A Saturday afternoon in the California sunshine, and Pipo Derani extends his lead over Sebastien Bourdais and Nick Tandy. No change either in GT Daytona. Great to see Flying Lizard back in IMSA with Elias Sabo and Andy Lee.
The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 currently has Nick Yelloly at the wheel in fourth spot. With strategy, maybe risk it and come to the lane early under a yellow. If you have track position up front, watch your fuel mileage. Leaders will stay out while those deeper in the pack will gamble for sure. Now, the Porsche and BMW battle continues. Munich vs. Stuttgart. The Cadillac’s are inching away. America iron seems to be prevailing presently. Bourdais is whistling ahead of Tandy. Acura can only muster fifth. Bourdais needs to keep Derani honest and both will be saving petrol.
Now, into the traffic they come. The GTP cars run 185 miles an hour into the braking zone while the GT Daytona cars only muster 157 miles an hour. Will Bourdais by a fly in Pipo Derani’s ear? Will he go for it? Derani defensively trying to keep Bourdais at bay. Pipo Derani went upside down into the tire barriers at Sebring and was unhurt. It did not affect anything. Someone went to the right and Nick Tandy maybe has dived for the pit lane and has done so. Tandy, the defending Long Beach champion.
They are making an early stop 35 minutes in. Can Porsche pull a rabbit out of the hat? What will the Cadillac teams do at Action Express and Ganassi Racing? What will BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan do? Left side tires only for Porsche as Matthieu Jaminet gets in. The traffic is madness and everyone is coming to the lane. Now, we have Acura, Porsche, and others, in the lane. Van der Helm, Rocekfeneller, Cameron in. Felipe Nasr takes over the #7.
Did the #7 change tires? I don’t know. I don’t think they did. Can they make a set of Michelin’s last for an hour? Oh my! Here comes Ricky Taylor overlapping with former teammate Richard Westbrook. GTD pit stops now. Two tires for the #34 Conquest Ferrari with Manny Franco now getting into the car and Pipo Derani locks the brakes to avoid a GTD car, Danny Formal’s Lamborghini! Parker Thompson out and Ben Barnicoat in, at the #89 Lexus.
Two rear tires for Porsche #7. Left side tires for the #31 Whelen Cadillac with Jack Aitken getting into the car. He will be under massive pressure going for it and getting the car up to speed. Danny Formal blocked Pipo Derani and caused brake lockup. Aitken, on debut, has run on street courses before. Now, the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac is in. Bourdais handed over to Renger van der Zande, the Dutchman.
Ganassi does the overcut and gets ahead of Aitken. No tires on the #31. Check that. Left side tires on the #31 and no tires on the #01. So, have the #01 Cadillac Ganassi Racing team played a blinder? Side by side stuff between Spencer Pumpelly and Robby Foley. Aston Martin Vantage vs. BMW M4 GT3. Will the left side tire change be an advantage for Jack Aitken? Aitken in one of his first races at Long Beach. Aitken reducing the advantage of van der Zande with less than an hour to go with Matthieu Jaminet third for Porsche.
Yelloly at BMW and Rockenfeller at Proton Competition Porsche have not pitted yet. Louis Deletraz has just crunched the wall in turn one. Let’s see what happened to the #40. Ouch! He just lost the rear end, attacking the tur, and… smash! He was back to power and slammed the barriers. Full Course Yellow with 54 minutes remaining. They were tied for the championship lead. Corey Lewis well and truly in the top ten in the #55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 he is sharing with Italian GT racer Giammarco Levorato.
Again, Louis Deletraz wrecked because he lost traction going back to power. Louis’ father Jean Denis Deletraz who was a Formula 1 and sports car racer himself had flown to Long Beach to see his son race. Proton Competition was founded by Gerold Ried in 1996. They have a team here and in Europe and are racing in IMSA and in the FIA World Endurance Championship. We are into the second half of this motor race. Our Grand Marshal giving the command to start engines was Ricky Brabec, the legend, the first American to win the Dakar Rally in the motorcycle division.
He did it in 2020 and backed it up this year in 2024. 45 minutes left. Sebastien Bourdais says that if the Ganassi team could not pass, no tires was the way to go. This is shaping up to be a street fight. We have two Cadillac’s, two Porsche’s, two BMWs, and at least one Acura, plus the privateer Porsche’s still in this thing. Once again, we are less than 45 minutes away from deciding the victory here at Long Beach. This race has flown by. That’s sprint racing, compared to the long distance races that are the backbone of sports car racing.
This is a 1.968 mile, 11 turn straeet course. The longest running major street race and started in 1975 as a Formula 5000 open wheel race won by Brian Redman, followed by Formula 1 and IndyCar, and then, sports cars with Grand Am, the American Le Mans Series, and now, IMSA. Pipo Derani tells us that the guys behind are doing a different strategy than AXR. That is the difference. So, trying to make a gap did not work out.
In the next 40 minutes the time is now to fight and hope for the best. Jack Aitken will have the edge if the tire degradation kicks in for the rival Cadillac. Aitken has Derani’s full support. A license to do whatever it takes to get the lead back. Green flag and away we go again. Van der Zande gets a jump as Aitken is trying to fend off Jaminet and Nasr in the factory Penske Porsche’s. In the GTD field it is side by side between the Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 of Stevan McAleer and the #34 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Manny Franco who got mugged by Loris Spinelli in the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini.
Matt Bell in the #13 AWA Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R as Richard Westbrook gets spun out by Ricky Taylor! WTR Andretti Acura #10 vs. JDC Miller Porsche #85. This is a four, five way battle in the GTP field. Cadillac, Cadillac, Porsche, Porsche, BMW. That is the top five. Nasr squeezes De Philippi and tags Nasr’s Porsche! The gloves are off between the American and Brazilian and here comes Gianmaria Bruni, the Italian, in the #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963.
36 minutes remaining. Van der Zande leading Aitken. At BMW Team RLL, De Philippi says Nasr has brake checked him twice. The #25 BMW has four fresh Michelin tires as Jack Aitken is running down Renger van der Zande. 6/10ths of a second is the gap currently. Everyone should be able to go flat out to the finish with just over half an hour to go. Aitken will be pushing van der Zande. Drive through penalty for the #10 Acura of Ricky Taylor for driver responsibility of hitting Richard Westbrook.
GM and Cadillac have done very well here at Long Beach. Flat rear tire on the #12 Vasser SU;llivan Lexus. A broke toe link, broken rear suspension on the #12 Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth while Ben Barnicoat in the sister #89 leads, as Nasr and De Philippi are wrestling again and here comes the sister car for BMW of Jesse Krohn on Gianmaria Bruni. This may end in tears and is getting extremely spicy!
Renger van der Zande trying to manage his tires. Jack Aitken in chase mode. Less than half an hour to go. Jaminet, Nasr, De Philippi completing the top five. Barnicoat, Foley, Pumpelly, the top three in GT Daytona. Lexus, BMW, Aston Martin followed by Lamborghini, Mercedes, and Ford, with Mike Skeen, Corey Lewis, and Kyle Marcelli. Patrick Gallagher in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 hopes to hang on and try and see his teammate catch the Lexus. Maybe they are settling for second and trying to hold off Pumpelly in the Aston Martin.
Matthieu Jaminet in third has both of the Cadillac’s right in his sights, in the #6 Porsche 963. Time is of the essence with 27 minutes on the board. You cannot afford to just lay back. Make your move now. Double stinting tires could make you vulnerable. Renger van der Zande has to position the car but traffic is the big curveball that is the hounds chasing the fox. Mike Skeen is now under big pressure from Corey Lewis. Ford Mustang GT3 vs. Mercedes-AMG GT3. A couple of V8 powered coupes, same as the Lexus RC F GT3 as well.
The Mustang has cornering speed, but the car is relatively heavy. Meanwhile, in the GTP ranks, this is going to go bananas! Here is the traffic. van der Zande pinches it, trying to get through the traffic. They scream past the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The GTD cars are moving out of the way, at least temporarily. How long will van der Zande hang on? Aitken can have a shot to catch the rival Cadillac. Big tire degradation has not been what we have seen. 23 minutes to go yet.
Matthieu Jaminet and Felipe Nasr are pushing and now, Connor De Philippi in the BMW has caught Nasr as well, look. Jaminet right on top of Jack Aitken in this battle. Lapped traffic still a massive factor. This race has now unraveled. Spencer Pumpelly limping and Connor De Philippi damaged the #25 BMW on the left front! Loris Spinelli spins Matthieu Jaminet and it is a traffic jam at the hairpin! This is a crash, bang, wallop.
Spencer Pumpelly, meanwhile, was tagged by the #86 Porsche 911 GT3R of Anders Fjordbach sharing with Kerong Li for MDK Motorsports. Aitken in hot pursuit of van der Zande as we stay green. Van der Zande breaking away from Aitken. Felipe Nasr has moved ahead and gained the championship lead as a drive through penalty is assessed to Loris Spinelli. Renger van der Zande leading with less than 17 minutes to go. The lead is two and a half seconds. This caution is still being cleaned up. A gorgeous afternoon in southern California.
Connor De Philippi, as we said, ended up in the tire barriers at turn six and he has pitted for a new nose. That was a weird one trying to grab another downshift and then he stuffed it into the barriers. Last year he came back to finish second after going down the escape road. BMW and Team WRT have not had success yet in the FIA World Endurance Championship yet. Chip Ganassi Racing are looking for success but the same can be said about the fellow Cadillac team, the rival, Action Express.
Renger van der Zande’s tires might be knackered. Action Express took two tires on the stop. Drag the brake against the gas pedal to get core temperature into the tires before we go green. We have an early restart zone. Ganassi going for their fourth overall victory at Long Beach. Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz also did it twice. Green flag. van der Zande vs. Aitken. They are equal at the top. The two Porsche’s follow suit, the factory Penske cars.
Cadillac have won seven of the last eight events here missing 2020 due to the virus pandemic. In the GTD group, Vasser Sullivan lead Turner Motorsports. Lexus over BMW. Ben Barnicoat over Robby Foley. Stevan McAleer being harried by Corey Lewis in the Ford Mustang GT3 #55. Skeen, McAleer, Lewis, for third in GT Daytona. Jack Aitken, an F1 test and development driver, a Formula 2 racer. Jack Aitken raced for Williams in Formula 1.
In the meantime, Gianmaria Bruni is muscling Matthieu Jaminet with Jesse Krohn in the sister BMW M Hybrid V8 behind. Bruni in fifth chasing down Matthieu Jaminet. Four and a half minutes to go. In turns six and eight, this is where the #01 is weaker and Aitken will have a tire advantage. Get the power down into the braking zones. Renger van der Zande is in a comfort zone. Lapped cars ahead. Anders Fjordbach just served a drive through penalty in the MDK Motorsports Porsche. No traffic ahead.
Felipe Nasr also back there in the #7 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsports. Could Felipe Nasr in the Porsche have something to say here? Two minutes remaining. Two laps left. Cadillac vs. Cadillac. Jack Aitken, shadowing Renger van der Zande. One lap to go. White flag. Which Cadillac will win this? No need for van der Zande to defend. No dice for Jack Aitken. Chip Ganassi Racing, Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais win it.
In the GTD class it will be a scrap between Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes. Three cars fighting for victory. But the Lexus will be the winners. Vasser Sullivan Lexus #89 win! Ben Barnicoat and Parker Thompson get the job done!
Overall/GTP: #01 van der Zande/Bourdais Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V Series.R
GT Daytona: #89 Thompson/Barnicoat Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3
So, that’s a wrap from here on the streets of Long Beach, California. IMSA will be staying in The Golden State, for the next event on the calendar, another sprint, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California, coming up in about three weeks on Mother’s Day weekend. We’ll see you there. Bye bye for now, everyone.
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