IMSA’s penultimate race of the season at Road America provided a great deal of drama.
- Oliver Jarvis, who had been leading the race and the DPi standings to that point crashed with 24 minutes to go.
- Filipe Albuquerque grabs the DPi lead with help from a lapped car then holds the lead to the finish.
- Ryan Dalziel delivered decisively for LMP2 win in No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA.
- Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat take first GTD PRO Win together in the No. 14 Lexus.
Filipe Albuquerque took the lead with 24 minutes to go.
Jake Galstad
Albuquerque Shines
It was a superb weekend for Filipe Albuquerque, who kept the pressure on the other DPi teams, already under tight screws in the championship chase.
“What a crazy race,” said Albuquerque. “We started in first place and we led the first stint, and then the drizzle came. Ricky had a really tough time with a slick track and new, cold, slick tires. He did a hell of a job keeping the car on the track. We were almost last and were nearly lapped by the guys that took a gamble on rain tires, which was the right choice. At that point, our championship was completely over, but the beauty of IMSA and endurance racing is exactly this: it can shuffle unpredictably.”
IMSA Road America Results (PDF)
IMSA
In qualifying, which pays five points, Albuquerque “called his shot” after a lap of 133.799 mph in the Wayne Taylor Racing Acura. That call may have only been on the radio to his team. But the other contenders got the message on their timing screens—and failed to pick up the gauntlet.
“I said, ‘This has got to be pole position because it just felt great,’” Albuquerque said. “Then I just shut up. On the in-lap, I said, ‘I don’t know if it’s going to hold up for P1 or not, but this was a great car.’ It was just a beautiful car.”
Alex Lynn in the No. 02 Ganassi Cadillac exceeded track limits trying to match the Acura driver’s time. Sebastien Bourdais was on a flyer when he completely left the track at Turn 14, the last corner before the timing stripe, and clouted the wall. That brought out a red flag ending the session and put the No. 01 Cadillac to the back of the DPi prototypes on the grid.
In the race, co-driver Taylor went backwards after a decision to stay on slicks at the first pit stop when the rain first arrived. Once the wets went on after an extra pit stop and Albuquerque went back in, he turned up the wick once more. Before the final pit stops put the rival Acura out first, Albuquerque passed Jarvis in Turn 1 in a three-way deal led by Earl Bamber in the No. 02 Ganassi Cadillac.
Oliver Jarvis crashed with 24 minutes to go.
Brett Farmer/IMSA
Not Meyer Shank’s Weekend
The Meyer Shank team, whose five consecutive runner-up finishes had kept it in the points lead, was lucky to limp home fourth and keep its title push intact despite heavy contact by Oliver Jarvis with the new barrier on driver’s right at the Kink.
“It’s really unfortunate to lose the podium like that today,” said Jarvis. “We were on a bit of a fuel save and the car was pretty difficult in the final stint. We were working through traffic and I think I just got into the marbles and went off there at the Kink. Fortunately, the car was strong enough to make it to the finish.”
Meyer Shank started third on the grid. But the team was not happy with its car and then appeared to gamble on the weather prior to the race before recovering once the green had fallen. The front suspension set-up had to be re-tooled on the first pit stop after Tom Blomqvist sank through the field of DPis.
“We’re having an off weekend,” said Tom Blomqvist after yielding to Jarvis. “I was lacking performance compared to the opposition. It made life difficult. I was just trying to hang on.”
But the team moved up the queue thanks to its decision to go to wet tires on that same first stop, correctly anticipating the light rain picking up. On the final round of pit stops, thanks to quick fueling due to better mileage and taking on less fuel than the Cadillacs, Jarvis emerged in the lead. It looked like a possible miracle comeback, especially when Jarvis kept his line and retained the lead at Turn 1 as Albuquerque made a bold move. “I passed him in Turn 1,” said Albuquerque, “but he knew what to do.”
Russell Ward and Philip Ellis came across the finish line with the Winward team’s first victory of the year.
Brett Farmer/IMSA
At Last Winward Wins
No exactly storybook, but close enough. The Winward Racing team lost the GTD victor’s trophy at Lime Rock when the fuel pump on its Mercedes-AMG GT3 quit in the last two corners. This time Russell Ward and Philip Ellis came across the finish line with the team’s first victory of the year.
There were a lot of firsts for Vasser Sullivan and its Lexus RC F GT3. The team scored its first GTD Pro win of the season. Jack Hawksworth took his first victory at Road America and his first since returning from a motocross injury. “The team has been doing a good job of getting me back up to speed,” said Hawksworth. “I feel good.” After replacing Hawksworth on the first round of pit stops for fuel and rain tires, Ben Barnicoat earned his first GTD Pro win and his first at Road America.
Ryan Dalziel returned to the top step of the podium for his first win of the season in the LMP2 entry of Era Motorsports, where Dwight Merriman is the co-driver. Dalziel, who has 13 career victories, is a veteran of IMSA’s top classes as well as IndyCar. He took the lead with a decisive move entering Canada Corner in the waning minutes.
Eighteen-year-old Malthe Jakobsen of Sean Creech Motorsports had an unfortunate conclusion to an otherwise impressive weekend. He started on the LMP3 pole after some coaching by veteran Joao Barbosa, his teammate. But he was collected by another driver’s spin and ended up in a gravel trap. Riley Motorsports drivers Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga scored the LMP3 win.
“The National Park of Speed” will be repaved in October.
Richard Dole/IMSA
Road America Upgrades
An extensive two-year campaign to upgrade at Road America may not have prevented a switch from the NASCAR Cup event to the streets of Chicago. But should the FIA start looking for a permanent circuit in the U.S., as suggested by four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, the track itself will be ready to meet the criteria.
While F1 remains a long shot, in no small part due to shortage of nearby hotel rooms or a large airport, when “The National Park of Speed” is repaved in October the width of the entire four miles will be 40 feet, which is the minimum for F1. Prior to this season, nearly 2,000 feet of continuous poured concrete barriers were added outside the Carousel. New walls were also added on the inside of the Kink on the back straight—which Oliver Jarvis hit in the race’s heaviest and most consequential crash. The pedestrian bridge at the entrance to the Carousel was rebuilt and landscaped. Trees have been removed that threaten the track as well.
Road America has been on the IMSA schedule since unification under the IMSA banner in 2014, including the pandemic season. The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was dropped from the 2023 schedule for the first time in six years because of the addition of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and, according to various reports, the track’s maintenance and upgrades have fallen behind those of other facilities.
The length of the planned major endurance event at Indy will not be decided upon until after next year’s four-hour endurance race for the WeatherTech Championship. Camping inside the Speedway will be a new option along with possibly racing into the evening. The track and IMSA officials want to see how a shorter race goes next year before trying to add a fifth major endurance race to the schedule.
Keyword: IMSA Road America: Albuquerque Wins DPi as Jarvis Crashes in Closing Laps