IMSA: Series pleased with first LMP3 test

IMSA's first open test with an LMP3 chassis was a success, according to Geoff Carter, the series' technical manager, who looked after Monday's test at Watkins Glen. At IMSA's request, British manufacturer Ginetta brought one of its new Nissan-powered P3 cars to the rolling road course for teams to sample as a possible replacement for the aging ORECA FLM09-Chevrolet PC package which is set to be mothballed at the end of 2016.

"The whole intention of the test was for IMSA to get valued input from its stakeholders," Carter (LEFT) told RACER. "We've made no decisions, implied or otherwise, that it will be used. We just wanted to get input. It also wasn't brought over in a PC-level of performance, so this was about trying the P3 car as it runs in Europe right now."

The test wasn't without its problems. Power steering issues, a low chassis ride height that led to frequent bottoming, and the first-time setup challenges any new car would face at a new track kept PC drivers like Colin Braun, Jon Bennett, and Conor Daly from the Ginetta from extracting maximum performance from the car.

"If I were to consider the feedback, you have to take into account the different opinions," Carter continued. "Some said it was the way we need to go, and others said, 'No way.' Some said the performance deficiencies were due to setup issues and some of the mechanical issues, and without them, the car would be closer to PC times at the Glen."

Daly, who starred for Performance Tech Motorsports PC team at Watkins Glen, turned a lap in the 1m50s range, which was well off a best PC race lap of 1m42s. Bridging the performance gap, as the young American told RACER, wouldn't be hard.

"It would be really good if it had another 80 to 100 horsepower," Daly added. "It was over-downforced for the power it has. It was fun to drive; it had really good potential, but the power steering issues it had made it harder to drive than needed. If they sorted that out, it would be a lot faster. As it was, we were about 9 seconds off the pace of the PC cars, so there's some adjustments to be made on that end.

"It had big [air] restrictors, so more power in general would be good. And carbon brakes. The steel brakes really aren't very efficient, and if you replaced them with carbon, it would also get the weight down. Overall, it looks cool – it looks the part; the cockpit's nice, and it sounds good."

Nissan GT Academy driver Nick McMillen brought an end to the test after crashing the car hard in Turn 1, but did so after all but one driver had a chance to sample the Ginetta. The car, which was sold to a U.S.-based owner, underwent repairs after McMillen's crash, but the damage was too great to get back on track Monday. Carter credited all involved for their efforts in making the exploratory test happen.

"The test was 100 percent successful, we showed the car to our paddock as one of our marquee events, we had Continental on hand to support the test, had Xtrac, had ORECA there who looks after the engines, and Ginetta sent six people from the factory to run the car along with their factory driver," he said. "It was a big group effort and we're very thankful for the opportunity it presented."

The Ginetta team suggested they could supply a car for America that used the current Chevy LS3 PC engine and a different set of bodywork, but Carter says IMSA is interested in P3 as a class that conforms to the global rules.

"Next steps for here are to allow the people at the test to formalize their feedback," he noted. "Also, the Riley/Ave car is coming online, the Ligier chassis is coming online, so there could be some other P3 cars to consider. Then we need to decide if P3 is a worthy replacement for our PC class, and then if it's a single-spec class or if multiple manufacturers would be allowed. Those are all important decisions for IMSA to make in the near future. There are a lot of options to consider, but we're looking at P3 as a class that fits into the same rules structure the ACO created."

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