IMSA: Teams prep for switch from enduros to sprints

Competitors in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship face a major change of race distances over the coming month. After competing in the two longest races of the schedule – the “36 Hours of Florida” with the two endurance classics at Daytona and Sebring – teams head to California where they downshift into a pair of sprint rounds at Long Beach and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on the opposite coast.

The BUBBA burger SportsCar Grand Prix at Long Beach is highlighted by a 100-minute race for the Prototype, Prototype Challenge and GT Le Mans classes on the streets of the scenic community on Saturday, April 16. Two weeks later, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca hosts a pair of two-hour races in the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda on Sunday, May 1. The first race features the P and GTLM classes at 11:15 a.m. ET, followed by the PC and GT Daytona classes at 3:45 p.m. ET.

Despite the extreme shift in race distances, it remains business as usual for the competitors.

“Our preparation for the California races is exactly the same as it was for Florida,” said team owner Wayne Taylor, whose sons Ricky and Jordan co-drive the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. “Long Beach is dramatically different in terms of the race track, and you really need a good setup there. Also, there is more urgency with the strategy, because you can’t afford to lose a lap. It’s also Konica Minolta’s home track, so we’re under a lot of pressure. But we go as fast as we can in every race. We’re back to two drivers, which is nice, because Ricky and Jordan are really working well together and driver changes will be simpler.”

Mike Shank, who fields the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Honda Ligier JS P2 for John Pew and Ozz Negri, echoed Taylor’s thoughts.

“It does not change how we prepare,” Shank said. “The car is still prepared the same way it’s prepared for the Rolex 24. We will get all the weight out of the car that we can, but otherwise it’s prepared very similarly.”

“Strategically, though, Long Beach is totally different,” Shank added. “Adding the PC cars to the mix changes our strategy. For a one-hour, 40-minute race, it’s a one-stop race. The question is when do you stop?”

First glimpse of full-season line-ups

Teams competing at Long Beach in the P, PC and GTLM classes – and GTD teams at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – are expected to use the two-driver pairings they will use for the remainder of the season, with the exception of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup rounds at Watkins Glen International and Road Atlanta.

One of the few drivers breaking that mold is Scuderia Corsa’s Alessandro Balzan, who will switch from the team’s full-season No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 entry to the No. 68 Ferrari 488 GTE in the GTLM class, co-driving with Daniel Serra. Balzan is coming off a GTD class victory in his regular ride, which he co-drives with Christina Nielsen.

Simpson has ’10-minute advantage’ in Prototype Challenge debut at Long Beach

With the Prototype Challenge class making its debut in WeatherTech Championship competition at Long Beach, it will be a new experience for many of the drivers in that class who did not race there when it was included in the ALMS events from 2010-13.

Stephen Simpson, who shares the No. 85 JDC/Miller Motorsports Hi-Tide Boat Lifts/Red Line Oil ORECA FLM09, is one of the contenders who have raced on that street venue, competing in Formula Atlantic competition in 2006.

“It was a long time ago, but I have raced there, and I really like Long Beach,” said Simpson, who opened the 2016 PC season with a victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. “It’s a famous race in American motorsports, and it’s a challenging street circuit. It’s also wider than most street circuits, and I think we’ll see some overtaking there. I think it will be an exciting race.”

Simpson doesn’t think his past experience will give him much of an advantage at Long Beach.

“Maybe at the start of the first session it will be some help,” Simpson said. “But all the other PC drivers are very, very good. It might take them 10 minutes to learn the track, but otherwise, they’ll be up to speed. If anything, my advantage will be in the knowledge that I had setting up the car in 2006. From that point, I’ve talked to our engineers and we have a little bit of a head start there.”

Current PC competitors who competed in PC races at the circuit include Colin Braun and Jon Bennett, who won the 2013 event; Alex Popow, who won in 2012 with Ryan Dalziel for Starworks Motorsport; Hollywood resident Tomy Drissi, a three-time PC racer; and Kyle Marcelli, who ran in two events. Drivers who ran in the 2006 Grand-Am DP race at Long Beach included Braun, who finished seventh with Jörg Bergmeister for Krohn Racing, and Drissi, who co-drove with Paul Gentilozzi to 20th.

Nunez at the White House

Tristan Nunez, Driver of the No. 55 Mazda Prototype, who participated in the 138th annual White House Easter Egg Roll: “It was pretty unbelievable. I got to meet the First Lady and give her a big hug. It was an awesome experience.  It was great to have an up-close and personal relationship with so many kids on the White House grounds. Pretty dang cool to see the smiles on their faces. I was grouped with some NFL football players, like Tress Way [of Washington’s NFL team], and it was a huge honor all around to meet them and to be invited to the White House for the second time.” 

Source: IMSA