The 2018 Monterey Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County, California, on held on September 9, 2018, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, United States. The race was eleventh the round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017. [1] It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2018 Monterey Grand Prix was the eleventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the eighth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. [2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 2.238 mi (3.602 km) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on September 9, 2018. [2]
After the Oak Tree Grand Prix three weeks earlier, Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 228 points, ahead of Filipe Albuquerque with 221 points, and Jon Bennett and Colin Braun with 218 points. [3] With 269 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Antonio García and Jan Magnussen with a four-point advantage over Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. [3] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with an thirteen-point advantage over Katherine Legge with 262 points. [3] Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Whelen Engineering Racing, Corvette Racing, and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships. [3]
IMSA released two separate technical bulletins regarding the Balance of Performance for the event. The first one was released on August 30, 2018, for the Prototype (P) class. [4] The Oreca 07, Ligier JS P217, Dallara P217, and Riley-Multimatic MkXXX were given a 10 kilogram weight increase and a fuel capacity reduction of 3 liters. The Mazda RT24-P was given a 10 kilogram weight reduction and a fuel capacity increase of 2 liters. The Acura ARX-05, Cadillac DPi-V.R, and Nissan Onroak DPi were also given a fuel capacity increase of 2 liters. The second technical bulletin was released on September 5, 2018, which regarded the Balance of Performance in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes for the event. [5] In GTD, The Ferrari 488 GT3 received an increase in turbo boost as well as a fuel capacity increase of 2 liters. No changes were made in GTLM.
A total of 34 cars took part in the event. 13 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 13 in GTD. [6] In P, AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports switched from the Ligier JS P217 to the Oreca 07. [7] In GTD, Park Place Motorsports and Squadra Corse Garage Italia returned after skipping the Virginia International Raceway event. Scuderia Corsa added a second entry. SunEnergy1 Racing withdrew from the event due to Kenny Habul having an illness. [8]
There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour. [9]
The first practice session took place at 10:55 am PT on Friday and ended with Renger van der Zande topping the charts for Wayne Taylor Racing, with a lap time of 1:16.832. [10]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Renger van der Zande | 1:16.832 | _ |
| 2 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron | 1:17.533 | +0.651 |
| 3 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Pipo Derani | 1:17.975 | +1.093 |
| Source: [11] | ||||||
The second practice session took place at 3:15 pm PT on Friday and ended with Dane Cameron topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:16.865. [12]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 6 | Acura Team Penske | Dane Cameron | 1:16.865 | _ |
| 2 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:16.980 | +0.115 |
| 3 | P | 5 | Mustang Sampling Racing | Filipe Albuquerque | 1:17.248 | +0.383 |
| Source: [13] | ||||||
The third and final practice session took place at 8:30 am PT on Saturday and ended with Renger van der Zande topping the charts for Wayne Taylor Racing, with a lap time of 1:16.605. [14]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Renger van der Zande | 1:16.605 | _ |
| 2 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis | 1:16.686 | +0.081 |
| 3 | P | 7 | Acura Team Penske | Hélio Castroneves | 1:16.750 | +0.145 |
| Source: [15] | ||||||
Saturday afternoon's 65-minute qualifying session was divided into three groups. [9] All three categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the Prototype and GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries. [16]
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
The result kept Curran and Nasr atop the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 299 points. Bennett and Braun advanced from third to second while Cameron and Montoya jumped from sixth to fourth. [19] The result kept García and Magnussen atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 299 points, 9 points ahead of Briscoe and Westbrook. [19] The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 303 points, 6 points ahead of Legge. [19] Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Whelen Engineering Racing, Corvette Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with one round left in the season. [19]
Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The 2015 United SportsCar Championship was the second season of the International Motor Sports Association's United SportsCar Championship and last to be held under that name. It was also the 45th overall season of the IMSA GT championship tracing its lineage to the 1971 IMSA season. It began January 24 with the 24 Hours of Daytona. and ended on October 3 at Petit Le Mans.
The 2018 Petit Le Mans was the 21st running of the Petit Le Mans, and was held on October 15, 2018. It was the last race in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, and the last race of the 2018 Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup, and was run at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. The race was won overall by the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R.
The 2019 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on May 5, 2019. It was the fourth round of the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the first round of the 2019 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2019 Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen was an endurance race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York, on June 30, 2019. This race was the sixth round of the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as the third round of the 2019 Michelin Endurance Cup.
The 2020 12 Hours of Sebring was an endurance sports car race held at Sebring International Raceway near Sebring, Florida from 11–14 November 2020, after being postponed from its original date on 14–15 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The race was the final round of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as the final round of the Michelin Endurance Cup. Action Express Racing entered as the defending overall winners of the 12-hour event.
The 2020 WeatherTech 240 was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at the Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, on July 4, 2020. This race was the second round of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the first round of the 2020 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2020 Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida on July 18, 2020. This race was the third round of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the second round of the 2020 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2021 12 Hours of Sebring was an endurance sports car race held at Sebring International Raceway near Sebring, Florida from 17 to 20 March 2021. It was the second round of both the 2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup. Mazda Motorsports entered as the defending overall winners of the 12-hour event.
The 2020 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on September 27, 2020. This race was the seventh round of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fifth round of the 2020 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2020 Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County, California, on November 1, 2020. This race was the tenth round of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the seventh round of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2021 Detroit SportsCar Classic was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at The Raceway on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan on June 12, 2021. This race was the fourth round of the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the second round of the 2021 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2021 WeatherTech 240 at The Glen was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on July 2, 2021. This race was the sixth round of the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the third round of the 2021 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2022 Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship was a sports car race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California on May 1, 2022. It was the fourth round of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the second round of the 2022 WeatherTech Sprint Cup. Wayne Taylor Racing's No. 10 car piloted by Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque collected their first victory of the season.
The 2019 Monterey Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County, California, on September 15, 2019. This race was the eleventh round of the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the seventh round of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2021 Grand Prix of Long Beach was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Long Beach street circuit in Long Beach, California on September 25, 2021. It was the tenth round of the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and seventh the round of 2021 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2021 IMSA Monterey Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna in Monterey, California on September 12, 2021. The race was the ninth round of the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the sixth round of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2023 Motul Course de Monterey was a sports car race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California on May 14, 2023. It was the fourth round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the second round of the 2023 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
The 2018 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The Race was held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 5, 2018. The race was the ninth round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The 2017 Monterey Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).The Race was held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on September 24, 2017. The race was the eleventh round of the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The 2016 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix were a pair of sports car races sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) held on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on May 1, 2016. The events served as the fourth of twelve scheduled rounds of the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship. Both races were contested over two hours. The race marked the third time that the course had been used for IMSA racing and the second time that the venue had featured a doubleheader weekend with two races.
