Italy Reigns in IMSA GT Classes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

A pair of Italian manufacturers – Ferrari and Lamborghini – both rolled the dice on strategy and came up aces in the two GT classes in Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

When DragonSpeed called Albert Costa into the pits near the end of the first full-course caution of the race, exactly half of the two-hour, 40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race remained.

Costa, driving the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3, and the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the hands of Nicky Catsburg were the only two entries in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class to top off their tanks after stopping with the rest of their competitors at the start of the safety car period.

A GT3 car generally can’t stretch a tank of VP Racing Fuel over 80 minutes of green flag racing. But then, CTMP’s high-speed, high-commitment layout generally produces a caution in the closing stages – in five of the last six WeatherTech Championship races, as a matter of fact.

Make that six of seven, because the safety car made a second appearance just past the two-hour mark, before ultimately leading the field to the checkered flag after the race-leading Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA driven by Tom Dillmann crashed with about 15 minutes to go. Damage to the barrier and tire wall prevented the race from going back to green.

That made DragonSpeed’s strategy perfect for the circumstances, and the No. 81 Ferrari led the final 22 laps to reward the team with its sixth victory in IMSA competition and first in the GTD PRO class. DragonSpeed’s last win came at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2022 (Henrik Hedman and Juan Pablo Montoya shared the team’s No. 81 ORECA LMP2 07 in the LMP2 class).

Costa and co-driver Giacomo Altoe have each won twice in the WeatherTech Championship. They started Sunday’s race from 10th and last in class.

“We woke up this morning and said, ‘We need to make a gamble,’” Costa said. “We were not fast; we were the slowest car on the track. But we played hard. And I’m happy for the team, and for the strategy they made, so that’s to them for all the support. We were lucky for once.”

“Obviously, it’s not the way you want to win, and at the end we were lucky,” Altoe added. “But this is a really good result that is important for the team. It has not been an easy weekend, but we made the most of it. That’s mega.”

Catsburg also acknowledged that good fortune played a role in the best result of the season for himself, Tommy Milner, and the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R as the ninth different GTD PRO car to finish on the podium this season.

“It’s very nice to finish on the podium,” he said. “But we do have a lot of work to do. We got a little bit lucky today. We need to figure out where things keep going wrong in the pit lane and figure out how to get the Corvette in a bit of a better window.”

Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler took third place in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, followed by the GTD PRO points leading No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R driven by Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims. The result cut the No. 3 car’s lead in the GTD PRO point standings over the No. 77 car from 52 points to 39.

GTD: WTR Lamborghini Prevails in Comeback Effort

Sometimes the best wins in racing are the ones that are least expected. Just ask Trent Hindman, Danny Formal, and Wayne Taylor Racing.

The No. 45 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 started fifth but dropped to the tail of the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class field in the opening stages of the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park when contacted by another GTD car.

But Formal and WTR’s GTD team didn’t give up. Formal kept pressing on, and the team played a strategic card by making a second pit stop near the end of the first caution period in the two-hour, 40-minute WeatherTech Championship race. 

Hindman took over, and as every other GTD competitor stopped for energy, he kept the WTR Lamborghini on track. When a pair of late cautions caused the race to end behind the safety car, Hindman and Formal were in position to collect Wayne Taylor Racing’s 52nd victory in IMSA competition, but first in the GTD class. It was Formal’s first win in the WeatherTech Championship, and the second for 2019 GTD class champion Hindman.

Formal is also the first driver from Costa Rica to triumph in IMSA competition since Javier Quiros in 1997, coincidentally also at CTMP in the GT class.

“It was complete adversity in the first five minutes of the race,” Formal exclaimed. “I got a good start and the car was amazing, but I got T-boned going into Turn 9. We drove the whole stint with a broken rim, and the vibration was just insane. But the team said, ‘Keep on chugging, keep on doing this. We have a strategy; we have a plan.’ So obviously I kept driving as hard as I could.”

Despite driving in full fuel-save mode, Hindman kept the chrome-liveried Lamborghini out front.

“The whole time, I had nothing but faith for the guys on the box,” Hindman said. “You see the calls they make in GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) racing, so we are just very fortunate to have the same caliber crew on our side with the GTD car. 

“We’ve had nothing go our way this year,” he added. “To finally have a race come to us like that took a bit of luck, but from personal experience, I’ve been on the wrong side on a lot of these kinds of races. So, you take it any way you can get it. But the car was plenty quick.”

The GTD championship points leaders consolidated their positions with podium finishes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. A second place run for Philip Ellis and Russell Ward (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3) extended their lead over third place finishers Parker Thompson and Jack Hawksworth (No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3) to 93 points.

“At the end of the day, we accomplished what we set out to do, which was to extend the championship lead,” said Ward. “A little disappointing when you have such a good car and have the ability to win the race but finish under caution. That’s racing, and still a good points day for us. We’ve had a couple seconds and a third here, so hopefully a win is coming.”

Canadian fan favorite Robert Wickens teamed with Alec Udell to finish fourth in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. It was a career-best result for paraplegic racer Wickens in just his fourth WeatherTech Championship start, and third in GTD.

Results are HERE