2018 Monterey Grand Prix

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.

Track map of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Background

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where the race was held.

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 a 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.

Entries

Further information: 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship § Entries

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]

Practice

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]

Practice 1

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]

Practice 2

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]

Practice 3

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]

Qualifying

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]

Qualifying results

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos.	Class	No.	Team	Driver	Time	Gap	Grid
1	P	10	Wayne Taylor Racing	Renger van der Zande	1:16.181	_	1‡
2	P	6	Acura Team Penske	Dane Cameron	1:16.576	+0.395	2
3	P	7	Acura Team Penske	Hélio Castroneves	1:16.662	+0.481	3
4	P	22	Tequila Patrón ESM	Pipo Derani	1:16.766	+0.585	131
5	P	54	CORE Autosport	Colin Braun	1:16.774	+0.593	122
6	P	55	Mazda Team Joest	Jonathan Bomarito	1:16.793	+0.612	4
7	P	85	JDC-Miller MotorSports	Robert Alon	1:16.989	+0.808	5
8	P	77	Mazda Team Joest	Oliver Jarvis	1:17.249	+1.068	6
9	P	31	Whelen Engineering Racing	Eric Curran	1:17.415	+1.234	7
10	P	52	AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports	Sebastián Saavedra	1:17.485	+1.304	8
11	P	5	Mustang Sampling Racing	João Barbosa	1:17.525	+1.344	9
12	P	2	Tequila Patrón ESM	Scott Sharp	1:17.679	+1.498	10
13	P	99	JDC-Miller MotorSports	Misha Goikhberg	1:18.067	+1.886	11
14	GTLM	4	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin	1:22.700	+6.519	14‡
15	GTLM	66	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Dirk Müller	1:22.787	+6.606	15
16	GTLM	3	Corvette Racing	Jan Magnussen	1:22.806	+6.625	16
17	GTLM	67	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Ryan Briscoe	1:22.850	+6.669	17
18	GTLM	25	BMW Team RLL	Alexander Sims	1:22.972	+6.791	18
19	GTLM	911	Porsche GT Team	Nick Tandy	1:22.990	+6.809	19
20	GTLM	912	Porsche GT Team	Earl Bamber	1:23.140	+6.959	20
21	GTLM	24	BMW Team RLL	Jesse Krohn	1:23.527	+7.346	21
22	GTD	86	Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin	Katherine Legge	1:24.456	+8.275	22‡
23	GTD	48	Paul Miller Racing	Madison Snow	1:24.595	+8.414	23
24	GTD	33	Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport	Jeroen Bleekemolen	1:24.644	+8.463	24
25	GTD	58	Wright Motorsports	Patrick Long	1:24.871	+8.690	25
26	GTD	73	Park Place Motorsports	Patrick Lindsey	1:24.904	+8.723	26
27	GTD	14	3GT Racing	Kyle Marcelli	1:25.010	+8.829	27
28	GTD	96	Turner Motorsport	Bill Auberlen	1:25.034	+8.853	28
29	GTD	15	3GT Racing	Jack Hawksworth	1:25.170	+8.989	29
30	GTD	63	Scuderia Corsa	Cooper MacNeil	1:25.404	+9.223	30
31	GTD	93	Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin	Justin Marks	1:25.629	+9.448	31
32	GTD	64	Scuderia Corsa	Frankie Montecalvo	1:26.107	+9.926	32
33	GTD	44	Magnus Racing	John Potter	1:26.411	+10.230	343
34	GTD	51	Squadra Corse Garage Italia	Francesco Piovanetti	1:27.731	+11.550	33
Sources:[17][18]

• ¹ The No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM entry was moved to the back of the P field for starting the race with a different driver than who qualified.
• ² The No. 54 CORE Autosport entry was moved to the back of the P field for starting the race with a different driver than who qualified.
• ³ The No. 44 Magnus Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.

Race

Post-race

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]

Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Final race classification Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps Time/Retired Engine 1 P 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Pipo Derani Johannes van Overbeek Nissan Onroak DPi C 103 2:41.23.487‡ Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 2 P 54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin Braun Oreca 07 C 103 +10.900 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 3 P 6 Acura Team Penske Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya Acura ARX-05 C 103 +13.396 Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 4 P 55 Mazda Team Joest Jonathan Bomarito Harry Tincknell Mazda RT24-P C 103 +16.872 Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 5 P 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Felipe Nasr Eric Curran Cadillac DPi-V.R C 103 +30.034 Cadillac 5.5 L V8 6 P 99 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson Oreca 07 C 103 +40.775 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 7 P 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Robert Alon Simon Trummer Oreca 07 C 103 +51.236 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 8 P 52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo Yacamán Oreca 07 C 102 +1 lap Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 9 P 77 Mazda Team Joest Oliver Jarvis Tristan Nunez Mazda RT24-P C 101 +2 Laps Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 10 GTLM 25 BMW Team RLL Connor De Phillippi Alexander Sims BMW M8 GTE M 100 +3 Laps‡ BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 11 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor Porsche 911 RSR M 100 +3 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 12 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan Magnussen Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 100 +3 Laps Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 13 GTLM 24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Jesse Krohn BMW M8 GTE M 100 +3 Laps BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 14 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 100 +3 Laps Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 15 P 7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves Ricky Taylor Acura ARX-05 C 99 +4 Laps Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 16 GTD 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Katherine Legge Álvaro Parente Acura NSX GT3 C 97 +6 Laps‡ Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 17 GTD 73 Park Place Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Lindsey Porsche 911 GT3 R C 97 +6 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 18 GTD 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating Mercedes AMG GT3 C 97 +6 Laps Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 19 GTD 48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison Snow Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 97 +6 Laps Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 20 GTD 44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy Lally Audi R8 LMS C 96 +7 Laps Audi 5.2L V10 21 GTD 51 Squadra Corse Garage Italia Francesco Piovanetti Oswaldo Negri Jr. Ferrari 488 GT3 C 96 +7 Laps Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 22 GTD 15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier Hansson Lexus RC F GT3 C 96 +7 Laps Lexus 5.0L V8 23 GTD 63 Scuderia Corsa Cooper MacNeil Gunnar Jeannette Ferrari 488 GT3 C 96 +7 Laps Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 24 GTD 64 Scuderia Corsa Townsend Bell Frankie Montecalvo Ferrari 488 GT3 C 96 +7 Laps Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 25 GTD 14 3GT Racing Dominik Baumann Kyle Marcelli Lexus RC F GT3 C 96 +7 Laps Lexus 5.0L V8 26 GTD 58 Wright Motorsports Patrick Long Christina Nielsen Porsche 911 GT3 R C 96 +7 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 27 DNF P 2 Tequila Patrón ESM Ryan Dalziel Scott Sharp Nissan Onroak DPi C 90 Suspension Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 28 DNF GTLM 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook Ford GT M 71 Steering Arn Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 29 DNF GTD 96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley Bill Auberlen BMW M6 GT3 C 41 Transmission BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 30 DNF P 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande Cadillac DPi-V.R C 18 Lost Power Cadillac 5.5 L V8 31 DNF GTD 93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks Lawson Aschenbach Acura NSX GT3 C 6 Crash Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 32 DNF GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand Dirk Müller Ford GT M 2 Crash Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 33 DNF GTLM 911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy Porsche 911 RSR M 0 Crash Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 34 P 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa Cadillac DPi-V.R C -- Did Not Start[a] Cadillac 5.5 L V8 Sources:[20][21]

Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer C Continental M Michelin

Notes

1. The #5 Mustang Sampling Racing entry was involved in an accident on the opening lap of the race with the #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and #911 Porsche GT Team entries. The car did not cross the start finish line and scored no points.

Standings after the race

Prototype Drivers' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Eric Curran Felipe Nasr 254 2 1 Jon Bennett Colin Braun 250 3 1 Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande 235 4 2 Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya 233 5 Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson 231

GTLM Drivers' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 299 2 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 290 3 Joey Hand Dirk Müller 284 4 1 Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor 283 5 1 Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner 278

GTD Drivers' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Bryan Sellers Madison Snow 303 2 Katherine Legge 297 3 Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating 276 4 Cooper MacNeil 260 5 Dominik Baumann Kyle Marcelli 248

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

Prototype Teams' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing 254 2 1 No. 54 CORE Autosport 250 3 1 No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 235 4 2 No. 6 Acura Team Penske 233 5 No. 99 JDC-Miller Motorsports 231

GTLM Teams' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 3 Corvette Racing 299 2 No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 290 3 No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 284 4 1 No. 912 Porsche GT Team 283 5 1 No. 4 Corvette Racing 278

GTD Teams' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 48 Paul Miller Racing 303 2 No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin 297 3 No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports 276 4 No. 63 Scuderia Corsa 240 5 No. 14 3GT Racing 248

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

Prototype Manufacturers' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Cadillac 297 2 Acura 284 3 Nissan 274 4 Mazda 268

GTLM Manufacturers' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 323 2 Chevrolet 313 3 Porsche 306 4 BMW 302 5 Ferrari 58

GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings[19] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Lamborghini 310 2 Acura 298 3 Lexus 282 4 Mercedes-AMG 282 5 Ferrari 275

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.