2018 Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio

The 2018 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 6, 2018. The race was the fourth of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

The layout of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Background

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 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] The race marked IMSA's return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time since 2013 as the track replaced Circuit of the Americas after the 2017 season.^[2][3] The 2018 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio was the fourth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and it was the second round not held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.^[1] The race was held at the thirteen-turn 2.258 mi (3.634 km) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on May 6, 2018.^[1] On April 11, 2018, Acura was announced as a title sponsor for the event.^[4] On April 30, 2018, IMSA announced NBC Sports as its broadcasting partner from 2019 onwards.^[5] Michael Shank Racing was renamed to Meyer Shank Racing following Jim Meyer becoming a co-owner of the team.^[6]

After the BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix three weeks earlier, Filipe Albuquerque and João Barbosa led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 91 points, ahead of Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr with 86 points, and Jon Bennett and Colin Braun with 79 points.^[7] With 95 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook with a seven-point advantage over Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner.^[7] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 65 points, ahead Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating, and Luca Stolz with 58 points.^[7] Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Mustang Sampling Racing, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.^[7]

On April 27, 2018, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the prototype class.^[8] The Acura ARX-05, Mazda RT24-P, and Nissan Onroak DPi received less turbo boost. The Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 0.6 mm smaller air restrictor while the LMP2 cars didn't get any changes. In GTD, The BMW M6 GT3 received a 20 kilogram weight break and a fuel capacity reduction of 2 liters.^[9]

Entries

Further information: 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship § Entries

A total of 34 cars took part in the event split across 3 classes. 14 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 12 in GTD.^[10] In P, Spencer Pigot subbed for Harry Tincknell in the Mazda Team Joest #55 entry due to a clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Spa-Francorchamps.^[11] In GTD, Park Place Motorsports, and Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, CJ Wilson Racing, and Sqaudra Corse Garage Italia were absent. HART skipped due to a lack of funding.^[12] Álvaro Parente joined Katherine Legge in the Meyer Shank Racing #86 entry.^[13] Wright Motorsports added a second entry featuring Wolf Henzler and Michael Schein.^[14] Bill Auberlen joined Dillon Machavern in the Turner Motorsport entry.^[15] Maro Engel replaced Thomas Jäger in the SunEnergy1 Racing entry.^[16]

Practice

There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, 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.^[17]

Practice 1

The first practice session took place at 9:45 am ET on Friday and ended with Ricky Taylor topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:13.601.^[18]

Pos.	Class	No.	Team	Driver	Time	Gap
1	P	7	Acura Team Penske	Ricky Taylor	1:13.601	_
2	P	6	Acura Team Penske	Juan Pablo Montoya	1:14.089	+0.488
3	P	5	Mustang Sampling Racing	Filipe Albuquerque	1:14.608	+1.007
Source:[19]

Practice 2

The second practice session took place at 3:00 pm ET on Friday and ended with Juan Pablo Montoya topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:36.867.^[20]

Pos.	Class	No.	Team	Driver	Time	Gap
1	P	6	Acura Team Penske	Juan Pablo Montoya	1:36.867	_
2	P	7	Acura Team Penske	Hélio Castroneves	1:36.997	+0.130
3	P	10	Wayne Taylor Racing	Jordan Taylor	1:37.215	+0.348
Source:[21]

Practice 3

The third and final practice session took place at 8:35 am ET on Saturday and ended with Dane Cameron topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:12.675.^[22]

Pos.	Class	No.	Team	Driver	Time	Gap
1	P	6	Acura Team Penske	Dane Cameron	1:12.675	_
2	P	7	Acura Team Penske	Hélio Castroneves	1:12.763	+0.457
3	P	55	Mazda Team Joest	Jonathan Bomarito	1:13.767	+0.566
Source:[23]

Qualifying

Saturday afternoon's 65-minute qualifying session was divided into three groups.^[17] 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.^[24]

Qualifying results

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

Pos.	Class	No.	Team	Driver	Time	Gap	Grid
1	P	7	Acura Team Penske	Hélio Castroneves	1:11.837	_	1‡
2	P	6	Acura Team Penske	Dane Cameron	1:11.984	+0.147	2
3	P	77	Mazda Team Joest	Oliver Jarvis	1:12.339	+0.502	3
4	P	55	Mazda Team Joest	Jonathan Bomarito	1:12.596	+0.759	4
5	P	10	Wayne Taylor Racing	Renger van der Zande	1:12.600	+0.763	5
6	P	5	Mustang Sampling Racing	João Barbosa	1:12.943	+1.106	6
7	P	52	AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports	Gustavo Yacamán	1:12.982	+1.145	15
8	P	99	JDC-Miller MotorSports	Misha Goikhberg	1:13.035	+1.198	7
9	P	85	JDC-Miller MotorSports	Robert Alon	1:13.156	+1.319	16
10	P	38	Performance Tech Motorsports	James French	1:13.365	+1.528	8
11	P	22	Tequila Patrón ESM	Johannes van Overbeek	1:13.532	+1.695	9
12	P	31	Whelen Engineering Racing	Eric Curran	1:13.583	+1.746	10
13	P	2	Tequila Patrón ESM	Scott Sharp	1:14.347	+2.510	11
14	P	54	CORE Autosport	Jon Bennett	1:14.351	+2.514	12
15	GTLM	24	BMW Team RLL	John Edwards	1:17.853	+6.016	13‡
16	GTLM	911	Porsche GT Team	Nick Tandy	1:17.919	+6.082	14
17	GTLM	25	BMW Team RLL	Alexander Sims	1:17.932	+6.095	17
18	GTLM	912	Porsche GT Team	Earl Bamber	1:18.021	+6.184	18
19	GTLM	3	Corvette Racing	Antonio García	1:18.114	+6.277	19
20	GTLM	66	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Dirk Müller	1:18.207	+6.370	20
21	GTLM	67	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Ryan Briscoe	1:18.333	+6.496	21
22	GTLM	4	Corvette Racing	Tommy Milner	1:18.452	+6.615	22
23	GTD	15	3GT Racing	Jack Hawksworth	1:19.317	+7.480	23‡
24	GTD	14	3GT Racing	Kyle Marcelli	1:19.370	+7.533	24
25	GTD	48	Paul Miller Racing	Madison Snow	1:19.882	+8.045	25
26	GTD	86	Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin	Katherine Legge	1:19.933	+8.096	26
27	GTD	96	Turner Motorsport	Dillon Machavern	1:20.339	+8.502	27
28	GTD	93	Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin	Justin Marks	1:20.477	+8.640	28
29	GTD	58	Wright Motorsports	Christina Nielsen	1:20.748	+8.911	29
30	GTD	63	Scuderia Corsa	Cooper MacNeil	1:20.846	+9.009	30
31	GTD	16	Wright Motorsports	Michael Schein	1:21.043	+9.206	31
32	GTD	33	Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport	Ben Keating	1:21.244	+9.407	321
33	GTD	44	Magnus Racing	John Potter	1:21.379	+9.542	332
34	GTD	75	SunEnergy1 Racing	Kenny Habul	1:21.733	+9.896	343
Sources:[25][26]

• ¹ The No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.
• ² The No. 44 Magnus Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field after the team elected to change tires after qualifying.
• ³ The No. 75 SunEnergy1 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 Albuquerque and Barbosa atop the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 119 points, 10 points ahead of second-place finishers Nasr and Curran. Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor advanced from tenth to fourth while Bennett and Braun dropped from third to fifth.^[27] The result kept Briscoe and Westbrook atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 121 points. Bamber and Vanthoor advanced from sixth to second.^[27] The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 95 points. Legge and Parente advanced from third to second.^[27] Cadillac and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships. Porsche took the lead of the GTLM Manufactures' Championship while Mustang Sampling Racing, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with eight rounds remaining.^[27]

Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Final race classification Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps Time/Retired Engine 1 P 7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves Ricky Taylor Acura ARX-05 C 125 2:40.59.579‡ Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 2 P 6 Acura Team Penske Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya Acura ARX-05 C 125 +8.464 Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 3 P 77 Mazda Team Joest Oliver Jarvis Tristan Nunez Mazda RT24-P C 125 +26.774 Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 4 P 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa Cadillac DPi-V.R C 125 +56.826 Cadillac 5.5 L V8 5 P 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande Cadillac DPi-V.R C 125 +57.825 Cadillac 5.5 L V8 6 P 52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Sebastián Saavedra Gustavo Yacamán Ligier JS P217 C 125 +1:13.876 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 7 P 99 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson Oreca 07 C 125 +1:15.636 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 8 P 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Felipe Nasr Eric Curran Cadillac DPi-V.R C 124 +1 lap Cadillac 5.5 L V8 9 P 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Pipo Derani Johannes van Overbeek Nissan Onroak DPi C 124 +1 lap Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 10 P 2 Tequila Patrón ESM Ryan Dalziel Scott Sharp Nissan Onroak DPi C 123 +2 Laps Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 11 P 38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French Kyle Masson Oreca 07 C 123 +2 Laps Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 12 P 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Robert Alon Simon Trummer Oreca 07 C 123 +2 Laps Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 13 P 54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin Braun Oreca 07 C 123 +2 Laps Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 14 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor Porsche 911 RSR M 118 +7 Laps‡ Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 15 GTLM 25 BMW Team RLL Connor De Phillippi Alexander Sims BMW M8 GTE M 118 +7 Laps BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 16 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan Magnussen Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 118 +7 Laps Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 17 GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand Dirk Müller Ford GT M 118 +7 Laps Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 18 GTLM 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook Ford GT M 118 +7 Laps Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6 19 GTLM 911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy Porsche 911 RSR M 118 +7 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 20 GTLM 24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Jesse Krohn BMW M8 GTE M 118 +7 Laps BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 21 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 118 +7 Laps Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 22 GTD 14 3GT Racing Dominik Baumann Kyle Marcelli Lexus RC F GT3 C 116 +9 Laps‡ Lexus 5.0L V8 23 GTD 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Katherine Legge Álvaro Parente Acura NSX GT3 C 116 +9 Laps Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 24 GTD 48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison Snow Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 115 +10 Laps Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 25 GTD 15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier Hansson Lexus RC F GT3 C 115 +10 Laps Lexus 5.0L V8 26 GTD 93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin Justin Marks Lawson Aschenbach Acura NSX GT3 C 115 +10 Laps Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 27 GTD 96 Turner Motorsport Dillon Machavern Bill Auberlen BMW M6 GT3 C 115 +10 Laps BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8 28 GTD 58 Wright Motorsports Patrick Long Christina Nielsen Porsche 911 GT3 R C 115 +10 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 29 GTD 63 Scuderia Corsa Alessandro Balzan Cooper MacNeil Ferrari 488 GT3 C 115 +10 Laps Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 30 GTD 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating Mercedes AMG GT3 C 115 +10 Laps Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 31 GTD 44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy Lally Audi R8 LMS GT3 C 115 +10 Laps Audi 5.2L V10 32 GTD 16 Wright Motorsports Michael Schein Wolf Henzler Porsche 911 GT3 R C 113 +12 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 33 GTD 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Kenny Habul Maro Engel Mercedes AMG GT3 C 99 +26 Laps Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 34 DNF P 55 Mazda Team Joest Jonathan Bomarito Spencer Pigot Mazda RT24-P C 73 Rear End Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4 Sources:[28][29]

Tyre manufacturers Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer C Continental M Michelin

Standings after the race

Prototype Drivers' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Filipe Albuquerque João Barbosa 119 2 Eric Curran Felipe Nasr 109 3 1 Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande 104 4 6 Hélio Castroneves Ricky Taylor 98 5 2 Jon Bennett Colin Braun 97

GTLM Drivers' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 121 2 4 Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor 114 3 Joey Hand Dirk Müller 112 4 2 Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner 111 5 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 111

GTD Drivers' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Bryan Sellers Madison Snow 95 2 1 Katherine Legge Álvaro Parente 87 3 1 Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating 80 4 Cooper MacNeil Alessandro Balzan 76 5 1 Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier Hansson 76

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

Prototype Teams' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing 119 2 No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing 109 3 1 No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 104 4 6 No. 7 Acura Team Penske 98 5 2 No. 54 CORE Autosport 97

GTLM Teams' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 121 2 4 No. 912 Porsche GT Team 114 3 1 No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 112 4 2 No. 4 Corvette Racing 111 5 1 No. 3 Corvette Racing 111

GTD Teams' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 48 Paul Miller Racing 95 2 1 No. 86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian 87 3 1 No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports 80 4 No. 63 Scuderia Corsa 76 5 1 No. 15 3GT Racing 76

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

Prototype Manufacturers' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Cadillac 132 2 Nissan 128 3 1 Acura 123 4 1 Mazda 122

GTLM Manufacturers' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 2 Porsche 126 2 1 Ford 125 3 1 Chevrolet 123 4 BMW 120 5 Ferrari 58

GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings[27] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Lamborghini 100 2 2 Acura 88 3 3 Lexus 86 4 2 Ferrari 85 5 2 Mercedes-AMG 84

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