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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Post-race

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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

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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

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


References

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  1. ^ a b c Goodwin, Graham (August 6, 2017). "IMSA Announce 2018 Calendar". DailySportsCar. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "IMSA to race at Mid-Ohio in 2018, skip COTA". racer.com. July 28, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "IMSA Announces Mid-Ohio Return". sportscar365.com. July 28, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "Acura Named Title Sponsor for Mid-Ohio Race". sportscar365.com. April 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  5. ^ Pruett, Marshall (April 30, 2018). "IMSA moving to NBC Sports in 2019". racer.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  6. ^ "Michael Shank Racing To Become Meyer Shank Racing". dailysportscar.com. April 6, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. April 17, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Dagys, John (April 27, 2018). "DPis Slowed for Fourth Consecutive Race". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  9. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (April 6, 2018). "DPis Slowed Again for Long Beach". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  10. ^ Dagys, John (April 25, 2018). "34 Entries for Mid-Ohio; Auberlen Confirmed at Turner". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  11. ^ Dagys, John (April 30, 2018). "Pigot to Sub for Tincknell at Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  12. ^ Dagys, John (April 17, 2018). "HART Unlikely for Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  13. ^ Dagys, John (April 20, 2018). "MSR Confirms Second Acura for Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  14. ^ Dagys, John (April 23, 2018). "Wright Confirms Second Porsche for Henzler, Schein". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  15. ^ Dagys, John (April 16, 2018). "BMW: Auberlen Available to Customer Teams". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  16. ^ Dagys, John (April 27, 2018). "Engel Rejoins SunEnergy1 for Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. May 3, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  18. ^ Myrehn, Ryan (May 4, 2018). "Taylor Leads Acura Team Penske 1-2 in Practice 1 at Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  19. ^ "03_Results_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  20. ^ Myrehn, Ryan (May 4, 2018). "Montoya Fastest in Wet Practice 2 at Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  21. ^ "03_Results_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  22. ^ Myrehn, Ryan (May 5, 2018). "Cameron Tops Mid-Ohio Practice 3". sportscar365.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  23. ^ "03_Results_Practice 3.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  24. ^ "2018 IMSA Sporting Regulations & Series Supplementary Regulations of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. May 16, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  25. ^ "03_Results - Amended 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 5, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  26. ^ "01_Starting Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 6, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. May 8, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  28. ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. 8 May 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  29. ^ "2018 Acura Sports Car Challenge". racing-reference.info. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
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IMSA SportsCar Championship
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