2015 Monterey Grand Prix Explained

The 2015 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) held on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on May 3, 2015. The event served as the fourth round of the 2015 United SportsCar Championship.

Background

Preview

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2015 IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship (IMSA TUSC) in August 2014.^{[1] [2]} It was the second consecutive year the event was held as part of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. The 2015 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix was the fourth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2015 by IMSA, and it was the second round not held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. The event was held at the eleven-turn 2.238miles Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County, California on May 3, 2015. The event went to a single race format after utilizing a split race format the previous year due to the field size.^[3]

Qualifying

Qualifying results

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . P stands for Prototype, PC (Prototype Challenge), GTLM (Grand Touring Le Mans) and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona).

	Class		Team	Driver	Time
1	P	10	Wayne Taylor Racing	Jordan Taylor	1:18.718	_	1
2	P	01	Chip Ganassi Racing	Scott Pruett	1:18.940	+0.222	2
3	P	90	VisitFlorida.com Racing	Michael Valiante	1:19.448	+0.730	3
4	P	60	Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian	John Pew	1:19.651	+0.933	4
5	P	5	Action Express Racing	Christian Fittipaldi	1:19.894	+1.176	5
6	P	0	DeltaWing Racing Cars with Claro/TracFone	Katherine Legge	1:20.504	+1.786	6
7	P	31	Action Express Racing	Eric Curran	1:20.622	+1.904	7
8	P	70	SpeedSource	Tristan Nunez	1:20.957	+2.239	8
9	P	07	SpeedSource	Tom Long	1:21.138	+2.420	9
10	GTLM	25	BMW Team RLL	Dirk Werner	1:22.362	+3.644	10
11	PC	11	RSR Racing	Chris Cumming	1:22.362	+3.847	11
12	PC	52	PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports	Mike Guasch	1:22.565	+3.851	12
13	GTLM	24	BMW Team RLL	Lucas Luhr	1:22.610	+3.892	13
14	GTLM	62	Risi Competizione	Pierre Kaffer	1:22.610	+3.892	14
15	PC	38	Performance Tech Motorsports	James French	1:22.689	+3.971	15
16	GTLM	911	Porsche North America	Patrick Pilet	1:22.708	+3.990	16
17	GTLM	4	Corvette Racing	Tommy Milner	1:22.711	+3.993	17
18	GTLM	912	Porsche North America	Michael Christensen	1:22.788	+4.070	18
19	GTLM	3	Corvette Racing	Antonio García	1:22.815	+4.097	19
20	PC	54	CORE Autosport	Jon Bennett	1:23.165	+4.447	20
21	GTLM	17	Team Falken Tire	Wolf Henzler	1:23.274	+4.556	21
22	PC	8	Starworks Motorsport	Mirco Schultis	1:23.466	+4.748	22
23	PC	85	JDC-Miller MotorSports	Misha Goikhberg	1:23.615	+4.897	23
24	PC	16	BAR1 Motorsports	Todd Slusher	1:24.539	+5.821	24
25	GTD	73	Park Place Motorsports	Patrick Lindsey	1:27.040	+8.322	25
26	GTD	93	Riley Motorsports	Marc Miller	1:28.021	+9.303	26
27	GTD	48	Paul Miller Racing	Dion von Moltke	1:28.031	+9.313	27
28	GTD	33	Riley Motorsports	Ben Keating	1:28.267	+9.549	28
29	GTD	44	Magnus Racing	John Potter	1:28.319	+9.601	29
30	GTD	007	TRG-AMR North America	Christina Nielsen	1:28.849	+10.131	30
31	GTD	23	Team Seattle / Alex Job Racing	Ian James	1:28.885	+10.167	31
32	GTD	45	Flying Lizard Motorsports	Patrick Byrne	1:28.946	+10.228	32
33	GTD	22	Alex Job Racing	Cooper MacNeil	1:28.966	+10.248	33
34	GTD	63	Scuderia Corsa	Bill Sweedler	1:29.207	+10.489	34
35	GTD	97	Turner Motorsport	Michael Marsal	1:29.254	+10.536	35
Source:^[4]

Race

Race Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and . P stands for Prototype, PC (Prototype Challenge), GTLM (Grand Touring Le Mans) and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona).

! rowspan="2" Class Team Drivers Chassis Tire Time/Retired Engine 1 P 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Richard Westbrook Michael Valiante Corvette Daytona Prototype 112 2:40:46.127 Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 2 P 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor Corvette Daytona Prototype 112 +1.351 Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 3 P 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian John Pew Oswaldo Negri Jr. Ligier JS P2 112 +29.655 Honda HR28TT 2.8 L V6 Turbo 4 P 5 Action Express Racing João Barbosa Christian Fittipaldi Corvette Daytona Prototype 112 +1:14.104 Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 5 P 31 Action Express Racing Eric Curran Dane Cameron Corvette Daytona Prototype 112 +1:14.752 Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 6 PC 11 RSR Racing Chris Cumming Bruno Junqueira Oreca FLM09 110 +2 laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 7 P 70 SpeedSource Jonathan Bomarito Tristan Nunez Mazda Prototype 110 +2 Laps Mazda Skyactiv-D 2.2 L Turbo I4 (Diesel) 8 PC 54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin Braun Oreca FLM09 110 +2 Laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 9 GTLM 24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Lucas Luhr BMW Z4 GTE 108 +4 Laps BMW 4.4 L V8 10 PC 38 Performance Tech Motorsports James French Mike Hedlund Oreca FLM09 108 +4 Laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 11 GTLM 25 BMW Team RLL Bill Auberlen Dirk Werner BMW Z4 GTE 108 +4 Laps BMW 4.4 L V8 12 GTLM 911 Porsche North America Michael Christensen Patrick Pilet Porsche 911 RSR 108 +4 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 13 GTLM 62 Risi Competizione Pierre Kaffer Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 108 +4 Laps Ferrari 4.5 L V8 14 GTLM 912 Porsche North America Jörg Bergmeister Michael Christensen Porsche 911 RSR 108 +4 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 15 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 108 +4 Laps Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 16 PC 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Misha Goikhberg Zach Veach Oreca FLM09 108 +4 Laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 17 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan Magnussen Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 108 +4 Laps Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8 18 GTLM 17 Team Falken Tire Bryan Sellers Wolf Henzler Porsche 911 RSR 108 +4 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 19 PC 16 BAR1 Motorsports John Falb Todd Slusher Oreca FLM09 106 +6 Laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 20 PC 8 Starworks Motorsport Mirco Schultis Renger van der Zande Oreca FLM09 104 +8 Laps Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 21 GTD 73 Park Place Motorsports Patrick Lindsey Spencer Pumpelly Porsche 911 GT America 103 +9 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 22 GTD 48 Paul Miller Racing Christopher Haase Dion von Moltke Audi R8 LMS ultra 103 +9 Laps Audi 5.2 L V10 23 P 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand Scott Pruett Ford EcoBoost Riley DP 103 +9 Laps Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L V6 Turbo 24 GTD 23 Team Seattle / Alex Job Racing Mario Farnbacher Ian James Porsche 911 GT America 103 +9 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 25 GTD 63 Scuderia Corsa Bill Sweedler Townsend Bell Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 103 +9 Laps Ferrari 4.5 L V8 26 GTD 007 TRG-AMR North America James Davison Christina Nielsen Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 102 +10 Laps Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 27 GTD 44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy Lally Porsche 911 GT America 102 +10 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 28 GTD 22 Alex Job Racing Leh Keen Cooper MacNeil Porsche 911 GT America 102 +10 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 29 GTD 93 Riley Motorsports Marc Miller Jeff Mosing Dodge Viper GT3-R 102 +10 Laps Dodge 8.3 L V10 30 GTD 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Patrick Byrne Guy Cosmo Audi R8 LMS ultra 100 +12 Laps Audi 5.2 L V10 31DNF GTD 97 Turner Motorsport Michael Marsal Markus Palttala BMW Z4 GT3 98 Crash BMW 4.4 L V8 32 GTD 33 Riley Motorsports Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating Dodge Viper GT3-R 97 +15 Laps Dodge 8.3 L V10 33DNF PC 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Mike Guasch Tom Kimber-Smith Oreca FLM09 96 Electrical Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 34DNF P 0 DeltaWing Racing Cars with Claro/TracFone Memo Rojas Katherine Legge DeltaWing DWC13 38 Brake Élan (Mazda) 1.9 L I4 Turbo 35DNF P 07 SpeedSource Tom Long Joel Miller Mazda Prototype 18 Engine Mazda Skyactiv-D 2.2 L Turbo I4 (Diesel) Sources:^[5] ^[6]

Key Symbol Tyre manufacturer Continental Michelin Falken Tire

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dagys . John . 10 August 2014 . 2015 TUSC, CTSC Schedules Released . 18 October 2024 . Sportscar365.com . John Dagys Media, LLC.
2. Web site: Pruett . Marshall . 10 August 2014 . IMSA: 2015 TUDOR Championship schedule revealed . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150323093836/http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/107323-imsa-2015-tudor-championship-schedule-revealed . 23 March 2015 . 18 October 2024 . Racer.
3. Web site: DiZinno . Tony . 6 February 2015 . Mazda Raceway TUSC Round to Feature All Four Classes in One Race . 18 October 2024 . Sportscar365.com . John Dagys Media, LLC.
4. Web site: 2 May 2015 . Qualifying . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210127155331/http://imsatiming.com/Results/2015/TUDOR%20Championship/04-MRLS/TUDOR%20Championship%20MRLS%20Qualifying.pdf . 27 January 2021 . 18 October 2024.
5. Web site: 3 May 2015 . Unofficial Race Report . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20211020072901/http://imsatiming.com/Results/2015/TUDOR%20Championship/04-MRLS/TUDOR%20Championship%20MRLS%20Race%20Unofficial.pdf . 20 October 2021 . 18 October 2024.
6. Web site: 2015 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix . 18 October 2024 . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.