2022 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (IMSA) explained

2022 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (IMSA) should not be confused with 2022 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

The 2022 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (formally known as the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear) was a sports car race held at The Raceway on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan on June 4, 2022. It was the sixth round of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the fourth round of the 2022 WeatherTech Sprint Cup. Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 01 piloted by Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande earned the victory in DPi,[1] while the VasserSullivan No. 17 Lexus RC F GT3 driven by Ben Barnicoat and Kyle Kirkwood won in the GTD class.[2]

Background

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021.[3] It was the eighth year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the twelfth annual running of the race, counting the period between 2007 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively. The 2022 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix was the sixth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 by IMSA, and it was the fourth of eight rounds held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[4] The race was held at the fourteen-turn 2.35miles Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan on June 4, 2022.[5]

On May 26, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the DPi and GTD classes. In DPi, the Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 15 kilogram weight increase. In GTD, the BMW M4 GT3 received a 10 kilogram weight increase.[6]

Before the race, Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 1707 points, 32 clear of Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis followed by Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber in third with 1603 points.[7] With 1237 points, Stevan McAleer led the GTD Drivers' Championship, 12 points ahead of Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen in second followed by Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley in third with 1161 points.[8] Acura and Mercedes-AMG were leading their respective Manufactures' Championships while Wayne Taylor Racing and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports each led their own Teams' Championships.

Entries

A total of 16 cars took part in the event, split across two classes. 6 were entered in DPi and 10 in GTD.[9] In DPi, Oliver Pla replaced Tristan Nunez in the Whelen Engineering Racing entry.[10] In GTD, Inception Racing were absent due to a clash with the GT World Challenge Europe at Circuit Paul Ricard.[11] Ben Barnicoat subbed for Jack Hawksworth, who was injured, in the Vasser Sullivan Racing No. 17.[12] Ross Gunn subbed for Maxime Martin in the Heart of Racing team No. 27.[13]

Practice

There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, both on Friday. The first session lasted 90 minutes on Friday morning while the second session lasted for 120 minutes on Friday afternoon.[14]

Qualifying

Friday’s afternoon qualifying was broken into two sessions, with one session for the DPi and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions. The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (GTD) class requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the GTD cars.

Qualifying results

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

ClassTeamDriverTime
1DPi101 Cadillac Racing Sébastien Bourdais1:18.818-1
2DPi260 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Tom Blomqvist1:18.928+0.110 2
3DPi310 WTR - Konica Minolta Acura Ricky Taylor1:18.945 +0.1273
4DPi402 Cadillac Racing Alex Lynn1:19.334 +0.5164
5DPi531 Whelen Engineering Racing Olivier Pla1:20.298 +1.4805
6DPi65 JDC-Miller MotorSports Tristan Vautier1:20.331 +1.5136
7GTD117 Vasser Sullivan Racing Kyle Kirkwood1:29.096+10.2787
8GTD227 Heart of Racing Team Roman De Angelis1:29.214 +10.3968
9GTD31 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow1:29.286 +10.4689
10GTD412 Vasser Sullivan Racing Frankie Montecalvo1:29.299 +10.481 10
11GTD551 RWR Eurasia Motorsport Aidan Read1:29.544 +10.72611
12GTD639 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Robert Megennis1:29.781 +10.96312
13GTD757 Winward Racing Russell Ward1:29.810+10.99213
14GTD832 Team Korthoff Motorsports Stevan McAleer1:29.858 +11.04014
15GTD996 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley1:30.201 +11.38316
16GTD1016 Wright Motorsports Ryan Hardwick1:30.903+12.085 15
Sources:[15] [16]

Race

Post-Race

Blomqvist and Jarvis retook the DPi Drivers' Championship lead with 2027 points while Albuquerque and Taylor dropped to second with 2017 points. Bourdais and van der Zande advanced from sixth to fourth. The final results of GTD meant McAleer increased his gap to Hardwick and Heylen to 34 points. Montecalvo advanced from fifth to fourth while De Angelis jumped from ninth to fifth. Cadillac and BMW assumed the lead of their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports continued to top the GTD Teams' Championship. Meyer Shank Racing took the lead of the DPi Teams' Championship with six rounds remaining.

Race Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and .

ClassTeamDriversChassisTime/Retired
Engine
1DPi101 Cadillac Racing Sebastien Bourdais
Renger van der Zande
Cadillac DPi-V.R731:40:45.972
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
2DPi260 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Tom Blomqvist
Oliver Jarvis
Acura ARX-0573+0.398
Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6
3DPi302 Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Lynn
Earl Bamber
Cadillac DPi-V.R73+0.783
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
4DPi410 WTR - Konica Minolta Acura Ricky Taylor
Filipe Albuquerque
Acura ARX-0573+15.942
Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6
5DPi55 JDC-Miller MotorSports Tristan Vautier
Richard Westbrook
Cadillac DPi-V.R73+44.888
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
6DPi631 Whelen Engineering Racing Olivier Pla
Pipo Derani
Cadillac DPi-V.R73+1.663
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
7GTD117 VasserSullivan Kyle Kirkwood
Ben Barnicoat
Lexus RC F GT367+6 Laps
Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8
8GTD227 Heart of Racing Team Roman De Angelis
Ross Gunn
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT367+6 Laps
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
9GTD31 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow
Bryan Sellers
BMW M4 GT367+6 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6
10GTD412 VasserSullivan Frankie Montecalvo
Aaron Telitz
Lexus RC F GT367+6 Laps
Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8
11GTD532 Team Korthoff Motorsports Stevan McAleer
Mike Skeen
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo67+6 laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
12GTD639 CarBahn With Peregrine Racing Robert Megennis
Jeff Westphal
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo67+6 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
13GTD716 Wright Motorsports Ryan Hardwick
Jan Heylen
Porsche 911 GT3 R66+7 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
14GTD896 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley
Bill Auberlen
BMW M4 GT365+8 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6
15DNFGTD951 RWR Eurasia Motorsport Aidan Read
Ryan Eversley
Acura NSX GT3 Evo2262Fuel Pressure
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
16DNFGTD1057 Winward Racing Russell Ward
Philip Ellis
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo17Accident
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
Sources:[18] [19]

Standings after the race

+DPi Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 1 Tom Blomqvist
Oliver Jarvis
2027
2 1 Filipe Albuquerque
Ricky Taylor
2017
3 Alex Lynn
Earl Bamber
1931
4 2 Sébastien Bourdais
Renger van der Zande
1884
5 1 Tristan Vautier
Richard Westbrook
1868
Source:
+LMP2 Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Juan Pablo Montoya
Henrik Hedman
972
2 Ryan Dalziel
Dwight Merriman
963
3 Steven Thomas
Jonathan Bomarito
950
4 John Farano948
5 Josh Pierson900
Source:
+LMP3 Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Garett Grist
Ari Balogh
688
2 Jon Bennett
Colin Braun
661
3 João Barbosa
Lance Willsey
647
4 Dakota Dickerson635
5 Daniel Goldburg
Rasmus Lindh
596
Source:
+GTD Pro Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Matt Campbell
Mathieu Jaminet
1345
2 Antonio García
Jordan Taylor
1295
3 Ben Barnicoat
Jack Hawksworth
1265
4 Cooper MacNeil1112
5 Ross Gunn
Alex Riberas
1106
Source:
+GTD Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Stevan McAleer1520
2 Ryan Hardwick
Jan Heylen
1486
3 Bill Auberlen
Robby Foley
1391
4 1 Frankie Montecalvo1314
5 4 Roman De Angelis1289
Source:
+DPi Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 1 #60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian2027
2 1 #10 WTR - Konica Minolta Acura2017
3 #02 Cadillac Racing1931
4 2 #01 Cadillac Racing1884
5 1 #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports1868
Source:
+LMP2 Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1982
2 #81 DragonSpeed USA972
3 #18 Era Motorsport963
4950
5 #8 Tower Motorsport948
Source:
+LMP3 Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 #30 Jr III Motorsports688
2 #54 CORE Autosport661
3 #33 Sean Creech Motorsport647
4 #38 Performance Tech Motorsports596
5 #74 Riley Motorsports583
Source:
+GTD Pro Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 #9 Pfaff Motorsports1345
2 #3 Corvette Racing1295
3 #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing1265
4 #79 WeatherTech Racing1112
5 #23 Heart of Racing Team1106
Source:
+GTD Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 #32 Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports1520
2 #16 Wright Motorsports1486
3 #96 Turner Motorsport1391
4 1 #12 Vasser Sullivan Racing1314
5 3 #27 Heart of Racing Team1289
Source:
+DPi Manufacturers' Championship standings+/–ManufacturerPoints
1 1 Cadillac2214
2 1 Acura2208
Source:
+GTD Pro Manufacturers' Championship standings+/–ManufacturerPoints
1 Porsche1345
2 Chevrolet1305
3 Lexus1295
4 Mercedes-AMG1220
5 BMW1180
Source:
+GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings+/–ManufacturerPoints
1 2 BMW1619
2 1 Mercedes-AMG1615
3 1 Porsche1571
4 Aston Martin1558
5 1 Lexus1517
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: No. 01 Cadillac Jumps Back Into DPi Title Talk With Detroit Win . June 4, 2022. June 9, 2022. IMSA. Oreovicz. John.
  2. Web site: No. 17 Lexus Leapfrogs in Pits En Route to Detroit GTD Victory . June 4, 2022. June 9, 2022. IMSA. Phillips. David.
  3. Web site: Pruett . Marshall . August 6, 2021 . IMSA's 2022 schedule signals a return to normalcy . July 27, 2023 . racer.com.
  4. Web site: Allaway . Phil . August 6, 2021 . IMSA Reveals 2022 Schedules, Changes . July 27, 2023 . frontstretch.com.
  5. Web site: Beaver . Dan . August 7, 2021 . IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series announces 2022 schedule . July 27, 2023 . nbcsports.com.
  6. Web site: Dagys . John . May 26, 2022 . Cadillac Handed Third Consecutive Weight Adjustment . April 25, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  7. Web site: 00_Championship Points - Official.pdf . October 27, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  8. Web site: 00_Championship Points - Official.pdf . October 27, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  9. Web site: Euwema . Davey . May 25, 2022 . Second GTD Lexus Returns at Detroit . April 25, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  10. Web site: Dagys . John . May 31, 2022 . Pla Replaces Nunez at Action Express for Remainder of Season . April 25, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  11. Web site: Lloyd . Daniel . April 6, 2022 . Inception to Miss Detroit But Enter All Other GTD Races . April 25, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  12. Web site: Dagys . John . May 30, 2022 . Barnicoat to Replace Injured Hawksworth at Belle Isle . April 25, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  13. Web site: Dagys . John . June 2, 2022 . De Angelis: Having Gunn in One-Off GTD Return A "Huge Benefit" . April 25, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  14. Web site: 2022 IMSA Official Schedule and SR Detroit 052522 V1 . December 27, 2023 . results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php.
  15. Web site: 03_Results_Qualifying.PDF . October 27, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  16. Web site: 01_Grid_Race_Official.PDF . October 27, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  17. Web site: 2022 IMSA SPORTING REGULATIONS and SERIES SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231222232155/https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2021/12/23/2022-IMSA-SPORTING-REGULATIONS-and-SSR-IWSC-Blackline-122221.pdf . 2023-12-22 . December 27, 2023.
  18. Web site: 03_Results_Race_Official.PDF . October 27, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  19. Web site: 2022 Chevrolet Sports Car Classic . October 27, 2023 . racing-reference.info.