2023 Chevrolet Grand Prix Explained

The 2023 Chevrolet Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada on July 9, 2023. The race was the sixth round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the third round of the 2023 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

Background

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2022.[1] It was the eighth year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the fortieth annual running of the race. The 2023 Chevrolet Grand Prix was the sixth of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2023 by IMSA, and the third of seven races of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[2] The race was held at the ten-turn 2.459miles Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on July 9, 2023.

After the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen two weeks earlier, Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims led the GTP Drivers' Championship with 1602 points, ahead of Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly with 1583 points followed by Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet with 1527 points.[3] With 730 points, Josh Burdon, Felipe Fraga, and Gar Robinson led the LMP3 Drivers' Championship ahead of Wayne Boyd, Anthony Mantella, and Nicolás Varrone with 606 points. Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 1795 points ahead of Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella with 1682 points. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 1592 points, ahead of Frankie Montecalvo and Aaron Telitz with 1488 points. Cadillac, Lexus, and BMW were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Whelen Engineering Racing, Riley Motorsports, Vasser Sullivan Racing, and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.

On July 4, 2023, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the GTP, GTD Pro, and GTD classes. In GTP, all of the cars received weight breaks. The Acura ran at 1046 kg, the BMW ran at 1031 kg, the Cadillac ran at 1030 kg, and the Porsche ran at 1037 kg. Maximum stint energy figures were also adjusted.[4] In GTD Pro and GTD, the Acura, Corvette, McLaren, Mercedes, and Porsche received power increases as well as fuel capacity increases.[5]

Entries

A total of 34 cars took part in the event split across four classes. 9 cars were entered in GTP, 6 in LMP3, 5 in GTD Pro, and 14 in GTD.[6]

In LMP3, Andretti Autosport, Performance Tech Motorsports, MLT Motorsports, and JDC-Miller MotorSports were absent. Antoine Comeau and George Staikos shared the Ave Motorsports entry.[7]

In GTD Pro, AF Corse, Risi Competizione and Iron Lynx were absent. In GTD, Triarsi Competizione, NTE Sport, Magnus Racing, Cetilar Racing, Iron Dames, and Racer's Edge Motorsports with WTR Andretti skipped.

Practice

There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes on Friday while the second session on Saturday lasted 105 minutes.[8]

Practice 1

The first practice session took place at 2:50 pm ET on Friday and ended with Colin Braun topping the charts for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, with a lap time of 1:07.341.[9] The LMP3 class was topped by the #30 Jr III Motorsports Ligier JS P320 of Garett Grist with a time of 1:12.270.[10] Antonio García was fastest in GTD Pro while Frankie Montecalvo set the fastest time amongst all GTD cars.[11]

ClassTeamDriverTime
1GTP60Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-AgajanianColin Braun1:07.341_
2GTP31Whelen Engineering RacingPipo Derani1:08.121+0.780
3GTP10Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti AutosportFilipe Albuquerque1:08.138+0.797
Sources:[12] [13]

Final Practice

The second and final practice session took place at 8:00 am ET on Saturday and ended with Ricky Taylor topping the charts for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, with a lap time of 1:05.870.[14] Garett Grist set the fastest time in LMP3.[15] The GTD Pro class was topped by the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth while Loris Spinelli was fastest in GTD.[16]

ClassTeamDriverTime
1GTP10Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti AutosportRicky Taylor1:05.870_
2GTP60Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-AgajanianTom Blomqvist1:06.138+0.268
3GTP7Porsche Penske MotorsportFelipe Nasr1:06.738+0.868
Sources:[17] [18]

Qualifying

Saturday’s afternoon qualifying was broken into three sessions, with one session for the GTP, LMP3, and GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 20 minutes for the GTP session, and 15 minutes for the LMP3, and GTD Pro/GTD sessions. The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am LMP3 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 GTPs ahead of the LMP3, GTD Pro, and GTD cars.[19]

The first was cars in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. Jack Hawksworth qualified on pole in GTD Pro driving the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry. Roman De Angelis qualified on pole in GTD driving the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team, besting Frankie Montecalvo in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry.[20]

The second session of qualifying was for cars in the LMP3 class. Gar Robinson qualified on pole for the class driving the No. 74 car for Riley Motorsports, besting Orey Fidani in the No. 13 AWA entry.[21]

The final session of qualifying was for the GTP class. Tom Blomqvist qualified on pole driving the No. 60 car for Meyer Shank Racing, beating Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport entry by less than one tenth of a second.[22]

Qualifying results

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

ClassTeamDriverTime
1GTP60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Tom Blomqvist1:05.653_1
2GTP10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Ricky Taylor1:05.734+0.0712
3GTP31 Whelen Engineering Racing Pipo Derani1:05.829+0.1763
4GTP01 Cadillac Racing Sébastien Bourdais1:06.266+0.6134
5GTP7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Felipe Nasr1:06.521+0.8685
6GTP24 BMW M Team RLL Augusto Farfus1:06.801+1.1486
7GTP25 BMW M Team RLL Nick Yelloly1:06.848+1.1957
8GTP5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Mike Rockenfeller1:06.946+1.2938
9GTP6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Mathieu Jaminet1:07.329+1.6769
10LMP374 Riley Motorsports Gar Robinson1:12.946+7.29310
11LMP313 AWA Orey Fidani1:13.355+7.70211
12LMP330 Jr III Motorsports Ari Balogh1:13.593+7.94012
13LMP317 AWA Anthony Mantella1:13.682+8.02913
14LMP34 Ave Motorsports Antoine Comeau1:13.884+8.23114
15LMP333 Sean Creech Motorsport Lance Willsey1:14.751+9.09815
16GTD Pro14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Jack Hawksworth1:15.029+9.37616
17GTD Pro79 WeatherTech Racing Jules Gounon1:15.103+9.45017
18GTD Pro23 Heart of Racing Team Alex Riberas1:15.341+9.68818
19GTD27 Heart of Racing Team Roman De Angelis1:15.478+9.82519
20GTD Pro3 Corvette Racing Jordan Taylor1:15.494+9.84120
21GTD12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Frankie Montecalvo1:15.508+9.85534
22GTD Pro9 Pfaff Motorsports Klaus Bachler1:15.584+9.93121
23GTD1 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow1:15.595+9.94122
24GTD32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mikaël Grenier1:15.670+10.01723
25GTD96 Turner Motorsport Patrick Gallagher1:15.992+10.33924
26GTD78 Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics Misha Goikhberg1:16.100+10.44725
27GTD57 Winward Racing Russell Ward1:16.165+10.51226
28GTD97 Turner Motorsport Chandler Hull1:16.196+10.54327
29GTD70 Inception Racing Brendan Iribe1:16.360+10.70728
30GTD80 AO Racing Team P.J. Hyett1:16.983+11.33029
31GTD77 Wright Motorsports Alan Brynjolfsson1:17.028+11.37530
32GTD91 Kelly-Moss with Riley Alan Metni1:17.126+11.47331
33GTD66 Gradient Racing Sheena Monk1:17.213+11.56032
34GTD92 Kelly-Moss with Riley David Brule1:20.469+14.81633
Sources:[23] [24]

Race

Post-race

The result kept Derani and Sims atop the GTP Drivers' Championship, 20 points ahead of third-place finishers De Phillippi and Yelloly. Albuquerque and Taylor advanced from fifth to third.[25] Fraga, and Robinson extended their advantage in the LMP3 Drivers' Championship over Boyd, and Mantella to 181 points. The result kept Barnicoat and Hawksworth atop the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship. In the GTD Drivers' Championship, Sellers and Snow extended their points lead to 212 points while Grenier and Skeen advanced from eleventh to fifth. Cadillac, Lexus, and BMW continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Whelen Engineering Racing, Riley Motorsports, Vasser Sullivan Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in their respective of Teams' Championships with five races left in the season.

Class winners are in bold and .

ClassTeamDriversChassisTime/Retired
Engine
1GTP60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Tom Blomqvist
Colin Braun
Acura ARX-061202:41:01.603
Acura AR24e 2.4 L Turbo V6
2GTP10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Filipe Albuquerque
Ricky Taylor
Acura ARX-06120+9.157
Acura AR24e 2.4 L Turbo V6
3GTP25 BMW M Team RLL Connor De Phillippi
Nick Yelloly
BMW M Hybrid V8120+18.565
BMW P66/3 4.0 L Turbo V8
4GTP5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Mike Rockenfeller
Tijmen van der Helm
Porsche 963120+19.531
Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8
5GTP6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Mathieu Jaminet
Nick Tandy
Porsche 963120+20.640
Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8
6GTP7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Matt Campbell
Felipe Nasr
Porsche 963120+22.402
Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8
7GTP31 Whelen Engineering Racing Pipo Derani
Alexander Sims
Cadillac V-Series.R120+23.883
Cadillac LMC55R 5.5 L V8
8GTP24 BMW M Team RLL Philipp Eng
Augusto Farfus
BMW M Hybrid V8120+54.373
BMW P66/3 4.0 L Turbo V8
9GTP01 Cadillac Racing Sébastien Bourdais
Renger van der Zande
Cadillac V-Series.R117Crash
Cadillac LMC55R 5.5 L V8
10LMP374 Riley Motorsports Felipe Fraga
Gar Robinson
Ligier JS P320113+7 Laps
Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine
11LMP330 Jr III Motorsports Ari Balogh
Garett Grist
Ligier JS P320113+7 Laps
Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine
12LMP317 AWA Wayne Boyd
Anthony Mantella
Duqueine M30 - D08113+7 Laps
Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine
13LMP313 AWA Matt Bell
Orey Fidani
Duqueine M30 - D08113+7 Laps
Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine
14LMP333 Sean Creech Motorsport João Barbosa
Lance Willsey
Ligier JS P320113+7 Laps
Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine
15GTD Pro3 Corvette Racing Antonio García
Jordan Taylor
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD111+9 Laps
Chevrolet 5.5 L V8
16GTD Pro9 Pfaff Motorsports Klaus Bachler
Patrick Pilet
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)111+9 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
17GTD1 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers
Madison Snow
BMW M4 GT3111+9 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6
18GTD70 Inception Racing Brendan Iribe
Frederik Schandorff
McLaren 720S GT3 Evo111+9 Laps
McLaren M840T 4.0 L Turbo V8
19GTD Pro79 WeatherTech Racing Jules Gounon
Daniel Juncadella
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo111+9 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
20GTD32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mikaël Grenier
Mike Skeen
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo111+9 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
21GTD27 Heart of Racing Team Roman De Angelis
Marco Sørensen
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3111+9 Laps
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
22GTD97 Turner Motorsport Bill Auberlen
Chandler Hull
BMW M4 GT3110+10 Laps
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6
23GTD12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Frankie Montecalvo
Aaron Telitz
Lexus RC F GT3110+10 Laps
Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8
24GTD77 Wright Motorsports Alan Brynjolfsson
Trent Hindman
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)110+10 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
25GTD80 AO Racing Team P.J. Hyett
Sebastian Priaulx
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)110+10 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
26GTD91 Kelly-Moss with Riley Kay van Berlo
Alan Metni
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)110+10 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
27LMP34 Ave Motorsports Antoine Comeau
George Staikos
Ligier JS P320110+10 Laps
Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine
28GTD57 Winward Racing Philip Ellis
Russell Ward
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo110+10 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
29GTD66 Gradient Racing Katherine Legge
Sheena Monk
Acura NSX GT3 Evo22103+17 Laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
30GTD92 Kelly-Moss with Riley David Brule
Alec Udell
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)103+17 Laps
Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6
31GTD Pro14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Ben Barnicoat
Jack Hawksworth
Lexus RC F GT389+31 Laps
Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8
32GTD96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley
Patrick Gallagher
BMW M4 GT386Collision
BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6
33GTD78 Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics Misha Goikhberg
Loris Spinelli
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 282+38 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
34GTD Pro23 Heart of Racing Team Ross Gunn
Alex Riberas
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT358Accident
Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8
Source:[26]

Standings after the race

+GTP Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Pipo Derani
Alexander Sims
1872
2 Connor De Phillippi
Nick Yelloly
1862
3 2 Filipe Albuquerque
Ricky Taylor
1843
4 1 Nick Tandy
Mathieu Jaminet
1809
5 1 Sébastien Bourdais
Renger van der Zande
1743
+LMP2 Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Ben Hanley
George Kurtz
973
2 Mikkel Jensen
Steven Thomas
970
3 Paul-Loup Chatin
Ben Keating
967
4 Ryan Dalziel
Dwight Merriman
906
5 Giedo van der Garde850
+LMP3 Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Felipe Fraga
Gar Robinson
1115
2 Wayne Boyd
Anthony Mantella
934
3 1 Garett Grist928
4 1 Matt Bell
Orey Fidani
916
5 6 João Barbosa
Lance Willsey
788
+GTD Pro Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Ben Barnicoat
Jack Hawksworth
2110
2 Jules Gounon
Daniel Juncadella
2014
3 Antonio García
Jordan Taylor
2001
4 Klaus Bachler
Patrick Pilet
1955
5 Ross Gunn
Alex Riberas
1698
+GTD Drivers' Championship standings+/–DriverPoints
1 Bryan Sellers
Madison Snow
1974
2 1 Roman De Angelis
Marco Sørensen
1762
3 1 Aaron Telitz
Frankie Montecalvo
1755
4 Brendan Iribe
Frederik Schandorff
1708
5 6 Mikaël Grenier
Mike Skeen
1451
+GTP Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 #31 Whelen Engineering Racing1872
2 #25 BMW M Team RLL1862
3 2 #10 WTR with Andretti Autosport1843
4 1 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport1809
5 1 #01 Cadillac Racing1743
+LMP2 Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR973
2 #11 TDS Racing970
3 #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports967
4 #18 Era Motorsport906
5 #8 Tower Motorsports889
+LMP3 Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 #74 Riley Motorsports1115
2 #17 AWA934
3 1 #30 Jr III Motorsports928
4 1 #13 AWA916
5 2 #4 Ave Motorsports808
+GTD Pro Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing2110
2 #79 WeatherTech Racing2014
3 #3 Corvette Racing2001
4 #9 Pfaff Motorsports1955
5 #23 Heart of Racing Team1698
+GTD Teams' Championship standings+/–TeamPoints
1 #1 Paul Miller Racing1974
2 1 #27 Heart of Racing Team1762
3 1 #12 Vasser Sullivan Racing1755
4 #70 Inception Racing1708
5 6 #32 Team Korthoff Motorsports1451
+GTP Manufacturers' Championship standings+/–ManufacturerPoints
1 Cadillac2079
2 BMW2032
3 1 Acura2029
4 1 Porsche1985
+GTD Pro Manufacturers' Championship standings+/–ManufacturerPoints
1 Lexus2110
2 Mercedes-AMG2014
3 Chevrolet2001
4 Porsche1955
5 Aston Martin1709
+GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings+/–ManufacturerPoints
1 BMW2110
2 Aston Martin1941
3 Lexus1875
4 1 McLaren1855
5 1 Porsche1850

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Malsher-Lopez . David . August 5, 2022 . IMSA reveals 2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule . July 19, 2023 . us.motorsport.com.
  2. Web site: Allaway . Phil . August 5, 2022 . IMSA Announces 2023 Schedules in State of the Sport Address . July 19, 2023 . frontstretch.com.
  3. Web site: 00_Championship Points - Official.pdf . July 18, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  4. Web site: July 4, 2023 . TB-IWSC-23-58-CTMP-Race-BoP-06292023.pdf . July 5, 2023 . imsa.com.
  5. Web site: Dagys . John . July 4, 2023 . Multiple GT Cars Get Power Increases for CTMP . July 5, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  6. Web site: Dagys . John . June 28, 2023 . 34 Entries for CTMP . July 5, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  7. Web site: June 28, 2023 . 34 Cars Entered For IMSA Grand Prix of Mosport . July 5, 2023 . dailysportscar.com.
  8. Web site: 2023 IMSA Official Schedule and SR CTMP 062823 V1 . July 18, 2023 . results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php.
  9. Web site: James . Richard . July 7, 2023 . Braun tops CTMP first practice for MSR Acura . July 7, 2023 . racer.com.
  10. Web site: Dagys . John . July 7, 2023 . Braun Fastest on Friday at CTMP . July 18, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  11. Web site: Bradley . Charles . July 7, 2023 . IMSA CTMP: Braun’s Acura beats AXR Cadillac in first practice . July 18, 2023 . us.motorsport.com.
  12. Web site: July 7, 2023 . 03_Results_Practice 1.PDF . July 7, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  13. Web site: July 7, 2023 . 06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 1.PDF . July 18, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  14. Web site: Bradley . Charles . July 8, 2023 . IMSA CTMP: Taylor Acura leads Blomqvist in second practice . July 8, 2023 . us.motorsport.com.
  15. Web site: S. James . Richard . July 8, 2023 . Ricky Taylor quickest in FP2 as Acuras go one-two at CTMP . July 18, 2023 . racer.com.
  16. Web site: Dagys . John . July 8, 2023 . Taylor Quickest in CTMP Second Practice for WTR Andretti . July 18, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  17. Web site: July 8, 2023 . 03_Results_Practice 2.PDF . July 8, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  18. Web site: July 8, 2023 . 06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 2.PDF . July 18, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  19. Web site: 2023 IMSA SPORTING REGULATIONS and SERIES SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221014145422/https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2022/10/14/2023-IMSA-SPORTING-REGULATIONS-and-SSR-IWSC-Redline-101422.pdf . 2022-10-14 . 28 December 2023.
  20. Web site: Dagys . John . July 8, 2023 . Blomqvist Storms to CTMP Pole . July 8, 2023 . sportscar365.com.
  21. Web site: July 8, 2023 . Blomqvist Scores Back-To-Back Poles North Of The Border, Acura Locks Out Front Row . July 8, 2023 . dailysportscar.com.
  22. Web site: Bradley . Charles . July 8, 2023 . IMSA CTMP: Blomqvist takes pole in Acura 1-2, ahead of Cadillacs . July 8, 2023 . us.motorsport.com.
  23. Web site: July 8, 2023 . 03_Results_Qualifying.PDF . July 8, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  24. Web site: July 9, 2023 . 01_Grid_Race_Official.PDF . July 9, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  25. Web site: 00_Championship Points - Official.pdf . July 18, 2023 . results.imsa.com.
  26. Web site: July 9, 2023 . 03_Results_Race_Unofficial.PDF . July 9, 2023 . results.imsa.com.