Season in Review: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

By IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was one of the most anticipated seasons yet, with legendary sports car teams and big-name drivers joining the fray to take on many of the world’s best, and it didn’t disappoint.

It was an unpredictable season, with longtime, established teams duking it out for the championship in all three WeatherTech Championship classes. None of the championships were decided until the final minutes of last Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Let’s take a quick, race-by-race look at the season that was, and the route each championship team took to get there.

1. Rolex 24 At Daytona, Daytona International Speedway, Jan. 27-28

Winners
P: Filipe Albuquerque/Joao Barbosa/Christian Fittipaldi, No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R
GTLM: Ryan Briscoe/Richard Westbrook/Scott Dixon, No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
GTD: Rolf Ineichen/Mirko Bortolotti/Franck Perera/Rik Breukers, No. 11 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3

How the Champions Fared
The season-opening 56th Rolex 24 At Daytona goes down as the one in which the winning team covered the longest distance in event history at 2,876.48 miles. The winning team was the No. 5 Mustang Sampling squad, which led a 1-2 sweep for Action Express Racing. Eventual Prototype champions Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr combined with Mike Conway and Stuart Middleton to finish second in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi. Third place went to the No. 54 CORE autosport ORECA LMP2 team of Jon Bennett, Colin Braun, Romain Dumas and Loic Duval.

In the GTLM class, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing had a 1-2 sweep of its own with the No. 67 Ford GT trio of Briscoe, Westbrook and Dixon coming in ahead of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 66 Ford GT. The defending GTLM champions, Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia came home third in the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R alongside endurance co-driver Mike Rockenfeller.

In GTD, it was the European GRT squad taking the victory ahead of primary GTD title contender Katherine Legge alongside Alvaro Parente, Trent Hindman and AJ Allmendinger. Third place went to the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini squad of Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Andrea Caldarelli and Bryce Miller.

Interestingly, not only were all three eventual series champions on the podium, but so were all three teams that finished second in their respective championship at year’s end.

2. Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, Sebring International Raceway, March 17

Winners
P: Johannes van Overbeek/Pipo Derani/Nicolas Lapierre, No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi
GTLM: Patrick Pilet/Nick Tandy/Frederic Makowiecki, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
GTD: Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow/Corey Lewis, No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3

How the Champions Fared
As Derani and van Overbeek picked up their second Sebring win in three years, Curran and Nasr quietly came home third, vaulting them to the top of the Prototype championship standings. In the GTLM class, the No. 3 team had its worst showing of the season with an eighth-place class performance and they exited Sebring sitting sixth in the championship standings, 10 points in arrears of leaders Westbrook and Briscoe.

The GTD win for the No. 48 squad turned out to be a catalyst for the season championship, as it moved them into the points lead, which they held for the remainder of the season.

3. BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach, Streets of Long Beach, California, April 14

Winners
P: Filipe Albuquerque/Joao Barbosa, No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R
GTLM: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner, No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

How the Champions Fared
With the victory, Albuquerque and Barbosa reclaimed the points lead from their No. 31 teammates, who came home seventh after finishing on the podium in the first two races of the season. The No. 5 team led by five points, 91-86.

Corvette Racing picked up what would be its only victory of the season, although it wasn’t by the eventual GTLM champions, but the No. 4 C7.R pairing of Milner and Gavin. Magnussen and Garcia came home fourth behind both Ford GTs and departed Long Beach sitting fifth in the standings, 14 points out of the lead.

The GTD class had the weekend off.

4. Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, May 6

Winners
P: Helio Castroneves/Ricky Taylor, No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05 DPi
GTLM: Earl Bamber/Laurens Vanthoor, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
GTD: Dominik Baumann/Kyle Marcelli, No. 14 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3

How the Champions Fared
While the new-for-2018 Acura DPi collected what would be its only victory of the season and a 1-2 sweep on Acura’s “home soil” of sorts, the eventual champions in the No. 31 Cadillac finished eighth. At that point, Curran and Nasr were 10 points behind their points-leading teammates, Barbosa and Albuquerque.

The No. 912 squad made it two Porsche wins in the last three GTLM races, but the No. 3 duo of Garcia and Magnussen returned to the podium for the first time since Daytona with a third-place performance. They remained fifth in the standings after the race, 10 points behind the leading No. 67 Ford GT duo.

In the GTD class, Lexus got its first-ever WeatherTech Championship win by an eyelash over the No. 93 Acura pair of Legge and Parente, while the No. 48 squad preserved their points lead with a third-place performance.

5. Chevrolet Sports Car Classic, Belle Isle Park, June 2

Winners
P: Eric Curran/Felipe Nasr, No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R
GTD: Katherine Legge/Mario Farnbacher, No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3

How the Champions Fared
The 100-minute battle in Detroit proved to be the lone victory of the season for the No. 31 team, but it turned out to be enough for the eventual champions. The win moved them into a tie for the Prototype points lead with their No. 5 Cadillac teammates Barbosa and Albuquerque.

It also was an important race for the GTD championship fight, mostly because the victory by Legge and Farnbacher led the Meyer Shank team to continue running the car in the WeatherTech Championship after initially planning a Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup run only.

Sellers and Snow claimed their fourth straight top-three result with a third-place run in the No. 48 Lamborghini and departed the Motor City with a three-point advantage in the GTD standings over Legge.
The GTLM class got the weekend off to focus its attention on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

6. Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Watkins Glen International, July 1

Winners
P: Misha Goikhberg/Stephen Simpson/Chris Miller, No. 99 JDC-Miller Motorsports ORECA LMP2
GTLM: Joey Hand/Dirk Mueller, No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
GTD: Dillon Machavern/Markus Palttala/Don Yount, No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3

How the Champions Fared
For the first time all season, an LMP2 car took the victory and it was a thrilling one in which Simpson zoomed from third to first in one decisive move on a late-race restart to take the win. The No. 54 CORE autosport ORECA came second, kicking off a strong midseason run that almost netted a championship. The eventual Prototype champs finished seventh at Watkins Glen in the No. 31, dropping one point behind Albuquerque, who claimed sole possession of the lead with a sixth-place outing.

In GTLM, Hand and Mueller kicked off a run of four straight wins for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and took over the class points lead, while Magnussen and Garcia finished second for their second consecutive podium and left The Glen just four points out of the class points lead.

In GTD, the No. 96 BMW got its only race win of the season, sharing the podium with both main title contenders, the No. 86 Acura and No. 48 Lamborghini. With a runner-up result, Legge moved to within one point of Sellers and Snow, which is the closest she’d get to the lead all season.

7. Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, July 8

Winners
P: Colin Braun/Jon Bennett, No. 54 CORE autosport ORECA LMP2
GTLM: Ryan Briscoe/Richard Westbrook, No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
GTD: Ben Keating/Jeroen Bleekemolen, No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3

How the Champions Fared
Bennett and Braun picked up their first win of the season and began to establish themselves as title contenders, while Nasr and Curran earned their fourth podium of the season to regain the points lead.

In GTLM, Westbrook and Briscoe reclaimed the class points lead with their second win of the season, finishing one spot ahead of Magnussen and Garcia. Following the race, the No. 67 team had a six-point lead, 181-175, over the No. 3.

In GTD, Sellers and Snow missed the podium for the first time all season, as did Legge and Parente, while Keating and Bleekemolen picked up their first win of the season. However, the fourth-place run for the No. 48 team enabled them to stretch their points lead to three over Legge and the No. 86.

8. Northeast Grand Prix, Lime Rock Park, July 21

Winners
GTLM: Dirk Mueller/Joey Hand, No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
GTD: Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow, No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3

How the Champions Fared
The pendulum swung back in the direction of Hand, Mueller and the No. 66 team with their victory at Lime Rock, as it returned them to the top of the standings. However, this was also the race where the No. 3 team would come closest to winning this season as Garcia led the race for his entire stint in the car and Magnussen was 10 minutes away from winning when he went off course after passing a slower car. Nevertheless, he recovered to finish second and the No. 3 duo came away from Connecticut just one point out of the lead.

The GTD race, meanwhile, belonged to the No. 48 team, which dominated en route to their second win of the season. They opened a 10-point lead in the standings coming out of this race.

The Prototypes were off that weekend.

9. Continental Tire Road Race Showcase, Road America, August 5

Winners
P: Jon Bennett/Colin Braun, No. 54 CORE autosport ORECA LMP2
GTLM: Ryan Briscoe/Richard Westbrook, No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
GTD: Patrick Long/Christina Nielsen, No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R

How the Champions Fared
Bennett and Braun continued their midseason tear with a second-straight win and a third-straight top-two result in a strategic, two-hour and 40-minute race at Road America. The win closed them to within 10 points of leaders Curran and Nasr, who finished third in the No. 31 for their fifth podium in eight tries.

Westbrook and Briscoe again returned to the top of the GTLM standings with a win, which was their third of the season and the team’s fourth straight. But the No. 3 team was right there again, finishing third and closing to within four points of the No. 67 duo.

In GTD, Sellers and Snow came home second behind the winning No. 58 Porsche – the first and only victory of the season for two-time defending GTD champion Nielsen – and again expanded their lead in the standings to 18 points over Legge, who finished seventh.

10. Michelin GT Challenge, VIRginia International Raceway, August 19

Winners
GTLM: Alexander Sims/Connor De Phillippi, No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE
GTD: Dominik Baumann/Kyle Marcelli, No. 14 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3

How the Champions Fared
Sims and De Phillippi delivered the first win anywhere in the world in the new-for-2018 BMW M8, while Garcia and Magnussen finally moved to the top of the points chart with a runner-up performance. They came home from Virginia four points ahead of Westbrook and Briscoe, who weren’t running at the finish and wound up seventh in the final results.

In GTD, Legge and the No. 86 team proved the season wasn’t over quite yet as they narrowly missed a victory, coming home third behind Baumann and Marcelli – who celebrated their second win of the season – and a resurgent Long and Nielsen.

Sellers and Snow, meanwhile, had their worst run of the season with a sixth-place showing, allowing Legge to close the gap to 13 points with two races remaining on the season.

The Prototype class was not in action for the final time in 2018.

11. America’s Tire 250, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, September 9

Winners
P: Johannes van Overbeek/Pipo Derani, No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi
GTLM: Alexander Sims/Connor De Phillippi, No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE
GTD: Katherine Legge/Alvaro Parente, No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3

How the Champions Fared
The championship picture came into focus following the penultimate round, where Derani and van Overbeek took their final victory in the No. 22 Nissan DPi. Derani is headed to the No. 31 Cadillac in 2019, while van Overbeek announced his retirement from full-time competition.

While many of their championship contenders suffered what would be fatal blows to their title hopes, Nasr and Curran finished fifth to escape with a four-point advantage in the standings over Bennett and Braun, who finished second in the race.

Back-to-back GTLM wins for the No. 25 BMW and yet another podium result for the No. 3 team – this time a third-place showing – put Garcia and Magnussen in the catbird seat for their second title in as many years, as both Ford GTs struggled in the race. They were nine points ahead of Briscoe and Westbrook coming out of California.

And Legge’s GTD title hopes came back to life completely with her second win of the season, this time alongside Parente in the No. 86 Acura. Sellers and Snow finished fourth in the race, putting them six points ahead of Legge heading to the Motul Petit Le Mans season finale.

12. Motul Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, October 13

Winners
P: Renger van der Zande/Jordan Taylor/Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R
GTLM: Patrick Pilet/Nick Tandy/Frederic Makowiecki, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
GTD: Cooper MacNeil/Daniel Serra/Gunnar Jeannette, No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3

How the Champions Fared
In a wild, 10-hour affair in which the championship was not decided until the final minutes, the No. 10 team picked up its first victory of the season as the race-leading No. 5 Cadillac ran out of fuel on the final lap. Nasr and Curran finished seventh, which was enough to give them the Prototype championship, as Bennett and Braun finished only one position ahead in sixth.

In GTLM, the No. 911 trio picked up their second win of the season after taking Sebring, while a dramatic final few hours saw the No. 3 team claim its second straight championship. Garcia had crashed at the pit exit with a couple of hours left in the race, dropping the car well down the running order and opening the door for the No. 67 to sneak in and take the crown. However, they needed a run of second or better and wound up fifth.

The GTD race win went to the WeatherTech Ferrari for the first time all year, and the title went to Sellers and Snow after a third-place run. The No. 48 team needed that podium result to get it, though, as Legge and the No. 86 team came home second.

At the end of a grueling season, the No. 31 team won the Prototype championship by just three points, 277-274 over the No. 54, while the No. 3 won in GTLM by six (322-316) over the No. 67 team and in GTD, the margin of victory for the No. 48 over the No. 86 was just four points, 333-329.