The2017 Monterey Grand Prix was asports car race sanctioned by theInternational Motor Sports Association (IMSA).The Race was held atMazda Raceway Laguna Seca inMonterey, California on September 24, 2017. The race was the eleventh round of the2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
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IMSA's president Scott Atherton confirmed the Monterey Grand Prix was part of the series' schedule for the2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship atRoad America's victory lane in August 2016.[1] It was the fourth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2017 Monterey Grand Prix was the eleventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2017 by IMSA, and was the eighth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 2.238 mi (3.602 km)Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca inMonterey County, California on September 24, 2017.[2] After wrapping up the two "West Coast Swing" rounds also consisting ofLong Beach in previous years, Laguna Seca moved to September and swapped places on the calendar withCircuit of the Americas.[1] The event also returned to a single race format after utilizing a split race format the previous year due to the field size.[3] For the first time since the 2009 running of the event, the PC class would not be competing.[4]
After theMichelin GT Challenge at VIR four weeks earlier,Jordan Taylor andRicky Taylor led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 258 points, ahead ofJoão Barbosa andChristian Fittipaldi with 232 points, andDane Cameron andEric Curran with 227 points.[5]Antonio García andJan Magnussen led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 274 points, ahead ofBill Auberlen andAlexander Sims with 258 points.[5] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led byAlessandro Balzan andChristina Nielsen with 282 points, ahead ofJeroen Bleekemolen with 269 points.Cadillac,Chevrolet, andMercedes-AMG were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, whileWayne Taylor Racing,Corvette Racing, andScuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.[5]
On September 19, 2017, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outliningBalance of performance for the event.[6] In P, theNissan Onroak DPi received a reduction in turbo boost and a fuel capacity reduction of 1 liter. TheCadillac DPi-V.R received an increase in the cars minimum rear wing angle as well as a fuel restrictor reduction of 1 mm. In GTLM, the Porsche 911 RSR received a 0.6 mm larger air restrictor, 1 extra liter of fuel capacity, and a 0.5 mm larger fuel restrictor. The BMW M6 GTLM received a fuel restrictor reduction of 1 mm while the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R got a fuel restrictor increase of 0.5 mm. In GTD, theAudi R8 LMS andAcura NSX GT3 received fuel restrictor increases of 1mm and 0.5 mm, respectively. TheBMW M6 GT3 andLexus RC F GT3 received fuel capacity increases of 6 and 7 liters, respectively.
On September 20, 2017,Continental Tire announced their exit from IMSA after the 2018 season.[7] Following the announcement, IMSA announcedMichelin would replace Continental Tire as their official tire supplier beginning in 2019.[8]
A total of 33 cars took part in the event split across 4 classes. 8 cars were entered in P, 9 in GTLM, and 16 in GTD.[9] In GTD,Ben Keating returned to the #33Riley Motorsports - Team AMG entry.[10] No changes happened in P and GTLM.
There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, 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.[11]
The first practice session took place at 10:00 amPT on Friday and ended withJordan Taylor topping the charts for VisitFlorida Racing, with a lap time of 1:18.462.[12] The GTLM class was topped by the #67Ford Chip Ganassi RacingFord GT ofRyan Briscoe with a time of 1:23.344.[13]Patrick Long set the fastest time in GTD.[14]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor | 1:18.462 | _ |
| 2 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel | 1:18.628 | +0.166 |
| 3 | P | 90 | VisitFlorida Racing | Renger van der Zande | 1:19.045 | +0.583 |
| Sources:[15][16] | ||||||
The second practice session took place at 2:50 pmPT on Friday and ended withRyan Dalziel topping the charts forTequila Patrón ESM, with a lap time of 1:18.026.[17] The GTLM class was topped by the #62Risi CompetizioneFerrari 488 GTE ofToni Vilander with a time of 1:22.635.Alexander Sims was second in the #25BMW Team RLL entry andOliver Gavin rounded out the top 3.[18]Oswaldo Negri Jr. was fastest in GTD.[17]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel | 1:18.026 | _ |
| 2 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Ricky Taylor | 1:18.112 | +0.086 |
| 3 | P | 22 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Pipo Derani | 1:18.449 | +0.423 |
| Sources:[19][20] | ||||||
The third and final practice session took place at 8:00 amPT on Saturday and ended withJordan Taylor topping the charts forWayne Taylor Racing, with a lap time of 1:18.216.[21] The GTLM class was topped by the #66Ford Chip Ganassi RacingFord GT ofDirk Müller with a time of 1:22.678.[22]Bryan Sellers was fastest in GTD with a time of 1:24.711.[23]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor | 1:18.216 | _ |
| 2 | P | 52 | PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports | José Gutiérrez | 1:18.285 | +0.069 |
| 3 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel | 1:18.294 | +0.078 |
| Sources:[24][25] | ||||||
Saturday afternoon's 65-minute three-group qualifying, each category had separate 15-minute sessions. Regulations stipulated that teams nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each class' starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put Prototypes ahead of the GTLM and GTD cars.[26][11]
The first was for cars in GTD class.Madison Snow qualified on pole for the class driving the #48 car forPaul Miller Racing, bestingDaniel Morad in the Alegra Motorsports entry.[27]
The second session of qualifying was for cars in the GTLM class.Toni Vilander qualified on pole driving the #62 car forRisi Competizione, beatingDirk Müller in the #66 entryFord Chip Ganassi Racing by over two tenths of a second.[28]
The final session of qualifying was for the P class.Ricky Taylor qualified on pole driving the #10 car forWayne Taylor Racing, beatingChristian Fittipaldi in the #5 entry fromMustang Sampling Racing.[29]
Pole positions in each class are indicated inbold and by ‡.
The result kept Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor atop the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 288 points, 29 points ahead of second-place finishers Cameron and Curran. Barbosa and Fittipaldi dropped from second to third in the standings.[32] In the GTLM Drivers' Championship, Briscoe and Westbrook advanced from fourth to second. Hand and Müller dropped from third to fourth.[32] As a result of winning the race, Balzan and Nielsen extended their points lead to twenty-six points ahead of Bleekemolen in the GTD Drivers' Championship. Lally and Legge advanced from seventh to fourth while Aschenbach and Davis dropped from fourth to sixth.[32] Cadillac and Chevrolet continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships. Ferrari took the lead of the GTD Manufactures' Championship while Wayne Taylor Racing, Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with one round left in the season.[32]
Class winners are denoted inbold and ‡.
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| Previous race: Michelin GT Challenge at VIR | 2017 season | Next race: Petit Le Mans |
