The2018 Continental Tire Road Race Showcasesports car race sanctioned by theInternational Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The Race was held atRoad America inElkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 5, 2018. The race was the ninth round of the2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017.[1] It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2018 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase was the ninth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the sixth round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[2] The race was held at the fourteen-turn 4.048 mi (6.515 km) Road America on August 5, 2018.[2]
After theNortheast Grand Prix 2 weeks earlier,Eric Curran andFelipe Nasr led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 198 points, ahead ofFilipe Albuquerque with 197 points, andJordan Taylor andRenger van der Zande with 188 points.[3] With 208 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led byJoey Hand andDirk Müller with a one-point advantage overAntonio García andJan Magnussen.[3] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led byBryan Sellers andMadison Snow with 218 points ahead ofKatherine Legge with 208 points.[3]Cadillac,Ford, andLamborghini were leading were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, whileWhelen Engineering Racing,Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, andPaul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.[3]
During this race weekend, IMSA holds their "State of the Series" annual press conference, in which they confirm and announce their future plans for the series they sanction.
After havingDaytona Prototype International andLe Mans Prototype 2 competing in the Prototype class for 2 seasons, IMSA announced the two styles of prototypes would split into two separate classes.[4]
IMSA also announced the WeatherTech Sprint Cup for GTD beginning in 2019. Additionally, any bronze/silver rated driver had to qualify and start races.[5]
On July 26, 2018, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outliningBalance of performance for the event.[6] In P, theCadillac DPi-V.R gained a 0.9 mm larger air restrictor while theMazda RT24-P andNissan Onroak DPi got an increase of turbo boost. Additionally, the Mazda also received a 10 kilogram weight reduction.
A total of 33 cars took part in the event split across three classes. 13 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 12 in GTD.[7] In P,João Barbosa returned to the #5Mustang Sampling Racing after missing the previous two rounds due to injury.[8]Tequila Patrón ESM brought its #2 entry back after it skipped theCanadian Tire Motorsport Park round. Performance Tech Motorsports skipped the event.[9] In GTD,Squadra Corse Garage Italia and Park Place Motorsports made their first appearances since theWatkins Glen round.[10] Wright Motorsports withdrew its #16 entry after Michael Schein had a scheduling conflict.[11]Markus Palttala joinedRobby Foley in theTurner Motorsport entry.Alessandro Pier Guidi joinedCooper MacNeil in the #63Scuderia Corsa entry.David Heinemeier Hansson returned to the #153GT Racing entry.
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.[12]
The first practice session took place at 11:15 amCT on Friday and ended withOliver Jarvis topping the timing sheets forMazda Team Joest, with a lap time of 1:52.627.[13]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis | 1:52.627 | _ |
| 2 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Scott Sharp | 1:52.816 | +0.189 |
| 3 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Stephen Simpson | 1:52.957 | +0.330 |
| Source:[14] | ||||||
The second practice session took place at 4:10 pmCT on Friday and ended withJordan Taylor topping the timing sheets forWayne Taylor Racing, with a lap time of 1:52.402.[15]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing | Jordan Taylor | 1:52.402 | _ |
| 2 | P | 6 | AcuraTeam Penske | Juan Pablo Montoya | 1:52.755 | +0.353 |
| 3 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Robert Alon | 1:52.773 | +0.371 |
| Source:[16] | ||||||
The third and final practice session took place at 8:55 amCT on Saturday and ended withSimon Trummer topping the timing sheets forJDC-Miller MotorSports, with a lap time of 1:51.644.[17]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 85 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | Simon Trummer | 1:51.644 | _ |
| 2 | P | 2 | Tequila Patrón ESM | Ryan Dalziel | 1:52.399 | +0.755 |
| 3 | P | 77 | Mazda Team Joest | Oliver Jarvis | 1:52.470 | +0.826 |
| Source:[18] | ||||||
Saturday afternoon's 65-minute qualifying session was divided into three groups.[12] All three categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the Prototype and GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries.[19]
Pole positions in each class are indicated inbold and by ‡.
A 20-minute morning warm-up session was held on the morning of August 5,[22] and several entries did not get a time in due toJack Hawksworth crashing at turn 8 after brake failure which brought a red flag that ended the session.[23] The #22Nissan Onroak DPi ofPipo Derani lapped fastest at 1:53.080 ahead ofRicky Taylor in the #7 Acura. The fastest GTLM lap was a 2:04.597, set byAntonio García in the #3 Corvette, andJörg Bergmeister's #73 Porsche paced GTD.3GT Racing withdrew its #15 entry from the event after sustaining too much damage in warm up.[24]
As a result of winning the race, Bennett and Braun moved from fourth to third in the Prototype Drivers' Championship. Goikhberg and Simpson advanced from seventh to fifth.[25] As a result of winning the race, Briscoe and Westbrook took the lead of the GTLM Drivers' Championship. Hand and Müller dropped from first to third while Gavin and Milner jumped from fifth to fourth.[25] The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 250 points, 18 points ahead of Legge.[25] Cadillac, Ford, and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Whelen Engineering Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships. The #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entry took the lead of the GTLM Teams' Championship with three rounds remaining.[25]
Class winners are denoted inbold and ‡.
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| Previous race: Northeast Grand Prix | 2018 season | Next race: Oak Tree Grand Prix |
