LONG BEACH, California – A trio of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams withstood a weighty challenge, an opening-lap traffic jam and several contact incidents to secure a string of top-five finishes Saturday in a hard-fought IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 100-minute sprint race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Mike Skeen and Mikael Grenier co-drove the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 to a season-best fourth-place finish in the GT Daytona (GTD) class finish while the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3 finished fifth in the GTD and GTD Pro classes, respectively.

Winward Racing co-drivers Russell Ward and Philip Ellis joined the Korthoff team and drivers in scoring a season-best finish on the unforgiving 1.968-mile road course on the streets of Long Beach.

Both GTD top-five finishers and the WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 sustained first-lap contact damage but the No 79 had a further setback in the Long Beach circuit’s notorious hairpin turn.

A contact incident just in front of starting driver Daniel Juncadella forced him to stop on track for a costly 10 seconds. The time lost and minimal in-race yellow flag cautions took away any chance Juncadella and his teammate Jules Gounon had at reconnecting with the GTD Pro leaders. Gounon took the checkered flag in the fifth and final GTD Pro finishing position.

Korthoff and Winward survived the first-lap contact incidents to put together a pair of clean runs to the finish. Although pre-race rules adjustments prevented either team from challenging the GTD top-three finishers, both Korthoff and Winward left Long Beach with nothing more than minor bodywork and cosmetic damage on their Mercedes-AMG GT3s.

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is a return to California next month for Round 4 of the season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Mike Skeen, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I feel pretty good about it. It is exciting coming here and I like this track. It was a bit tough with the Balance of Performance (BoP) rules changes we had this weekend, but you get that ebb and flow all of the time. We did what we could with the capability we had this week. We started fourth and finished fourth. That looks kind of boring on paper, but we had a good battle at the beginning, and Mikael did a heck of a job at the end holding off Ellis. It’s nice to be the highest finishing Mercedes-AMG GT3, get some points and get the momentum headed in the right direction.”

Mikael Grenier, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Long Beach is quite unique because you can’t make any mistakes here or you will be in the tire barriers. Mike did a really good job at the start, had a few contact hits he just couldn’t avoid, and it is good to come out of here with the car in one piece. All in all, it was quite solid with good points for the championship. At Daytona and Sebring, I think we could have won both races, so it is good to finally finish a race without any mistakes. It is good for momentum. The team did an amazing pit stop. It was quite a short fuel and they had to do the tire changes quickly. Everything was on point.”

Philip Ellis, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I think we reached our goals to at least get some points finally this season after two unlucky races where we should have been at the very front. It was definitely a tricky weekend as well, but Russell did a really good job. We are lucky the car stayed more or less intact after the early contact at the start. It probably hurt us a bit on performance as well, but nothing else happened and the car stayed together. That was good, the car was good, we just couldn’t get to the front, so we did what we had to do and were the best of the rest.”

Daniel Juncadella, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I was in a bad spot because I was the first car right after the blockage and I had nowhere to go. I had to reverse a bit and wait for them to clear. This is what happens when you start in the back, but we were a little unfortunate in qualifying. It was kind of a boring race. Not much happened, just two yellows early on and one at the end, but that was our only hope. We needed more yellows in the first half of the race to play our strategy, but it didn’t come. We have to hope IMSA looks at the performance analysis. We had a pretty big hit on the BoP after Sebring, and that comprised qualifying and the whole weekend. I hope we get something back for the next races.”

Jules Gounon, Driver – No. 79 WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3: “We tried our best to work the strategy but to get a result today was nearly impossible. The WeatherTech Racing/Proton crew did a great pit stop. Dani and I gave it our all on the track, and I think I touched the wall six times pushing flat out. We will see what the next step is and be prepared to bounce back for WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.”

Garcia, Taylor battle to the front to second-place class finish in California street fight

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 15, 2023) – Some second-place finishes are better than others. That was the story for Corvette Racing on Saturday as Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R earned a runner-up GT Daytona (GTD) PRO result in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

On a day where nothing came easy and passing was limited, the Corvette team – drivers, crew and engineers – made the most of its opportunities to claw forward two spots from the start and earn valuable points in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD PRO standings.

Garcia started the race in fourth after Friday’s qualifying but ran the first 10 minutes of Saturday’s 100-minute sprint under full-course yellow due to a crash involving two GTP cars. Once the race went back green, he was able to stay within reach of the four lead GTD cars – three PRO entries and one regular GTD competitor – as the pack began to run up on lap traffic.

The first pit stops began near the 35-minute mark, and the No. 3 C8.R team brought in Garcia to swap over to Taylor after 40 minutes and running third in class. A quick service of a full fuel load and four fresh Michelin tires, plus a stellar out-lap by Taylor meant the Corvette didn’t just hold on to third place, it gained more than three seconds on Klaus Bachler in the second-place Porsche.

After some hard, side-to-side racing, Taylor stayed within one second of the No. 9 and made a strong, decisive move into Turn Six with a huge dive to the inside of the Porsche – straight out of his recent experience in the NASCAR Cup Series – with 40 minutes left to take the second-place spot.

GTD lap traffic and faster GTP cars going by meant that Taylor had to spend the rest of the race with Bachler right on the rear bumper of the Corvette. Taylor stayed tough and held the position as the race ended during another full-course caution.

Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA championship is May 12-14 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTD PRO: “Starting where we started, it was really difficult to do something super-crazy to gain positions. On pure speed, we had no real advantage to make a move. The only way was to do it by strategy as we did and then play the traffic like Jordan did to gain those spots. I think we had a fourth-place car and we finished second, so we can be happy for once at Long Beach! We didn’t have the pace to win or really fight for it like we have had in the past. It sounds strange, but I’m happy with second.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTD PRO: “We had a good Corvette – maybe a fourth-place car on pace. Antonio did a good job from fourth in his stint, which is where we were speed-wise. The guys made a good call in the pits to try and jump some guys. We came out even with the Porsche, and they were pretty aggressive on their out-lap and pushed me wide at the fountain. Once he pushed me once, I knew it was fair to push him back. Once I got close enough, he defended pretty aggressively and I wasn’t going to let up. I gave him a little tap from the NASCAR world and was able to get by. It was difficult to defend the rest of the race. I’m glad traffic worked out relatively well to keep him behind us, so a great day for us points-wise. We had a fourth-place car and to come away with second and beating two guys who probably should have been on the podium, we can be proud of that. At the end of the year when we look back on the championship, hopefully this is one we count for some good points.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

(Long Beach, Calif.) April 15, 2023 — The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 gave it everything they had as Ricky Taylor went for the win with under two minutes remaining in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Saturday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach marked the first sprint race of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season for the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport (WTRAndretti) team. Full season co-driver, Filipe Albuquerque qualified the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 on pole position to lead the field to the green flag and had a very smooth first stint. As Albuquerque brought the blue and black machine from the lead for the sole pit stop and driver change of the day, a troublesome pit stop made a challenge for the reminder of the race.

Ricky Taylor hustled around the tight corners of the Long Beach streets and worked his way up into second position during the last 15 minutes of the race. As the checkered flag was nearing, Taylor went for the lead on the front stretch into Turn 1, before unfortunately making contact with the wall – ending the team’s day with just under two minutes before the clock expired.

“It’s not the ending that we wanted,” said Wayne Taylor. “We really had a good car, and both the drivers did a great job. We had things going on that snowballed throughout the race, starting with a radio problem, then it went to something else. We had problems with the driver change that caused us to lose time in the pits. Then we had another situation where the rev limiter came on, so we lost seven seconds. We lost 13 in the pits and then we lost another seven, then we were 27 seconds behind. Ricky would then make his way all the way up there and then something else would happen. He got by everybody, and I began to think that we could definitely get a second place, then he closed on the first car, and I thought ‘We’re going to win this race.’, then we just went into the wall. However, when you have car as good and fast as this and use it to the maximum, you can’t really blame anybody for that. This is the Acura Grand Prix and Ricky wanted to win. We just have to get ready and go for the next one.”

“I’m very sorry for Acura, HPD and the WTRAndretti team,” said Ricky Taylor. “We had a lot to learn from the past five years with the Acura ARX-05. This was always our track where we had the most performance deficit to the field and it just says so much about Acura, HPD, Oreca and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport to turn our weakest track into our strongest track. At the end of the day when you have the strongest car you want to repay those people and win the race. Unfortunately, we got behind with a little issue mid race and we had such a strong car while fighting back. It came down so close in the end, if we had more time maybe I would have been more patient, but we just wanted to win this for Acura. Everyone at Acura, HPD and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport deserved to win this today and it’s just disappointing, but I’m just so proud to drive an Acura and be part of this team.”

“What a crazy day today,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “There is so much to say. You could write a drama book about this race today. We started well today, although it was chaotic for the No. 60 and I could see a sideways car that was about to take me out in Turn 1. Okay— we avoid that, then the car is fine, and we pull a gap, but lost everything just before pitting in on traffic. We had some setbacks in the pit stop and, on the track, but Ricky recovered that as he was flying on the track and chasing everybody – overtaking everybody at the hardest track of the year. He made us believe that the win was still possible out of a crazy race. For him, it was all or nothing and things happen when we push hard for the win. He locked up and crashed, but I can believe him because when you’re pushing for the win that happens.”

The WTRAndretti and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team will return to California in under one month’s time for the Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N on May 14, 2023 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the workplace to achieve true connectivity through the Intelligent Connected Workplace. The company guides and supports its clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fifteen consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2021 America’s Best-in-State employers list. The company received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. The company recognizes 150 years in global business in 2023. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting Company, Acura Motorsports, Honda Performance Development and Hammer Nutrition .

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R places fifth on street circuit

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 15, 2023) — Starting seventh on the sole street circuit on the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar, the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R group decided an alternate strategy was in order to challenge for its second consecutive victory.

That strategy included a full-course caution that came too late in the 100-minute race. Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims co-drove to a fifth-place finish in the third round of the Grand Touring Prototype season.

Sims brought the hybrid prototype into the pits on Lap 6 and gave way to Derani, who systematically moved up and ran second on Lap 38. Derani returned the No. 31 Cadillac to the pits for service on Lap 52 of the 78-lap total, but the strategy didn’t play out to challenge for the lead as the top four cars made one stop in the race.

“We have to make a lot of decisions and one of them was we were toward the back of the pack anyway and passing is so difficult on the track. So, our best shot was to get the driver change done as quick as possible and then any time before the halfway point — when everybody else started pitting – with a yellow flag all of sudden we’re going to have a quicker pit stop than them because they still have to do their driver change,” team manager Gary Nelson said.

“It was the right move early and with a yellow we’re in contention to win. Without a yellow, we have to try to pass people and passing is a higher risk of not finishing than the risk of pitting early.”

Derani and Sims, who teamed with endurance driver Jack Aitken to win the Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, are one point out of the championship lead. The No. 6 Porsche 963 won under caution – the yellow flag flying with three minutes left.

Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, who won the 2022 Long Beach race to lead a Cadillac sweep of the podium, were unable to mount a challenge as a first-lap incident forced retirement of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R. It was classified eighth in the GTP class.

Bourdais, who qualified third with a lap of 1 minute, 10.981 seconds on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit, lost grip making a charge for the lead entering Turn 1 and spun, with the nose of the hybrid prototype making contact with the unforgiving concrete barrier.

Cadillac Racing had won the past five races at Long Beach dating to the start of the DPi era. The two Cadillac prototypes will next challenge for the victory May 14 on the undulating 2.238-mile, 11-turn WeatherTech Raceway Laguna road course in a 2-hour, 40-minute race.

In the interim, Bourdais and van der Zande will co-drive the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on April 29. They will join the sister No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R in the first WEC outing at the Belgian road course for Cadillac Racing. The race will be a warm-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, and the Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R will also expand the Hypercar field for the centenary race in France.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R will start on the fourth row Sunday in the 6 Hours of Portimão in Portugal. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook will share driving duties.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais: “Weird situation for sure there. We got squeezed against the wall at the start and put marbles on the tires. We’re not exactly sure what happened and why the rears locked up. I feel bad for the team, but we’ll learn what we can from this one and move on to what’s next in the WEC, as well as Laguna.”

Renger van der Zande: “It’s unfortunate because we came into this race expecting to defend our win from last year. We have to see what actually happened. Obviously, it’s been very tough to get tire temps in the car and I think that for sure is causing a lot of issues in the warm-up laps. It’s bad for the points in the championship and I feel sorry for the whole team because this is not what we race for.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “It was one of those races where you start from the back and then you have to try something different, and we did. It was a nice fight up until a certain point of the race. I could fight, overtook a few cars while we were close to the leading cars. We knew we were on a different strategy, and we were counting on another yellow toward the end of the race, which didn’t happen. Nevertheless, we showed that we were on par in terms of pace during the race and I think we managed to improve throughout the weekend, which is very positive. It’s a long championship and I think considering how the race evolved, it’s a good points day. We wanted we wanted to be further ahead, we showed that our Cadillac V-Series.R has a lot of promise and we have a lot to look forward to.”

Alexander Sims: “Starting seventh doesn’t do you any favors in a sprint race on a street circuit where it’s difficult to pass, so the strategy was to pit early and give Pipo tires that had a few laps on them so they would come in quick. We were looking for the yellow that never came. We showed good pace throughout the race and Pipo did a great job. It’s still learning for us and the other teams about this car, so we’ll take the improvements and data and move on to Laguna Seca.”