IMSA at Laguna Seca

IMSA at Laguna Seca By John Lamm

It’s no secret Revs likes to exercise its race cars on the track. In the past 25 years it has entered everything from the Corvette Grand Sport to the Ford GT40 to numerous Porsches in vintage car events.

That doesn’t mean we don’t keep tabs on racing today, which took us to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for a crowded IMSA weekend. That meant a slate of races that include four IMSA classes, Continental Tire SportCars, Porsche GT3s, Lamborghini Huracáns and a 40-car field of Mazda MX-5s.

You can find the results of all the events with a quick Google, so but thought we’d give a visual trip through the racing. Sorry we don’t have the sound for you.

For several years, Mazda took on the IMSA prototype class with diesel power and had very mixed results. For 2016, it switched to a gasoline-fired turbo four and easily qualified the two team cars on the front row of the grid at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Daniel Serra put a Ferrari 488 GTE on the pole for the GTLM class with the two factory Ford GTs close behind. Ford number 67 would go on to win the class.

Despite the speed of the Mazdas and the number of Corvette DP prototypes, the overall winner was a Honda twin-turbo V-6 powered Ligier JS P2 driven by John Pew and Oswaldo Negri Jr.

Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook set this Ford GT on the top step of the GTLM podium, the first win for Ford’s new mid-engine exotic car.

After putting the Ferrari 488 GTE on the pole for the GTLM class, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra nailed down second place behind the Ford GT.

Highest placed of the GTLM Porsche 911 RSRs was this one driven by Earl Bamber and Frederic Makowiecki.

Chevrolet’s factory Corvette C7.Rs finished 4th and 7th in the GTLM class.

A pair of Corvette DP prototypes duke it out at the top of the Corkscrew.

Katherine Legge and Sean Rayhall drove the diminutive DeltaWing DWC13 with its Elan engine into 5th place overall.

IMSA’s Prototypes are the loudest and fastest of IMSA’s classes, but for close racing the GTLMs are the best. Here a Porsche 911 RSR holds off a Ferrari 488 GTE and a Ford GT.

BMW’s M6 GTLM looks handsome and has a great growl from its 4.4-liter turbo V-8, but is thus far lacking the speed of the other GTLM entrants.

Andrew Longe works with Revs, but also races in the Porsche GT3 Cup series. Andrew is in a solid 4th place in the series’ USA Platinum division. (Photo by Wes Duenkel)

Click to view Andrew's Instagram feed

Porsche Cayman GT4s swept the podium spots in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge GS class, and the top step went to Cameron Cassels and Trent Hindman in this GT4.

Aft of the Caymans in the SportsCar Challenge, a pair of Ford Shelby GT350R-Cs hounded an Aston Martin Vantage and at the finish it was Ford-Aston-Ford.

All the cars in the Prototype Challenge class are identical. The chassis is an Oreca FLM09 and the powerplant a 430-horsepower Chevrolet LS3, the 6.2-liter V-8 that is standard in the Corvette.

Does that look like all business or what? A Dodge Viper GT3-R swings on to the front straight at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

There was a trio of Audi R8 LMS GT3s at Laguna and this one managed a 4th in class driven by Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis.

Isn’t that a nicely nasty look on a competition Lamborghini Huracán GT3?

In the SportsCar Challenge ST group, the Mazda MX-5s from Freedom Autosport were at the head of the class. This one is co-driven by Liam Dwyer, who lost a leg in Afghanistan as a Marine Staff Sergeant.

Just because Ferruccio Lamborghini didn’t want to race his cars back in the day, there’s no reason not to today. Hence the Huracáns rushing through Turn 5 during the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo race.

Damon Ockey, here diving into the Corkscrew, came from Calgary, Canada to race his Huracán in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo event.

Plunk down $50,000 and you can have a race-ready Mazda MX-5. Mazda has sold upwards of 100 of these cars to compete in the Global MX-5 Cup race series.

Those Mazda Global MX-5 Cup races never lack for excitement and close competition. Here John Dean II hounds Patrick Gallagher.

Appreciate

John Lamm, The Revs Institute

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IMSA at Laguna Seca By John Lamm

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