Watch Highlights of Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic
Source: Sports Car 365
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AXR’s Aitken, Bamber Take Controlling Detroit Win
Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA Action Express Racing broke through for its first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory of the season, with Earl Bamber and Jack Aitken taking a controlling win in Saturday’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. Aitken drove the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R to a 6.023-second win over the No. 25 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Philipp Eng in the 100-minute race that saw two late-race yellow and restarts. The Whelen Engineering-sponsored Cadillac led from the start, thanks to an ideal getaway from pole-sitter Bamber, who stretched out into an early lead over the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 of Nick Yelloly, as the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac of Louis Deletraz dropped back to fourth. A mid-race stop, where the No. 31 Cadillac took on fresh right-side Michelin tires, kept Aitken out front for the remainder of the contest. With the win, Aitken took over the GTP points lead, following a race to forget for the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorspo...
Rushbrook: Ford Yet to Sign Final Two Drivers for Hypercar Effort
Photo: Bob Chapman/Ford Ford Racing has yet to sign the final two drivers for its FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar program according to the manufacturer’s global director Mark Rushbrook. The ‘Blue Oval’ which has already announced Mike Rockenfeller, Seb Priaulx and Logan Sargeant to the effort that’s set to debut in 2027, is expected to confirm Matt Campbell next week in Le Mans. However, speaking with assembled reporters at this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix, Rushbrook revealed that two seats are still yet to be filled. When asked by Sportscar365 if recent developments in the driver market, amid Acura’s pausing of its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program, has played an influence on Ford’s evaluations, Rushbrook said: “For sure because there are drivers available today that we did not believe would be available three months ago. “We’re definitely talking to different people, different drivers, in recent...
BMW’s Vanthoor Quickest in Final Detroit Practice
Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA Dries Vanthoor was quickest in the final 20-minute practice sessions prior to the start of this afternoon’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. The Belgian, in the No. 24 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, recorded a best lap of 1:06.950 in the 20-minute warmup session, outpacing the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Jordan Taylor by 0.246 seconds. Vanthoor’s time was more than 1.5 seconds slower than Earl Bamber’s record-breaking pole lap. Felipe Nasr was third in the No. 7 Penske Porsche 963, while teammate Laurens Vanthoor, in the repaired No. 6 Penske Porsche, was fourth quickest. The team worked until 12:30 a.m. rebuilding the car following the Kevin Estre’s accident in qualifying. A replacement tub was not needed per a Porsche spokesperson. Ricky Taylor completed the top-five in the No. 10 WTR Cadillac. Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports driver Nicky Catsburg edged out a late-session improvement from Lambo...
Bamber Leads Cadillac Front Row Sweep in Detroit
Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA Earl Bamber led a front row sweep for Cadillac after both Penske Porsche 963s hit trouble in a red flag-shortened qualifying for Saturday’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. Bamber’s 1:05.313 lap time in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R edged out the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing entry of Louis Deletraz by 0.322 seconds. It came after Felipe Nasr drove partially into the Turn 1 run-off in the closing minutes of the 15-minute session, which was immediately followed by Kevin Estre slamming into the Turn 2 wall after passing his stricken teammate. The red flag, which came out with four minutes to go, resulted in Estre losing his two fastest laps as a result, dropping the No. 6 Porsche to a 10th place result. Nick Yelloly qualified the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 in third, ahead of the pair of Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8s, which completed the top-five in the hands of Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde, respect...
Bamber Fastest Again in Second Practice in Detroit
Photo: Geoff Miller/IMSA Earl Bamber topped the time charts for a second consecutive practice session ahead of qualifying for Saturday’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. The Action Express Racing driver improved on his benchmark 1:07.182 by going some seven-tenths quicker in Practice 2 on Friday afternoon on the streets of downtown Detroit. The Kiwi’s 1:06.412 lap time in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R was 0.031 seconds quicker than the No. 24 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde, who made a late-session improvement. Teammate Marco Wittmann was third quickest in the No. 24 BMW, while Louis Deletraz and Tom Blomqvist completed the top-five for Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing and Acura Meyer Shank Racing, respectively. Alexander Sims led a Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports 1-2 in GTD Pro, with the defending class champion reeling off a 1:10.109 lap in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The No. 59 Team RLL McLaren 720S GT3 Evo of Max Esterso...