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Rushbrook: Ford Yet to Sign Final Two Drivers for Hypercar Effort

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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

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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...

Watch the Full-Length Replay of Detroit Qualifying

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Source: Sports Car 365

Bamber Leads Cadillac Front Row Sweep in Detroit

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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

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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...

Listen to Double Stint on Midweek Motorsport S21, E20

Listen to Sportscar365’s latest ‘Double Stint Segment’ on this week’s episode of Midweek Motorsport, where John Hindhaugh and John Dagys preview this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race on the streets of Detroit, as well as debate on the evolution of the GT3 platform, amid Stephane Ratel’s recent comments. The Double Stint Segment begins at 1 hour and four minutes into the show. Source: Sports Car 365

WTR’s Albuquerque Hoping to “Catch a Break” in Detroit

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Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA Filipe Albuquerque says he’s hoping that he and co-driver Ricky Taylor will be able to “catch a break” in this weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic, after what’s been a two-year winless streak for the Wayne Taylor Racing duo. Albuquerque and Taylor, whose last IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory came in 2024, in the series’ first visit to the downtown Detroit street circuit, have scored just four podium finishes in the 17 GTP races since. One of those podiums came in last year’s 100-minute sprint race, which marked the team’s first top-three result since returning to Cadillac machinery, which Albuquerque feels could help turn their fortunes around. “The new Detroit has been kind to the 10 car,” he said. “Two years ago, we won not with true pace, but on strategy, [with] me and Ricky. “Last year, we did as well, a good comeback from starting [eighth]. We were do...