IMSA: Derani, Patron ESM Nissan dethrone Cadillac at Road America

By Aug 6, 2017, 5:18 PM EDT
Photo courtesy of IMSA
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ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – For the first time in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, it’s not a Cadillac DPi-V.R that has won overall, as the second different Daytona Prototype international (DPi) manufacturer has broken through.

Pipo Derani and Johannes van Overbeek have pulled off the win in the No. 22 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan Onroak DPi in Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America.

The Nissan has toppled the Cadillac, courtesy of Derani’s barnstorming pass on Lap 56 around the outside of Jordan Taylor in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac on a restart into Turn 1. The No. 10 car won the first five races and Action Express Racing, with its Nos. 5 and 31 cars, have won the last two for Cadillac to open the year seven-for-seven in Prototype.

Derani, who’s been a thorn in the Wayne Taylor Racing team’s side before (notably at the 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona), took over from Johannes van Overbeek and was only fractionally behind him after their last round of pit stops – stops which indirectly decided the race.

At that pit cycle, the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson opted not to pit, perhaps hoping the rest of the Prototype class field would need to come in again for a splash of fuel – so it shifted Stephen Simpson to the lead.

But the strategic hopes were dashed once the No. 3 Corvette C7.R contacted the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR going into Turn 1, which knocked Dirk Werner deep into the gravel trap and brought out another full course caution barely a lap after the last one.

Simpson would eventually need to pit, first taking on emergency service in a closed pit and then pitting again after the next restart for full service. That dropped the plucky “JDC Banana Boat” down to a season-worst eighth and last place in class, after a run that did not match its pace as Simpson set the fastest lap of the race at 1:54.095.

Performance Tech Motorsports kept up its streak in Prototype Challenge, a seventh consecutive victory in the swan song year for the class. This one, though, was harder earned than most as the No. 26 BAR1 Motorsports car got back to the lead lap and within a few seconds of Performance Tech in the final half hour, but still Pato O’Ward and polesitter James French forged ahead to ensure French finally has a professional win not far from his hometown of Sheboygan in the No. 38 Oreca FLM09.

In GT Le Mans, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing finally won with its Ford GT for the first time since this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona and in the process, became the sixth different manufacturer in as many years to do so at this race in class. Corvette won last year, Porsche in 2015, Risi Ferrari in 2014, the SRT Viper in 2013 and BMW in 2012. Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller pulled off the triumph in the No. 66 car.

Meanwhile in GT Daytona, the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 got on the board with Jens Klingmann and Jesse Krohn delivering a dominant drive.

More to follow…

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”