(Photo courtesy of Michelin Motorsport)
Ryan Briscoe and Renger van der Zande (No. 10 WTR Konica/Minolta Cadillac DPi.V.R/Michelin) extended their points lead in the IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship with a surprise victory in the 23rd annual Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Van der Zande was running in third place, nearly 20 seconds behind of Pipo Derani (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi.V.R/Michelin) and Ricky Taylor (No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05/Michelin) when the leaders came together in Turn 6 with around 12 minutes to go in the 10-hour endurance race. The No. 31 Cadillac and the No. 7 swapped the lead several times on the track and in the pits over the final two hours and the intensity of the battle was obvious as the race drew to a close. The leaders were rarely separated by more than a second over the last 60 minutes of the race, with Taylor putting Derani under extreme pressure on several occasions. Working through traffic in the Esses, Taylor got a run on Derani and tried to outbrake the Cadillac into Turn 6. But the Acura appeared to lose front end grip. It nudged Derani’s car and sent it spinning backwards into a tire barrier. Taylor also spun and nearly collected van der Zande as he returned to the track. IMSA officials reviewed the incident, but decided to take no action against either driver. (Editor-in-Chief's Note: Yes, it was just 'one of them racing deals' but Taylor did not have the corner. He screwed up. -PMD) Taylor and teammates Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi recovered to finish second, with the No. 6 Penske Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05/Michelindriven by Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud taking third. The race ended under caution after the No. 912 Porsche in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class crashed with less than five minutes left on the clock. Briscoe and van der Zande (with Scott Dixon's co-driving assistance) opened an eight-point gap over Taylor and Castroneves in the DPi point standings, with Derani third, 12 points behind the leaders. Derani was extremely unhappy with Taylor, and went to the Penske pit to exchange words with his rival after the race. “I was in front, and he pushed me out. That’s it,” Derani told reporters. “There’s nothing much to say, and unfortunately we lost the race. We did everything we could, leading the race with 10 laps to go, and he just pushes me out on a desperate move to try and go to the lead. I think it was a mistake on his part, and I hope he sleeps on it." “I lost a little bit of respect for him and for his teammates, who tried to accuse me of doing something wrong,” added the Brazilian. “It is what it is. I’m not at a racetrack to make friends – I want to win the next one.” (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service.)
(Photo courtesy of Michelin Motorsport)
Ryan Briscoe and Renger van der Zande (No. 10 WTR Konica/Minolta Cadillac DPi.V.R/Michelin) extended their points lead in the IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship with a surprise victory in the 23rd annual Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Van der Zande was running in third place, nearly 20 seconds behind of Pipo Derani (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi.V.R/Michelin) and Ricky Taylor (No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05/Michelin) when the leaders came together in Turn 6 with around 12 minutes to go in the 10-hour endurance race. The No. 31 Cadillac and the No. 7 swapped the lead several times on the track and in the pits over the final two hours and the intensity of the battle was obvious as the race drew to a close. The leaders were rarely separated by more than a second over the last 60 minutes of the race, with Taylor putting Derani under extreme pressure on several occasions. Working through traffic in the Esses, Taylor got a run on Derani and tried to outbrake the Cadillac into Turn 6. But the Acura appeared to lose front end grip. It nudged Derani’s car and sent it spinning backwards into a tire barrier. Taylor also spun and nearly collected van der Zande as he returned to the track. IMSA officials reviewed the incident, but decided to take no action against either driver. (Editor-in-Chief's Note: Yes, it was just 'one of them racing deals' but Taylor did not have the corner. He screwed up. -PMD) Taylor and teammates Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi recovered to finish second, with the No. 6 Penske Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05/Michelindriven by Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud taking third. The race ended under caution after the No. 912 Porsche in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class crashed with less than five minutes left on the clock. Briscoe and van der Zande (with Scott Dixon's co-driving assistance) opened an eight-point gap over Taylor and Castroneves in the DPi point standings, with Derani third, 12 points behind the leaders. Derani was extremely unhappy with Taylor, and went to the Penske pit to exchange words with his rival after the race. “I was in front, and he pushed me out. That’s it,” Derani told reporters. “There’s nothing much to say, and unfortunately we lost the race. We did everything we could, leading the race with 10 laps to go, and he just pushes me out on a desperate move to try and go to the lead. I think it was a mistake on his part, and I hope he sleeps on it." “I lost a little bit of respect for him and for his teammates, who tried to accuse me of doing something wrong,” added the Brazilian. “It is what it is. I’m not at a racetrack to make friends – I want to win the next one.” (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service.)
(Photo courtesy of Michelin Motorsport)John Farano, Mikkel Jensen, and Job van Uitert (No. 8 Tower Motorsports by Starworks ORECA LMP2 07/Michelin) cruised to an easy victory in LMP2. The No. 52 PR Mathiasen Motorsport Oreca/Micehlin shared by Patrick Kelly, Simon Trummer and Scott Huffaker dominated the first eight hours of the event, but an off-course excursion by Trummer while running second in the final hour ended the team’s effort. Kelly still maintains a comfortable lead in the LMP2 point standings. James McGuire, Matthew Bell, and Colin Braun (No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca/Michelin) finished in second place in class, seven laps behind the leaders. Austin McCusker, Jakub Smiechowski, and Rob Hodes earned third place for the No. 51 Inter Europol Competition team. The next race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Oct. 30 – Nov. 1. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service.)
(Photo courtesy of Porsche Motorsport)
Nick Tandy, Fred Makowiecki and Matt Campbell (No. 911 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR/Michelin) won in GTLM on Saturday – recording Porsche’s first victory of the season and the first for the No. 911 since VIRginia International Raceway in August 2019. The No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE/Michelin appeared headed to the win in GTLM until near the end of the 10-hour race, when Augusto Farfus ran wide exiting the final turn and the car plowed through the dirt and grass just off track. Farfus was forced to pit to have dirt and debris cleared off the nose of the car and was relegated to a third-place finish. Makowiecki was nearly 20 seconds back in second place when Farfus had his off-course excursion. After taking the lead in the No. 911, the Frenchman held Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R/Michelin) at bay the rest of the way. A pair of late full-course cautions bunched the field, but Makowiecki wasn’t deterred and took the checkered flag under yellow. It delivered the first Motul Petit Le Mans triumph for him and Campbell, and the fourth in the iconic race for Tandy. “Petit Le Mans is one of the big races during the season, you really want to get it,” said Makowiecki. “It was a very tough race, tough weekend, and I’m so proud about my team because we did not give up. We had some good moments, some bad moments, but we had the right one. It doesn’t count to lead nine hours and 59 (minutes), what counts is the last minute.” The second-place finish by Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg allowed the No. 3 Corvette to widen its GTLM points lead to 28 over the No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R/Michelin). Garcia and Taylor lead No. 4 drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner by the same margin with two races remaining. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service.)
(Photo courtesy of Michelin Motorsport)
Nick Tandy, Fred Makowiecki and Matt Campbell (No. 911 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR/Michelin) won in GTLM on Saturday – recording Porsche’s first victory of the season and the first for the No. 911 since VIRginia International Raceway in August 2019. The No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE/Michelin appeared headed to the win in GTLM until near the end of the 10-hour race, when Augusto Farfus ran wide exiting the final turn and the car plowed through the dirt and grass just off track. Farfus was forced to pit to have dirt and debris cleared off the nose of the car and was relegated to a third-place finish. Makowiecki was nearly 20 seconds back in second place when Farfus had his off-course excursion. After taking the lead in the No. 911, the Frenchman held Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R/Michelin) at bay the rest of the way. A pair of late full-course cautions bunched the field, but Makowiecki wasn’t deterred and took the checkered flag under yellow. It delivered the first Motul Petit Le Mans triumph for him and Campbell, and the fourth in the iconic race for Tandy. “Petit Le Mans is one of the big races during the season, you really want to get it,” said Makowiecki. “It was a very tough race, tough weekend, and I’m so proud about my team because we did not give up. We had some good moments, some bad moments, but we had the right one. It doesn’t count to lead nine hours and 59 (minutes), what counts is the last minute.” The second-place finish by Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg allowed the No. 3 Corvette to widen its GTLM points lead to 28 over the No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R/Michelin). Garcia and Taylor lead No. 4 drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner by the same margin with two races remaining. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service.)
(Photo courtesy of Michelin Motorsport)The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3/Michelin driven by Cooper MacNeil, Jeff Westphal and Alessandro Balzan took home the GTD win Saturday night. It’s the first for the car since MacNeil, Gunnar Jeannette and Daniel Serra won the Motul Petit Le Mans two years ago. The car remained near the front the entire race, despite absorbing contact on more than one occasion while battling in traffic around the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit. In the car for the finish, Westphal made the decisive pass for the lead with just more than an hour to go. He pushed the No. 63 hard into Turn 10 and past Jack Hawksworth (No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3/Michelin). From there, Westphal drove home for the win – something he wasn’t expecting when the race weekend started. “We showed up with a car that had great pace over one lap but it was killing the rear tires,” Westphal said. “Throughout each day, we made it better and better. We didn’t lose faith, we kind of just marched along and it really came alive in the race.” It was Westphal’s third career IMSA win, the eighth for MacNeil and seventh for Balzan, who celebrated his 40th birthday in victory lane. On the heels of wrapping up a third straight Ferrari Challenge championship a week ago, MacNeil applauded the effort of his teammates and crew. “This is one of the most difficult races in the world, even though it’s ‘only’ 10 hours,” he said. “These two guys drove their asses off, it was phenomenal all weekend. The team worked super hard all weekend, the Scuderia Corsa WeatherTech guys, I can’t thank them enough. We rolled the car off the truck expecting a good car because we had a good car during the six-hour here. That wasn’t the case; we had to work hard at it.” Hawksworth, Aaron Telitz and Michael De Quesada finished second in the No. 14 Lexus. The No. 44 GRT Magnus Lamborghini Huracan GT3/Michelin, with drivers Andy Lally, John Potter and Spencer Pumpelly finished third. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service.)
(crash.net)
Alex Rins (No. 42 Team Suzuki ECSTAR) became the eighth different race winner of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship season after delivering a victory in the Aragon MotoGP over Alex Marquez (No. 73 Repsol Honda Team), who turned in another exceptional performance. It was Rins' third MotoGP win. On a landmark day for Suzuki, Joan Mir’s third place on the No. 36 Team Suzuki ECSTAR means he is the new 2020 MotoGP Championship leader - by six points - with four events remaining after erstwhile front runner Fabio Quartararo (No. 20 Petronas Yamaha SRT) finished a disappointing eighteenth. (Thank you to crash.net)
Alex Rins (No. 42 Team Suzuki ECSTAR) became the eighth different race winner of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship season after delivering a victory in the Aragon MotoGP over Alex Marquez (No. 73 Repsol Honda Team), who turned in another exceptional performance. It was Rins' third MotoGP win. On a landmark day for Suzuki, Joan Mir’s third place on the No. 36 Team Suzuki ECSTAR means he is the new 2020 MotoGP Championship leader - by six points - with four events remaining after erstwhile front runner Fabio Quartararo (No. 20 Petronas Yamaha SRT) finished a disappointing eighteenth. (Thank you to crash.net)
(Chris Graythen/Getty Images))
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford) landed a Championship 4 berth, scoring his third victory of the season in the Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Logano led 47 of 267 laps to capture the 26th win of his Cup Series career. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) led the most laps (85) and finished second, .312 seconds behind Logano at the checkered flag. Alex Bowman (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) was third. The event was the first of three races that will determine the final four drivers who will contend for the Cup Series crown in the Nov. 8 finale at Phoenix Raceway. Logano automatically advanced to the championship race with Sunday’s victory. The Cup Series’ next race is the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, scheduled next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at Texas Motor Speedway.
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford) landed a Championship 4 berth, scoring his third victory of the season in the Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Logano led 47 of 267 laps to capture the 26th win of his Cup Series career. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) led the most laps (85) and finished second, .312 seconds behind Logano at the checkered flag. Alex Bowman (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) was third. The event was the first of three races that will determine the final four drivers who will contend for the Cup Series crown in the Nov. 8 finale at Phoenix Raceway. Logano automatically advanced to the championship race with Sunday’s victory. The Cup Series’ next race is the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, scheduled next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at Texas Motor Speedway.
Editor-In-Chief's Note: My friend Dr. Charles Jenckes - you can read about him here - is an old friend of Doc Bundy, who was a road racing star in the 80s and 90s here in the U.S. Dr. Jenckes passed along the following about his friend:
I have a great story you may be interested in. Doc Bundy, who was a road racing star of the 80s, 90s and on, recently fell on hard times. He had heart issues this spring and while in the hospital contracted COVID-19. At 75-years-old, Doc beat heart disease and COVID and this weekend at Road Atlanta he won both races in the HSR Class 3 Event driving a 1964 Lotus 23 B. One race was in the dry and Doc led wire-to-wire. The second race was run completely in the wet. Just as Doc was reaching turn one from the pole a torrent of rain swept over the track. Doc spun on the exit of turn one while leading. He kept his head and was able to restart the race in fifth place. Doc charged back to the front and won the race with a second to spare over a very good Porsche 914/6.
I have been fortunate enough to know Doc since 1976 when I worked for him at Holbert Racing. I crewed his first professional race in the Porsche 934 that he drove with George Follmer. I crewed his 1980 SCCA D Production national championship car and now I am his race engineer once again (when I have a free weekend). - Dr. Charles Jenckes