2020 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio

The 2020 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on September 27, 2020. This race was the seventh round of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fifth round of the 2020 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor claimed their third consecutive overall victory for Acura Team Penske, while Antonio García and Jordan Taylor were crowned victors in GTLM for the fourth time that season. In GTD, Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz of AIM Vasser Sullivan similarly scored their third class victory of the season.[1]

Background

Then International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2020 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2019.[2] It was the third consecutive year it was part of the IMSA SCC. The event was the seventh of eleven sports car races of 2020 by IMSA, and the fifth of seven races on the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[3] The event was one of the first postponed by IMSA as a result of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, with the organization citing CDC regulations on public gatherings as the official cause of postponement.[4] A tentative reschedule for the weekend of September 27th followed shortly thereafter, which became the finalized date on which the race was held.[5] As with most events on the 2020 calendar, the race was held with a limited number of spectators in accordance with Ohio Department of Health guidelines. A maximum of 6,000 spectators were permitted, facemasks were required, temperature checks were instituted, and paddock access was restricted.[6] Acura Team Penske duo Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya entered the race as defending champions.[7]

On September 11, 2020, IMSA released their latest technical bulletin outlining BoP for the race.[8] The DPi class featured changes to fuel capacity, as the Cadillac and Mazda received three liter fuel capacity increases. No changes were made to GTLM competitors. In GTD, the Acura received a decreased fuel capacity of one liter, while the Porsche and Lexus received increases of one and two liters respectively. The Aston Martin also received a 30 kilogram weight decrease.

Before the race, Ryan Briscoe and Renger van der Zande led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 150 points, ahead of Sébastien Bourdais and João Barbosa in second with 146 points, and Pipo Derani in third with 145 points.[9] Antonio García and Jordan Taylor led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 191 points, 14 points ahead of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in second.[9] With 150 points, the GTD Drivers' Championship was led by Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry, ahead of Aaron Telitz.[9] Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Acura were leading their respective Manufactures' Championships while Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, Corvette Racing, and Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian each led their own Teams' Championships.[9]

Entries

A total of 24 cars took part in the event, split across three classes. 8 were entered in DPi, 4 in GTLM, and 12 in GTD.[10] JDC-Miller Motorsports' driver lineup once again shuffled, as Matheus Leist and Stephen Simpson were replaced by Tristan Vautier and Gabriel Aubry. Porsche's factory GTLM effort was sidelined at Mid-Ohio after positive COVID-19 tests within the team's 24 Hours of Le Mans camp, which had competed the previous weekend with much of their IMSA cohort in attendance. As a result, the already anemic GTLM class was further reduced to just four competitors.[11] GTD featured a late withdrawal of the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari, as driver Cooper MacNeil was competing in both Ferrari Challenge and IMSA competition, and was leading the championship of the former. The Ferrari Challenge was racing at Laguna Seca, so MacNeil's IMSA entry was pulled from the Mid-Ohio race.[10]

Practice

There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session lasted one hour on Friday while the second session on Saturday lasted 75 minutes.[12]

Practice 1

The first practice session took place at 6:00 pm ET on Friday and ended with Juan Pablo Montoya topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:13.057.[13] Antonio García was fastest in GTLM with a time of 1:19.690.[14] Bill Auberlen set the fastest time in GTD.[14]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 DPi 6 Acura Team Penske Juan Pablo Montoya 1:13.057 _
2 DPi 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Pipo Derani 1:13.293 +0.236
3 DPi 7 Acura Team Penske Ricky Taylor 1:13.302 +0.245
Sources:[15][16]

Practice 2

The second and final practice session took place at 10:55 am ET on Saturday and ended with Hélio Castroneves topping the charts for Acura Team Penske, with a lap time of 1:11.395.[17] Jordan Taylor set the fastest time in GTLM.[18] Aaron Telitz was fastest in GTD with a time of 1:20.465.[19]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 DPi 7 Acura Team Penske Hélio Castroneves 1:11.395 _
2 DPi 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac Renger van der Zande 1:11.587 +0.192
3 DPi 6 Acura Team Penske Dane Cameron 1:11.645 +0.250
Sources:[20][21]

Qualifying

Qualifying was broken into three sessions. The first was for cars in the GTD class. Aaron Telitz qualified on pole for the class driving the #14 car for AIM Vasser Sullivan, besting Matt McMurry in the #86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian entry.[22]

The second session was for cars in the GTLM class. Jordan Taylor qualified on pole driving the #3 car for Corvette Racing, beating Jesse Krohn in the #24 BMW Team RLL entry by over four-tenths of a second.[23]

The final session of qualifying was for cars in the DPi class. Dane Cameron qualified on pole driving the #6 car for Acura Team Penske, beating teammate Hélio Castroneves in the sister #7 Acura Team Penske entry by less than less than twenty-hundredths of a second.[24]

Qualifying results

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by .

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 DPi 6 United States Acura Team Penske United States Dane Cameron 1:10.839 _ 1
2 DPi 7 United States Acura Team Penske Brazil Hélio Castroneves 1:10.855 +0.016 2
3 DPi 55 Canada Mazda Motorsports United States Jonathan Bomarito 1:11.004 +0.165 3
4 DPi 31 United States Whelen Engineering Racing Brazil Pipo Derani 1:11.067 +0.228 4
5 DPi 10 United States Konica Minolta Cadillac Australia Ryan Briscoe 1:11.271 +0.432 5
6 DPi 77 Canada Mazda Motorsports United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis 1:11.365 +0.526 6
7 DPi 5 United States JDC-Mustang Sampling Racing France Sébastien Bourdais 1:11.382 +0.543 7
8 DPi 85 United States JDC-Miller MotorSports France Gabriel Aubry 1:12.081 +1.242 8
9 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing United States Jordan Taylor 1:17.985 +7.146 9
10 GTLM 24 United States BMW Team RLL Finland Jesse Krohn 1:18.361 +7.522 10
11 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United Kingdom Oliver Gavin 1:18.448 +7.609 11
12 GTLM 25 United States BMW Team RLL Canada Bruno Spengler 1:18.515 +7.676 15
13 GTD 14 Canada AIM Vasser Sullivan United States Aaron Telitz 1:20.974 +10.135 13
14 GTD 86 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian United States Matt McMurry 1:21.089 +10.250 14
15 GTD 57 United States Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian Canada Misha Goikhberg 1:21.196 +10.357 15
16 GTD 76 United States Compass Racing United States Corey Fergus 1:21.302 +10.463 16
17 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Robby Foley 1:21.364 +10.525 17
18 GTD 23 United States Heart of Racing Team United Kingdom Ian James 1:21.431 +10.592 18
19 GTD 12 Canada AIM Vasser Sullivan United States Frankie Montecalvo 1:21.442 +10.603 19
20 GTD 16 United States Wright Motorsports United States Ryan Hardwick 1:21.659 +10.820 20
21 GTD 22 United States Gradient Racing United Kingdom Till Bechtolsheimer 1:22.189 +11.350 21
22 GTD 74 United States Riley Motorsports United States Gar Robinson 1:22.254 +11.415 22
23 GTD 44 United States GRT Magnus United States John Potter 1:22.388 +11.549 23
24 GTD 30 United States Team Hardpoint United States Rob Ferriol 1:22.855 +12.016 24
Sources:[25][26]

Race

Post-race

As a result of winning the race, Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor advanced from sixth to third in the DPi Drivers' Championship. Bourdais and Barbosa dropped from second to fifth while Derani moved from third to second.[27] With 226 points, Antonio García and Jordan Taylors' victory allowed them to increase their advantage over Gavin and Milner to 17 points.[27] The result kept Farnbacher and McMurry atop the GTD Drivers' Championship, 3 points ahead of race winner Telitz. Hardwick and Long advanced from fifth to fourth while Aschenbach and Robinson jumped from sixth to fifth.[27] Cadillac and Chevrolet continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Lexus took the lead of the GTD Manufactures' Championship.[27] Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, Corvette Racing, and Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian kept their respective advantages in the their respective of Teams' Championships with four rounds remaining in the season.[27]

Results

Class winners are denoted in bold and .

Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Laps Time/retired
Engine
1 DPi 7 United States Acura Team Penske Brazil Hélio Castroneves
United States Ricky Taylor
Acura ARX-05 115 2:40:07.918
Acura AR35TT 3.5L Turbo V6
2 DPi 31 United States Whelen Engineering Racing Brazil Pipo Derani
Brazil Felipe Nasr
Cadillac DPi-V.R 115 +0.607
Cadillac 5.5L V8
3 DPi 10 United States Konica Minolta Cadillac Australia Ryan Briscoe
Netherlands Renger van der Zande
Cadillac DPi-V.R 115 +15.861
Cadillac 5.5L V8
4 DPi 55 Canada Mazda Motorsports United States Jonathan Bomarito
United Kingdom Harry Tincknell
Mazda RT24-P 115 +16.433
Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4
5 DPi 77 Canada Mazda Motorsports United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
United States Tristan Nunez
Mazda RT24-P 115 +20.646
Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0L Turbo I4
6 DPi 5 United States JDC-Mustang Sampling Racing Portugal João Barbosa
France Sébastien Bourdais
Cadillac DPi-V.R 115 +24.257
Cadillac 5.5L V8
7 DPi 6 United States Acura Team Penske United States Dane Cameron
Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya
Acura ARX-05 112 Did not finish
Acura AR35TT 3.5L Turbo V6
8 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing Spain Antonio García
United States Jordan Taylor
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R 110 +5 Laps
Chevrolet 5.5L V8
9 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
United States Tommy Milner
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R 110 +5 Laps
Chevrolet 5.5L V8
10 GTLM 25 United States BMW Team RLL United States Connor De Phillippi
Canada Bruno Spengler
BMW M8 GTE 110 +5 Laps
BMW S63 4.0L Turbo V8
11 GTLM 24 United States BMW Team RLL United States John Edwards
Finland Jesse Krohn
BMW M8 GTE 110 +5 Laps
BMW S63 4.0L Turbo V8
12 GTD 14 Canada AIM Vasser Sullivan United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth
United States Aaron Telitz
Lexus RC F GT3 108 +7 Laps
Lexus 5.0L V8
13 GTD 74 United States Riley Motorsports United States Lawson Aschenbach
United States Gar Robinson
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 108 +7 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2L V8
14 GTD 16 United States Wright Motorsports United States Ryan Hardwick
United States Patrick Long
Porsche 911 GT3 R 108 +7 Laps
Porsche 4.0L Flat-6
15 GTD 23 United States Heart of Racing Team Canada Roman De Angelis
United Kingdom Ian James
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 108 +7 Laps
Aston Martin 4.0L Turbo V8
16 GTD 86 United States Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian Germany Mario Farnbacher
United States Matt McMurry
Acura NSX GT3 Evo 108 +7 Laps
Acura 3.5L Turbo V6
17 GTD 57 United States Heinricher Racing w/ MSR Curb-Agajanian Canada Mikhail Goikhberg
Portugal Álvaro Parente
Acura NSX GT3 Evo 108 +7 Laps
Acura 3.5L Turbo V6
18 GTD 44 United States GRT Magnus Racing Team United States Andy Lally
United States John Potter
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 108 +7 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2L V10
19 GTD 76 United States Compass Racing United States Corey Fergus
United States Paul Holton
McLaren 720S GT3 108 +7 Laps
McLaren M840T 4.0L Turbo V8
20 GTD 22 United States Gradient Racing United Kingdom Till Bechtolsheimer
United States Marc Miller
Acura NSX GT3 Evo 107 +8 Laps
Acura 3.5L Turbo V6
21 GTD 12 Canada AIM Vasser Sullivan United States Townsend Bell
United States Frankie Montecalvo
Lexus RC F GT3 87 +28 Laps
Lexus 5.0L V8
22 DPi 85 United States JDC-Miller MotorSports France Gabriel Aubry
France Tristan Vautier
Cadillac DPi-V.R 86 Did not finish
Cadillac 5.5L V8
23 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Bill Auberlen
United States Robby Foley
BMW M6 GT3 83 +32 Laps
BMW 4.4L Turbo V8
24 GTD 30 United States Team Hardpoint United States Rob Ferriol
United States Spencer Pumpelly
Audi R8 LMS Evo 60 Did not finish
Audi 5.2L V10
Sources:[28][29]

Standings after the race


  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


References

  1. "IMSA Mid-Ohio: Castroneves, Taylor score third straight win for Acura". autosport.com. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  2. Dagys, John (August 2, 2019). "2020 WeatherTech Championship Schedule Released". sportscar365.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  3. Pruett, Marshall (June 25, 2020). "IMSA refines 2020 calendar". racer.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  4. "IMSA Update on the 2020 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio". imsa.com. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  5. "2020 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Reschedule Update". midohio.com. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  6. "Mid-Ohio to Permit Up to 6,000 Spectators". sportscar365.com. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  7. "Acura Sports Car Challenge Fact Sheet". midohio.com. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  8. "TB-IWSC-20-22-DPi-and-GTD-BoP-Tables-Mid-Ohio-09112020.pdf" (PDF). imsa.com. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  9. "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 9, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  10. "Entry List: Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio". frontstretch.com. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  11. "Porsche pulls GTLM cars from Mid-Ohio because of COVID-19 positives". motorsports.nbcsports.com. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  12. "2020 IMSA Official Schedule and SR M-O 091620 V1" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  13. Malsher-Lopez, David (September 25, 2020). "IMSA Mid-Ohio: Montoya puts Acura on top in first practice". motorsport.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  14. Dagys, John (September 25, 2020). "Montoya Paces Opening Practice at Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  15. "03_Results_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 25, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  16. "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 25, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  17. Malsher-Lopez, David (September 26, 2020). "IMSA Mid-Ohio: Castroneves leads van der Zande in FP2". motorsport.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  18. Barnes, Joey (September 26, 2020). "Castroneves leads final Mid-Ohio IMSA practice". racer.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  19. Dagys, John (September 26, 2020). "Castroneves Tops Saturday Practice at Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  20. "03_Results_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 26, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  21. "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 26, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  22. "Cameron takes IMSA Mid-Ohio pole for Acura". racer.com. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  23. Dagys, John (September 27, 2020). "Cameron Leads Acura Penske Front Row Sweep at Mid-Ohio". sportscar365.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  24. Malsher-Lopez, David (September 27, 2020). "IMSA Mid-Ohio: Acura Team Penske locks out front row". motorsport.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  25. "03_Results_Qualifying.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  26. "01_Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 27, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  27. "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 30, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  28. "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). October 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  29. "2020 ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE". racing-reference.info. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
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