In a thrilling IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Road America, the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 made a late strategy call that allowed their rivals to snatch victory. Despite having the strongest car in the field, Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor had to settle for third place after a fuel stop and tire change during the final yellow flag. This decision propelled the Porsche Penske Motorsport team, with drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy, to a one-two finish. The championship-leading No. 7 squad of Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron finished in second place. With this result, Porsche Penske Motorsport now holds the top two spots in the championship standings, displacing Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande from second place.
The No. 10 Acura, driven by Albuquerque, secured pole position during Saturday’s qualifying session. However, a series of issues, including a drive-through penalty for contact, hindered the No. 40 Acura of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz. Despite these setbacks, the No. 10 car showed impressive pace, with Ricky Taylor setting a lap time 1.5 seconds faster than any other car on the track. The race saw multiple yellow flag periods, allowing all the cars to conserve energy and go longer without refueling. The No. 6 Porsche made its last fuel stop 1.5 hours before the end of the race. While Jaminet had been saving fuel, the No. 10 Acura team did not believe they had enough energy to finish the race. This led to their decision to pit, ultimately costing them the victory.
Ricky Taylor, with his superior pace, started the final restart in ninth place but quickly made his way up the field. With ample energy, fresh tires, and great speed, he climbed to fifth place and then overtook Sebastien Bourdais for fourth. It took a little longer for him to pass Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, but he eventually succeeded. On the final lap, Taylor attempted to challenge Felipe Nasr for second place, resulting in slight contact between the two cars. However, Taylor was unable to make the pass and finished in third.
The No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963, driven by Gianmaria Bruni and Bent Viscaal, showed promise throughout the weekend but suffered a setback when Viscaal made a mistake on a restart, dropping them down the order to fifth place. The No. 01 Cadillac squad had hoped to gain points on the championship leaders but encountered difficulties. Nick Yelloly slid off track in the Carousel, causing a cloud of dust that affected Sebastien Bourdais, leading to a spin and contact with the barrier. Despite their efforts, the No. 01 team finished in ninth place.
In the LMP2 class, Ben Keating and Ben Hanley secured a remarkable comeback victory in the No. 2 United Autosports ORECA. This marked the first win for United Autosports in IMSA competition. Keating had crashed heavily during the second practice session, but the team managed to repair the car in time for qualifying. Keating qualified the car in second place, behind PJ Hyett’s No. 99 AO Racing ORECA. The team’s winning strategy was to pit just before a full-course caution, which allowed them to maintain the lead while most of their competitors had to pit under the yellow flag. Hanley defended their position against Scott Andrews in the No. 79 JDC-Miller MotorSports ORECA and crossed the finish line with a 6.6-second advantage.
The points leaders in the LMP2 class, Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga of Riley Motorsports, finished in tenth place. Nick Boulle and Tom Dillmann of Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports claimed seventh place, taking over the LMP2 points lead. Stuart Wiltshire and Paul Dalziel in the No. 18 Era Motorsports ORECA finished fourth, while Nicklas Nielsen and Luis Perez Companc in the No. 88 AF Corse entry secured fifth place.
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