IMSA: Spike Roars, Italians Rule in Canada

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, affectionately known as Mosport, held the only non–American round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. 

The GTP class is taking the month of July off. CTMP was a rare opportunity for the LMP2 class to shine as the headline class. Along with the GT classes, they produced a spectacular 2 Hour, 40 minute duel around the historic road course.

LMP2: Late InterEuropol drama opens door for Spike

PJ Hyett led the field away from pole in “Spike The Dragon” the AO Racing #99 Oreca and set the pace early. As Hyett went off to hiding up front, Turn 9 quickly became calamity corner. The TDS Oreca of Stephen Thomas spun and went off road at Turn 9 during his stint. In between was the Tower Motorsports Oreca of John Farano going for a spin, maybe with help from race leader Hyett. At the 45–minute mark, navigating GT traffic led to an incident collecting multiple prototypes. George Kurtz collided with the GTD Inception Ferrari at Moss Corner. The spin collected Gar Robinson in the #74 Riley Oreca, but coming off worst was Chris Cumming. Headlight damage to the #73 Pratt Miller Oreca saw him limp back to the pits, but able to continue on. 

While Kurtz was able to keep going after this incident, his next moment would not have the same result. A heavy crash for Kurtz at the exit of Quebec corner just past an hour of the race completed saw the end for the Crowdstrike by APR Oreca. The lengthy safety car period allowed for the Bronze–rated Am drivers to yield to their pro counterparts for the race’s second half. 

Dane Cameron led Tom Blomqvist and Benjamin Pederson at the restart. Blomqvist would fall back as the leaders hit traffic. Tom Dillmann would put a power move on the Brit for second. Pederson and Hunter McElrea would later send the United Autosports Oreca down to 5th. At the final pit stops, Dillmann would undercut Cameron to put the InterEuropol Oreca into the lead of the race. PR1 Mathiasen, meanwhile, had issues with Pedersen leaving the pit box with equipment. The car would have to come back down pit road and serve a drive–thru penalty. 

Up front, Dillmann was in control and pulling away after the final restart. A second win of the season and back–to–back wins at Mosport seemed assured. With 15 minutes to go, it went away in the blink of an eye. Entering Turn 3, Dillmann suffered a mechanical problem that sent the Frenchmen into the barriers at high speed. Dillmann was shaken initially, but the team later confirming he is alright. The damage of the accident was so substantial that the race would end under full course yellow. Inheriting the lead, Dane Cameron would pilot the #99 Oreca to the checkered flag. For AO Racing, this is their first LMP2 win in IMSA. United Autosports and TDS Racing would round out the podium.

GTD PRO: DragonSpeed, Ferrari make it 4 winners in 6 races 

GTD PRO has to be the most competitive class in IMSA 2025. CTMP was the perfect case study. Picking up where they left off at the Glen, Paul Miller Racing scored the pole. Neil Verhagen in his #1 BMW led the GT pack away into the early lead. Like PJ Hyett in P2, Verhagen established a sizeable lead in his stint. But after handing over to co–driver Madison Snow, the car appeared to not have the same pace as the race wore on.

In defense of Paul Miller Racing, pit strategy was a major player in the GT classes. The mid-race full course yellow saw the teams mix up their gameplans as alternate strategies were employed. As the race played out, the #4 Pratt Miller Corvette of Nicky Catsburg found himself in the cat bird’s seat. Alberto Costa had other ideas. With less than 40 minutes to go, the DragonSpeed Ferrari driver caught Catsburg and passed him for the lead and that’s how they would finish. Behind Costa and Catsburg, the AO Racing Porsche of Klaus Bachler and Laurin Heinrich rounded out the podium. 

DragonSpeed’s win means Ferrari joins Ford, Porsche and BMW as manufacturers to achieve victory in class this season. Talk about parity.

GTD: Spin–and–Win for Wayne Taylor Racing, Lambo 

On Lap 1, Danny Formal in the DEX Imaging Lamborghini for Wayne Taylor Racing collided with the Ferrari of Onofrio Triarsi. The collision resulted in a spin for both at Turn 9. Neither car suffered damage. Both cars got pointed in the right direction and continued on. As they regrouped themselves, the top 2 in the GTD championship shared the lead for the first two-thirds of the race. First, class polesitter Jack Hawksworth built a nice lead over the pack early in his Vasser Sullivan Lexus.

As in GTD PRO, pit strategy generated by the mid race safety car period would play a factor. After the safety car, Ryan Ellis would lead for Winward Racing. As the Winward Mercedes pitted for the final time, the two Lamborghinis would assume the lead thanks to alternate strategy. The lead Lambo was Trent Hindman in that same #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Huracan that was backwards at Turn 9 on Lap 1! 

With 32 minutes to go, Mario Farnbacher made contact with passing P2 traffic. The contact got Farnbacher loose and into the marbles, through the grass and ending in the tire barriers. The safety car was deployed for the second time to retrieve the Forte Racing Lambo. Safe to say, any hopes of a Lambo 1-2 were gone. 

Hindman flew the flag for Lambo for the final half hour. Holding the lead, WTR takes the manufacturer’s first win of the season in GTD. Now if you told me in January that Wayne Taylor Racing would not score their first IMSA WeatherTech win until July and it would be in GTD, I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet here we are. Behind the Hindman/ Formal Lambo, the perennial championship contenders of Winward and Vasser Sullivan complete the podium.

Points Standings at-a-Glance

 LMP2

• Daniel Goldburg – 1375
• Dane Cameron/PJ Hyett – 1297 (-78)
• Felipe Fraga/Gar Robinson – 125 (-124)

GTD PRO

• Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims – 1942
• Klaus Bachelor/Laurin Heinrich – 1903 (-39)
• Alberto Costa – 1889 (-53)

GTD

• Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 1902
• Jack Hawksworth/Parker Thompson – 1809 (-93)
• Casper Stevenson – 1778 (-124)

To The National Park of Speed… 

The next round of the 2025 season is the Motul Sportscar Grand Prix at Road America August 1-3. GTP returns as all four classes will share the legendary Wisconsin road course for the two hour forty minute round.

 

Featured Image: #99 AO Racing Oreca 07 LMP2 (Photo Courtesy: Michael Tan/Motorsport.com Photography)

 

Article has been updated with CTMP post-race points standings