Photo: Mike Levitt / IMSA
Mazda has achieved a dominant victory in IMSA’s return to racing, with the Multimatic squad claiming a 1-2 sweep at Saturday’s WeatherTech 240 in Daytona.
Harry Tincknell led the Mazda RT24-P No. 55 to a 10,168-second victory over Oliver Jarvis’ sister inning No. 77 in the two-hour, 40-minute dry race, without caution despite a delay starting due to weather .
The No. 55 Mazda DPi, in the hands of Jonathan Bomarito, took over the lead midway through the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-VR, which was one of two DPis that effectively saved a pit stop by starting in Michelin stains.
Gabby Chaves, a last-minute substitute for Felipe Nasr, inflicted by COVID-19, emerged as the first leader when the Team Penske Acura ARX-05s and Mazda DPis pair faced slicks in the first ten laps as 3.56-oval mile / road dried up quickly.
While delivering Pipo Derani at the 40-minute mark, the Brazilian at No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-VR lost second to Jarvis with 1 hour and 3 minutes to go.
It marked the fourth victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Mazda, but the first under the full direction of Multimatic, in the operation’s debut race.
A late charge from Sebastien Bourdais saw No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi complete the podium in third place, ahead of No. 6 Penske Acura DPi of Dane Cameron in fourth.
Derani completed the top 5 after fading at the end of the race.
Seven of the eight DPis finished the race, with engine problems forcing No. 7 Penske Acura to exit the race early in the second hour.
Corvette wins IMSA’s 100th victory; First for C8.R mid-engine
Antonio Garcia held back a tough Earl Bamber to give the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R its first win and its 100th victory for Corvette Racing in a North American competition.
The Spanish, in a two-stop strategy, finished 1,977 seconds ahead of Bamber’s No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR-19 in a hard-fought battle that saw the three manufacturers lead in stages with divided strategies.
Nick Tandy’s No. 911 Porsche led early as the only GTLM car to start the race on Michelin tires, though he was forced out of sequence and slipped on Lap 5.
It gave the Team RLL BMW M8 GTE pair of Bruno Spengler and Jesse Krohn an early lead, though as the No. 911 Porsche, they opted for a three-stop strategy.
Makowiecki made a late charge to finish third, ahead of Connor De Phillippi’s No. 25 BMW in fourth.
Garcia shared the historic victory with Jordan Taylor, breaking a two-year winless streak for the Pratt & Miller factory team.
Team sister sister Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin’s 4th inning ended fifth after Milner was forced to save fuel in the end.
AVS Autosport dominates GTD
AIM Vasser Sullivan dominated the ranks of GT Daytona, with Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz claiming first-class honors at the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 in the Canadian team’s first 1-2 result.
Hawksworth came home ahead of Frankie Montecalvo and Townsend Bell’s Lexus No. 12, who only hit the track a few moments before the delayed start due to travel problems from Indianapolis.
Telitz, in his first career as the team’s new full-season driver, led virtually from the start before handing him over to Hawksworth.
No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo by Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry completed the class podium after a fight between the German and teammate Alvaro Parente in the No. 57 Heinricher Racing entry once he the sun went down.
Parente ranked fourth, with Toni Vilander completing the top five in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020.
The Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3 class, located on pole, started from the pit lane after missing the reconnaissance lap due to a problem and never played a factor after serving a drive-through penalty and suffering an early turn in the race.
RESULTS: WeatherTech 240
