CTMP Friday Notebook

Photo: Bob Chapman/Porsche

***A total of 34 cars are set for this weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, marking the first LMP3 sprint race of the season, alongside GTP, GTD Pro and GTD entries. Unlike last year, the race is behind held one week later, which has allowed a week-long break for many teams since last month’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

***Head of Porsche Motorsport Thomas Laudenbach said Porsche Penske Motorsport’s penalty from Watkins Glen did not come as a result of a “gamble” on the skid plate wear, which was found to have been out of compliance and cost Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet the victory.

***Laudenbach told reporters in Monza: “There was never a situation where we tried to gain a benefit from running the car too low. Yes, the skid was worn [by] 0.015 [mm]. But we didn’t even know. There was no need to gamble. We were surprised, and it did hurt. It still hurts.”

***A number of drivers are making their CTMP debuts, including BMW M Team RLL’s Augusto Farfus, Nick Yelloly and Philipp Eng, as well as Jules Gounon of WeatherTech Racing among others. Others, such as Porsche drivers Nick Tandy, Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell, are experiencing the circuit for the first time in a prototype.

***Turner Motorsport has gone to a spare chassis for its No. 97 BMW M4 GT3 this weekend following Bill Auberlen’s late-race airborne crash at The Glen. The, entry, which is competing in GTD Pro for the Michelin Endurance Cup races, moves back to GTD this weekend with Auberlen and co-driver Chandler Hull.

***The No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 underwent tub repair following Watkins Glen after Augusto Farfus’ opening lap accident. The tub, which was punctured by a broken suspension part, was sent to Dallara in Indianapolis for repairs and was returned last week and built back up.

***Yelloly and Eng are coming off victory in last weekend’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, having co-driven a ROWE Racing-run BMW M4 GT3 with Marco Wittmann.

***Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia said he was pleased by setting the quickest lap in GTD Pro this afternoon although is taking a wait-and-see approach to the weekend. “The car feels decent, and we made good progress through the session,” he said. “We’ll see where everybody is tomorrow for qualifying. We tried many things today. We still need to keep bringing things together, and Jordan didn’t get many laps.”

***CTMP marks the second and final clashing weekend with the FIA World Endurance Championship this year, which sees several programs split up or prioritized.

***Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid is on-site in Canada this weekend, with Roger Penske and Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle at Monza. GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser is also in Italy, with Corvette Racing holding a chance to clinch the GTE-Am title two races early. Cadillac Racing assistant program manager Kalvin Parker is representing the GM brand at CTMP.

***Both The Heart of Racing and AO Racing have prioritized CTMP, with its full season WeatherTech Championship lineups competing in GTD Pro and GTD, respectively. Tom Blomqvist and Filipe Albuquerque, who are contesting the WEC season with United Autosports, are also in Canada this weekend, with the WeatherTech Championship programs taking priority.

***Pfaff Motorsports is running a variant of its ‘Plaid Porsche’ livery this weekend, showcasing sponsorship from Canadian Tire and MotoMaster, one of Canada’s leading automotive brands.

***Mike Rockenfeller remained in the U.S. following Watkins Glen to spend time on Multimatic’s simulator in Detroit. It marked the first sim testing for JDC-Miller Motorsports with the Porsche 963, which the team debuted at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May.

***Gradient Racing has reached a commercial partnership with Italian luxury golf and sportswear brand Chervò. The partnership will see Sheena Monk and Katherine Legge join the Team Chervò roster of athletes and the brand will become the official apparel partner of the Texas-based team.

***Alex Kirby begins his probationary period by IMSA this weekend following his responsibility in a four-car pileup at Watkins Glen. While the Performance Tech Motorsports driver is not competing in this weekend’s WeatherTech Championship race, Kirby is taking part in the pair of VP Racing SportsCar Challenge rounds in the LMP3 entry.

***Kirby’s probation will remain in effect for all other IMSA series until he completes the four-race probation period in the WeatherTech Championship.

***A one-hour and 45-minute practice session kicks off track action on Saturday at 8 a.m. EDT, followed by qualifying at 12:45 p.m., which will be streamed live on IMSA.tv. The two-hour and 40-minute Chevrolet Grand Prix airs Sunday at 12 p.m. with live coverage on network NBC. Brian Till and Calvin Fish will be joined by pit lane reporters Dillon Welch and Matt Yocum for the broadcast.

Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John